Lust in the Moonlight

Chapter 3

“Hey Lisa, do you think you could watch the shop for fifteen minutes? I’m going to take Cooper on a walk..” Lisa was sitting on a stool tending to one of the antique books with white gloves on. She nodded her head without taking her attention off of the book. With that, I took Cooper by the leash and led him outside.

Cooper loved the late-night breeze, he had his tongue hanging out and practically dragged me down the street, I was barely able to keep up with him. It gave me the time I needed to think back on the situation that just occurred. It showed his character and how he presented himself, in the end, I wasn’t going to let him affect me. I put my feelings of hurt aside and enjoyed the night walk. My shift was close to ending and I was on my way back to the shop. I decided to take Cooper home with me. When we approached the storefront Mr. Lennox was stepping out, I stopped. There was a black car with tinted windows waiting for him on the street, I felt a small tug that pulled me forward. It was Cooper, he growled deeply at the sight of Mr. Lennox, he conveyed his sharp teeth before barking relentlessly. It took all of my strength to hold him back from attacking Mr. Lennox who didn’t even flinch at the threat. He just looked at me then down at Cooper with his cold dead eyes. I held my chin up and bent down to the ground, I combed my fingers through Cooper’s fur and eased him down.

“You hate him too huh? He’s nothing but a jackass, not even worth it..” I whispered into his ear, Cooper sat on the concrete and shifted back into his loving nature. We both watched as Mr. Lennox entered the unidentified car and drove off. Cooper licked my face causing me to laugh, we proceeded into the shop.

A few minutes after it turned one, a new employee came in for her shift. I told her the same thing Tim told me, gathered my things in the locker room, and said my goodbyes to Lisa as I headed out with Cooper.

The drive home was uneventful, for me at least, Cooper had his head stuck out the window majority of the time barking and enjoying the cold summer wind. Obviously, Cooper was Team Seraphina, he made me feel better about Mr. Lennox. When we got home Cooper darted for my bedroom, he’s been here many times and claimed his territory on the rug that sat in front of the bay window.

I closed my bedroom door behind me and tossed all of my belongings onto the bed, except for the purple gift bag. When I stuck my hand inside and felt the warm fabric on my fingertips, it immediately reminded me of Isaiah and how sweet he was to me. I pulled out the grey sweatshirt dropping the bag in the process, I opened it up and I smiled.

The front of the sweatshirt read ‘Lennox Enterprises’ in black letters underlined by a black thick line. I blushed at the gift and immediately thought it was foolish of me, it was way too soon to tell if Isaiah liked me, but I was already taking a huge liking to him.

Exhaustion settled in on me, so I stripped my body of my clothes and jumped into bed with Isaiah on my mind, and reluctantly Mr. Lennox, the thought of him polluted my mind, I couldn’t do much about it because I fell into a deep slumber.

The next day I and Cooper were woken by my alarm clock and the sound of light rain droplets hitting against my window. The sleep I received wasn’t enough but I dragged myself out of bed anyway. It was around six forty-five when I stepped out of the bathroom after taking a shower, brushing my teeth, and grooming my hair into a ponytail. After putting on a long-sleeved green shirt and grey denim jeans I shuffled into the kitchen for some breakfast. I had some dog food in the cabinets for Cooper while I ate cereal and a banana. I knew I wouldn’t see Kennedy because she usually left for work before me.

To help me wake up I scrolled through the online edition of California Pulse to catch up on any gossip around instead I came across a few articles about Mr. Lennox. Shockingly there wasn’t a single article badmouthing him, most was about his attractiveness, his dating life, or his businesses. I knew Renya was behind the magazine but on numerous occasions, she stated that she isn’t biased. Do you think Mr. Lennox is that way only with me? Surely if he treated everyone like that someone would have spoken up by now. All people do is praise him, at first I didn’t get it and wasn’t bothered by it but now, it’s infuriating. At that moment, a notification popped up on my screen, it was a text message from Ms. Volce. ‘No need to come into work for the rest of the week. Had an amazing date last night. Thanks’ followed by a few kissy emojis. I forgot I did schedule a date for her and Mr. Lennox. I would’ve asked her how the date went but I honestly didn’t care for anything involving Mr. Lennox.

“Well we are wide awake, you want to watch a movie?” I asked, looking at Cooper, he just stared at me in silence. I shrugged and decided that's what we were going to do. I finished up my breakfast, cleaned up after Cooper and I then relocated into the living room. I sent a text to Mr. Barnes telling him that I had brought Cooper home with me last night.

I watched a few romantic comedies from the ’90s. The rain outside only seemed to fall harder which brought me comfort. Cooper and I were cuddled up on the couch for a few hours taking in the peaceful setting. We watched a bucket load of films before I needed a break, a yawn escaped my lips as I stretched up from the couch. I wanted to refuel on snacks and plan out the rest of my day but my mind went elsewhere, I walked past Kennedy’s bedroom and heard faint vibrating. Normally I would've kept to myself but Kennedy was on a strict schedule and she can’t function without her phone. I opened the door to find scattered fabrics on the floor, scissors, pins, and needles. On Kennedy’s desk buried underneath drawings of future designs was her phone. It felt like an invasion of privacy but I looked at her phone screen. The clock read ‘12:51’ and underneath the time were numerous missed calls from Ms. Volce herself, there were hundreds of new messages one reading ‘Where are you??! You need to bring clothes now!’, ‘If you don’t come in the next hour, I expect your resignation letter on my desk’ These were all sent around twelve with new ones coming in every minute. If Kennedy wasn’t at the office, my head snapped up and just like her phone, Kennedy was buried underneath heaps of fabric sleeping peacefully. Kennedy was a heavy sleeper, the world could be ending and it wouldn’t bother her. She must've stayed up all night, the clothes were on a rack finished with their designated name tags, I inched towards the bed to shake her awake but my heart wouldn’t let me, She works so hard and she deserves to rest. Knowing the password to her phone I unlocked it and responded to a few angry texts that I was on my way. Avoiding the exposed needles on the floor I collected the six garment bags that weighed a ton. This just proves I needed to go to the gym more. I slipped on a pair of Kennedy’s slippers and took her car keys off the desk when I placed her phone back down.

I wouldn’t say I knew what I was doing completely but in the end no matter the result, I was acting with good intentions. So there I was standing on the stoop staring out into the pouring rain at Kennedy’s car parked across the street. The garment bags were heavy in my arms, I took a deep breath ready to conquer the obstacle in front of me.

“Hey! You can’t just walk in!” I heard the voice of the same woman who first tried to stop Ms. Volce from entering a few days ago. A rush of adrenaline was fueling me and I couldn't be stopped. I had three garment bags draped in each arm. My glasses were completely fogged up and covered with rain droplets. I ran through the floor of intimidating people whose eyes I felt pry at my skin. I was completely drenched from head to toe with rainwater, the only thing that kept me warm was the motivation to get the clothes to the designated people. Once again another woman tried to stop me but I ran past her desk making my way towards Mr. Lennox’s office where I was told to drop off the clothing. My body was ready to give up on me at any minute, with all my might I kicked open the door to Mr. Lennox’s office.

“I have your clothes!!” I screamed completely out of breath, the coldness of the rain began to settle in on my skin. I expected to see the group of people, six to be precise, waiting for their clothing. Catching my breath I frantically looked around the office, finding no one but Mr. Lennox. s**t. He looked at me with utter bewilderment and rage, the pen he held in his hands dropped onto the stack of papers he was once scribbling on. He stood up wearing a simple crisp black suit.

“What..-!” Mr. Lennox barely spoke when he clenched his fist up to his mouth, he cleared his throat and stayed silent for a few moments. Hellfire burned bright in his eyes, his jaw tightened and finally, he looked back at me bringing his fist away from his lips.

“Sit down..” He said in a low controlled tone motioning to the two leather armrests that were seated in front of his desk. My mouth hung low while I created a puddle at my feet, I shook my head and let out a nervous laugh.

. “N-No thank you, I just wanted to drop off you and your colleagues' clothing for the expansion party..” I inched towards the conference table and placed the garment bags onto the surface before turning around.

“SIT DOWN!” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone yell that loud, I could feel his rage echo through the room and tear me right open. I screeched silently and flinched at the loudness of his voice and how much power he held. Without letting hesitation stop me I turned back around and approached the seats in front of his desk and dropped down in one of them. Not bearing to look at him I folded my hands together and stared at the mushy slippers on my feet. Was he going to kill me? He had a whole floor of lawyers, he could say that I tripped and fell and everyone would believe it. Mr. Lennox took his seat and I finally mustered up the courage to look at him. My fingers fidgeted nervously with each other as I watched Mr. Lennox resume his paperwork, it felt like I was down in the principal's office.

“You have a very lovely office...also I am so sorry, my friend Kennedy Marsh wasn’t available so I delivered the clothes, I was told to come in here” Maybe it was shame making my body tremble or my drenched clothing, either way, I was completely terrified.

“Do you not feel embarrassed at how much of an inconvenience you are? Tell me at least that you feel foolish for coming in here in the most ridiculous manner” He finally looked up at me with raised eyebrows and leaned back in his chair. There must've been something else to fuel his words, I don’t get how he could be so cruel to me.

“It’s not the most ideal or desired situation, but I was told-” He cut me off by breathing out a laugh, was he not at all concerned with how he treated other people or their feelings? I could feel myself getting upset and I dreaded that I’m letting this man have such a huge effect on my emotions.

“It wasn’t intentional and I apologize if I caused a disturbance. Why do you hate me so much?” My voice began cracking up, my fingernails began to dig deeply into my skin as I was tightening my hands into fists. It took everything in me to withhold from tears. Mr. Lennox narrowed his eyes at me with confusion, showing no compassion as he opened his mouth once more.

“Hate you? I do not care for your existence. It is beyond me how you were ever hired to work under my company but it is evident that you lack professionalism-” I couldn’t take it anymore, the disrespect, the cruelty, the insensitivity. I shot up from my seat and turned my back on him, tears began to blur my vision and my heart began to beat rapidly out from my chest.

“You know for someone who doesn’t care you’re trying awfully hard to demean someone. Is that how you gain validation and power?” Feeling a spike of courage I whipped my body around and firmly pressed my lips together. Mr. Lennox bit down on his bottom lip and nodded his head looking away from me. Maybe it wasn’t the wisest thing to say to my boss, and I slowly began to see that.

“Get the f**k out of my office, and while you’re at it, you should change your shirt” He looked back at me with his cold dead eyes as he leaned forward onto his desk. With anger pumping through my views I almost forgot about my soaked clothes. My mouth opened to question what was wrong with my shirt until I looked down at the wet fabric sticking to my skin. Due to the tight time frame, I didn’t have time to put on a bra. My n*****s were bulging underneath the fabric making themselves apparent. I gasped lightly and crossed my arms over my chest, I didn’t dare to stand in his office for a second longer nor look at him. I dashed out of his office feeling nothing but shame and embarrassment,

Once again I found myself storming through the floor escaping the elevator, I was halfway there until I was stopped. Someone had grabbed a hold of my shoulder and turned me around,

“Don’t touch me!” I wasn’t at all in the slightest mood. I didn’t mean to scream or lash out, immediately I regretted it. It was Isaiah who approached me, he took a step back removing his hand from my shoulder, and looked at me with a shocked expression. My outburst had gathered the attention of those who surrounded us.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, I took a deep breath getting myself under control. Looking at him reminded me of our coffee date that I completely forgot about. I wasn’t in the mood to do anything but his green eyes looked at me with nothing but concern and sincerity.

“A lot. Um, I don’t have the coffee, can we just reschedule?” I needed to get out of here, my head was seconds away from exploding, My feet were drowning in the soggy slippers, and a cold shiver conquered my body, I could just feel the incoming sickness.

“Forget the coffee, you’re upset and...drenched..” Isaiah said, eyeing my appearance with shock. Isaiah took a deep breath noticing my discomfort and stepped closer to me, the sereness he radiated was comforting.

“How about I get the coffee and something dry to cover you up?” Isaiah placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, within seconds my mood changed. I was more at ease and greatly appreciated his kindness.

“I would like that yeah..” I responded with a smile forming on my lips. Isaiah reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Let's go into my office” I nodded at his invitation and followed his lead.

Isaiah’s office was much smaller than Ms. Volce’s and Mr. Lennox’s, it was plain and had no aspects to it that could hint at his hobbies or interests. Just sitting in a grey room with a bookshelf, desk, and a few chairs for guests. The room did have natural lighting, the only good thing about it. Isaiah had given me his suit jacket to conceal my body, he was such a gentleman about it. Asking me if I was okay, or if he needed to talk to Mr. Lennox. None of that was necessary, the last thing I wanted was to cause more of a scene. Isaiah had taken my coffee order with a humble smile, and after only being gone for fifteen minutes he came back which led us to fall into conversation.

“Is he always so mean? Mr. Lennox, he is so cold and disrespectful..” I asked Isaiah who was a legal advisor for Mr. Lennox, if he worked so closely with Mr. Lennox, he must have some kind of intel on his character. I sipped on my iced caramel coffee while sitting in a chair across from Isaiah where he sat behind his desk.

“Not mean, but distant, and a bit stern. You just keep catching him on a bad day, he has a lot of things on his mind. When he isn’t caught up with running the company, he is actually a decent dude” Isaiah sipped his coffee and mentally I rolled my eyes not believing a single word he uttered. On three separate occasions have I spoken to Mr. Lennox and all three took part in humiliating me.

“Are you just saying that because he is your boss?” I retorted with a bit of attitude, Isaiah chuckled and shook his head placing his coffee down on his desk.

“He is your boss too so word of advice, watch what you say about him. I like you, and I would hate for you to lose your job over a heated comment..” I took in his words but the part that made my heart flutter was him stating that he liked me. I felt like such a child, grinning widely to myself. Soon the conversation shifted away from Mr. Lennox and more about our interests and goals in life.

After taking up so much of his time I decided to part from him and let him return to his work. Isaiah took the time to walk me down to the lobby, gave me a delightful hug before sending me off. Today was partially a success and a failure, I wouldn’t let Mr. Lennox’s rude behavior ruin the amazing day I had with Isaiah. I didn’t know how the future would turn out but, I knew that I wanted to see where things would go with Isaiah and that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Lennox.