Chapter 16 - Mark
MARK
A tap on the door has me look up. We’re in Auden’s office again.
We’ve been here every day for the past five days.
It’s Friday, and people have been stopping in to wish Auden a good weekend on their way out.
This has been going on for the past two hours.
Apparently, Fridays are abbreviated schedules.
“I’ve made my rounds. Everyone is gone. Nineteenth floor is locked up,” Cynthia reports.
“Very good. Have any plans this weekend?” Auden asks as he sits back in his chair. “Taking Peaches to get her hair cut yet?”
Cynthia huffs. “She won’t let me. She wants to be an eighties rockstar.” Auden chuckles, shaking his head. “I think we’re going to take her to the beach. The weather looks decent.”
“She’ll enjoy that. Have a good weekend.”
“You too, Mr. Van Doren.” She smiles and turns that smile to me. “You as well,Dr. Markanich.”
I incline my head. “Thank you.”
Cynthia waves and leaves us. When I’m sure she’s out of hearing range, I ask, “Peaches is a child?”
Auden grins. “Yes. Her four-year-old. Her name is Hilary, but she was obsessed with peaches when she was just getting into hard foods and fruit. She’s been Peaches ever since.”
“Cute,” I comment, glancing at my computer for the time. It’s barely past three. “Are we heading out soon?”
He shrugs one shoulder. “Are you in a hurry?”
“No. I have one more lecture to watch before I’ve finally made it through the conference material. Not sure if I want to start it now or wait.”
“Go ahead and start it. I promised I’d get through this report today. I should meet deadlines if I expect my employees to meet deadlines.”
The way he’s glaring at his computer makes me smile. I’m impressed with his level of dedication. I haven’t met many CEOs who would keep their performance promises. When you’re the boss, you’re free to take liberties that you wouldn’t allow your employees to take.
Auden isn’t like that. While he’s certainly one of the most approachable and down-to-earth executives I’ve ever met, he’s also a hard worker.
That’s not to say that he works a full forty hours every week.
He may be in the office forty hours a week on average, but I doubt he’s working more than half the time.
I think his presence does a lot for his employees, though.
They like that he’s here. Unlike so many other offices, when the boss is away, and the employees play, Auden’s office seems to thrive on his presence because he’s a good man.
He’s knowledgeable. He’s kind. He remembers details about them, and that makes them feel important.
When you feel important, you work harder so you don’t disappoint those around you.
I may be biased, but the Van Dorens know how to treat their employees. Most of the rest of the world should take notes. Especially those in government.
Adjusting my position on the couch so I’m comfortable again, I hit play and focus on the lecture.
I glance up when Auden leaves the room with a stack of folders in his hands.
It’s amusing that he still uses so much paper.
My attention returns to the lecture, and I zone in completely until the phone rings.
When I look up, I realize Auden isn’t here. It’s not his office phone ringing, but his cell phone. I wonder if it’s important. He must have a watch that connects to his phone. I’m sure he’ll either answer from there or return if it’s important.
The ringing stops, and I turn back to my computer. But the ringing begins again. Okay, maybe more important than not. Jalon called back-to-back the other day until Auden picked up. It could be Jalon.
Auden’s phone keeps ringing. When one call ends, another begins. There’s no ignoring it. While the ringtone isn’t loud, it’s consistent and begins to grate down my spine. How long has he been gone? Is he out of range, so his phone isn’t connecting to his watch? Is that even a thing?
Setting my laptop aside, I get to my feet and approach the desk just as the call ends. It’s an unknown number, and there are now nine missed calls. There’s about to be ten when the unknown number calls again before the screen has time to go to sleep.
Frowning, I turn toward the office door and step into the hall, looking in either direction.
Besides the incessant ringing behind me, the office is quiet.
The lights are off. It’s dark since there aren’t a lot of windows in the hall.
Only the daylight reaching through open office doors illuminates the hall beyond the few dim overhead lights that must remain on.
I take a right toward the lobby, unsure where Auden might have gone. I only know where the lobby is, though. I haven’t had a reason to move beyond Auden’s office. He has everything in there. Except for a copy machine, I suppose.
I can still hear Auden’s phone ringing, but it’s getting quieter as I move away from his office.
The silence swallows it. Reaching the lobby, I stop and look around.
I think I see the pile that Auden had in his hands when he left the office on the reception desk ahead.
Did he get distracted? Not by a phone call since he left his phone behind.
Chewing my lip, I walk further into the lobby. “Auden?” No answer. There are only a couple doors, but they’re closed, and it doesn’t appear that the lights are on behind them. There’s no light peeking out under them.
I look at the elevator. It’s as silent as the rest of the lobby.
Office buildings are creepy when they’re empty.
Another glance at the elevator, and I head back toward the hall.
It’s not like I can go anywhere without Auden.
I rode here with him. I’m not sure what it means to lock up the nineteenth floor like Cynthia said she did, but I have a feeling that if I leave via the elevator, I won’t be getting back here.
As I approach Auden’s office again with the damn phone continuing to ring, I think I catch a glimpse of movement further down the hall. “Auden?” Does he not hear his phone ringing?
Something must walk over my grave as I take a step in the direction I think Auden has gone because all the hair on my body suddenly stands on end. Like a ghost is behind me. I turn and surprise! Nothing’s there.
On some level, I wonder if this is a game. Is Auden playing with me right now? The idea that maybe he is makes my dick jump with excitement. But in this place I’m unfamiliar with, the darkness and freaky-ass ringing cell phone are really playing with my nerves.
“Auden?” I ask again and decide to head down the hall. He wouldn’t leave without me. He wouldn’t leave without his phone. This is a game.
What if it’s not? What if the nineteenth floor isn’t as secure as Cynthia said it was? What if someone broke in and took Auden off guard?
Another glance back over my shoulder shows an empty hall. There’s enough daylight from open office doors and windows beyond that I don’t think the shadows are deep enough to hide a person. That’s a comfort, I suppose.
I follow the hall until I have no choice but to turn. Turning means walking into a very dark corridor. The peeks of daylight don’t reach here. We’re walking into Cubicleland; only the cubicles have proper walls. They simply have no daylight.
I’m reminded of one of those shows where people are exploring abandoned buildings.
The freakiest ones are those where people are gone, leaving everything as if they’d just stepped out for a minute.
There are dishes on the table from where they were getting ready to eat.
There’s a pot on the stove. Dishes in the sink.
Open workbooks from schoolwork. The keys are still in the dish by the door.
That’s what I feel like I’m walking through. Each step I take is careful, quiet. Unwilling to disturb the memories that linger or call attention to my presence.
I try to remind myself that only Auden is here. There’s no one else. No ghost. No abandonment. No one broke in. Auden is around here somewhere. Which means I’m going to lock his stupid phone in the bathroom and return to watching the last lecture until he returns.
With that decision made, I turn back and decide to head to Auden’s office again. I take no more than half a dozen steps when I feel someone behind me. Before I can turn, a hand covers my mouth, and something is pressed to my neck.
My entire body stills as terror feels like icy shards crawling through my veins.
“Not a sound,” he says.
I’m relatively confident it’s Auden. I try to remind the logical side of my brain and my racing heart that this is a game.
His hand comes off my mouth, and my glasses are removed before something comes over my eyes.
Fear ticks up a little more. He pulls me backward.
To the right. I’m pushed onto a flat surface, forced to lie on my back.
Rope wraps around my arms, securing them above my head. Then around my legs. I can’t see that this is Auden. I’m sure it is. It has to be. Cynthia said that the nineteenth floor was empty and secured! It has to be Auden.
Hands on my pants, shoving them down my thighs and exposing my cock has me whimpering. It is Auden, right?
“Auden?” I whisper.
No answer. No touch. No sound. No movement. Am I alone? Did he pull my dick out and then abandon me here? The horror that I’ll be left like this until someone comes in on Monday to find me has me shivering.
Minutes tick by. As a physician, I’m aware of the way the mind can play tricks on you. I know that solitude is its own form of torture. It’s used to break someone mentally. It’s used to make you afraid.
It’s working.
I jerk, a yelp escaping when a hand grabs my dick. It is Auden. I remind myself of this over and over. The hand on my cock begins stroking me. The other hand joins the first but messes with my balls. Fear and arousal are warring inside me.
My dick isn’t that big, and yet, his hands continue to work even as he takes my cockhead in his mouth. He sucks. It’s intense. There’s no playing. No teasing. I’m not sure it’s business so much as forcing my body to do exactly as he wants.
I grit my teeth as heat surges through me. My fear doesn’t lessen, but it somehow adds to the sensation. If he gets me off, will he let me go? He’s going to get me off. I’m nearly there.
Just as the thought flickers to life in my head, his touch leaves me, and my arousal is stalled. Oh no. No, no, no. The room is silent as I pant loudly. As my breathing slows again, his hands and mouth are on me once more.
This pattern continues until I’m practically sobbing, thrashing against my restraints as the pain of being edged tears down all my composure.
I beg him to let me come. I beg for his hands on me.
All the logic and reasoning I’d been using up to this point slip away.
I’m sure it’s Auden, but at this point, I’m not sure I care who my assailant is. I need to get off.
He doesn’t ease me into the moments before orgasm. As soon as I catch my breath, he’s going for gold. Over and over and over again. My entire body hurts, both from pulling on the ropes and from being denied the orgasm that’s begging to come out.
It might be minutes. It might be days. Hours. An entire night. I’m lost in the haze of denied pleasure as I tremble on the desk, tears drying the mask to my face. It has to be a thing because that’s what it feels like.
When I catch my breath, I realize my arms are free. My legs are free. I reach up and shove the mask off my face. The room is empty. It’s an office, and I cringe, knowing I’m on someone’s desk!
My cock is standing up, throbbing and angry. Sensitive to the touch. Looking around, I find that I’m entirely alone. Swallowing, I shift on the desk and let my legs hang off. Waiting for someone to come in. No one’s there.
I wipe my face and get to my feet, pulling my pants up and straightening my clothing.
My chest is still heaving as I leave the office.
I glance back once. The ropes are gone. Only the mask I’d been wearing is left there.
Like it didn’t happen. It was all in my imagination.
I’m tempted to take the mask with me, just to assure myself that it happened.
Swallowing, I move quickly down the hall toward Auden’s office. I hear his voice, and my feet slow. It doesn’t take me long to realize that he’s on the phone. There’s no other voice answering him. Shivers race along my body as I step through the door.
Auden looks at me and smiles. I search his face, looking for any sign that he tied me to the table and edged me for fuck knows how long. Is there any sign at all that he hasn’t been sitting there the whole time? Is there someone else in the office?
He watches me as he talks on the phone. It sounds like he’s talking to Rome. I take my seat and bring my laptop onto my lap. When I open it, I see that more than two hours have passed since I last looked at the clock, and yet, it’s not even six.
How much of that time was I being edged? I glance at Auden again, but his attention has turned to his window as he talks on the phone.
I… I’m not sure what just happened. Holy fuck.