Chapter 11

-Jianna-

"James," I said, surprised. It was the second time I've seen him there.

"Weird seeing you here." I nervously chuckled.

He looked at me. Then he looked at Sebastian.

"Yeah. Weird," he said in a monotone voice. "So did you get the job?" he asked.

"Ummm...Actually yes. And I'm sorry I'm being rude. James, this is Sebastian Cross. My new boss. Sebastian, this is James." I said nervously. "He's...he's ummm...he's"

"Nice to meet you. Sebastian is it?" he sounded angry. He extended his hand to Sebastian.

"Yep. Sebastian," he said. He also sounded angry. What is going on? He took his hand and shook it. Finally, James broke the silence.

"So, what is it you do, Sebastian?" he asked. His voice was calm, but there was a coldness in his eyes that made me shudder. What is he doing?

Sebastian straightened out his jacket, his jaw tight. "I run my own company. This company," he said, his tone clipped, waving at the building in front of us. "Actually, I just hired Ms. Spencer here to be my Executive Assistant. So she'll be spending a lot of time with me. A lot. Of. Time." he said in a mocking tone.

There it is again. The possessiveness and jealousy I felt earlier.

"That's nice of your boss to take you out to dinner," James said, looking at me with disappointment in his eyes.

"What she does out of the office is none of your business," growled Sebastian.

I started to see where this was going. And it's not going to end well.

James smirked. "Oh, it's not, is it?" he said, his eyes flicking to me and back to Sebastian. "I guess I just find it strange that a boss would take their employee out to dinner, especially one she barely knows." His tone was laced with sarcasm, and I could tell that he was trying to provoke Sebastian.

Sebastian's jaw clenched and his grip on his fork tightened. "What's your point, James?" he said his name through gritted teeth.

James shrugged. "No point. Just curious, I suppose." He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at me.

I could feel the tension in the air. I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, Sebastian put his arm around me and tried to lead me back into the building.

"Well, if you're done, James, I would like to escort Ms. Spencer into the building. Where she's safe," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

James started laughing. Like genuinely laughing. "Oh, that's rich! Ok, Sebastian. Take her away from the big, bad, strange man." he said in between laughter. He looked at me, "Have a great rest of your night Jianna. Better go with your knight in shining armor." he said as he walked away.

I looked at him confused. "James..." I started to say but he was already walking away and Sebastian was already leading me back into the building.

As we walked back, I could feel Sebastian's anger radiating from his body. He was wound up so tight that I was surprised he didn't snap in half. I knew that I had to say something, anything, to defuse the situation before it got any worse.

"Thanks again for dinner. And I'm really sorry about James." I started to explain myself.

Sebastian remained silent, his grip on my arm tightening. I winced slightly but didn't say anything. We walked in silence to the elevator, and as soon as the doors closed, Sebastian pushed me against the wall, his lips crashing onto mine in a forceful kiss. I moaned into his mouth, his hand sliding up my dress. The anger and possessiveness I had seen earlier had turned into something else entirely, something primal and raw. It scared me but I didn't know what to do. There was something with what he was doing that gave me immense fear. A feeling I thought I wasn't going to be familiar with but I was. But at that moment, I surrendered to him completely, my body responding to his every touch.

The elevator doors opened and Sebastian pulled away, his eyes dark with desire. "You're mine. No one else. Mine." he growled.

I knew that I was playing with fire and that getting involved with Sebastian was dangerous, but I couldn't resist him. The way he looked at me, the way he touched me, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I was confused and terrified. I had to get out of there.

He was leading me in his office but I realized I shouldn't. I had to go.

"Sebastian. I can't. I have to go." I said.

"Why? What happened? Did I do something wrong?" he said. I hear the worry in his voice.

"Oh. No. No. I just need to go. We have an early day tomorrow." I said. "I gotta impress my boss. You know?" I added, trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess you're right. Don't want to get in trouble with the boss on your first day. That's not going to look so good." he chuckled.

He chuckled and closed the gap between us. He caressed a loose strand of hair, kissed it, and tucked it behind my ear. "I'll see you tomorrow mon amour," he whispered in my ear which sent shivers down my spine.

I tried to get a hold of myself. "See you tomorrow," I whispered back. And walked back into the elevator.

When the doors to the elevators closed, I let out a deep sigh. The air in here felt different. It felt safer and I suddenly felt out of my element. I don't know how I knew it, but I knew that I needed to get out of the building. I knew that this was not a good idea and that working with him was going to be too complicated. I wanted him. I wanted him in a way I shouldn't. And I knew that if I stayed in the office, I would be in trouble.

When the elevator doors opened, I ran outside of the building and into the street. I went through a crowd of people waiting for their Ubers, or Lyfts, or whatever. I just needed to get out and distance myself from the building. From Sebastian.

I kept running and running until I couldn't catch my breath anymore. I stopped and leaned forward. I was trying to catch my breath when someone behind me tapped my shoulder.

"Hey miss, are you ok?" said the voice.

I know that voice. I stood up and turned around.

"You have got to be kidding me!" he said exasperated.

"Are you fucking stalking me?" I hollered. I knew I wasn't even outraged. I was scared. More than that, I felt dominated. And it's a strangely familiar feeling. I felt tears starting to stream down my face. "Not now. Not in front of this asshole." I thought, trying my best to wipe away my tears.

"Just leave me the fuck alone!" I screamed at him.

"Hey! Hey! Jianna! What's wrong? What's going on? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." he started. "I was walking to clear my head and I saw someone leaning over who looked like they needed help and I just wanted to make sure that everything was ok. I didn't know it was you, ok? I'm sorry." he explained.

"Just fucking go away! Please! Please..." I finally broke down.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Here. Come here." he said, pulling me into his chest.

I didn't stop crying when he pulled me into his chest. And then I did the worst thing. I lost myself in him. I started crying harder, but instead of pushing him away, I wrapped my arms around his torso and cried harder than I ever had.

"Hey. Hey. It's ok. Everything's going to be ok. Everything's all right now. I'm here. You're safe." he whispers, soothingly. "It's going to be ok. I'm here. You're safe with me. I'll never let anything happen to you. I promise." he said as he brushed my hair with his fingers.

I felt him kiss the top of my head and rub my back as I cried waves and waves of tears on his shirt. The feelings I have with him are different than when I'm with Sebastian. I feel serenity and peace when I'm with James in comparison to apprehension and disconcertment with Sebastian.

My emotions raged like wildfire, my heart pounding and tears flowing uncontrollably. I wanted to escape his embrace but it felt like a haven; an unlikely comfort in a world of chaos I've found myself in. His warmth soothed my soul as I gradually succumbed to the calmness that settled within me.

I tried to pull away but he didn't let go. He kept me in this warm embrace that enveloped me in tranquillity.

"Shh, it's ok. I'm here. You're safe. You don't have to be scared. Do you want to tell me what happened?" he said, in a gentle voice.

His words eventually stopped my tears and I gradually stopped shaking. He pulled away and looked into my eyes. I could see anguish and sorrow in his eyes as if he felt the same pain that I was experiencing.

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. We can just sit here and I can go whenever you're ready," he asked, his voice soft and comforting.

I nodded, unable to find my voice. I wanted to say thank you but no words came out. He smiled at me and wiped away my tears with his thumbs.

"It's ok. Everything's going to be alright. I'm here for you if you need me." he said.

We just sat there, in the middle of the sidewalk for what seemed to be an hour then I realized that we probably looked like unhinged homeless people, so I took a deep breath and started getting up.

As I did, James started to stand up as well. I brushed the dirt off my skirt and looked at him. I gazed at his blue eyes and he gazed at mine. We stood there staring at each other until he broke the silence.

"So...Are you ok now?" he asked awkwardly.

"Y-Yeah. Yep. I'm fine now. Thanks." I stuttered.

I realized then and there that James is different. James is going to protect me. And that I'm safe with him. I also realized that I'm putting him in a position that I have no right to put him in so I did the most logical thing I can think of at the moment. I extended my hand to shake his.

"Thanks, James," I said, trying to steady my voice as much as I could.

He looked at my hand and his face went from warmth to ice cold. He took my hand and shook it.

"Sure," he said sternly and turned around to walk away.

I saw his shoulders go up and down and assumed that he had taken a deep sigh. A huge wave of guilt overcame me when I saw that.

"Why do I do this to him?" I thought to myself angrily. But the warmth of his embrace stayed with me long after he left.

When I got home, I sat on my couch and relived the events of the day. I was in shock still. I closed my eyes to think about things when a flash of a memory came into my brain.

I was locked in a cell with only my undergarments on. I was badly beaten and my body was broken. I hear footsteps. Then gunshots. I was hurting too much to see what was happening. Then the door to my cell opened.

"J WE HAVE TO GO! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME." I tried to get up to see who it was but I couldn't. My body won't let me.

The person came in my cell and took a good look at me, "Fuck! What did they do to you J? I told them I will take whatever they were going to give you. I told them I will do anything so they won't touch you. Oh baby. I'm so sorry." he knelt beside me but his face is still hidden in the dark.

I reached out my hand, "Buck. Buck. Listen to me. I can't come with you. I'm going to slow you down. Look at me. I can't even fucking move my eyeballs. Just go. Go! For me. GO!"

"NO! I'M NOT FUCKING LEAVING YOU! YOU PROMISED! YOU FUCKING PROMISED!" he screamed.

We heard running footsteps that were getting louder by the second.

"Just go, Buck. GO! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU! GO!" I pushed him away with all my might.

He leaned forward and kissed me and I tried to kiss him back but my swollen lips hurt too much to do so.

"I'm coming back for you J. I promise. I'll come back for you." he said with tears in his eyes.

"I know baby. I know. Go! Before they get here. I love you, Buck." I said as I felt tears stinging the wounds on my face.

He stood up and started to leave but he paused and turned around. And the face that looked back at me made my heart stop.

It was James.