Don’t Let Me Break by Linda Verji

 

 

CHAPTER 30

 

Three days later, Marley was still basking in the afterglow of their intimate encounter. She should’ve known that sex with Sebastian would be exquisite. He was kind, considerate and unselfish. She should’ve known that he’d bring these qualities to bed too. And boy, had he brought it.

Every time she recalled how he’d pleasured her, heat engulfed her whole body. Every time his face crossed her thoughts, she felt like melting into a happy, gooey puddle.

This morning when he’d driven her to work, she’d kept snatching longing glances at him. He noticed, and when they stopped at a red light, he stole a kiss. That kiss made matters worse because all morning, he was all she could think about.

“You must have had a great weekend,” Quinn’s voice cut into Marley’s scandalous thoughts.

“Huh?” Marley immediately sat up only to realize that only her, Quinn, Zion and Eugene were in the meeting room. Where had everyone else gone? She was quite sure that just minutes ago everyone on their team had been here for their regular Monday-morning meeting.

“Look at her.” Eugene, who was seated beside Marley, shook his head in mock disappointment. “She didn’t even realize that the meeting was over.”

“And she keeps smiling,” Zion, who was standing on the other side of the table next to Quinn, noted. Watching her keenly, he asked, “Did something good happen to you?”

“Wh- what?” Marley was mortified that her friends had noticed her dazed look. “Nothing. Nothing happened.”

“Lies.” Grinning, Quinn plopped back into her seat. “That face says that you had a fantastic weekend.”

“My face?” Marley touched her cheek self-consciously. “My face says nothing.”

“Oh, it’s saying a lot,” Eugene agreed with Quinn.

“And we all noticed,” Zion chimed in as he settled back in his seat too. “Did you see how everyone kept looking at her in the meeting?”

Marley’s hand flew to her neck. “They were looking at me?”

“Yeah, how could they not?” Eugene laughed. “You were sitting there with this ‘oh my God, what a beautiful day it is’ face, while everyone else here was just looking at you and thinking ‘Bitch, it’s Monday. What are you so happy about?’.” Wiggling his eyebrows mischievously, he asked, “So spill, how was your weekend? What did you do?”

“Spill. Spill. Spill,” Quinn chanted cheerfully. “We want all the details.”

“All of them,” Eugene encouraged.

“Nothing- nothing-” Marley tripped over her words. “N- nothing happened.”

“She’s stammering,” Eugene noted as he shot Quinn and Zion an amused look. “That means she’s hiding something.”

Rapping her palms several times on the table, Quinn sang, “Tell us. Tell us. Tell us.”

At times like this Marley wished that she could be cool under pressure but she was not. She could feel her face heating up and her heart-rate speeding up. Her mouth was also inexplicably dry. Even though she wanted to lie again, she knew that she’d end up stammering even more which would only increase the teasing. So all she could do was silently stare at her friends like a deer caught in the headlights.

But that still wasn’t enough to stop the trio.

“She doesn’t want to tell us,” Quinn said to the silent Zion. “But I can guess. She got a raise. What’s your guess?”

Zion stared at Marley but before he got to say anything, Eugene jumped in.

“Uh-uh. Not a raise. I’m going with man. She got a man. This-” Eugene pointed to Marley’s face then made a circling movement. “- looks like a sex-face.”

“Ooooh, you’re right, Eugene.” Her eyes twinkling impishly, Quinn teased, “Marley, dear Marley. Oh my darling, Marley. Did someone rock your world this weekend?”

“N- n- no,” Marley stuttered.

“Stammer.” Quinn gasped.

Laughing, Eugene raised his arms in victory. “I win.”

“Who was it?” Zion’s eyes lit up curiously as he stared at Marley. “Are you dating someone?”

“Is it someone in the office?” Quinn quipped.

Marley’s breath caught in her throat. Her ears were on fire as was her whole body. She couldn’t speak for fear that the next word she said might lead them to Sebastian.

Thankfully, Eugene noticed her discomfort and came to her rescue. Still smiling, he turned to Quinn and Zion. “Guys, that’s enough. The rest of that information is her private business.”

“But I wanna know,” Quinn whined.

Eugene retorted, “And I wanna know if you and that guy I caught you with in the bathroom at your party were really just checking the taps?”

“Oops.” Quinn shot to her feet with a laugh. “You’re right, Eugene. This is Marley’s private business. I’m out of here.”

As Quinn headed to the door, Eugene followed her with a teasing, “Not so fast, Miss Fisher. Answer the question, Miss Fisher. The court wants to know the truth, Miss Fisher.”

“Lalalalalalalala.” Quinn’s singing echoed down the hall with Eugene chiming in to tease her. Their voices soon faded.

Now left alone in the meeting room with Zion, Marley stood and started to gather her things.

“Are you really dating?” Zion asked. When all he got from Marley was a nervous look, he smiled. “He must make you very happy. Congratulations.”

And that was the end of the topic… kind of.

All through the day, her friends kept shooting her knowing looks, sometimes softly jabbing her with an elbow, and teasing her cryptically. Thankfully, they were discreet enough not to tease her in front of their other workmates. Still, Marley made sure not to draw their attention to Sebastian.

When Sebastian took the stairs down to go for a meeting with another team, she diligently kept her eyes on her computer even though she wanted to steal a look at him. At lunchtime, she sent him a text to let him know that she wouldn’t be going up to the rooftop lest someone notice it and put two and two together.

Of course, he was disappointed. He sent her a selfie of him at their spot with a pouty sad face, which amused her immensely. But she hid her laugh to avoid reawakening her friends’ curiosity. By the time four-thirty p.m. came, she was ready to go home just so she could stare at Sebastian freely and spend time with him.

Who knew that time could crawl so slowly? She kept looking at the clock on her computer, and it didn’t seem to be moving at all. The thirty minutes it took to get to five p.m. felt like thirty hours. Worse, she couldn’t even do any more work because she felt jittery.

At four-fifty-nine, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Sebastian.

I’m on my way out, he wrote. Meet at the usual spot?

Obviously, he was just as eager to see her as she was to see him. Smiling, she typed: Yup.

Barely a minute later, Sebastian emerged from the office and came down the stairs. He didn’t look her way. She didn’t look his way. But somehow it still felt like they’d sent each other subliminal messages and wicked grins.

As soon as he disappeared through the archway that led to the lobby, she started to pack up her stuff. Excited was an understatement for how she felt. Oh, she couldn’t wait to spend the evening with him. Would it be a repeat performance of Friday? God, she hoped so. Her heart leapt, and her senses sizzled and danced happily in anticipation.

All that excitement fizzled out in less than a minute.

“Marley.” Zion stopped at her desk just as she was stuffing her lunch tin in her bag (She’d started carrying her own food and water after the whole poisoning thing). He was carrying his laptop. “I just finished working on another video. Could you take a look at it for me?”

Hell no! She wanted to snap. But because snapping wasn’t in her nature, she started, “Sorry, I have to go-”

“It won’t take long,” Zion cut her off. “Just a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry,” she tried again. “I have something-”

“Please, Marley,” Zion wheedled. “You promised to help me with this stuff. Nora said that if I get really good at editing, it would count as points for my internship then I can become a permanent employee.”

“We can do it tomorrow,” Marley said. “Today, I have to-”

“Please. Please. Please,” he coaxed. “It won’t even take that long. I usually help you out even if I’m busy. Can’t you help me too? Aren’t we friends?”

Even though Marley still wanted to say no, Zion’s emotional blackmail and puppy dog eyes worked. She caved.

As it turned out, he lied.

What was supposed to be just a few minutes turned into ten minutes then thirty minutes. At the thirty-five-minute mark, her phone buzzed indicating that a message had come in. Both she and Zion looked at the phone. Though the phone was facing downwards on her desk, she could guess who it was. It was probably Sebastian asking her when she was coming. But Zion was seated too close to her so she couldn’t answer the message without cluing him in on her new relationship. So, she ignored the phone.

Thirty-five minutes turned to an hour. An hour turned into an hour and a half. Six-thirty crawled into seven and the office’s lights came on. Soon, only a few stragglers lingered in the office. Meanwhile, Marley’s phone kept buzzing. Poor Sebastian! He was probably furious at her for keeping him waiting for a whole two hours.

Using the excuse of getting herself a cup of coffee, Marley grabbed her phone and headed to the break-room. While there, she called Sebastian.

“Hey, baby,” he answered on the first ring.

Being called baby and the lack of anger in his voice melted all of Marley’s frustration and guilt. She smiled. “Hey.”

Sounding concerned, he asked, “Are you still at the office?”

“Yeah.” She rubbed the back of her neck as her annoyance raced back in. “Zion’s keeping me here with a little project. You’re not still waiting for me, are you?”

“Of course, I’m waiting for you,” Sebastian stated as if it was just a given that he’d wait for her. That made her like him even more than she already did. He proposed, “Tell Zion you have to leave.”

She’d tried that, and it hadn’t worked. With a wince, she suggested, “Why don’t you just go home? I’ll ask Kenny to send me a car then ask security to walk me to the car.”

Sebastian protested, “No, I wanted to-”

“Marley!” Zion’s voice cut into their conversation.

Startled, Marley spun around only to find him hovering at the door.

Zion asked, “Are you still getting coffee?”

“Yeah.” Her heart racing, Marley said into the phone, “I’ll call you later.”

And before Sebastian could say anything more, she ended the call.

“Sorry.” Zion winced apologetically. “Did I interrupt your phone call?”

Duh! She just stared at him.

“It’s just that you were taking a long time.” Zion entered the room and poured coffee into two cups. “I thought something had happened.”

“No, I just needed to talk to someone.” Her voice was curt, but Zion didn’t even notice.

“Really?” Zion turned to meet her eyes. “Who were you talking to?”

None of your business! Marley itched to snap. But she only managed a weak, “Just a friend. No one you know.”

Thankfully, Zion dropped the questions with a nod. “I see.”

Once he’d poured the coffee for both of them, he led the way back to her desk.

About fifteen minutes and several missed calls (probably all from Sebastian) later, Marley tried to escape again. “Okay, I think we’ve made good progress. Let’s finish up tomorrow.”

“I tried to add night sounds to the video,” Zion said, completely ignoring her attempt to end the whole thing, “but it sounds weird, right?”

“No, it sounds perfect,” Marley lied.

Actually, it was a disaster. The scene they were watching was taking place in a silent neighborhood. However, the sounds Zion had put in were those of a high-traffic area. Cars kept hooting, tires screeching and people shouting. It was an extremely amateur mistake, and Zion, who was a lot more experienced, should’ve fixed it before coming to her.

“No. No. No, it sounds wrong.” Zion shook his head. “It sounds wrong, really wrong.”

“Why don’t you work on it tomorrow?” Marley suggested. “You can search for a more appropriate sound at home then-”

“I have an idea.” Zion’s eyes lit up. “We don’t need to wait until tomorrow. Let’s just go up to the rooftop and record the sounds up there. It’s silent enough and will match the feel I’m going for.”

Fresh frustration bubbled through Marley. She wished she could tell him that this was ridiculous. He was keeping her here way past work time on the strength of their friendship and ignoring her protests.

But all she could manage was, “We need professional equipment to record the sounds. Let’s ask Penn and Eugene tomorrow-”

Zion cut her off. “Nonsense. We’ll just use our phones.” His eyes had a weird light in them and he seemed frantic as he shot to his feet. “This is just an amateur shot. No one will care if the sound isn’t very clear.”

“Zion, it’s past seven and cold outside.” Her frustration leaked into her voice and expression. “I don’t want to go up there.”

“It won’t take long. Ten minutes at most.” He grabbed her arm and forced her to her feet. “Once I have the sounds, we can go home. We don’t have to insert them right now.”

Marley wanted to protest, but Zion’s desperation told her that it would be a waste of time. Also, it was just ten minutes. Given how late she was already, ten minutes more wasn’t a big deal. She sighed. “Fine. Just recording then we’re out of here, deal?”

“Deal!” He grinned.

She grabbed her jacket from the back of her seat and her phone from the desk. Zion was already wearing a jacket and his phone was sticking out from his pants’ pocket, so he should’ve been ready to go too. But strangely, he grabbed a pen and notebook. What for? Their task only needed phones. Still, Marley didn’t ask questions. She just followed him when he began to move.

To get to the rooftop, one had to pass by the lobby.

“Headed home?” One of the two night guards at the security desk asked as the two friends passed them.

“Mind your own business,” Zion retorted before marching right past the security desk.

His snappy response and the obvious annoyance in his voice was enough to make both Marley and the guards pause. They stared at his retreating back in confusion. He wasn’t usually like this.

To ease the sting of Zion’s words, Marley forced a smile. “No, we’re just going up to the rooftop for a couple of minutes.”

“Good! Good!” the guard said while still watching Zion. “Don’t stay up there too long. It’s freezing.”

Marley smiled again. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Marley, aren’t you coming?” Zion turned to shout at her rudely.

What is wrong with him? Feeling second-hand embarrassment, Marley shot the guards an apologetic look before trailing after Zion.

They took the stairs up to the rooftop. Zion let her go through the door first before coming after her. Immediately, the night’s chilly breeze said hello, and Marley had to zip up her jacket to keep it from turning her into a popsicle.

Zion closed the door behind them then frowned. “Doesn’t this thing have a lock?”

“It’s an exit door,” Marley reminded him. “It only has a lock on the inside.”

Zion kissed his teeth in obvious irritation, which confused Marley. What did he need to lock the door for?

Since they were here to record the night sounds, Marley started towards the barrier wall. But Zion grabbed her arm and moved towards the seating area. “Come here first.”

“Why?”

“I want to show you something.” The weird light in his eyes was now wilder. He was smiling, but it was a pasted-on smile, the type of smile you’d see on someone who wasn’t quite right in the head. That smile set off Marley’s alarms. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure that coming up here with him was a good idea.

Now a little nervous, she pulled her arm out of his grasp. “Um… I think we should just recor-”

His face contorted, became angry. And when he grabbed her arm again, his hold was stronger. “I told you I wanted to show you something. Come with me.”

“Zion.” She violently yanked her arm from him. “Wait.”

“No. I said-” He dug into the pocket of his jacket. A black pistol emerged. “- come with me.”

Marley went from nervous to terrified in a split second. Her blood froze in her veins and her heart stopped in its tracks as her gaze locked on the pistol.

Oh. My. God!

 

* * * * *

 

DESPITE MARLEY INSTRUCTIONS, Sebastian couldn’t leave.

Sure, she was safe as long as she stayed within About It, but somehow leaving her just didn’t sit right with him.

He tried calling her several times, but she didn’t pick up. So he opted to text her. He wrote; Hey, I’m still waiting for you. Just text me when you’re done.

He waited a minute or so but didn’t get a reply, which was very unlike Marley. She always responded quickly.

He sent her another message; Did you get my message?

Again, radio silence on her end.

He dialed her number again. She didn’t pick up the phone. He tried again. She still didn’t answer.

His brain knew that she was probably not picking his calls because she was with Zion and didn’t want the younger man to find out about their relationship. However, his heart had different thoughts. Its beat was quickening with nervousness. What if it was something else? What if she wasn’t picking his call because she couldn’t?

Despite logic telling him that he should just wait, he started his car. He drove back to the company.