CHAPTER 8
Joanna
Every time I thought about Anderson, a secret smile spread across my face that I was completely helpless at suppressing. I’d been avoiding Tobias all day, terrified that with one look, he’d somehow know what I was hiding. Granted, as an adult I knew I was perfectly entitled to do as I pleased. But, the thought of messing around with my brother’s best friend still felt taboo, and no matter how grown-up I felt, I had no idea how to approach Tobias over such an issue.
I had woken up and left for work before he had, knowing I wouldn’t be able to handle riding to work with him, especially if there was a chance he had realized how late it was when I’d returned the night before. I hadn’t left Anderson’s apartment until the crack of dawn. Even though Tobias had been sleeping by the time I’d returned, there was no doubt that my lateness hadn’t gone unnoticed. Furthermore, I knew he had likely wondered why I had snuck out on my own this morning without him.
When I’d seen Anderson at the office, we exchanged seductive glances before hurriedly leaving each other’s vicinity. He had been going through my mind ever since. I still couldn’t believe what had happened between us. When I was a kid, never in a million years would I have thought he’d ever returned my affection.
On my third cup of coffee, I was feeling jittery and happy at the same time when my office phone rang. I simply stared at it for a moment in surprise; it was the first time it had rung. And considering I had just been given my own office, I hadn’t even had an office phone number for long, so I couldn’t fathom who would be calling.
I leaned forward in my chair to answer, suddenly expecting it to be Tobias delivering me a message or new assignment.
“Hello?”
“Well, well, well…” the voice on the other line said.
An ice-cold chill went down my spine, and I could hardly believe what I was hearing. “No…” I said in disbelief.
“Yes,” the voice responded.
I could hear the way his lips curled into a smile around the word and bile rose in my throat. I gripped the phone receiver so tightly that my hand started to ache. I looked toward the window of my office, almost wanting to toss the phone right out of it. “Zander, how did you get this number?”
“I have eyes and ears everywhere, sweetheart,” he said, making my skin crawl.
I hadn’t told him where I was going. In fact, I had never even told him about my brother’s business. With all the money Tobias made, I was always careful to keep his business private, for my own safety, as well as his. Someone like Zander was the very last person I ever wanted to know about it.
“The better question,” Zander said, “is what made you think you could run away from me?”
“Zander, it’s over,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. I could so easily hear the deranged tone in his voice. Even if he was a million miles away, it shook me to my very core.
“It’s not over until I say it’s over,” he said, his voice dropping to a dangerously low pitch. “And I’m not done with you yet.”
“Oh yeah?” I said, attempting to sound braver than I felt. “Well, I don’t care, because I’m done with you. Now, I don’t know how you got this number, but I suggest you lose it. Don’t ever call me again, Zander. I’m warning you.”
He laughed so loudly, I had to hold the phone receiver away from my ear. “You, warning me?” he said. “Good one, Jo. Good one. I’m afraid you’re mistaken though. So let me clear things up for you. I’m coming for you, darling. I will find you. And you will never get away from me again, you hear me? In fact, I might even forgive you for this little stunt. But once I get my hands on you, you won’t leave me again, Joanna. Never again.”
Tears strolled down my cheeks. “Zander, you’re crazy,” I said in a whisper. “You are insane. You need help.”
“No,” he said. “I just need you, my love.”
“Too bad, because like I said, I’m done with you. You pathetic asshole!” And with that, I slammed the phone down even though my body trembled from head to toe. I gripped the sides of my chair, trying to force myself to stop shaking.
Okay…So he found a phone number, I thought to myself. That doesn’t mean he knows where I am. How could he? He can’t find my physical location. He can’t find me. He doesn’t know where I am. He doesn’t know where Tobias lives. I never told him…
And I packed all my things. I didn’t leave anything in his apartment to tell him where I was going. So he’s just bluffing.
He can’t find me. He can’t find me. He can’t find me. I chanted those words over and over in my head, hoping that if I repeated them enough, I would start to believe them. But I had no such luck. The good mood I’d previously been in felt so far away, like a distant memory.
I suddenly realized I couldn’t be with Anderson anymore—not while I had Zander to worry about. I knew how crazy Zander could be, not to mention jealous.
If he found out about Anderson…
I shuddered, not even wanting to think about it.
I stared down at the half-full cup of coffee on my desk, no longer wanting it. With the way I couldn’t stop trembling, more caffeine was the last thing I needed. Besides, I needed something stronger than coffee, like a shot of whiskey. Not knowing where they kept the booze in the office, I decided to get water instead.
I grabbed my coffee mug and headed to the break room, where I went straight to the sink to toss the remainder of my coffee down the drain.
“Good morning, Joanna!”
I nearly jumped out of my skin, not realizing someone else was in the room. When I turned around, I spotted a woman around my age I’d seen plenty of times around the office, instantly recognizable by her bright green eyes.
“Hi…Libby, right?” I said.
She smiled warmly and nodded. Her smile quickly faltered though, getting replaced with a look of concern. “How’s it going?” she asked. “Everything all right?”
I tried to nod, but treacherous tears began to form in my eyes against my will. I turned to face the wall, trying to take deep and steady breaths, and hoping Libby hadn’t notice my tears. But once they began falling down my cheeks, I knew hiding them was pointless.
I jumped again, feeling Libby’s hand lightly touch my shoulder.
“Joanna, what’s wrong?” she asked in a gentle voice.
I sniffed louder than I meant to, and hastily wiped my eyes. Once again, I tried to force a smile onto my face, but my cheeks wobbled in protest, my jaw muscles refusing to function. “It’s nothing, really,” I said, shaking my head.
Libby simply stared at me.
“My ex…” the words left my mouth before I could stop them.
“Ahh,” Libby said. “I’ve certainly been there before. Come on, sit down.” She guided me toward the table at the center of the room and pulled out a chair for me.
With a sigh, I took a seat and rested my head in my hands. “I don’t know why I’m letting him stress me out like this, especially at work,” I said. “It’s so unprofessional. The last thing I need is for my brother to find out.”
“I just saw your brother not long ago,” Libby said. “He’s running around here like a chicken with its head chopped off. So he’s pretty busy. I don’t think you have to worry about running into him too soon.”
“That’s good to know,” I said, rubbing my eyes.
“Well, if you want to talk about it, I’m here. I know you haven’t known me for long, but I can always sympathize with a woman going through man-trouble. My ex was a complete jerk too, so I feel your pain.”
“Mine is more than just a jerk,” I said. “He’s completely deranged.”
“What happened?” Libby said, leaning in and taking my hand.
I glanced up at her, finding something unusually comforting in her touch, almost as if this woman had been a friend of mine for my whole life. In that moment, I also realized how badly I wanted to talk to someone about Zander. He had kept me isolated for so long, I didn’t really have any friends by the end. Leaving Miami had been easy because of that. But now, I’d been holding so much in for so long, I just wanted to get it off my chest.
“My ex, his name is Zander,” I said, “and he was wonderful in the beginning, until he started hitting me.”
Libby gasped. She squeezed my hand tighter. “I’m so sorry,” she said.
I nodded. “Things got pretty bad between us. He would explode over the littlest and stupidest things. The first time he hit me, it was because he’d had a bad day at work, and I hadn’t fixed dinner for him. Never mind that I had just gotten in from work myself… Soon, I started to notice that whenever he felt something was wrong, he would take it out on me as if it was somehow my fault. After so long, I just got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I was afraid for my safety. Afraid for my life. So I had to leave him. That’s why I’m here now. I was living with him in Miami, but after the last fight we had, I couldn’t take it anymore. I called my brother and he told me to come live with him, and that he’d give me a job working here. So here I am.”
Libby gave a reassuring smile. “Well that’s wonderful. You see, things always have a way of working out in the long run. And you should be proud of yourself for finding the strength to leave Zander. So many women never find the strength to leave their abusive relationships, until it’s way too late and they end up leaving in a body bag.”
“It’s not over though,” I said in a strained whisper, a lump forming in my throat. “He…He just called me. Here. On my office phone.”
Libby’s eyes widened. “Wait—he knows where you are?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess? I mean he found the phone number, should be pretty easy to find the office from there. Ugh I hate that he makes me feel like this. He still has such a hold on me.”
“Joanna, this sounds serious,” Libby said, her brow lowering. “You’ve got to do something. You have to say something. Zander sounds unstable. You don’t want someone like him coming back into your life. You need to tell Tobias.”
“I know, but…”
“But what?”
“Tobias, my brother has been so good to me, I don’t want him to wind up in the middle of this. I never even told Zander about Tobias and his business, and I sure as hell don’t want him to ever find out. I just don’t want Tobias ever getting caught in the middle of this insanity.”
“That’s understandable, but Joanna, your safety is at stake! This isn’t something to take lightly.”
I shook my head, knowing Libby was right, but remaining in denial. I didn’t want to think about it. I wanted it all to go away like a bad dream. “I’m probably just exaggerating,” I said, although my voice sounded lackluster.
“Joanna, do yourself a favor and please at least call the cops.”
I swallowed nervously, not liking the sound of that at all. Calling the police would make it all seem too real, and I still wanted to hold on to the hope that it was all a bad dream that would end soon.
I forced a smile onto my face, this time succeeding. “No, I don’t need to do that. Zander won’t come. He was just bluffing. He’s all talk. It’s nothing really. I’ll be fine.” I stood up, pulling my hand away from Libby’s. “Thank you for your concern anyway, though.”
And then I left the room.