Page 5 of His Curvy Obsession

I ignore Rebecca’s fearful shouting, digging my foot into the man’s chest harder.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Larry,” he pants.

“Last name?”

“Welch,” he says through a gasp of air.

“Larry Welch, you’re not allowed in this building or anywhere near it from here on.”

“I work here,” he gasps.

He does? I look at his face closely. He looks vaguely familiar. Someone from the marketing department, I think.

“Youworkedhere,” I say to him. “Now you don’t.”

“You can’t fire me -”

I pull him up and throw him backwards. He lands against the door, the framed photos on the walls rattling loudly.

“Let’s get one thing clear,” I say to him. “This company is mine. I can do whatever the fuck I want. Including ruining your miserable life, if you keep pushing it. Getting fired is a mild consequence compared to what I want to do to you right now. Understand me?”

The man’s thin face has gone white. He nods furiously, eyes wide.

Grabbing him by the arms, I turn him around so that he’s facing Rebecca, who’s cowered behind my desk.

“Apologize.”

“I’m sorry,” Larry says quickly.

“I’m sorryfor being a pathetic sack of shit,”I prompt him, giving him a painful nudge in the back with my fist. “Say it.”

“I’m…I’m sorry for being a sack of shit.”

“Apatheticsack of shit,” I correct him, giving him another sharp nudge in the back.

“I’m sorry for being apatheticsack of shit,” he whimpers.

“I’ll never come anywhere near you again,” I continue. “Say it. The whole thing, or I’ll make you start over.”

“I’ll never come anywhere near you again,” he says quickly.

I look at Rebecca, who’s staring at me in horror.

Have I scared her?

Good. She should be scared. Scared enough to take steps in the future to protect herself from risk. It’s not her fault that men like Larry exist. Pigs like him have always been around, always will be. But she needs to learn how to protect herself.

What if I hadn’t been here tonight? Then what?

I don’t even want to think about it. My blood is already ice in my veins. I try to push the thoughts out of my head, to discard the what-ifs that are coming to mind.

Iwashere tonight to save her. That’s what matters.

“I’m going to escort thisthingdownstairs,” I say, giving Larry one last nudge in the back. He groans in pain, trying to twist out of my grip. “You—stay in my office and wait for me to return. I have some words for you as well.”

4

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