Ava Gray
Istayed out of work for a total of nine days.
During that time, I had been nursing myself back to good health, mentally and physically.
Thanks to the ice packs, the swelling had gone down tremendously.
A few bruises were still present, but I was able to cover them with makeup except for my right eye.
I told my sister that I had to take a work related trip to California with Julia, and asked if she’d keep Savannah for a few days while I was away.
Thankfully, she didn’t ask too many questions.
I wasn’t trying to show my face until I felt it was decent enough to be in public.
Rob had been blowing my phone down. Although I had his cell number blocked, he continued to call me from private numbers.
He even sent damn near a hundred messages a day from an unknown number.
I never answered any of his calls. However, I did send him one text message—a picture of the restraining order I had on his dumbass.
He had the audacity to reply with laughing emojis.
It was then that I decided to turn my phone off. I only used my work phone as needed. Other than that, I stayed to myself.
Julia came through everyday to check on me.
The money she gave me was way more than what I asked for.
When I protested, she shot me down. We had been online searching for houses and apartments for me and Savannah.
I swear, Julia was an angel sent straight down from Heaven.
God really did place her in my path at the perfect moment.
I decided it was time for me to get back to work.
I wasn’t trying to stay out for too long, although Julia had guaranteed that my position wouldn’t be compromised.
When I stepped into the office to clock in, all eyes were on me.
It seemed as if I was walking the hall of shame once Diana, the secretary, told me Trenton wanted to see me in his office.
I stood in front of his door and lightly knocked.
“Come in!” he called out.
Opening the door, I nervously stepped through because I knew he was about to fire me.
“Have a seat.” He spoke without looking up at me.
I did as told and waited for him to explain why he summoned me to his office.
“You’ve been missing in action for quite a few days. You come back, only to be forty-five minutes late. Your actions are unacceptable at this company.”
“I’m sorry for walking in late today. It was out of my—”
He held his hand up, cutting me off. “I didn’t ask for an explanation because I couldn’t care less.
The only reason I’m not firing your ass is because Julia approved your absence.
I take the rules of this company seriously, so consider yourself lucky.
However, tardiness will not be tolerated.
From this point on, if there’s any more issues, you’re out of here. Is that understood?”
I didn’t respect the tone he used while addressing me, but I needed my job, so I bit my tongue.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Good. Get out of my office,” he spat.
His tone and attitude triggered something in me.
I didn’t have time for any smart ass white man that thought he could talk to me any kind of way because he had authority.
I’d dealt with disrespectful men for way too long, and I’d had enough.
Trenton Whitmore had my blood boiling, and I swear I wanted to cry.
Not because my feelings were hurt but because my anger was elevated, and I had to conduct myself in a professional manner.
Once I sat at my desk, I sighed deeply. Already, I couldn’t wait for the hours to pass, so I could go home.
I hadn’t been awake a full four hours, and my day had already turned to shit.
Thankfully, my workload kept me busy. I stayed focused with my music playing low in my ear.
The fact that I was occupied made my lunch break come rather quickly.
I grabbed my purse and keys to head out but forgot my lanyard.
I had been so caught up in my thoughts since I arrived that I didn’t notice the large package leaning against the front of my desk.
It was wrapped in brown shipping paper with a yellow bow neatly tied around it.
I stared at it for a moment before taking my time to unwrap it.
A light gasp escaped my lips when I realized it was the painting from the art exhilaration.
The colors and detail were what drew me to love it so much.
Then it hit me. Someone had bid ten million dollars for the painting.
What the hell was it doing in my office?
“I thought it would look nice hanging on the wall in here.”
Turning around, I came face to face with a smiling Ethan.
His teeth were lined with gold fronts, top and bottom. I loved when he wears his slugs because they fit him perfectly.
“Yeah, it would.” I looked away to hide my smile.
“I’m pretty sure I saw someone bid on this painting, and it wasn’t you. How did you get it?”
“I have my ways. Are you feeling better? Julia told me you needed time off because you weren’t feeling well.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I quickly said.
“Listen, Ava, about that night,” he started.
“It never happened.” I spoke up so he wouldn’t continue.
“Nah, it definitely happened.” He smirked. “I just don’t want shit to be awkward between us. But if that’s how you want it to be, then I’ll play along.”
“It’s just…I’m going through a tough situation right now. I should’ve told you but everything happened so quickly,” I confessed. “I'm married. Well, I’m about to go through a divorce. I should’ve told you way before now, but I didn’t think things between us would go that far.”
We stood in silence for a moment, and I was curious about the thoughts running through his mind. His blue eyes pierced my soul as he stood without saying a word. A slow grin crept upon his lips as he stroked his beard.
“It’s all good,” he licked his lips. “Your hair looks nice.”
He changed the subject rather quickly, and I was kinda okay with that.
“You got that Aaliyah vibe going.” He gently stroked my face, moving my side bang a little.
My body tensed because I had forgotten all about why I even had my hair styled that way. Instantly, his eyes squinted once I moved from his touch. I felt cornered because I had nowhere to run.
“What happened to your eye?” he asked.
“Nothing.” I fixed my hair.
“Ava—”
“I’m okay.” I cut him off.
I didn’t want to overdo it and have makeup caked on my face, so I decided to straighten my hair and give myself a deep side swoop bang.
“He put his hands on you?”
Call me crazy, but the color of his eyes had changed right before mine. They went from a soft Justin Timberlake blue to a cold and menacing gray. I didn’t want any problems to occur because I already had to deal with enough when it came to Rob.
“I’m fine, Ethan. I promise.”
That was the only thing I could say to him as my hands rested on his chest. We stood toe to toe, and I knew someone would walk in and automatically assume we were making out. I had to put some space between us just in case.
As if he had zoned out, he wouldn’t take his eyes off of me. “Let’s go for a ride.”
His response threw me off because how the hell was I supposed to leave when I had work to do? I glanced at my watch, and time seemed to have flown by because I didn’t have much left for my break.
“I can’t leave, I still have—”
“I’m not worried about any of that. It'll get handled. Get your stuff and come on.”
Once I had my things in hand, he stepped back, allowing me to head out in front of him. My mind wondered what he had in mind and where we were going.
For forty-five minutes, we rode in silence.
I wanted to ask where he was taking me but decided not to spark a conversation because I didn’t want the spotlight on me and my bruises.
Hell, at one point, I had dozed off, and by the time I woke up, we were pulling into the parking lot of a place where I’d never been before.
Ethan didn’t hesitate to turn the car off and get out. Walking around to my side, he opened the door for me with his hand out for me to take. The sign on the building indicated that we were at a rehabilitation and nursing center, and it made me wonder why the hell he would bring me here.
I remained silent as we walked inside hand and hand.
Once we approached the front desk, it was apparent that he frequented the place because the staff was familiar with him.
After he signed us in, and the lady at the desk gave us each a visitor's pass, he grabbed my hand again.
There were a few residents lingering in the hallway.
Some sat in wheelchairs while others were getting around on walkers.
Not everyone we passed was elderly. Some seemed quite young but in bad condition.
We came upon a room where the door was slightly closed, so he knocked before we entered. The television was on, and a lady sat in a wheelchair, staring straight ahead. Not once did she bother to move to acknowledge us.
“Hey, ma,” Ethan spoke.
The woman didn’t even look at him. Her focus remained the same.
“I want you to meet Ava,” he continued.
Still, she didn’t react.
He turned to me with a small smile. The moment I looked into his eyes, I saw something there that tore a small hole into my heart.
“I brought you here to meet my mom. She’s…
she’s nonverbal. It’s been that way for some years now.
Seeing that bruise on your face triggered the fuck outta me.
She wouldn’t be here like this had she left the clown who was abusing her.
The muthafucka beat her so badly that she suffered a severe head injury.
She’s blind in her left eye. I haven’t had a proper conversation with my mom since I was sixteen.
Her brain injury caused her to have a stroke, and it eventually took away her ability to verbally communicate. ”