Conflict of Interest (Employee Relations Book 1)

by Teresa Michaels

  She groans, mumbling something about her head. I shift slightly and see that the sleeve of my shirt is slowly turning red.

  “She’s bleeding,” I yell to the security guard over my shoulder who’s rattling off our location into the phone.

  He looks around helplessly as Gabriella gets increasingly pale. Frustrated, I rip my shirt open, shake it off and hold it to the back of her neck.

  “Help is coming,” he says. “Keep her awake.”

  “Gabriella, I need you to look at me. The ambulance is on the way.”

  Her eyes flutter open. “Lucas,” she groans.

  “I’m here, love. I’ve got you.”

  “My lucky charm.” Her words are somewhat slurred but she’s talking nonetheless. A faint smile tugs at her lips before her eyes slowly close. “I want…”

  “What do you want, Gabriella? Tell me. Open your eyes and tell me what you want.”

  “To choose… you.”

  I close my eyes as a lump forms in my throat and I struggle not to lose my shit. Leaning down I kiss her forehead. This woman…this beautiful, selfless, perfect woman wants to choose me even though I’ve continued to push her away.

  Seeing her like this makes it painfully clear that no matter how much I tell myself that I’m better off focusing on my career than a relationship with her, it’s all bullshit because I unequivocally want her.

  “Give me a chance and I will choose you.”

  The police arrive minutes later and interview me as I hold Gabriella because I refuse to let go until it’s necessary. Even when the EMT’s arrive and I’m forced to move aside while they work on her I still hold on to her hand, her foot, her leg; any part of her I can get to.

  “We’ve cleaned the superficial wounds on her back and put a dressing over the laceration at the base of her head. It’s only a temporary fix until we’ve transported her to the hospital. She definitely needs stitches.”

  “No,” Gabriella emphatically groans. “No hospital.”

  I take her frail hand in mine. “Gabriella, you need more than just a bandage. Trust me; you want a doctor to stitch you up.”

  Her eyes plead with me because her body doesn’t have the strength to argue.

  “I’ll stay with you, love.”

  Finally, she relents. The EMT’s strap her onto the gurney and prepare to leave.

  Across the room my phone rings from the ground near her desk. Shrugging into my bloodstained shirt I excuse myself to get it, answering it right before it goes to voicemail.

  “Get lost?” Leo huffs out his question.

  “Gabriella’s hurt.”

  There’s momentary silence. “Come again?”

  “An employee attacked her. EMT’s are taking her to Mass General straight away to be evaluated. She has a nasty gash on the back of her head and she’s in and out of consciousness.”

  “Fuck,” he grunts.

  Keys jingle followed by a loud thud. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  I grab her limp hand and walk by her side as the EMT’s roll the gurney to the elevator. By the time we reach the ambulance they’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I won’t be letting go of her without police intervention, and allow me to ride with her to the hospital.

  When we arrive, Vincent’s waiting outside the emergency room entrance. I jump out and trail behind the EMT’s as they wheel Gabriella inside. Vincent pats me on the back and then begins grilling the EMT’s as he follows them through a set of door.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” a nurse stops me when I try to follow. “You’ll need to wait out here.”

  “Hey.” Leo jogs toward us but I ignore him and turn back to the nurse ready to object.

  “She hates hospitals,” I sputter anxiously. “I promised I wouldn’t leave her.”

  “Sir,” she warns, holding up her hands as I try again to get by. “On second thought, why don’t you come with me and let me get you some ice.”

  Following her gaze I touch my cheekbone and flinch. I completely forgot I’d gotten hit.

  “This guy giving you trouble, Anna?” Leo asks the nurse.

  “Trying. He came in with your sister. Dr. Divergillio’s back with her now.”

  “Come on, Irish.” Leo pats my back, ushering me to move.

  “Why is it that you can come with me but I can’t go with Gabriella?”

  “Because she’s not conscious enough to make that choice and I’m not going to fuss over you the way you’d fuss over her.” Leo puts his hand on my shoulder and forcefully guides me forward. “Vincent’s got her covered. He’ll give us an update soon. Now stop your bitching and get this over with. I want to know what happened.”

  I begrudgingly follow the nurse to an empty room where she looks me over and gives me a cold compress. Minutes later Leo and I walk to the family waiting room where I explain what I know. When I’m finished he’s notably shaken.

  “Shit, I thought she had a fluffy job. Does stuff like this happen often?”

  I chuckle lightly. “I used to think her job was fluffy too but she’s actually a part of the leadership team. People really respect her, you know? And as far as I know this is the first something like this has happened.”

  “Yeah, well after this episode there’s no way I’m letting her go back.”

  Again I laugh. “Good luck getting her to cooperate.”

  Leo smiles briefly before getting serious. “I don’t want to think about what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up.”

  I drop my head, shaking it from side to side. “If I hadn’t left this would never have happened in the first place.”

  After several seconds of silence Leo sighs. “I gave you a hard time because Gabby means the world to me and to our family. I still have no idea what’s going on between you two, but if you care about her half as much as I think you do then you and I will get along fine. Don’t be so hard on yourself. She’s lucky you were there. Thanks, man.”

  He holds out his hand, which I shake out of respect, not because I deserve his gratitude.

  The next hour passes in a blur. Jack called after getting a notification from security, pissed that he had to hear it from someone else and not one of his staff members. I listened to his rant and promised to keep him updated going forward. Apologizing for not contacting him though was out the question. Gabriella’s my first priority—my only priority right now—and I refuse to be sorry about that.

  After another hour I pace the room and clench my chest with my heart hammering inside.

  “Will you sit down? You’re driving me nuts, Irish,” Leo groans.

  “I think I’m having a fucking heart attack.”

  Leo finds this funny.

  “I don’t know if I should be happy that you’re so far gone over my sister or pity you for being such a pussy.”

  I flip him off and continue trudging back and forth. Then I get a thought.

  “Shouldn’t we call your parents?”

  “Heeeell no. Do you have any idea how pissed Gabby would be if they found out?”

  “Scared of your little sister? Who’s the pussy now?”

  We trade insults for the next half hour, stopping only when Vincent emerges and tells us that Gabriella is being discharged. She’s has a concussion, eight stitches in the back of her head and will experience discomfort in her throat and back for several days. Overall the consensus is she’s lucky that those are her only injuries because the police also discovered her assailant had a knife.

  “My shift doesn’t end for a couple of hours. Can one of you take her home?”

  “I will,” I insist and then remember that I don’t have my car.

  Leo picks up on this too. “I’ll drive them back to her place. Should we call mom and dad?”

  Vincent shakes his head and chuckles. “The one thing that kept her conscious was me threatening to call mom if she didn’t stay awake. I told her I wouldn’t call them if she promised to tell them once her wounds heal.”

  “Told you so,
” Leo mutters.

  Ignoring him I ask Vincent, “What took so long? Are you sure she’s okay?”

  “The police needed to speak with her. Given her injuries it’s hard for her to speak. Took a little longer.”

  I nod in understanding.

  “Summer’s out of town and I couldn’t get ahold of Kyra,” Vincent begins.

  “I’ll stay with her. Whatever she needs, I’ll be there,” I blurt out before he asks.

  Satisfied, he hands me a prescription bottle of pain medicine and tells me what to do until he arrives later this evening.

  “She’s groggy and a little cranky. Don’t take it personally if she takes it out on you.”

  Little does he know she was cranky with me well before this happened.

  Chapter 20

  Lucas

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  I wake with a start.

  A pinching sensation at the base of my head sends a slow burn across my skin that’s painful enough to keep me from moving. Well, that and a familiar set of arms wrapped tightly around my back.

  Groaning, I coax my eyes open, which proves to be a huge mistake. With a pounding head and blurry vision, I’m more than a little disoriented.

  I’m in my bed, cocooned against Lucas’s chest but I have no recollection of how I got here or why I feel like hell.

  “You’re awake,” Vincent quietly says from behind me causing me to flinch.

  The relief in his voice both warms and concerns me at the same time. Why wouldn’t I be awake? And why do I feel like I’ve been hit by a train? Better yet, why is my brother hovering behind me while I’m in bed with Lucas?

  I try to voice these questions yet my brain doesn’t seem to be connecting to my mouth and the thought of trying makes me nauseous.

  “Try not to move, I’m checking your stitches.”

  Stitches?

  Suddenly, I’m hit with a tidal wave of recognition as images of yesterday’s events flood my thoughts.

  Threatening emails. Randy’s hands wrapped around my neck. Thinking I was going to die.

  My entire body tenses.

  “Randy?” I ask.

  My one word question scorches my esophagus making me sound like I’ve smoked a pack of cigarettes and drank hard liquor for the better part of my life.

  He was so angry when he showed up and because I wasn’t expecting him or anyone for that matter, he caught me off guard. I was defenseless as he repeatedly slammed me against the wall. So how did I end up in my bed?

  “At the hospital,” Vincent grits out in a hushed voice. “Then he’ll be going to jail.”

  At the hospital? My forehead creases as I try to remember what happened after Randy attacked me, coming up short.

  Vincent takes a deep breath and slowly releases it all as he sits behind me on the bed.

  “Do you remember what happened?” he asks.

  “A little?”

  “Lucas bumped into your attacker in the stairwell when he was leaving for the day. When he noticed a car still running and remembered your comment about an employee issue he knew something was wrong and went back into the building. By the time Lucas got to your office Randy…he was choking you.” Vincent clears his throat. “Thank God Lucas was there, Gabs.”

  Lucas.

  A lone tear falls down my cheek as I recall the horrified look on Lucas’s face as he raced toward me.

  “He saved me.”

  I sag in relief, burrowing into his chest and appreciating the warmth of his skin. My brother pats my arm and then walks to the other side of the bed so that I can see him.

  “He did. Who knows what that bastard would have done to you if Lucas hadn’t returned.”

  Vincent removes his latex gloves and I can’t help but notice the blood. My blood.

  “He just fell asleep,” Vincent says nodding to Lucas. “He hasn’t left your side, refuses to do so, and he’s been adamant that if anyone is going to take care of you it’s going to be him.”

  “Really?” I ask, though I’m not entirely sure why I’m surprised.

  “Yeah,” Vincent says and then wiggles his jaw back and forth. It’s his telltale sign that brotherly advice is coming. “Listen, Lucas wouldn’t say what it was about but Leo and I know that you two had a fight. Whatever happened I hope you can forgive him. He obviously cares for you.”

  Our fight?

  “I’ve gotta get back to the hospital but I’ll call later to check on you. Try to rest. We talked about this earlier but you have a concussion and bruising on your neck and back. You’ll be sore for a few days so just relax and take your medicine.” He rattles a medicine bottle in front of me before setting it down.

  “Shower?”

  Please say yes.

  “Not tonight, it’s only been a few hours since you left the hospital. Your stitches need time to set. Maybe tomorrow afternoon.”

  I groan. Smelling like a hospital for another day bothers me more than the physical pain I’m experiencing.

  Vincent bends down and kisses me on the forehead. “Be a good patient and let someone take care of you for once.”

  Seconds later the door to the apartment closes, causing Lucas to stir.

  “What—”

  “Vincent,” I say by way of explanation.

  “Gabriella,” he exclaims, kissing the top of my head.

  Lucas gently pulls back enough to see my face, pushing a stray hair to the side, and I watch as he catalogues every detail. “Christ, I’ve never been so scared or pissed in my entire life. Seeing you like that…fuck. I nearly killed the guy.”

  His chest heaves and I open my mouth to speak but he shushes me with a kiss.

  “I’m so sorry,” he tells me, wearing a pained expression. “For pushing you away, for jumping to conclusions and acting like a jealous prick…if you hadn’t been pissed at me, and rightly so, none of this would have happened. I should have been there.”

  More memories flit through my mind. Lucas and I breaking up, fighting and having sex in my office followed by more arguing. It’s all a jumble but I’m pretty sure I confessed that I was falling in love with him and the sentiment wasn’t returned.

  He’s not here because he feels the same. He feels responsible.

  Sobs wrack my body, causing me to jerk in sharp convulsions that I attempt to conceal. The last thing I need on top of everything else is his pity.

  Apparently I’m not successful.

  “Shhh. Don’t cry.” Lucas’s warm hands rub my back. “Are you in pain?”

  My only response is to continue crying.

  Yes I’m in pain, just not the kind you think.

  I’m so naïve. Lucas constantly pushes me away when things get difficult while I stupidly wear my heart on my sleeve. It’s emotionally exhausting and it needs to end.

  He carefully climbs out of bed and leaves the room. Cabinets thud and glasses clang in the kitchen. Seconds later he returns with a banana, water and a bottle of pills.

  “You need to eat something before taking the medicine or you’ll get sick. Do you want me to help you sit up?”

  “No,” I snap.

  Resting on my side, I take the offered fruit, forcing myself not to gag as I swallow. When I’m finished, Lucas hands me a pill and holds a glass of water while I drink from the straw. He sets the glass on my bedside table and sits on the edge of the bed.

  “Can I hold you, love?” he asks.

  Love? I pinch my eyes shut, trying to stop the new pool of tears from spilling. The pounding in my head refuses to let me connect the dots.

  “No…please go.”

  Instead of leaving, Lucas takes my hand and squeezes it. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Please,” I beg. “I don’t want your—”

  “If you think I feel obligated to be here, you’re wrong.” The bed dips as he moves closer to
me. “I need you to listen to me.”

  I try to pull my hand from his but Lucas just holds me tighter.

  “Yes, we had a fight and as usual I said some stupid things. Professionally I have no problem reacting under pressure, but when it comes to things that are personally important—I’m shit. Believe me when I say I’ll work on that.”

  He pauses, concentrating on rubbing the pad of his thumb over my knuckles.

  “My words were meant to bring you relief, not pain. I know what it’s like to be forced to choose and I’d never put that on you. By taking myself out of the equation I figured there was no reason for you to feel bad about picking your family because that’s what you should do. But selfishly I can’t give you up.”

  Lucas drags his other hand through his hair. “I should have trusted you. I was jealous of Mike when I had no right to be. And as fucked up as my actions were in your office I felt justified at the time because the idea of anyone else meaning enough to you that you’d share your body with them was and is unbearable. I want you for myself.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Finally he turns to look at me. “Casual doesn’t work for me, not where you’re concerned. And I’m not the kind of man who’ll take any piece of you that you’ll give me and be satisfied.” He extends his hand and runs the back of his hand down my cheek. “It’s serious, Gabriella. We’re serious. You’re not the only one falling here.”

  Even if I could speak I’d be stunned into silence.

  “I want to see if we can make this work. You have every right to be concerned about how this will impact your family and our jobs, but I swear we’ll be careful. Give us time to figure this out.”

  “Lucas.”

  “Don’t decide now.” He leans forward and wipes my tears with his hand. “You’ve been through enough. Just think about it, and in the meantime know that I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to take care of you, starting with cleaning you up.”

  “Vincent said...”

  Lucas bends down to kiss my forehead. “Let me take care of you.”

  His tone suggests the topic isn’t up for discussion. Not that I want to fight anyway. We’ve done enough of that lately and I do want him here.