by Paula Cox
She closed her eyes for a moment. Tania felt the tears prick but she didn’t want to cry in front of him. She opened her eyes. “Brin, please.”
“I’ve prepared your termination letter and a reference letter, which I shouldn’t really give under the circumstances, but I don’t want you to be out on the streets.” He passed her a thick, white envelope. “With luck, you will find another job. Of course, given that you failed to perform, I am sure you will understand that I can’t give you the usual severance package. Please vacate your office in one hour. Take care, Tania, and goodbye,” he said in a hard voice.
She hated it. She hated him. But the man who deserved all this hatred was far away. There was nothing more to say. Brin wasn’t going to change his mind and it was below her dignity to beg more. She stood. “Bye.”
Outside, she glanced at his assistant but Tania didn’t have the courage to talk. She was out of her job. This was her last time in the office. She went straight to her room. There was already a security guard waiting there for her. Obviously, Brin didn’t leave anything to chance. The guard had put a box on the table. She picked up her belongings and put them inside. Someone peeped inside the room to see what was going on, but she didn’t bother to look up. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. This was the most humiliating experience of her life, and the man who led her to the point was going to pay with his blood for his betrayal.
After she left the office, Tania took a cab to his apartment. She intended to rip into him the moment she saw him. When she rang the bell, she was prepared to do battle. He would have to back out of the deal and give the property to her. Only then she could win back her job. No one answered. She rang again. Still, no response. Was he hiding inside? Or, perhaps, he wasn’t home.
Finally, she was convinced that he wasn’t inside. She rang his cell but he didn’t pick up. Maybe he was deliberately avoiding her. Not sure as to what she could do, Tania went home. Riley wasn’t there. She didn’t quite know where to find him. Should she wait for him to arrive back here? Would he do so now that the deal was done? Perhaps he already knew that her boss would find out and hence wouldn’t bother to show up. Did he sleep with her just so he could distract her until he got all the papers signed?
Tania called his phone again. He didn’t pick up. Had he served all contact with her already? She tried again. Much to her surprise, he picked up. “Tania? Hi. What’s going on?”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
“What do you mean?”
He was pretending as if he didn’t have a clue that he ruined her life. Well, two could play at this game. She wasn’t a complete novice. With an effort, she curbed her temper. “Where are you, Riley? We need to talk.”
“I am meeting someone right now. Why don’t I see you later? How about I drop by your office?”
The nerve of him! She wanted to shout at him, to tell him that she didn’t have an office now, thanks to him. But she didn’t want to scare him away. If he left, she would never know as to why he deceived her. No. She needed to lure him in. “I am at home, actually. Come back here.”
“Are you feeling well? Why are you home?” The concern in his voice grated on her nerves. He was still pretending as if they were one happy couple. Didn’t he have any shame?
“I am okay,” she managed to cough out the words. “Bye.”
Tania paced the room. Was he telling her the truth? Did he actually intend to meet someone or was he planning to sneak away so that she never found him? Tania went inside her bathroom. His things were still there: the aftershave, the bottle of cologne that he favored, and even his night suit. Either he didn’t know that she would find out so quickly or, perhaps, he thought that he would be able to wind her around his finger and convince her that this was for the best.
Maybe he would just say sorry and move on. Perhaps he never intended to come to her house. She was confused, conflicted. Should she wait for him or go after him? Tania made up her mind. She would find him. Where was he? Most likely, he was at the warehouse, probably gloating about everything with his friends or his business associates. The man was a monster. He was probably laughing with them about it. She called a cab and told the driver to take her to the warehouse.
When she reached there, the place was empty, deserted. She bit her lip as she looked at the dream property she’d thought she would be able to get with such ease. It didn’t seem so long ago that she thought to make a success out of her career by purchasing this for the client, and now it had cost her the job.
No, that was Riley’s work. He was the one responsible it. Tania went to the gate. It was locked. The keys had probably already been handed over to the new owners. She hated it. It was humiliating to lose, but it was depressing to do it because someone fooled her.
She turned around and much to her astonishment, he was parking his bike not too far away. She strode forward. “What the hell was this about?”
His color paled. She saw the emotions that coiled in his eyes and knew that he thinking of a story to tell her. “Tania, what are you doing here?”
She wanted to punch him. “I should ask you the same thing. What are you doing? Inspecting your new property? Came to see if everything looks great for the new owners? You bastard.”
“You know? How? I only just found out right now during my meeting. The guy who handles the finance of our company told me that he’d already sighed the deal. I was taken aback.”
“Liar,” she spat out the word. He took a careful step forward towards her. How could she have thought that he was handsome? How could she have imagined that he had a good heart? What made her think that she loved him? He wasn’t the man she thought he was. Who was he? Was everything a lie? Did she even know the man she gave her body to? She hated that she’d allowed him to put his hands on her. If only she could wipe away the last few weeks. Once she’d thought that they were the best time of her life, but now it was obvious that they were a BIG FAT LIE.
“I am not lying,” he pleaded. “Please believe me. I didn’t know.”
“How can that be so? You were the one talking to Xavier.”
“He stopped talking to me. I was afraid that the deal fell through, but then I met Charlie and he told me that it was still going on,” he said.
She didn’t believe a word he said. “So you had some inkling that it was going down that way but you didn’t tell me anything.”
He walked closer, looking desperate. “Tania, I love you. I really do. I didn’t want to keep you in the dark, but I didn’t have anything to go on. There were only doubts that something wasn’t right, but then…how could I have told you when I didn’t know anything myself?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. How long would he continue to lie? Love? He didn’t even know the meaning of that word. Once she would have been blissfully happy to hear him say that, but, now, all she could think about was that she was stupid to have given him her body and heart. She was so close to being in love with him. She’d harbored such silly notions, but now it all fell apart. “I hate you.”
“Don’t say that, please.” He took another few steps forward until they stood right opposite each other.
She wanted to claw out his eyes, but she kept a rigid control on her hands. She was already in enough trouble, and there was no way she was adding assault to it. Also, she didn’t believe in violence. It wasn’t a solution. In this situation, there was no solution. The damage was done, and she would have to live with it. “We’re finished, Riley.” The words hut her. The pain was almost physical. She actually felt as if her heart broke inside her chest. Having never suffered so much after a break up, she wasn’t prepared to deal with so much anguish. This was hell. This was torment. She wanted to never see him again but yet the thought of not gazing at his beautiful face filled her with an ache.“Over. Forever. Goodbye.”
She attempted to walk past him, but he grabbed her hand. “Don’t do this, Tania. Trust me. I’m going to get to the bottom of this mystery. There is something fishy
going on in my organization. They haven’t told me anything. I’ve to figure out what they are hiding, and I am going to need your help to do so.”
She attempted to shrug out of his grip. Why the hell would she help him? She didn’t even believe him. He was merely spinning silly stories now to befuddle her. “You are crazy.”
He didn’t let go. “Please. I am crazy about you. I love you. This wasn’t meant to happen. There is more to this story and even I don’t know the half of it. Together we can find out.”
She didn’t have any idea as to what he was saying but she didn’t want to listen to his lies anymore. “You’ll have to do it alone. I’ve got other things to do, such as finding a new job.”
He looked aghast. “You lost your job?”
“I did, yes.” She lifted her chin high. No way was she going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he broke her. “But don’t worry about me, Riley. I am going to bounce back. No one can keep me down for long. Worry about yourself and your soul, because that needs a lot of work.”
He let go of her arm. “I am so sorry, Tania. I didn’t know. Believe me, I didn’t know.” She couldn’t – dared not – trust a word that he uttered. He was snake, a low life, and he wanted her back in his bed because maybe he had a good time there, but he certainly didn’t harbor any real feelings for her. She was done with him. “I love you,” he said again.
The control that she maintained for so long slipped fast. How dare he make a mockery of their relationship? Did he think she was so stupid that she would fall under his spell again? In a corner of her mind, a new noise registered. It was a sharp click followed by a strange humming sound. Since she was upset, Tania didn’t even bother to glance around to see where it originated from.
“Don’t say those words to me. I don’t want to see you ever again,” she shrieked.
“But I can’t live without you,” he said.
She sneered. The anger, the hatred, that was roiling in her veins spilled forth so that she was enveloped in a strong fountain of emotions. She was angry. Tania had never been so enraged in her life. No one ever hurt her quite like this. He could say these words to her a hundred times but she would never be able to believe him because he didn’t mean them. If he meant them, he wouldn’t have done what he did. Love meant sacrifice. Love was commitment. He didn’t possess those qualities. He was far from her ideal man. How could she have ever thought that she would be happy with him? It was her mistake. And she would never make such an error again.
She laughed. The sound echoed in the silence of the place. It was as if they were the only two people in this world. No one else existed or mattered. “If you can’t live without me, Riley, then, perhaps, you should die…because in this life, you are never going to get me ever again.”
With those words, the world exploded. Since she faced the warehouse, she saw the red hot flames and the huge fountain of fire that erupted. She couldn’t believe what she saw. It was unreal. In movies, this looked amazing, but in real life, it made her freeze. She couldn’t think, couldn’t move. She was stuck on the spot. The sound was deafening. Crash. Boom. Sizzle. And the heat was intense. She screamed.
Her gaze shifted to Riley and, much to her surprise, he was flying towards her. He lunged forward and when she fell on the hard ground, he was on top of her. Something whizzed past his head, maybe some kind of a metal sheet that was blown away by the explosion.
“Stay down. Down!” he yelled.
Those were the last words she heard. Her only thought was that he was trying to protect her. At this time when he should have been thinking of saving his life, he covered her body with his so that she wouldn’t get hurt. A man who meant to deceive her wouldn’t have done it. Maybe he did love her. It was now too late. Everything was ruined. Everything went black. It was the end – and now maybe she would find some peace.
Chapter Eleven
She’d been in many dicey situations before when Tania woke up on that fateful day; she knew that this was nothing like she ever experienced before. It took her a few seconds to realize that she wasn’t in a familiar place. She sat. Memories flooded into her mind and she resisted the urge to speak – the red-hot flames, the explosion, and the searing pain in her arm where she was hit by a piece of metal that was blown off the roof of the warehouse when it blew up.
Riley! He tried to kill her. She couldn’t think of another explanation. The man she’d thought she was nearly in love with, the great guy who charmed her, he was the one responsible for putting her in this impossible situation. Sure, at the time when he lunged at her when the explosion took place, she might’ve initially assumed that he was trying to protect her, but that was her imagination. She’d wanted to believe that because it made her feel better. Now, she knew the truth.
Did he bring her here after the warehouse was destroyed? Why did he blow that place up? It wasn’t an accident. She was pretty damn sure of that. Someone triggered that blast. He likely had an accomplice.
Who was Riley? He wasn’t the man she thought he was. Had she been dating an illusion?
With a wince, she rolled out of bed and stood. The room was bare except for the bed she slept on and a table that was shoved against one wall. Walking over to the door, she turned the handle. As expected, it didn’t budge. She was a prisoner in this place. Tania felt dizzy, not because she was weak but because she was scared. Whoever brought her here did it for a reason and she was pretty sure that she wouldn’t like it when she found out what it was.
Before her captors came to see her, she needed to escape. She marched to the window and shoved aside the dark brown curtains that covered it. Much to her disgust, the entire window was boarded with wooden planks that were nailed to the wall. Even if she tried, she wouldn’t be able to remove them with her bare hands. Since she didn’t have another choice, Tania went into the adjacent bathroom. She took a quick shower and wore the same clothes again.
Hunger gnawed in her stomach but at least she felt slightly human. The only window in the bathroom was eight feet off the ground, contained bars, and was only a foot in width. There was no way she could escape from this place. Rather than make unsuccessful attempts and deplete her energy, she went back to the room and waited for someone to come.
She would bide her time and flee when the opportunity presented itself. Tania wasn’t a quitter. She was a fighter – and there was no way in hell that she was ever going to give up without a battle.
Her watch didn’t work, making it difficult to know how much time had past before someone opened the door and strode in the room. With no absolution, she estimated that it must have been at least two hours since she had woken up. The man wore a black mask on his face, and he was carrying a tray. Was it Riley? From the width of the shoulders and the height, she could tell that he wasn’t.
When he spoke, her assessment proved correct. “Here is something to eat.”
She glanced at the tray he put on the table. It contained three pieces of bread and butter. She was desperately hungry, but she was keener to get some answers. “Who are you? Why have you kept me here?”
He surveyed her as if she was something of mild interest. “You’ll stay here until we figure out what to do with you.”
That sounded ominous.
Her heart pounded as she fought to control the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. What the hell was that supposed to mean? What did they want to do with her? “I…let me go. You can’t just kidnap a person against their will. It’s against the law.”
He laughed. “It’s not the first illegal thing we’ve done. You worry about yourself, and let us figure things out for ourselves.”
He left the room before she could make up her mind regarding her next move. Tania instantly regretted her decision not to attack him the moment he strode inside. She’d wanted to get some answers out of him, but it was obvious that he – or they – weren’t willing to tell her anything. The man’s statements were menacing and didn’t bode well for Tania’s future. She needed to
leave this place as fast as she could before they decided to take some action.
What did she know that made them wary? There was something in her past that landed her in this trouble but, for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out as to what it was. The only connection that made sense was Riley. He had to be the reason why she ended up here. She was in this trouble because of him. If she ever got her hands on that man, she would wring his neck gladly.
Where was he? After locking her here, didn’t he have the courage to come in front of her? Didn’t he have the guts to face her? If he didn’t, she would find him and make him pay for what he did to her.
Tania went to the door, put her ear to it, and listened for any sound. None was forthcoming. Where was the man who gave her the food? Had he gone away from this place or was he still around? There was only one way to find out and that was to leave the room. Sitting here and moaning over the situation wasn’t going to change something. She would have to do something drastic to escape. If she waited for them to make up her mind about her, the end result might not go in her favor.