CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Runaways
Luke spent most of his evening mingling with co-workers and other relevant higher-ups, leaving me with no option but to watch on from the sidelines, proud as punch. He never once stopped smiling as he made his way through the many attendees and every so often had whoever he was talking to in fits of giggles.
“Excuse me, sir,” I whispered, finally getting a moment alone with him. “I don’t suppose you have the time, do you?”
His smirk was instant in its arrival and I found it did more than warm my heart.
“It’s funny you mention that, actually. My very thoughtful, extremely beautiful best friend just gifted me this magnificent Rolex watch. Do you like it?” he grinned, still remaining at a distance, though he did lift his left wrist up for me to see.
“I love it, very swanky.”
Knowing how much he appreciated it made saving up for it all the more worth it.
“You okay? You’re not too bored, are you?” he questioned, switching from amused to worried.
“No, course not. Katlyn’s boyfriend and I have a bet going on. Whose breasts are gonna be the first to fall out among that lot,” I replied, pointing my finger towards a rather varied group of women, all of which were wearing revealing outfits.
“I hope it’s the one in red,” he whispered, turning his clear-blue gaze on me.
None of them were wearing red and as I voiced out my acknowledgement on the matter, realisation finally hit.
“Luke!” I scorned, whacking him across the chest.
It certainly didn’t escape my attention that I was the only one wearing red tonight, bar the rather daring man sporting a maroon suit. We’d both spotted each other near the beginning of the night and silently bonded over our choice in colour. He looked flawless with his golden blond locks scraped back and I made a mental note not to get next to him in any of the photographs; the phrase eye sore certainly coming to mind.
“What? We’ve been over this, Maya. You have fantastic boobs,” he defended, back to being playful regarding the situation.
I honestly couldn’t keep up!
“And as nice as it is for you to say so, they’re remaining hidden,” I insisted, stern in my statement.
He pushed his body against mine and brought his mouth close to my neck, sensually shoving his words down my left ear.
“Just as well, otherwise I’d get jealous.”
I had no idea what to make of his comment and simply remained tight-lipped, fearful of saying the wrong thing should I even attempt to open my mouth. Thankfully, Luke’s attention was needed elsewhere. I offered him a friendly farewell, and he shot me a killer wink, sexy enough to leave me weak in the knees. I was well aware I needed to get a handle on my feelings before I made a complete fool of myself. It seemed this weekend was set to test my limits. As much as I wanted to express my undying need to give things a go with Luke, I understood that tonight was not about that. Tonight was about Luke, not us, and the thought of pressuring him right now seemed highly unfair.
I could tell him how I felt another time.
“Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the loos, please?” I asked, aiming my enquiry at a rather friendly looking member of staff.
“Of course, through those doors and to your left,” replied the polite gent; smile in tow.
I thanked him for his help with my own appreciative smile and began my short journey, in need of some water to the face (and preferably other areas). Questioning potential life-changing decisions was hard work. Downing the entire tray of champagne would’ve helped, but I’d limited myself to non-alcoholic beverages all night, wanting to be sober for when Luke received his award. Luckily, the ladies was empty when I entered the grand ‘powder room’ and I soon took advantage of the marble sink by lightly splashing water over my burning cheeks and clammy neck. The cool substance acted as a refreshing sensation on my face, and I almost jumped out of my skin as I was joined by somebody else. Somebody unexpected.
“Oh sorry, am I in the men’s?” I questioned, shocked to be face-to-face with an older gent.
His tartan suit was so bad that it was great. Had he not paired it with red brogues, I would have been outraged to say the least. He pulled off the crazy concoction rather well, and I loved that the man himself looked about as Scottish as my left foot, yet still insisted on wearing such a statement with pride.
“No, no, you’re not in the men’s. It is I who is in the women’s,” he ensured, sounding like a shit Shakespearian actor.
“Right, well I’ll leave you to it,” I smiled, finding his presence really rather odd.
I was stopped by the feel of his hand on my arm, each long nail he possessed digging into my bare skin as he proceeded to hold on tight.
“Am I right in thinking you’re the young lady that has accompanied Luke this weekend?” he asked, seeming friendly enough in his enquiry.
“Yeah, I came with Luke,” I smiled, attempting my departure yet again.
Unfortunately, this seemed to displease him. So much so, I became rapidly uncomfortable with the situation, and mentally searched my surroundings for any possible help.
“He’s a brilliant worker, is Luke. I’m his boss, Garret. Todd Garret,” he introduced, sticking out his hand, to which I cautiously accepted. “Would you like to see him join the company permanently?” he asked, quite frankly giving me chills.
“Of course, I think he’s very deserving of it,” I insisted, taking a sufficient step back.
I could smell alcohol on his breath, and if the slight sway to his stance was anything to go by; I’d say he was drunk.
“Indeed, but as is often always the case with these things, he’s up against stiff competition,” he explained, gaining on me in a way I didn’t much care for. “However, there are ways to sway a man’s decision,” he smirked.
He actually fucking smirked.
“You should know that what you’re saying is making me very uncomfortable and I want to leave,” I stated, stern in my saying so.
My hopes to scare him off were met with nothing but rejection as he simply laughed in my face. He seemed neither bothered nor concerned by my declaration and if anything, it just made me more cautious.
“Why would I be making you feel uncomfortable? Women like you throw themselves at men like me all the time,” he insisted, turning my stomach at the thought.
“If by women like me, you mean hard working and with self-respect, I think you may have gotten your wires crossed. And given men like you are supposed to be happily married with kids, I think your insinuation is disgusting, if not, pig-headed,” I seethed, close to actual tears.
“I happen to like them feisty and you, my darling, are exactly that,” he rasped, pulling on his belt and unbuckling the thick band. “Think of it as doing your friend a favour. Suck my cock and he gets the job.”
I wanted to vomit.
“I’m leaving and if you try and stop me, I’ll scream,” I insisted, stepping away from him and towards the door.
Of course, I was pulled back and slammed against the wall; the old git proving that age doesn’t always matter.
My God, he had some strength to him.
“Now that wasn’t very nice, was it?” he sneered, so close to my face I could feel his breath on my cheek.
I thought about kneeing him in the balls but decided it was best to save that as a last minute resort, seeing as I was more about the verbal approach of getting myself out of a sticky situation.
“If you so much as go near me again, I will scream the fucking place down,” I rasped, angered by his obnoxious behaviour. “You’re a family lawyer, for goodness sake. Do you think sexually assaulting women in bathrooms is appropriate behaviour?” I questioned, feeling rather empowered.
“Sexual assault?”
He appeared appalled by my suggestion and tasted the words on his tongue; much like one would when discovering a foul flavour.
“Do I appear to be consenting?” I asked, to which he immediately let go.
I wasted no time in leaving the claustrophobic space and instantly searched for Luke, needing a familiar face right now. He was over by the stage with two other men and an older woman; all four of them happily engaging in polite chit-chat.
“Luke,” I whispered, upon entering the small group.
All eyes focused on me and not wanting to cause a scene, I lowered my tone, whilst pulling on his arm. “I have a headache, I’m going to bed,” I explained, unable to look him in the eye.
As much as I couldn’t go through with what Garret had asked, I still felt somewhat responsible for what would likely be Luke’s failure at being offered permanent employment with the company.
“What? Maya, hey what’s wrong?” he asked, grabbing my arm as I attempted to move off.
On their own accord, tears surfaced to my eyes and began to well, annoying me in their pursuit to make an appearance.
“Jesus, Maya, what the hell’s happened?”
At the very moment his soft hands came to rest on either cheek, I spotted Garret re-enter from the huge archway and momentarily caught his eye; something which Luke instantly picked up on.
“What was that?” he asked; his ability to read the situation really rather chilling.
“What was what?
“That look.”
“Nothing, please. Just leave it,” I begged, on the verge of actually sobbing.
Luke saw my stressed state, pulled my hands to his chest and lovingly soothed me, thankfully doing so by letting me know whose side he was on.
“I’ll take you to your room once you’ve told me what’s happened,” he encouraged, certainly not backing down.
“He-h-”
A quick sweep of the room was all the assurance I needed to know no one was watching us. Even the three people Luke was previously in conversation with had started up another discussion without him.
“He said if I,” I paused. “If I performed oral on him, he’d give you the job.”
My words lingered in the air between us and as much as I wished them to be untrue, seeing Luke morph into pure rage was as much a slap in the face as any.
“Please don’t do anything. I’m sure he’s just drunk-”
“I’m gonna fucking kill him!” he gritted, leaving my side to confront his dickhead boss.
Shit, shit, shit!
Without any warning, Luke approached the nearby table and forced Garret to stand by yanking on the collar of his shirt. The entire table stilled in utmost shock as I desperately willed the situation to bugger off.
“Apologise to her right now,” he demanded, silencing everyone.
Quiet mummers of curious on-lookers could be heard throughout the function room, and as all attention turned to Luke, I soundlessly shrunk.
“Luke, what on earth?” asked a middle-aged woman, decked out in purple.
I stood back and pleaded with Luke by giving him the eye, hoping he’d drop it.
“I don’t know what she’s said to you.”
“The truth. Now apologise to her before I rip you to pieces!” he barked, angry beyond belief.
I momentarily got a glimpse of the old Luke; the one who would constantly defend me against my bullies for years at school. In a way, Garret was no different to those bullies, although given he was a grown man, he should’ve known better.
“S-sorry, I’m sorry,” stuttered Garret, certainly shitting himself in those God awful tartan pants of his.
Luke seemingly relaxed at the hands of his half-arsed apology, and just as I thought he was about to walk away, he went ahead and exceeded all expectations.
“The next time you to try to shove your cock in someone’s mouth against their permission, remember this.”
There was barely a second between Luke’s declaration and the sound of Garret falling to the floor like a sack of shit, having been punched square in the face. I was left gawking at the scene displayed before me, truly in shock. I couldn’t believe it and it wasn’t until my arm was suddenly pulled towards the exit and Luke’s furious face filled my cloudy vision, that I became vaguely aware of my surroundings again.
“Go upstairs and pack your bags. We’re leaving,” he instructed, departing my side to address a flustered Katlyn.
“Luke, what the hell happened?”
To the best of his ability, he attempted to explain the situation but upon seeing me stood frozen in the middle of the foyer, made up his excuses to leave.
“Katie, I need to be with Maya right now. We’ll drive to a nearby B&B tonight,” he informed, taking her by the shoulders and looking her straight in the eye. “He’s not to be trusted; be careful, okay?” he begged, to which she simply nodded and offered me a sympathetic glance.
Luke walked us both over to the lift and once secured inside, pulled my trembling body into his, landing kiss after gentle kiss on my forehead. “I’m sorry this happened to you, baby. I’m so, so sorry.”
His apologetic words, as unnecessary as they were, had me clinging to him for dear life with no real willingness to let go. I was awfully confused and struggling to process it all. Luke just stuck up for me, barely any questions asked. Strong, protective and fiercely angered, he knowing blew any chances of full-time employment to defend me, and in front of a room full of important onlookers, no less. He was always acting as my savour, and as I stood with my cheek plastered to his chest, I figured it was about time I showed my appreciation.
It was time I told him about my feelings.