Page 11 of Love Under Siege

“Oh, umm, we don’t have anyone named Anya working here either,” she says, batting her eyes at me.

“She does work here. I just need to know where she is,” I say, my tone growing more intense.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but no one by that name works here!” she snaps, dropping her fake accent.

“I’m sorry, who are you looking for?” A tall guy in all black with dark brown hair asks, stepping forward.

“Anya. Anya Parker,” I explain, my frustration boiling over.

His face twists with disdain. “She isn’t here. She took some time off,” he says gruffly. “And if I were you, I’d stay as far away from that bitch as possible.”

“Oh, is that so?” I growl, feeling my blood begin to boil.

“Yeah, she’s not worth the lay,” he says, nudging me with a smug grin.

I fake a laugh, then grab him by his shirt and slam him against the wall.

“Whoa, what the fuck, man!” he yells, eyes wide with fear.

“What’s your name?” I ask evenly.

“It’s… it’s… Joe, my name is Joe.”

“Well, okay,Joe!Before you start talking shit, know who you are speaking to,” I say, my voice a dangerous whisper.

“Oh, word! You fucked her too?”

I slam him harder against the wall. “Not another word from you, Joe, except to tell me where she is!”

Joe raises his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, dude, chill. I honestly don’t know where she is.”

I push him away and make my way towards the door, ready to leave, but before I can escape, Joe's voice stops me cold.

"She’s a whore anyways. If you can't find her, she's probably off screwing some other guy."

My face turns red with anger and I storm over to him. He laughs in my face and right as I'm about to punch him, a hand grabs my arm.

"What the hell, Jacob!" Lana exclaims with a look of shock on her face. She releases my arm and looks at Joe. "You wish Anya would sleep with you, but it wouldn't be worth her time since your dick is smaller than the finger you tried to shove up her!"

"What the hell?!" I yell again, trying to go after Joe. But Lana steps in front of me. "Jacob, for God's sake, what has gotten into you?" She looks behind her, then back at me. "Joe isn't worth it, trust me."

I turn and walk out the front door, slamming my hand against the car hood in frustration. "Jacob!" Lana calls out after me. I take a deep breath and turn around.

"Can you please tell me what that was all about? I've never seen you lose your cool like that before." She asks, concern etched in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," I say, feeling guilty for losing control. "You're right, I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me. But did you hear what he was saying about Anya?"

Lana puts her hands on her hips. "Joe says a lot of crap about Anya, mainly because she rejected him before we went on the cruise. He's just throwing a tantrum like a child."

“But that wasn't the only reason why you snapped, I can tell something else is bothering you," Lana says with crossed arms. “She lied about having to work! She hasneverlied to me before” I exclaim.

"That's a conversation you need to have with Anya. She's on her way back home now, she was just at my house." She says, defensive of her friend.

"Okay, thanks," I say as I get in my car. But before I can drive away, there's a knock on my window.

"Listen, be understanding when you talk to her. She has a lot going on and it's weighing on her," Lana says with an empathetic expression.

"I would never hurt Anya, you know that," I assure her.