Chapter 14
ELOISE
“ R en, what are you doing here?” I jump out of my skin when I open the door and see him standing in the hall.
“I thought you might like some company on your walk to work.” He smiles.
“That's nice.” I fake him a smile, because I don’t want him to sense something's wrong. It feels so comforting to see him; it takes all my strength not to wrap my arms around his neck, cling to him, and start bawling like I have all night. But, instead, I calmly close the door behind me and follow him down the stairs. I don’t even bother to ask how he managed to get up here; with Ren, nothing would surprise me.
I hardly got any sleep last night, my stomach has been in knots since I woke up, and now that he’s here, I realize that seeing him is what I really needed.
The idea of having to go to work today makes me feel physically sick, especially knowing what the likelihood of bumping into Mr. Connor will be.
I know Katelyn is right, I shouldn’t be the one who hides away.
He was in the wrong, which is why I’m going to be heading straight to the HR office when I arrive.
“How was work last night?” Ren asks once we’re outside.
“It was fine,” I lie, because if Ren knew the truth, this situation would get a whole lot worse. Mark’s friend really did get his fingers broken, Katelyn confirmed that for me last night. I can’t even imagine what he would do to Mr. Connor if he knew the truth.
“You want to do something tonight?” he asks, surprising me when he takes my hand in his. I don’t know why it’s such a shock; we’ve done far more intimate things, but having him hold my hand as we walk just feels so…intimate.
“What's wrong?” he laughs. “Something strange about a guy holding his girl’s hand?”
“Your girl?” I check I’m hearing him right.
“That's what you are, right?” He stops and turns toward me, “Or do we need to find another dark corner so I can remind you of who you belong to?” Stepping into my space, he looks down his nose at me and turns those knots in my stomach into butterflies.
“Yeah… I mean, NO!” I shake my head and pull myself out of the dream-like state he’s got me in.
“I can’t be late for work.” Just the thought of it makes me flustered, and after all that happened last night, the last thing I should be thinking about is sex.
Even if I do know that having Ren touch me would make me feel so much better.
That’s the worrying thing about all this.
It’s too much, too fast.
“Don’t you think the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing is a little strange? I mean, aren't people supposed to date before they make that kind of commitment?” I think we both need to get a sense of reality.
“We can do whatever you want, just so long as you call yourself my girlfriend while we do it.” He smirks at me, and when I nudge him hard in the shoulder, his arms wrap around me and restrict me, making me giggle instead of panicking.
“You want me to come upstairs with you?” he asks.
Bringing me back down to reality with a heavy thump when I realize we’re standing outside my office building.
“No, why would I?” I snap back at him suspiciously. He never asked me if I wanted him to walk me up yesterday.
“I was just asking.” He holds his hands up.
“I’ll be fine,” I whisper, suddenly feeling as if I have the weight of the whole world on my shoulders.
“You know I’m never far away, right?” he assures me, almost like he can sense that’s what I need to hear.
Am I being paranoid?
“I know.” I nod back, assuring myself that he can’t possibly know what happened. Even if he’d followed me home from work last night, all he would have seen is me getting into a cab.
“So, tonight, are we hanging out at yours or do you wann–”
“Ren, I like you a lot.” I want to hang out at mine more than anything, but I also need to put the brakes on this.
I don’t want to become dependent on him; I’ve worked so hard on myself.
I like where this could be heading, and I’m scared that if we go too fast, we’ll crash.
“Don’t you think this is moving a little too quickly?
Maybe we should slow things down just a little.
” I can tell from the look on his face that he’s upset by what I’m saying, but I can’t carry on the way I am.
I’m already putting myself in danger, relying on him far too much.
I barely know this guy; he shares nothing about himself with me, and despite all that, he expects me to call myself his girlfriend.
“Whatever you want.” He shrugs, making out it’s not a big deal, but I can see that it is, and I hate how it feels to hurt him.
“Maybe we could catch a movie at the weekend, or I could come over to your place?” I suggest, desperate not to lose him. I like the way I feel when I’m around him, I like the confidence he gives me, but after what happened last night, I have to be wary of it.
“You have a good day, Kitten.” He kisses me the same way he did yesterday, only this time he sinks his teeth into my bottom lip and gives me just enough discomfort to remind me of how much I like his pain.
It relieves the nerves in my stomach and makes me feel a little more powerful.
Ren pulls back and nods at me, as if he knows that I need that extra courage to step through the doors.
“You too.” I turn my back on him and head inside, hoping that I haven’t ruined things between us, and dreading what has to come next.
The office is way more hectic than it usually is when the elevator pings open. Yvette on the front desk is crying dramatically, and Mary-Ann sprints the length of the corridor to reach me before anyone else does.
“Eloise, have you heard?” She grips my arm so tight, I stare down at her hand.
“Heard what?” I’m still stunned by all the chaos.
“The police are here.” She gestures her head toward Mr. Connor’s office, and I freeze when I see a guy in a full forensic suit packing Mr Connor’s laptop into a see-through plastic bag.
“What are they doing here?” I look across the room toward a man who I assume is one of the detectives. He’s holding a notepad but isn’t writing anything down, and although he’s making it look like he’s listening to Harvey Gilbert, he’s much more interested in taking in everything around him.
Suddenly, his eyes lock with mine, and the way he looks at me causes all those knots in my stomach to twist up again.
“It’s Mr. Connor, he’s dead,” Mary-Ann informs me when I turn back to look at her.
“Dead? But he was…” I glance back toward his office, where the guy in the white suit is still putting his things into evidence bags.
“Apparently, his cleaner found him at his house early this morning. I don’t know if the rumors are true, but they think he was murdered,” she whispers.
“Murdered?!” I blurt out far too loudly.
Holy shit, can you kill someone with a knee to the balls?
Someone clears their throat from behind us, and when I realize the detective has moved his way over to us, I quickly raise my lips into a smile.
“Miss Meadows.” He doesn’t seem to be asking if that's who I am; he knows.
“Yes, that's me.” Suddenly, I feel like I’m under a spotlight, my palms are sweating, and my skin feels as if it’s on fire.
“I’m DCI Harris, could I have a moment of your time? I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Sure.” I smile at him nervously, allowing him to guide me into one of the senior editor's offices for some privacy.
“Miss Meadows.” He takes a seat behind the desk.
“Eloise, you can call me Eloise,” I tell him, thinking that Miss Meadows is far too formal.
We’re just talking, I’m answering a few questions to help with his inquiries.
This isn’t an official interview; if it were, surely he’d tell me to lawyer up.
I don’t know any lawyers. I can’t afford one… I feel sick.
“We believe you stayed behind last night after office hours,” he continues.
“I did, I was reading over an interview Emily did with the young fashion designer of the year. She’s only sixteen, can you believe that?
Sixteen. I wasn’t even sure of what I wanted to do when I was her age.
” I laugh nervously, tugging on the collar of my blouse when I realize how hot it is in here.
“Thank you, Eloise. What I particularly wanted to discuss with you is what happened when you and Mr. Connor were alone in his office together.”
“The office.” I look back out across the hall to the office door and remember the panic I felt from being crushed against it.
“He…erm…He asked me if I’d like to write an article of my own.” I can feel tears building in my eyes and have to do better at holding them in. “I was excited, it's a huge deal.”
“I can imagine.” DCI Harris nods as if he’s impressed.
I know that I have to explain what happened next, I also know that it’s going to make me high on his suspect list, but I’m secure in the knowledge that I didn’t kill Mr. Connor.
“Only…” I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“He asked me to impress him, and he didn't mean by my article ideas.” I wipe away the tears that start to fall; the last thing I want the detective to think is that they’re staged.
“Was he inappropriate with you, Miss Meadows?” The detective frowns.
“Eloise,” I correct him, massaging my temple when I feel a headache coming on.
“Was he inappropriate, Eloise?” he asks again.
“Yes. I realized he’d locked the door so that I couldn’t leave, and when I tried to escape, he pressed himself up against me,” I explain, furious that men like him think it’s okay to treat women the way they do.
I know it’s not just me who attracts these creeps, but sometimes it feels as if it’s something I’m giving off.
They say lightning never strikes twice, but that's a lie. I seem to always get struck.
“And how did you feel about that?” DCI Harris finishes scribbling something on his notepad.
“I was scared, angry. I don’t know… upset.” My voice comes out weak.
“We have the security footage of you leaving the office. You look very distressed.”
“My boss had just tried to–I just wanted to get out of there.” I shake my head, knowing where this is leading.
“Did you retaliate in any way to Mr. Connor’s advances?” he asks, his frown lines getting deeper.
“I kicked him in the balls if that's what you mean.” I look up innocently and feel slightly more relaxed when I see the hint of a snigger beneath his moustache.
“And what did you do after you left the building, Eloise?”
“I went home. I called a friend and I told her everything.”
“Did you not think to call the police?” he questions me.
“No, I was planning on reporting it to Human Resources today, but now this has happened.” I press my hand against my clammy forehead, feeling even more panicked.
“And this friend who you called, will she be able to confirm that she was with you last night?”
“Of course, she can. I don’t know what happened to Mr. Connor once I left, but I can promise that I had nothing to do with it,” I assure him.
“Thank you for your time, Eloise .” He stands up and opens the door for me.
“I’m sure we’ll be in touch soon.” I worry about how that last part sounded, as I head back to join Mary-Ann and a few of the others by the shared desks.
They’re all waiting for me to tell them what the detective said, and I can’t face explaining what happened last night all over again.
Instead, I grab my purse and I rush out the door, heading for home so I can bury myself back under the duvet and pretend today and last night never happened.
My phone ringing wakes me up, and when I see Lance’s name instead of Ren’s, I’m a little disappointed, but I answer it anyway.
“Lance?”
“Hear you’ve gotten yourself into some trouble,” he teases.
“Good news spreads fast.” I lie back down, relieved that my headache’s gone. I don’t know how long I slept for, but I feel much better for it.
“Listen, I shouldn’t be doing this, but there are a few things I think you should be aware of, involving your boss. Can we meet somewhere?”
“Sounds serious.” I swallow nervously.
“How about that restaurant on the corner of your street? I get off at eight, I can meet you there at half past,” he suggests.
“Sure. I’ll see you there.” I nod my head and hang up the phone, starting to panic even more than I was before.
It must be important for Lance to want to meet me, especially if he shouldn’t.
What if the police really do see me as a suspect?
I look at the clock, it’s only one-fifteen, I have hours before I have to meet Lance. I’ll have gone crazy by then.
I try calling Katelyn, but she doesn’t answer.
She’ll be at work, and when I flick through my contacts to the number Ren stored for me last night, my thumb hovers over the call button.
It would be so easy to call him right now.
He’d come, he’d make me feel better, I know he would.
But then I’d have to explain. I think about the way he acted this morning, how sure I was that he knew something, and just for a second, I wonder if maybe what happened to Mr. Connor could have something to do with him.
The fact I’m even considering that confirms that I need to learn more about Ren before I jump in, feet first.