Wicked

by M. Malone

  “Oh, fuck no.” I hit the button for Bailey’s floor several times and sent up a silent prayer that I could get to her before she saw the message.

  14

  Bailey

  I was determined to have a good day. All I had to do was make it through without seeing Mr. Dent. Hell, I would settle for a whole hour without seeing him. I could do this.

  I’d definitely had the right kind of wake-up call that morning. So a good day was imminent, right? Two orgasms was definitely the right way to start the morning.

  So far, I’d managed to dodge Dent and his nonsense. Even though I’d cheated a little and gone the complete avoidance route.

  As soon as we’d arrived at the office, I’d grabbed my laptop and hidden out in the smaller conference room at the end of my floor. I’d used the morning to make most of my calls, and then had some uninterrupted work time. I hadn’t been that productive in weeks.

  With every email I sent to the team I was working with, I cc’ed Dent, so he’d at least know I was in the building and working. He just wouldn't be able to find me by going to my desk.

  Cheater.

  I stretched before diving into the work for Alta Vista, and noticed Karen from accounting walking by the conference room and staring. I waved with a smile and Karen scuttled off. What the hell was that about?

  But that wasn’t the only time someone walked by. There was a steady stream of folks after that, which was unusual, because no one had this conference room booked all day. To make it all stranger, no one ever took the stairs to the fifth floor, so the steady stream of folks meant people were there just to check the conference room. Maybe someone wanted to use it?

  Was it so outrageous that I needed to get some work done and I couldn't be bothered to deal with Dent’s personal tasks today? Maybe he was looking for me and on the warpath.

  Couldn’t be. He would have found me on the company’s instant messenger app if he needed me. I finished up with Alta Vista quickly enough and moved on to Wendell. I was flying today. If this kept up, I’d be all caught up and a little ahead of schedule.

  I ran back to my desk for the notes Hunter had given me on the Wendell project. Michelle was on a call, so I waved silently.

  Her response was the same as Karen’s.

  I cocked my head and mouthed, “What's up?”

  Michelle shook her head and scribbled quickly on a notepad. You haven't seen?

  Seen what? I shook my head.

  Michelle scribbled again. Where have you been all morning? I’ll come find you when I'm done with this call.

  Small conference room, I scribbled back.

  Okay. Stay there.

  What the hell was going on? I nodded, then quickly sent a text to Hunter before stopping off at the bathroom. I saw I had a text from an unknown number and quickly deleted it. I’d made the mistake of opening a weird text once which had given my phone a virus.

  Bailey: Do you know what's going on? Feels like everyone is staring at me. Did people see us come in together?

  I expected a text back immediately, but there was nothing. After I was done in the bathroom, I washed my hands and tugged open the door to the bathroom, unfortunately running into the one person I’d been trying to avoid all day. Dent.

  "You. You fucking did this.”

  Adrenaline spiked my blood and I blinked rapidly. "Mr. Dent. What did I do this time?" I had no idea what I’d done to piss him off. He hadn’t even seen me all day. Not to mention, I’d been including him on all my work emails. So what was his problem?

  He used his bigger body to crowd me and I backed up until I hit the wall.

  "You think you're going to fucking ruin me? You're nothing. You’re an intern. I will see you fired for this."

  Fear quickly chased the adrenaline, and all my internal censors screamed GTFO. Get the fuck out, Bailey. Run for the hills.

  We were in the middle of the hallway, for the love of God. He couldn't really hurt me, could he?

  "I really don’t know what you're talking about.” I ducked out from under his arm and tried to walk down the hallway, but he followed.

  "You really expect me to believe that? You think you can ruin my career?"

  Clearly something had happened, but I didn’t have a clue as to what. Was that what Michelle had been trying to tell me? I quickened my pace. If I could just get down to the main hallway, someone would see me. Somebody would help me. If not, I would just walk straight to HR. That seemed like a really good plan right about now.

  "Mr. Dent, I assure you I don't know what in the world—"

  “You’re out of your goddamned mind if you think I’m going to lie down while you ruin me."

  When he grabbed the front of my blouse, my mind whirled. Holy shit. How the hell was I going to get out of this one?

  Hunter

  What the hell had Brent done? You did this. You fucked that shit right up.

  Fuck. I had to get to Bailey. Brent was only supposed to play the first thirty seconds of that video. Instead, he’d blasted the whole damn thing, including the part where Dent called out Bailey’s name. It had gone out over the company's text server. So every single person who worked at Bold Horizons got that video sent to their phone.

  I had to find Bailey. She was going to kill me. Holy fuck. Saying she’d be humiliated didn’t even scratch the surface. I needed to get to her before anyone else told her what the hell was going on.

  I could almost be guaranteed that she wouldn't have gotten the message herself. For starters, she probably didn't charge her phone last night. Secondly, it would've come from an undisclosed number, and she probably wouldn’t open it. Not after what happened the last time.

  She’d gotten a virus and managed to infect the whole company’s text server as well. So now, if her text alert didn’t come from a name in her contacts, she didn’t open it. Plus, she didn't always check her texts right away.

  That meant I probably still had some time. Sweat poured from my brow as I ran to Bailey’s desk, but she wasn't there. I glanced at Michelle, who was on the phone, and wrote her a quick Post-it note. Have you seen Bailey?

  She scribbled back. She's in the small conference room. I wanted to warn her about the text before she sees it.

  I nodded. That's what I'm trying to warn her about.

  Michelle wrote back quickly. You better hurry. Because everyone’s seen it and Dent is on the warpath.

  Fuck. What was that asshole going to do to her?

  I knew I’d fucked up. What I should've done was gone straight to HR, disclosed the relationship, and dealt with whatever ramifications there were. But oh no, I’d wanted to teach Dent a lesson for going after Bailey. And now that shit was backfiring big time.

  I ran past the small conference room, but she wasn't there. Where the fuck was she? Okay. Think. Think! Where would Bailey go? Maybe she went to get coffee?

  I needed to be on the offensive, to get in front of this. I sent a quick text to Stephen and outlined the problem.

  Me: Not sure if you’ve seen the video yet but I think Dent is going to go after Bailey. Given the workload, we need to make sure she stays on the team.

  The response was immediate.

  Stephen: I agree. What the hell was with that video? That's just…

  Me: I'll explain everything later over drinks. Right now, I need help managing the Dent situation.

  Stephen: You mean how you and Bailey are seeing each other?

  Oh shit. He knew?

  Me: I guess I should've said something before.

  Stephen: None of my business as long as you’re both happy. She’s not your subordinate. But do me a solid and let HR know you already disclosed to me so there's no hint of impropriety. In the meantime, I’d get Bailey out of the office.

  Me: That's not a bad idea. Now if only I can find her.

  I tucked my phone back in my pocket and then turned left. What I saw had my blood running cold. Dent had Bailey cornered in the hallway, pressed up against the glass. He was in
her face, screaming at her about how he was going to ruin her career.

  I didn't even think. Logic was not in the equation. All I could think about was saving Bailey. When I reached them, I grabbed Dent by the back of the collar and spun him around.

  "If I were you I would get your fucking hands off my girlfriend."

  Dent’s face was a mask of blotchy red patches. His eyes bugged wide, and his thin lips contorted into a snarl.

  "Oh, of course the boyfriend comes to save the day. You think I didn't know you were fucking her in the supply closet? The both of you are canned. I'm going to see to it.”

  I placed myself in between Dent and Bailey. I didn't even look at Bailey when I said, "Baby, I need you to walk down to HR, and do not move until I come get you."

  "Hunter, what's going on?"

  "Just trust me, Bay. Do it now."

  But she didn't move quickly enough and Dent lunged. I really had no choice. Also, it felt fucking incredible to let loose a punch. To be honest, there was no way it was going to be a fair fight. I practiced Muay Thai three days a week. Dent was middle-aged, balding, pudgy, and hadn’t seen the inside of a gym in several years, if ever. It was no match, but I gave zero fucks. That asshole had gone after my woman.

  My fist connected with Dent’s nose, and blood followed soon after. Dent stumbled back, and held his nose, screeching. But instead of seeing he was beaten, he lunged after Bailey again.

  I had no choice. I backed him up against the wall and let loose another round of hits. "Stay put, you asshole."

  Behind me, Bailey screeched. "Hunter, Stop it. What is going on?”

  When Dent sagged against the wall, I turned until my gaze met hers. "A video of Dent calling out your name went out on the company’s servers about thirty minutes ago. Everyone’s seen it."

  The color drained from her face, and she sagged back against the wall. "So everyone heard?"

  I locked my jaw and nodded.

  "But how did anyone see it? I didn't even know that I’d taken a video."

  I was spared from answering, because I saw the moment realization dawned.

  "Baby, I'm so sorry—"

  She wasn't listening. Placing her hand along the wall for support, she stumbled down the hall towards HR.

  15

  Bailey

  I couldn't feel a thing by the time I made it home. I was so numb after what had happened that I thought I might not feel anything ever again.

  Dent’s attack had been bad enough, with the way he’d come after me. He’d really wanted to hurt me. Every few minutes or so my hands would start to shake again, and I’d curl them up into fists so that I didn't scream or cry. What did I do to ask for any of this?

  And then there was Hunter. The video everyone was busy laughing at, he’d been the one who had it. So how had it gotten out? Had he blasted it on purpose? Why would he do that? And I had thought I was falling in love.

  No. You were falling in lust. Just because the guy’s good in bed doesn't make him a great guy.

  And I knew that. Despite everything that had happened today, there was still a part of me that wanted to believe in him, wanted to believe that he wouldn’t intentionally hurt me. It had to be a mistake.

  On top of everything else, I had to figure out what I was going to do about my job. Despite what Sally in HR said, I knew my job was probably in jeopardy. There was no way I could continue to work there. They'd heard what Dent was saying. They’d seen what he was doing. They'd heard my name. That was next-level horrifying.

  Like, The Exorcist combined with that chick from The Ring and married to Freddy horrifying. Would I ever be able to look any of them in the eye again?

  You didn't do anything wrong. But that wouldn't matter to a lot of people. On the other hand, I wasn't willing to throw away the year and some change I’d put into working at Bold Horizons. I had a shot at a guaranteed job after graduation. How many incoming college seniors could say that? But could I be brave enough to go back to the office? Brave enough to walk by Dent’s office?

  Not that he would be there, of course. Security had finally come to collect him. I'd been separated from him while his exit interview was conducted. After that, the police were called. Which was just another level of humiliation. They’d been talking to Hunter when I’d eventually left the office.

  My heart had squeezed, and I’d wanted to run to him. But I hadn’t. There would be no comfort there.

  There was a knock at my door, and I deliberately ignored it, burrowing deeper under my comforter with my Oreos.

  "Bailey, I know you're in there. Please open the door."

  Hunter? Seriously? He thought I was going to open the door to him? I stayed quiet. Maybe he’d just go away. I wasn’t ready to talk to him yet.

  "Bay, I know I fucked up. I am so sorry. I was jealous and overprotective and wanted Dent gone. I didn't want him bothering you so I took the irritated boyfriend approach instead of the smart one. And I'm really sorry about that. That video was supposed to stop at thirty seconds.”

  Tears welled in my eyes and I called out. “Why would you put that out there?”

  “Fuck. I know I'm sorry isn't enough. I love you. I would never intentionally hurt you."

  “You what?” There it was again, that squeezing of my heart muscle. It was hardly fair. Because he was so having a John Cusack boombox moment and my heart wanted to relish it, but I was still angry, horrified, sad, and humiliated.

  He kept talking. "I know I don't deserve you. But I will tell you that I love everything about you. I love that you can’t take a selfie to save your damn life. I love that every time you eat Indian food your nose runs, but you still eat it as often as possible. I love that you wake up with your hair matted to your forehead because you sweat in your sleep. Do you hear me? I even love you when you're sweaty."

  Mrs. Potts next door banged on the wall that separated our two apartments. "Sweetheart, if you don't want him, I'll take him off your hands."

  I groaned and threw off the covers. I padded over to my door and yanked it open. "Hunter. I can't do this. Do you understand how I feel?"

  He shook his head. "I will never understand how you feel. You were blindsided. I know how scared I was. I can’t imagine how afraid you were. I will make it up to you in a million different ways if I can. Please don’t give up on me."

  "Why did you do this? Did you want to prove that you had the bigger dick?"

  Classic Hunter, his lips twitched when I said that. Mine almost did too. It was a reflex with us.

  "No. I didn't want to prove that I had the bigger dick. Although, c’mon, it's obvious. But he saw us coming out of the supply closet."

  My eyes rounded. “What? Why didn’t you say something?"

  "You were already skittish and I didn't want you freaking out again. Besides, at most, he saw us leave the supply closet at the same time. For all he knew, we were in there grabbing supplies. We weren’t loud."

  I flushed as I remembered why we hadn't been that loud. My mouth had been otherwise occupied. Either with Hunter's dick in my mouth, or his hand or lips encapsulating my moans. "But he saw us walk out together?"

  "Yeah. He didn't look thrilled about it. But I didn’t think there was much he could do. And he had nothing to go on. But then you told me the shit he’d put you through and I just reacted.”

  "I had no idea he saw us."

  "The other night, you were so upset. I just wanted to kick his ass. Your boss being a dick is par for the course. But all that stuff about him standing too close and undressing you with his eyes worried me. I don't know what he heard in the supply closet, but I knew I had to do something." He held up his hands. "I did the wrong thing. But I was only trying to protect you."

  "Hunter, I’m about to be fired."

  "No, you're not. There's no way HR would do that. It's not your fault he's got you in his spank bank."

  I shuddered in revulsion. "Can we not do that?"

  He shrugged. "Sorry."

  "Hunter,
you can't run in and try and solve my problems for me."

  "What would you have me do? I love you.”

  “I love you too, but this is important. We need to talk things out.”

  He grinned. “You love me?”

  “Of course I do.” My heart melted. I knew he was trying to help me. And he was right, Dent had been horribly inappropriate. "You did all this for me?"

  He nodded. "Yes. You’re it for me, Bailey. Have been since the day you first turned up. I am not letting you go. I am not walking away from this. I will bring you cookies and ice cream every day. I will send you quotes from Sex and the City every day. I will text you Modern Family gifs every day. I just want to be in your life. Even if you're too angry to take me back as your boyfriend. I can't lose Bailey, my best friend."

  I searched his gaze and saw the truth in there. He wasn't going to run. He loved me. The truth of it was, I loved him too. "Want to come in for some ice cream?"

  A grin broke out over his beautiful face. He pulled me close as he slid his lips over mine. "I've got something for you that’s a whole lot better than cookies and cream."

  Hunter

  Relief washed through me. She wasn’t kicking me to the curb. With a tremor, I reached for her. I’d panicked earlier at the office, when I had finished giving my statement and couldn’t find her. Michelle had finally found me and told me she’d headed home.

  “Can I kiss you?” My voice was thick and gravelly. Fuck, I needed her to want me. To trust me again.

  “You can always kiss me, Hunter.”

  As always, the moment she was in my arms, she melted right into me, pressing her body against mine. It was so easy to get lost in her the moment our lips met. The desire and lust took hold, overwhelming me.

  The little mewling sounds she made as I backed her against the wall drove me crazy. I kicked the door shut as I attempted to devour her whole. She tasted sweet and a little like chocolate, and I couldn’t get enough of her. Every lick, every moan drove me to the edge. Two hours ago, I’d been terrified that Dent would hurt her. An hour ago, I’d been afraid I’d lost her forever. Now with her in my arms, I knew I was never letting her go.