Page 38 of Cherry's Jubilee

After they leave, Daniel goes to the back of his office and puts me down.

I shove at his chest. He doesn’t budge, so I shove him again. “You kissed that bitch. It will be a cold day in hell before you touch me again.”

He grabs both of my wrists and pulls me to his desk, where he picks up his phone. He orders whoever it is to send a doctor immediately. He lifts my wrists and starts to examine my hands. His phone rings, and he lets me go. He explains the cuts on my hands to whoever is on the other line. While he’s distracted, I run out of his office.

“Goddammit, Cherry,” I hear behind me. I run to the elevator, and it opens after I hit the button. The doors close before he can catch it.

It’s not until I get to the lobby that I realize I left my purse in his office. Since there’s no way I’m going back to get it, I go outside to his waiting car. The driver smiles.

“Ms. Cherry,” Ari says, but his phone rings before I can respond.

After saying hello, he doesn’t say another word. His eyes widen with understanding while he studies me, and instead of opening the door, he stands in front of it.

“I need you to take me somewhere,” I tell him. He gives me a fake smile, and I know he’s not taking me anywhere. “Fuck,” I say, cursing myself for not grabbing my purse. I start to walk away, but he runs ahead and blocks me.

“Get your ass over here,” Daniel yells from behind me.

“Leave me alone.” I walk away, determined to go to Karen on foot. I only make it a few steps before he grabs my wrist and spins me around. I shove him, but he doesn’t move.

“Don’t play with me,” he says. “The doctor is on his way. He’s going to examine your hands. We’re going to talk and then go to lunch like we planned.”

“If you think I’m going anywhere with you after you and Amira were upstairs sucking face—”

“Boss!” Ari says, outraged on my behalf.

“Me and Amira nothing!” he yells. “Don’t ever say that to me. I’m in love with you. Do you think I would jeopardize that to be with your cousin? What you’re not going to do, Cherry, is take this shit out on me. So, you can either walk your ass back inside that building or I’ll carry you.”

I scoff and start to walk away. In an instant, I feel his arm around my waist. He lifts me off my feet and walks us back inside the building. No one says a word as he carries me into the elevator. He doesn’t put me down or speak.

“Let me go,” I order.

He ignores me until we are inside his office where he drops me on the couch like a bag of dirty laundry. I try to stand up to leave, but he puts a hand on my shoulder and pushes me down.

“Sit your ass down and wait for the damn doctor.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” I ask as he stands over me.

“Who do you thinkyou’retalking to?” he throws back in my face. “Maybe I’ve been too nice since we met, and you got the wrong impression. You’re going to get examined, and then we’re going on aboutour day. You’re not going to get arrested for assaulting your aunt.” He walks away and sits at his desk.

His face is red now and his nostrils are flared. His words make sense, but the image of walking in on him with Amira in his arms continues to anger me. I stand, making sure to grab my purse this time. I look at him, and he’s typing furiously on his computer, so I run to the door. When I try and turn the knob, it’s locked. I pull at it and nothing happens.

“I locked us in. It’s an extra security measure in case of emergencies,” he says as if he’s only telling me the weather outside.

“This is kidnapping.”

“File a police report,” he says without looking up.

I pull on the door again before stomping back to the couch and dropping myself on it. “I’m pissed at you.”

“That’s fine because I’m pissed at you too.”

I cross my arms and look away from him. Neither of us speaks for the next thirty minutes until the doctor shows up. Daniel’s father follows soon behind him. It only takes Dr. Newsom a few minutes to check my hands to determine that nothing is broken. He says my right hand is sprained, and he binds it with a compression wrap, telling me to keep it wrapped for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

When the doctor leaves, Mr. Jubilee says, “So, it’s true. You beat the shit out of Ashley and Amira? That’s what Whit called to tell me.”

Chapter 23

Daniel

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