Page 20 of With a Broken Wing
He never hurt him. He knew he’d need a man to carry on his legacy; whatever legacy he could have as an executive at a low-level IT company. We didn’t grow up rich and he didn’t have any real reputation, but you’d think the whole world was watching him. My father cared about his reputation and the way people looked at him more than he cared about anything or anyone else.
Auston turned and met my gaze, his eyes boring into mine. When he widened them, I took his unspoken message and ran off down the hall and up the stairs to where we shared a bedroom. I slammed the door behind me, dropping to the wood floor and gasping for air.
* * *
Present Day
“Jesus, Andy. Are you okay?” Demetri brushed my hair away from my face as I blinked. I looked around, taking in the room around me. Chunks of white ceramic littered the floor, and splatters of coffee stained the hallway walls. My legs and shorts were wet from the puddle of coffee I’d found myself sitting in.
When I tried to stand up, Demetri put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t stand up. You may have hurt yourself.” He ran his hand down the back of my hand and over my shoulder, before tracing it down my arm and landing on top of my thigh.
“Um… what happened?” I asked him, knowing before he even answered. I knew by the way my chest felt tight and like my vision was closing in on me that it was a panic attack, and I pictured the bottle of pills in my purse.
“You fainted.” There was a sense of concern in his eyes that seemed foreign to the dark-brown orbs. It was the same look of panic that was always traditionally followed by pity, which was why the only person who knew about my childhood was my brother.
I rubbed my hand along my neck in an effort to determine if I was hurt. “I must have just gotten a bit dizzy, I guess.”
“What did you eat yesterday besides breakfast?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You don’t remember?” His frustration was returning. “Did you have water?”
“I… think so.”
He rubbed his eyes with his finger and thumb, and my heart pounded in my chest. The need for fresh air overcame me, and I moved quickly to stand up. “Woah, woah. At least let me help you. We need to make sure you’re not injured.”
Demetri jumped to his feet, holding his hands out and taking both of mine. With a tug that appeared to take no effort from him, he pulled me to my feet. I stumbled, falling against his chest, and when I did, he moved his arms to my waist.
“Can you stand?” His voice was almost hoarse, and his arms were strong against me.
Reluctantly, I leaned away from his body, worried that as soon as I did, I’d lose the comfort of his scent and it’d be replaced with the return of his anger. I nodded, keeping my gaze away from his.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“No, uh, I should be the one who’s sorry. Jesus. I shouldn’t have cornered you like that, or…” The hesitation in his voice didn’t last long before he changed his tune. “You need water. Now. And food.”
I watchedAndy on the flight back to Chicago, concerned she’d pass out again. The way her eyes had rolled into the back of her head and the sound of the mug shattering mixed with the thud of her body against the floor kept echoing in my mind.
I shouldn’t have felt the draw I did to hold her, but seeing her on the floor did something to me. It was a carnal feeling—the desire to take care of her overwhelming me. So much so that I stared at her the entire flight while she scrolled aimlessly on her phone. Did Shelby and Erin notice? Why didn’t I care if they did?
It stuck with me, even after we landed. The first glass of whiskey was an attempt to erase the image. When that didn’t work, I poured the second. The third glass was because I knew it wasn’t going to work, but it would stop me from getting in the car and driving to my brother’s house, where Andy was staying for the night.
Before I was able to pour a fourth glass, the vibrations from my phone echoed against my wooden coffee table.William. It was late, almost 10:00. Why was he calling me? Was Andy okay? Another image of her on the ground crossed my mind, and I swiped to answer the call.
“Isn’t it a little late for you to be calling me?” I hoped my voice sounded less concerned than I felt.
He chuckled, and I relaxed my shoulders. “I was just calling to check in.”
“Oh, just to check in? Not to goad me about the fact Robertson only signed on for fifty percent?”
“Nah, I knew he wouldn’t give you more than that. He’s a stubborn old fuck.” The amusement in his voice was thick. “I meant things with your new secretary.”
“She’s not my secretary. She’s my travel manager,” I corrected him. “She’s fine, but she’s a damn handful.”
When he laughed again, I joined him. “I could’ve told you she was going to be a pain in your ass before you agreed to hire her.”
“Yeah, yeah.” A pain in my ass was right. Suddenly this woman was working her way into my thoughts. “Speaking of pain in the ass… Jacob Black’s cocktail party?”
