Page 62 of More Than a Match

“You think you’re so clever, going to HR before I had a chance. Trying to trick me with a filthy apartment. Turning others against me. It won’t work. I’m beloved at that hospital. I’m good at my job, and not easily replaced.”

“People don’t love you,” I spit. “They fear you.”

“And yet,” he laughs, “the result is the same. They won’t touch me. This little suspension stunt is all for show. They’ll do their investigation, clear me, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

“What makes you think that?”

He lowers his voice, that sinister smile distorting his face again. “You think this is the first time I’ve beaten a harassment allegation?”

My face must have registered my shock because he laughs, tightening his grip on my wrists. “Oh, poor little girl. You really thought you were doing something here, huh? You really thought you’d bested me? It’s going to take a lot more to bring me down. More than you’ve got.”

“You really think this won’t get back to HR? That you’ll get away with this? Assaulting me at a party with all of our coworkers as witnesses?”

“Sure I do. They think it’s a lover’s spat. It’ll come down to your word against mine, and who do you think will win?”

“She will, you snake!”

Jason whirls around to face the voice, and I feel relief washing over me. It’s Katie. She must have snuck in quietly while he was talking. She’s got her phone pointed at us, recording the whole thing.

“You bitch!” Jason roars, releasing me and charging toward Katie.

I sit up, the room spinning around me, just in time to see a man burst through the door, sliding between Jason and Katie like a literal superhero. It’s Alex.

CHAPTER 42: ALEX

I pause my movie, Freddy Kreuger’s face freezing in place as I get up to pee. I hope the girls are having fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing Mina later. I make my way back to the couch and feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. It’s Katie.

“What’s wrong?” I answer, already on high alert.

“Jason’s here! I just went to get us more drinks and he’s here. I saw him putting his mask back on. He didn’t see me, so I ran to grab my phone as soon as I realized.”

“Ok, I’m on my way.”

“Hurry.” Katie’s voice rises in panic. “Oh my god, Alex, he’s got Mina. He’s on the dance floor and he’s holding onto her. Please, please hurry.”

“I’m already on my way,” I reassure her, desperately trying to stay calm but having difficulty quelling the rage rising in me as I grab my keys and run for the door.

I hang up the phone and race to my car, slamming the gear shift into drive and pealing out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell. If anything happens… I shake my head. No. Don’t think like that. Everything is going to be fine. She’s going to be fine.

Within minutes, I arrive at the party. “Thank fuck this was so close,” I mutter as I leap from my car and run toward the door. I burst inside, frantically looking around. I don’t see Mina or Katie anywhere. I make my way through the crowd, asking everyone I see if they’ve seen them. No one seems to know, till I reach the dance floor.

An inebriated group of young doctors gesture vaguely to the hallway. “Lover’s spat. They went in there to sort it out, I guess.”

I want to point out that they aren’t lovers, but I’m not about to waste valuable time. I beeline down the hallway, and through a door, I hear Katie’s voice.

“She will, you snake!”

I burst through the door just in time to block Jason as he rushes Katie. I don’t even have time to think. White hot rage courses through me as I swing, my fist connecting squarely with his nose. There’s a crunch and he drops, howling.

“My nose! You broke my fucking nose!”

I don’t stop. I can’t. My foot connects with his ribs, and there’s another crunch. “I told you, if you touch her again, I’d kill you.” I haul Jason to his feet and stare into his terrified, ego-bruised eyes. “I’m here to make good on that promise,” I growl.

I glance over at Mina, who’s sitting on the bed, staring at me with a glazed look in her eyes. Relief washes over me that she’s unharmed, but then the rage comes rushing back.

“You think you can just harass my girlfriend, sexually assault her, and what? What were you planning to do here? Rape her? And you think you’ll just get away with it?”

My fist connects again, squelching against his already damaged and bloody nose. He drops to his knees, clutching his face, and I take the money shot, my kick connecting squarely with his crotch. He lets out a strangled whimper and falls to his side, writhing and grasping feebly at his dick. Animal instinct has taken over me at this point.

---