Page 38 of Off Script
Instantly, I felt uneasy and the hair on the back of neck stood up. Looking for an excuse to leave, I stammered, “I forgot my notepad. Let me go grab it.”
“No need,” Mr. King replied, standing in front of the door, blocking me from leaving. “This conversation will be better if it isn’tdocumented.”
“Is dinner ready? It smells delicious, Carlisle,” Harper smiles as she flounces into the small kitchen and pours herself a glass of wine. Noticing how little wine is left in the bottle, she quirks an eyebrow in my direction. “Rough day?”
“Something like that.”
Dishing up a plate of food, I hand it to her, hoping to distract her enough that she’ll forget to question me further. Instead of having dinner on our couch like we usually do, Harper insists that we eat at our small dining table tonight. Tomato sauce and our light-colored couch won’t mix well, according to her. But without the television to fill the silence, we have to make conversation.
Which I really don’t feel like doing right now. There’s a lot on my mind, but none of it is anything that I want to say aloud.
Anxious, I stood frozen until Mr. King yanked me against him, catching me off-guard. His fingers bit into my arms as he tried to kiss me. Though stunned by his brazenness, I managed to turn my head at the last second, his lips landing off-target on my jawbone.
When he tried to kiss me a second time, I stumbled away, turning my back to him.
Harper scoops up a big bite and pushes her fork into her mouth. She chews and swallows before forcing some conversation. “How was work today?”
I sprinkle a little more parmesan on my lasagna and push it around on my plate, stalling.
Should I lie by omission and not tell Harper about what happened?
Change the topic?
Tell the truth?
Meanwhile, the scene keeps replaying in my mind.
“Carlisle, I took a chance when I hired you, a fresh college grad without any relevant work experience. This week, I’ve received a few inquiries from well-qualified candidates wondering if we had any open positions.” His voice took on a menacing quality, and without saying it explicitly, I understood his implied threat.
With my back to him, Mr. King snaked his arm around my waist, pulling my body flush against his. I felt his erection poking into my lower back as one of his meaty hands roved over my body, stopping to fondle my breast.
Deciding my best chance at escape was to play nice, I mumbled, “Of course, you’re right, Mr. King. Thank you for giving me the job.”
“Good girl, Carlisle.” His words sent a disgusted shudder through me, but my capitulation pacified him.
“Earth to Carlisle. I asked how your day was?” With her head tilted, Harper sizes me up with a concerned look on her face.
“Same old, same old. Mr. King offered me a raise–”
“That’s great, Carlisle!” Harper interrupts, her face beaming. She knows how tight money is for me, but my next words wipe the smile from her face.
“—if I slob his knob,” I grimace. “Those weren’t his exact words, but that was the general gist of the… umm, interaction.”
I take a large swallow of my red wine. I can still feel his hands on me, so I take another even larger gulp.
His hands dropped from my body, and I hurriedly stepped away from him. He still blocked the door, so I sat down in one of the two chairs across from his desk, putting as much space between us as I could. I hoped that he would take his usual seat behind his desk, allowing me an opportunity to dash out the door before he could stop me.
Unfortunately, he positioned himself next to me in the remaining guest chair. He watched me through hooded eyes and reached out to caress my knee beforepushing my skirt up and sliding his fingers higher up my leg.
“You’ve been playing hard to get, Carlisle.” He paused. “If it’s about money, then I’m sure I can arrange a raise. How much will it take?”
“I take it back. That is not great. That is the opposite of great!” Harper pulls her napkin from her lap and throws it on the table in a fit of anger. Her eyes bore into mine as she presses, “What do you meaninteraction? Tell me exactly what happened this time. Did you write it all down?” Her voice, and her anger, are ratcheting up to a disturbing level. At this rate, our neighbors will also know how shitty my boss is.
“Yeah, I did.”
Not that anyone will be able to read my notes though. My hand was shaking so badly that my writing is nearly illegible.
Harper nods at me once, trying to calm herself down for my sake. “Okay, so what happened?”
