Chapter 19
Nineteen
T ime passed slowly. As her phone rang again, Steph saw it was Jon calling so hit the reject button and cringed.
“Shit!” She knew she couldn’t avoid him forever but needed him to discover her absence from his building before she could speak to him if she was going to avoid a professional breach of confidence.
“Problem?” The sudden interruption of Jack’s voice from behind her made Steph spin far quicker than she’d intended to in her chair.
She got to her feet and shook her head, “No, families, eh?” she mused.
“Quite. Think yourself lucky you’re not married with kids, Steph. That’s when all the fun starts.” He laughed with a strange inflection to his voice.
“Mmm.” Steph felt uncomfortable as Jack stepped closer.
“Although, any man lucky enough to have you as his wife is likely to ensure he keeps a smile on that pretty face.” He was becoming creepier by the second. “I was just checking that you hadn’t betrayed me with Brooker. With your location today,” he expanded, clarifying what he meant.
“Well, here I am.” She held her arms out to the side as if to back up her comment.
“You certainly are and looking mighty fine. You have an enviable figure and I am sure you’ve noticed that I struggle to stay focused when you’re around.” He stepped even closer making her feel embarrassed and awkward.
“I don’t think we should be having this conversation, Mr Baker.” Steph took a step back from him and hoped her use of his formal name would serve as a reminder of the professional basis of their relationship.
“Mr Baker? Not Jack? I would encourage you to call me Mr Baker in certain circumstances,” he said salaciously. “I like the way you say it.”
“I think we should try to maintain a professional relationship, Jack, Mr Baker.” The heat radiating from her face burnt crimson and her stammering confirmed the level of her discomfort.
“That is the last thing on my mind. Especially when you call me Mr Baker, that just makes me horny,” he admitted as another voice interjected.
“Can I get you anything this morning . . .” Rosie suddenly stopped dead.
“No, thank you!” replied Jack bluntly and slammed the door shut, possibly hitting the other woman in the face. “Now where were we?” He stepped even closer until he was almost touching Steph.
“Jack, please. I am really uncomfortable with this and if I have done anything to encourage the idea that I may be interested in a relationship that is anything other than professional then I apologise because I’m really not interested. I respect you and . . .” She knew she hadn’t encouraged his advances in any way, but hoped that by shouldering some responsibility for what she hoped he would determine a misunderstanding, he might accept that and stop this pursuit of her before it potentially went too far. Her head began to ache and she was certain that along with the rising nausea was nothing to do with her still bruised face and swollen head and everything to do with her boss’ inappropriate actions.
He smiled at her, but it looked more like a sneer as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him so that she could feel a firm erection digging into her thigh. As the smell of stale smoke wafted towards her she thought she might actually vomit.
“The last thing I want is your respect, Steph; I want to see you naked, I want to bend you over your desk and fuck you, I want my dick in your mouth, I want to hear you coming with me inside you, but I do not want your respect.”
The sight of his grin curling his lips into something of a grimace caused her stomach to churn and her legs to grow weak.
“Jack, please.” She suddenly felt genuinely afraid and an almost overwhelming urge to scream.
“Come on, Steph, you want this as much as I do. I know it would be good and it would certainly be beneficial for your career.” He brushed a hand across her left breast, making no attempt to disguise how deliberate it was.
“No!” she protested as he pushed his still growing erection into her harder now.
Steph was convinced that Jack Baker was going to find himself covered in the contents of her stomach if he didn’t stop. She had a million thoughts and words rushing through her mind. She knew she should stop this, make him stop and yet she was unable to. She was frozen to the spot and frozen in time.
“I think the lady doth protest too much,” he told her. “You want me to fuck you as much as I want to fuck you.” He lowered his lips towards hers.
That was her breaking point. It reminded her of a previous experience, with Simon. He had come to her home about eighteen months before, drunk and when she’d let him in he’d been smiling, but within minutes of being in her home things changed, he’d changed. He had been like Jack was now, insistent and forceful, disputing what she’d said and claimed to want.
Steph could feel tears burning the back of her eyes as she remembered lying on the floor of her lounge with Simon on top of her. They’d had sex, or at least he had.
That final realisation that she hadn’t even been part of that encounter saw a single tear roll down her cheek but it was enough to force her to act, to push Jack away before screaming at him, “Get your hands and everything else off me!”
Jack appeared to be preparing to move back towards her, disregarding her words, determined to pursue her once more. With a combination of fear, anger and confusion filling her mind, Steph pushed him away more firmly now as Rosie appeared at the open door after hearing the disturbance. She stood open mouthed as Jack stumbled backwards over a chair and ended up sprawled on the floor looking up at the two women.
“You should consider yourself fired, Miss Pryor,” he spat at her from his position still on the floor.
With a startled and wide eyed stare that somehow she was in the wrong, that she was going to end up unemployed because of his attack on her, Steph shook her head just as her phone rang again and as she rejected another call from Jon she felt somehow empowered. Strong in the knowledge that she had in no way encouraged Jack Baker’s interest in her. Stronger in the knowledge that Jon would believe her, even if other’s might doubt her version of the events that had just taken place in her office.
“I don’t think so,” said Steph, standing upright with her shoulders back and her head held high. “I quit and I expect to be paid for the notice I will not be working and any holiday owing. Oh, and a reference, a good one or I will be going straight to H.R. and filing a complaint for sexual harassment, then I will call the police to make a complaint for sexual assault.” She stood over him now.
“And I’ll be a witness,” said Rosie, adding, “And I quit too.”
“Both of you get your stuff and get out.” Jack got to his feet and stormed past them both, leaving a shocked looking Rosie hugging a very shaken and trembling Steph.
“Shit!” cried Rosie. “I am so sorry I didn’t come in sooner.”
“It’s fine. I should probably apologise as I appear to have cost you your job,” replied Steph as her phone beeped again.
Steph are you ignoring me? One of your staff appears to be at your desk in my building! Call me. Jon x
“Shit!” Steph thought that her vocabulary was proving to be rather limited this morning. “I used to have such an ordinary life.”
“And then you met the very handsome Mr Brooker,” said Rosie, for the first time acknowledging her suspicion that he was Steph’s ‘nothing serious’ guy, who sent her flowers.
Steph smiled at her as she slumped into her chair. “But all of my complications of late pre-date the very handsome, Mr Brooker. I really should call him before he turns up here or something. But he is my dirty secret, Rosie.”
“I got that.”
Steph threw her phone down on the desk again and got to her feet.
“I am going to gather my belongings and I suggest you do the same before security come and escort us out. Then I will call Mr Brooker,” Steph seemed to suggest to herself as she skimmed through her work laptop to ensure she hadn’t left anything ‘personal’ on there when her message alert beeped again.
Call me now or I will come to you for some answers! Jon
“Shit!” she said again as she realised that it wasn’t an idle threat and that he had omitted a kiss from his message which she presumed meant he was very serious. She grabbed an empty cardboard box from her stationary cupboard and began throwing her personal belongings into it as she hit the call button for her missed calls from Jon.
He answered immediately and sounded mad as hell. “At last. Where the fuck are you?”
“I am on my way over to you any second now,” she told him.
“What’s the matter?” he asked seriously.
“Nothing,” she replied a little too edgily.
“You are lying to me, Stephanie.” He still sounded mad with her.
“Will you do something for me? Please.”
“Name it.” His voice was slightly gentler now, but obviously still annoyed.
With a small smile, her heart melted a little at his words and the speed of them. The fact that he immediately agreed to her request even if he didn’t even know what it was she was asking of him filled her heart with joy.
“Stay where you are and do not take any calls from here or speak to anyone. Just wait for me to get there and explain just how shit my morning has been,” she said calmly before looking up to see Hazel from H.R. and security.
“Fine, but you have exactly one hour before I come to you, okay?”
“Yes, fine. Do you have any admin or P.A. vacancies currently?” she asked now as Hazel smiled at her weakly. “Just two minutes please,” she almost pleaded with Hazel who nodded.
“What? Who for?” asked Jon sounding confused more than anything else now.
“Rosie. I appear to have cost her her job.” She was feeling increasingly guilty at that fact.
“I don’t know, but bring her with you and she can go and see H.R. I’ll get Andrea to let them know to expect her. Now get your arse over here because I am getting more pissed off with every passing minute, and I am worried about you,” he told her gently.
“I have to go,” she said, hanging onto the hope that he had meant it when he said he didn’t expect her to divulge information from her workplace with him. Finally, she turned her attention to Hazel. “My laptop, mobile and staff I.D.”
Hazel ticked them off a sheet she had with her. “I have Rosie’s already.” The other woman still attempted to smile as she handed an envelope to Steph and explained, “Your reference and a cheque in lieu of your notice.”
“Thanks, but what about Rosie?”
“I have mine,” said Rosie from behind the two security men as she held a matching envelope aloft.
Steph grabbed her briefcase and handbag that she had now thrown her phone into.
“Parking permit,” said one of the security guards.
“It’s in my car in the car park.”
They stepped aside to allow her to pass.
Rosie and Steph were escorted to the car park and after handing over her parking permit, Hazel shook each of them by the hand. “Good luck.”
“I don’t know why I have come down here, I don’t even drive.” Rosie began to cry. “I am supposed to be getting married next year and now I don’t even have a job so it’s touch and go whether we will even be able to pay the mortgage and we’re in a recession.” She wailed now, making security look uncomfortable.
“Rosie, I am sorry. Please, get into the car.” Steph held the passenger door open.
As they approached the street where Brookers was located, Rosie had composed herself enough to ask, “Do I look okay for an interview?”
“Rosie, you look brilliant, professional, as you always do. Now I am unsure what vacancies they have, but I promise that as soon as I am in a position to do so I will sort something out for you and obviously I will give you the most glowing of references detailing just how great you are at knowing when to make tea and when to make coffee and which days to bring biscuits and cakes in,” she said making Rosie laugh as she pulled up to the car park barrier where security greeted her.
“Yes, Miss, can I help you?”
“Stephanie Pryor from Baker, Riley and Ross.”
“You’re not on the list.” He smiled at her kindly but was clearly going to be immoveable in letting her through.
“I was on it last week,” she said and realised that if H.R. at Brookers had been told that she wouldn’t be based with them she wouldn’t be on the list, would she?
“Sorry, Miss,” he said sincerely. “They could call in and get you authorised,” he suggested.
“No. Contact Mr Brooker, he’s expecting me,” she told him, making him raise his eyebrows in a mixture of disbelief and surprise. “Or I can call him,” said Steph as she fumbled in her bag to find her phone.
“Hi, darling,” he answered almost immediately.
“I am here, but my name doesn’t appear on your list of visitors so I can’t gain access to your car park.”
“I’ll phone down and have your name added to my visitors list. Take Rosie to H.R. first and then come up to my office. Andrea is expecting you,” he told her and hung up.
The security man jumped as his radio spoke to him and as he turned away to respond Rosie asked, “What floor are they on?”
“All of them,” replied Steph as the security man turned back to face her.
“You are now on the list, Miss Pryor, and you can park on level one.”
As Steph pulled onto level one she realised that this was the executive level looking at the big, expensive, shiny cars. She spotted Jon’s car immediately and pulled into the space behind his.
Steph took a very nervous Rosie up to H.R. where they were greeted warmly by Grant, the head of recruitment who seemed fairly certain they could find a niche for Rosie who looked hugely relieved at his enthusiasm and sense of certainty.
“Rosie, call me on my mobile when you’re done and I’ll drop you home with your stuff,” said Steph as she left her with Grant while she prepared to face the music with Jon.