The Pill That Failed

Chapter 2 The Humiliating Plea

His arm loosened. The warmth and pressure began to recede.

Pain rushed back, worse than before. A raw sound tore out of me. The room blurred until I could see only the red pulse of the emergency lights.

Victor let me fall.

He stepped back and left a strip of clean floor between us. His flashlight remained on my face, but his expression gave me nothing.

"I don't deal with employees who are unwell," he stated. "My car is waiting. The security chief will see you home."

That was a dismissal. I had become a problem for security to remove.

Through the pain, I could see two choices.

I could stay on the floor until the cleaning crew found me. By morning, Marcus would have my career and my reputation in his hands.

Or I could stop Victor from leaving and hand him the secret I had protected for years.

The pain chose for me.

I lunged and caught his tie. The tug barely moved him.

His gaze flickered down to my hand, then back to my face.

"Don't." The word scraped my throat. Tears ran down my face. "If you leave me here, I can't get up."

He remained motionless.

The request caught in my throat. I could hardly get the words out.

"Please. Touch me."

Victor knelt until we were eye to eye. His gaze dropped to my hand on his tie, then returned to my face and stayed there.

He said nothing.

He lifted me and carried me across the room to his oak desk.

He set me on the edge. His warm hands closed around my shins, and his thumbs pressed into the trembling muscles.

The pain ebbed. My blood cooled. His hands were doing what my last pill could not.

Rain struck the windows. I sat still beneath his hands and listened to my breathing settle.

Victor watched every change in my face.

The most powerful man I knew had seen me beg for his touch.