CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Trafford slid his eyes away from Zack and looked directly at Renee. He chuckled when he saw her take an involuntary step back and blink back tears.
“So feisty yet so sweet and vulnerable,” Trafford said. “And the scent of your fear is so fucking delicious.”
“Get out,” Zack snarled. “Before I kill you.”
Zack sheathed his claws and clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked. He was this close to ripping Trafford’s heart out with his bare hands.
He turned and glimpsed his receptionist’s pale face at the door among the crowd.
“Andrew, please escort Mr Pratt out,” Zack snarled.
“Y-yes, sir!” Andrew stammered breathlessly. “This way please, Mr Pratt.”
Trafford didn’t even glance at the frightened receptionist. He strode to the door and paused. “I look forward to seeing you again, Renee,” Trafford said. “We will meet again.” It was a promise and a threat. “Until then, I’ll be thinking of you.”
Zack felt Renee’s shaking, clammy hands on his arm. She held on to him as Trafford sauntered out the door with Andrew.
“Don’t,” she whispered tearfully. “Please, Zack, don’t go after him. I don’t want to cause any trouble...”
“He hurt you,” Zack growled.
“He’s a jerk,” Rene said. “He’s just a pompous jerk. He’s not worth your time, Zack. Forget about him.” She shook her head and said, “I’m not hurt, Zack. Really.” She cleaned away the blood on her lips with a tissue and insisted, “I’m fine.”
“He assaulted you, Renee,” Zack said, gripping her shoulders. “I won’t let him get away...”
“Please,” Renee pleaded. “I don’t want to make a police report. Just drop it. I don’t want to cause a scene...”
“Renee...”
“Please, Zack,” she whispered. “I...I’ve already forgotten about it,” she lied and forced a smile to her face.
Zack blew out a rough breath and tried to pull her to him but she resisted. She glanced at her worried colleagues at the door and smiled bravely at them. “I’m okay,” she told them. “Let’s all forget about this unfortunate incident. We should get back to work.”
Zack watched her march out of the conference room. Amid anxious murmurs and whispers, the rest of the staff dispersed and made their way back to their workstations.
Renee was sitting at her desk, her fingers flying over the keyboard. Her back was ramrod straight and her jaw was tightly clenched. She gave him a curt nod as he came up to her. Without waiting for him to speak, she turned back to her work and glared determinedly at her computer screen. She wasn’t going to talk and she wanted him to just let the matter drop.
“Zack, you ready?”
Zack turned to see his CFO, Matthew Saks, rushing towards him, briefcase in hand. “I’ve got all the papers here. Let’s go, boss,” Matthew said, patting his briefcase.
Renee stopped typing and stood up. “You have a meeting now?” she asked, glancing at his schedule.
“Something just cropped up. I informed Zack just now,” Matthew answered.
Zack nodded. He had stepped out of the conference room earlier to take his CFO’s urgent call. Their business partners were willing to meet them in an hour’s time. Something unforeseen had happened, and they would have to act quickly to avoid massive losses.
“Matthew and I will be meeting with Vox Capital Partners. I should be back in the office by mid-afternoon,” Zack informed Renee.
She managed a jerky nod. “Okay.”
As Zack walked towards the lobby with Matthew, he glanced over his shoulder to see Renee staring after him. He hated leaving her alone after the trauma that she’d been through. But she was shutting him out, preferring to deal with her pain alone.
How could he convince her that she didn’t have to deal with all the hurts and blows by herself now, that he was here for her and he would do anything, even give his life, for her?
“...and we will have to state our position clearly. If necessary, we will cut our losses and just...” Matthew was droning on as they stepped into the elevator.
Zack listened as his capable CFO gave him a succinct rundown of the situation.