Chapter 93: Chapter Twenty-Two: We Fall, We Fight, We Figure It Out-6

Oh, but I’ve been waiting to do this since the day Lola frothed all kinds of filthy things on the phone with me a few weeks ago. I kept going, even crossing the distance to walk up to her. “If anyone’s a waste of oxygen here, it’s you because you’re polluting the air with your thoughtless, worthless and graceless rant. I’m assuming that you’re being told you’re not welcome here. Take the hint, won’t you?” What was probably once a beautiful face—now thinner, patchy with sloppy makeup and wearing all the signs of someone deeply troubled—tilted down at me with narrowed eyes that gleamed dangerously in the light. Her smile gave me chills. “So. Max, isn’t it? Lovely to finally meet you.” Then out of nowhere, her hand landed on my left cheek with a sharp, stinging crack, her nails scraping lines of skin in their trail. All hell broke loose and I was caught, dazed and spinning, smack in the middle of it. I heard Peggy screaming, saw the guards lunging, and watched Lola trying to writhe free from their hold. Peggy put an arm around me to steer me away into a corner. She then grabbed her phone, her voice thrumming with panic. “You have to get out here right now. She’s lost it. She hit Max and the poor girl is now bleeding.” In a matter of seconds, the door to Luke’s office flung open and out he marched like a punisher. I was fingering my swollen cheek, still foggy from the shock, when he saw me. With the black look on his face, I flinched headed straight for me. His hand was gentle though when it tipped my chin up to inspect the damage on my face. Then he swore and turned to Lola who was screaming at the guards, threatening them all kinds of lawsuits. “Get her out of here. Call the police if you have to and make sure she’s forever banned from the premises,” Luke instructed in cold menace before walking up to Lola, who’d temporarily stilled in her struggle, until he was inches away from her face. “From now on, any conversation between us will be strictly through my lawyers. This is the last straw and you’re lucky if you ever get anything from me ever again because I will never forgive you for this.” The woman cackled at that. “Come on, Luke. You can’t be serious about this ugly, mouthy bitch—” “Get her out!” Luke barked at the guards before turning away. With frightening purpose, he marched back to me, cradled my face gently between his hands, his eyes closing briefly as he brushed a ghost of a kiss on my lips. “Luke, I—” My sentence abruptly ended when he suddenly scooped me up in his arms. “Shut my office down,” he told Peggy before striding toward his office, kicking the door open since he had his arms full of me. Four men, who had most likely been in the meeting with Luke, quit their pacing when they saw us come through the door. “Get out. Peggy will reschedule this meeting,” Luke said without pausing in his stride as he walked past them. “But—” “I said out!” The four men couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Luke slowly set me down in a big armchair from across his desk, going down on his knees as he dug out a handkerchief from his pocket. “Here, baby. Let me,” he said as he lightly pressed the silky fabric against my cheek. I winced at the sting and wrapped a hand around his to hold the pressure in place. His hand shook, probably from the violence I could still feel coursing through him, but he made no move to drain it out of his system. I closed my eyes, taking deep long breaths until I could feel my feet touch the ground again and know that I was back in reality. And the reality was, my face fucking hurt. My pride was in worse shape at the realization that I’d been too dumbfounded to have done anything useful after that assault—like tear Lola’s hair off until she resembled a newborn baby. Probably for the best since I was still at work. “I’m so sorry, Max,” Luke murmured and I opened my eyes. His forehead was pressed down on my thigh, his free hand curled in a fist above my knee. “You should’ve never been caught in the middle of this. I’m so sorry she hurt you.” “Luke,” I croaked, my voice hoarse with tears I didn’t realize I was fighting back until that moment. “She’s not well. She needs help.” Luke lifted his head, his anger sharp and clear even in his anguished eyes. “She’s all kinds of fucked up right now. And I was doing my best to help her but this—hurting you—is where I draw the line. All she’ll get from me now is a go to hell note along with a temporary restraining order.” “Luke—” “I’ll get you a lawyer. We’ll visit the station and press charges—”