The Hated Billionaire by Erica Frost

Chapter 21: Christina

I went to bed in my own apartment that night, falling asleep heavily the instant my head hit the pillow. I woke up with sunshine filtering through the curtain onto my back, warm and reassuring and relaxing.

Dressing for work was fun, now that I had my whole wardrobe to choose from – I chose a black skirt and a nice pale mauve blouse. I couldn’t help wondering what Brett would think of it

The New York traffic hit me like a wall when I drove out and into the main road. It was later than I usually got out, and I knew I was going to be stuck for ages. I was grateful for good music – at least it would give me a distraction from the seething, impatient mass around me.

I felt my heart thudding as I got near my workplace. I recalled seeing my father there and I felt my hands tighten on the steering. I was frightened that he wouldn’t have given up so easily – after all, I hadn’t heard from him again, and that was odd in itself. I would have felt more reassured if he had been calling me constantly, rather than turning up randomly where I least expected him.

I got out of the car and walked down to the building. I was wearing high-heeled shoes – I have always been a big fan of high-heels, since I am petite and it feels good to add an extra two inches to my height. I couldn’t walk particularly fast, but I walked purposefully across the carpark, trying not to be intimidated by my fear of my father still being there.

I spotted someone watching me as I got about halfway down the carpark.

“Stop being silly,” I told myself harshly. I was starting to see danger everywhere. Why would some random guy be following me?

I started walking again, doing my best to ignore him. I walked up to the edge of the carpark, and when I turned around, he’d gone.

“You see?” I told myself firmly. It was just some guy, loitering in the car-park. It wasn’t a criminal offense to stand and watch people! I really was losing my grip – I should talk to somebody.

I went up and round towards the front door.

“Morning, Ms. Bradfield,” the guard at the door greeted me. I smiled at him, finding his presence more than usually reassuring this morning.

“Morning, Ben,” I greeted him. “Bit late this morning, aren’t I?” I checked the clock on the wall in the reception area. It said nine a.m.

“Not really – it’s just nine a.m. now,” he said, looking down at his watch. “Have a nice day.”

“Thanks, Ben. You too.”

I walked up through the big stone-tiled entrance, my shoes loud across the floor. I was relieved to get inside, and even more relieved to get up to my office. Lamar, the secretary, greeted me warmly as I walked down the hallway past her desk.

“Christina! Hi! Great to see you – I hope you’re feeling better.” She smiled at me with genuine appreciation.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I agreed. “Thanks. It wasn’t anything serious.”

“Great,” she said happily. “I just remembered I had some forms for you to sign. I’ll bring them over as soon as you’re settled.”

I went back to my office, hoping to see Brett. I didn’t really have an excuse to pop in to see him, but I hoped that I could think of something. I wanted to talk to him and, well, just to see him really – I already missed him, even after just a day of not being able to sit down and have a chat with him.

I looked up as Neela came into my office.

“Hey!” she greeted. Her smile was bright and genuine “How are you? So good to see you back at work.”

I smiled. “It’s good to be back,” I said. “I have so much to catch up on, even after just one day away from here.”

“I know exactly what you mean! Well, I should let you get on with it. Maybe we could have lunch? I might be a bit late…I have to finally present my new color-scheme ideas to the department.” She grinned, wide-eyed. I grinned back.

“Great. And I want to see those – I am sure they are beautiful. You have real skills.”

“Thanks.” She made a face, but I could see she was really pleased.

At lunch, I walked down the stairs and out into the street. I was going along, navigating my way through the crowd, when somebody bumped into me. I cried out, annoyed – he had pushed me quite hard, actually – and I turned around to rebuke him, when I noticed that my handbag was gone.

“Hey!” I screamed. “Hey! Stop!”

I wasn’t thinking – a wash of rage flooded through me and I ran after him. I had to get that back! I had to! I had my phone in my pocket, thankfully, and my keys, but everything else was in that bag! I ran after him, heedless of my shoes or the fact that my legs ached. I weaved through between people, running down an alley.

It was only when I lost sight of him that I realized how stupid that was. I was in an alley, without the faintest idea of where I was. It was dark and smelled like tar and damp and I felt scared, heart thudding.

“Hey!” I shouted down the road, looking around for my assailant. “Hey! I’ll get the police on you if you don’t come out.”

I might have been shouting, but it was because I was terrified.

I knew I was in danger, and there was nothing I could do about it. I looked down the alley – the buildings were close and tall and a fetid smell hung in the air. I felt my heart thudding. I turned to walk back up the street, but somebody walked out in front of me.

“Get out of my way,” I whispered. I was too scared to shout. The man standing in front of me was tall and reasonably-slim, with broad shoulders. He was wearing jeans and a nondescript shirt and had graying hair, his face thin and hard. I had never seen him in my life, but he was looking at me with intensity. Suddenly I realized where I had seen him.

“You were in the carpark,” I whispered.

He didn’t say anything. I knew that the best thing I could do under the circumstances was to scream. Weirdly, it was the last thing that felt natural, and I cleared my throat, drew in a breath, and did my best to shout.