The Brute

by Tarrah Anders

  “Bella will make sure to contact Naomi this afternoon. I would like the two of them to work closely together if you can allow for that?” I smile at Bella while I listen to Ryder boast about how he's willing to do whatever he needs.

  “Great. I'll have her get in touch. I've got to run; someone important just walked into my office.”

  We say our goodbyes and then I give Bella my undivided attention. She smiles at me, but I can tell by how the smile doesn’t reach her eyes that it’s lacking enthusiasm.

  “You could have stayed in bed all day. I would survive,” I say, leaning back in my chair.

  “That's not very adult of me. I shouldn't have drank so much last night.”

  “Why did you drink so much then?”

  “It was more so a way for me to keep busy. The girls kept bringing up relationships, or you, and I would take a sip instead and feign disinterest.”

  “They'd bring me up? Why?”

  “Because you're the big bad boss. An animal. And a hot commodity. The general consensus is that, while you are a complete dick, you are very desirable. Women like an asshole sometimes.” She shrugs.

  “Are you saying that I'm not?” I tease her.

  “Oh, you are. I just had to cage my jealousy last night. It was hard.”

  “And booze was the key.” I nod, understanding why she got so drunk.

  “On a side note, Micah from Software is cheating on his wife,” she says quietly.

  “Oh, that’s not news. He's likely hooked up with half of his staff.”

  “Ew, gross.” She crinkles her nose.

  “Who is it now?” I ask, curiously.

  “Megan,” she whispers.

  “I don't know a Megan.” I shake my head.

  “She's blonde, works in IT. An admin, I think.”

  “His wife finds out about all the affairs and she gets back at him by doing the pool boy or something. It's a game they play. An eye for an eye,” I disclose.

  “Why don't they just get divorced?”

  “Neither of them believe in it, I suppose. I'm not sure. I do my best to stay out of other people’s personal stuff.”

  “This new company relationship contract, he won't sign it.”

  “He would have to sign one regularly with the revolving door he has.”

  “Is there anything that can be done?” she asks with hope.

  “I'll talk to Maggie. She should be aware of his extracurriculars. We did mention that we would have to do transfers or even terminations in situations like this.”

  “I just don't want him to be the cause of another policy going into effect and potentially affecting us.”

  “I won't let that happen. Now, let's talk about work. I feel like we're breaking the rules here,” I say, trying to get us back on track.

  “It's my fault. I'm not myself today.” She straightens her posture and taps her notepad with her pen.” Okay, bossman, hit me!”

  I give her the contact information for the collaboration with Ryder Tech and give her some small tasks to do for research to fill her day. Once we're finished, I head to HR and check in with Maggie about Micah. I’m more than a little annoyed that I'm being forced to abide by this new rule and others are ignoring it.

  A few hours later, Maggie comes into my office and shuts the door behind her.

  “Micah states that he is not currently having any relationships outside of his marriage. We can't specifically prove that he is without indicting Bella on her outing with the girl who he is supposedly sleeping with,” she says. “At this point, it’s construed as gossip, and we have no actual evidence.”

  “Transfer Megan to another department, maybe?” I ask.

  “Right now it's a he said/she said game. Gossip, there’s no need to take any further action with this.”

  “Did he ask you why the subject came up?”

  “No, he told me that since the policy went into effect, he's been faithful to his wife. He acted put off by the questions, but I had to explain that I was just following up on someone's report.”

  “This is why I initially didn’t want this kind of policy. I hate being caught up in people's business.” I groan as I roll my head, cracking my neck.

  “I can understand that. But think of it as protection for your business.”

  “I know, I know. So, if anyone reports an unsigned relationship to HR, then you issue a warning, correct?”

  “It’s not so cut and dry. First, we would complete an investigation by interviewing the parties involved. Once we complete the investigation, with the interviews with the parties, then we can determine a method of action. That is language in the handbook now, so I will follow that protocol.” She nods as she stands.

  “I still don't like this, Maggie.” I want to pull out my hair in frustration.

  “I know you don't. But it's a smart move, Ben. It protects the company and its employees.” She leaves and I know that she's right. I need to think about the long term and not just the here and now.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Benjamin

  Bella is sitting with her legs tucked under her reading a book in my library. I'm sitting opposite her in my leather chair, pretending to read when all I really want to do is to ravish her.

  “Ben. You're growling,” she says, not looking up from her book.

  “I am?” I ask.

  “You are. Stop it, I'm trying to read.”

  I put my book down beside me and advance on her. I sit beside her, then move her hair to her shoulder and kiss the column of her neck. Goosebumps rise after each kiss and I see her body visibly quake from my touch.

  “I want you,” I say in her ear as I lightly breathe across her skin before sucking her earlobe into my mouth.

  “You're so distracting.” She laughs as she puts her book down and moves to face me. My hand cups her jaw and pulls her mouth to connect with mine. Our tongues move against ONE another, dipping in and out of our joined mouths as our kisses deepen. She turns fully and crawls onto my lap. My hands roam her back, underneath her shirt with up and down motions over the span of her silky skin. I unclasp her bra and lift her shirt. She accommodates my advances and soon is sitting topless on my lap. Seeing her delicate skin bare before me makes my fingers itch to touch her, while my cock is achingly aware of the proximity of her center.

  I bend my head and kiss the top of her breast as my hands move to cup them. I squeeze them and pull her nipple into my mouth. I roll the peak around with my tongue as it pebbles and use my teeth to pull as I release her breast and move to the other, repeating the same pattern. She arches into me as my teeth graze her and her core is pressed against my hardness as she rocks against my length.

  “I love it when you sit on me like this, when you ride my cock and use me for your own pleasure. I love it when your tits are in my face and I can suck on one as you slide up and down on me. Do you like that too, baby?” I growl into her mouth as I plant kisses in between breaths.

  “God, yes! Yes, Ben. I love all of that!” she moans, grinding on my cock.

  “I want you to show me. Show me how much you like to ride my cock.”

  Quick breaths blow out from her mouth and her chest heaves. She pulls back from me and places her hands on my shoulders as she stands. Instantly, my lap goes cold. She unbuttons her pants and pulls them down. Next, her fingers hook the sides of her panties and she slowly takes them off, bending slowly and then stands, baring all to me.

  There's wetness on her thighs and I can see her excitement as she kneels down between my legs and reach for my pants. She pulls out my cock and strokes me. She leans in and licks me from base to tip as my body quivers from her touch. I lean my head back and lightly groan. Her tongue swirls over the head of my cock before she sucks me down her throat, causing my body to jerk. I pull her off and pierce her with my eyes.

  “I said I wanted you to ride me. While I love it when my cock is in your mouth, nothing compares to your pussy.”

  “Such a beast.” She smiles and
places her knees on either side of my legs as she lines herself up with my cock and then plants herself.

  She fits perfectly. She is perfect. She was made for me.

  Her hips rock back and forth as I dip my head as my tongue reaches out to lavish her breasts once more. She moves on me and mewls in satisfaction as we get lost in each other.

  She is the light in my darkness. I wasn't supposed to need anyone anymore, but I fucking need her. She makes me bearable.

  “I love getting lost in you,” she moans.

  I can feel the pulsing of her pussy. Our breaths come in short gasps as we move with each other. My hips surge up and forward with her motions.

  She controls the rhythm, the movement and my heart. I'm tamed, no longer out of control. She's quelled my animal instincts and made me a man again.

  I fucking love her.

  She tells me she's coming as her body begins to tremble from her orgasm, and I start to release into her. It feels amazing when we come together. She milks my cock and brings me to my ultimate high.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Benjamin

  I am sick and tired of talking about relationships, especially other people's relationships, the potential problems office relationships can create, and the politics of whether or not an employee will be forthcoming about their relationships with other staff. I hate getting involved in other people's business because no one needs to up in mine.

  For the third week in a row, Maggie has brought up new concerns over the number of people who have come to her to fill out a contract regarding their relationship. I keep telling her I do not need to know the details, yet she still brings them to my attention. The number is miniscule compared to the thousands of individuals this company employs, but to Maggie and her team this new policy is overwhelming.

  “Maggie. What do you need from me? What do you need me to do to make this easier on you?” I ask.

  She looks taken aback by my offer. “Well, um… I wasn’t prepared for you to ask something like that, Ben. I think we need… hmmm….” She taps her forefinger to her chin and looks up at the ceiling. “We have a budget for a temporary staff member for a few weeks to input and create these new files for the contracts, I would like to get someone to help me out. I'm up to my head in paperwork and I fear drowning.”

  “I think we can do that. I don’t want to add any additional tasks onto your already busy work-load with this new project we’ve got going.”

  “It would be entry level, but obviously with the sensitive information he/she would be handling, not just a kid off the street.”

  “Roger that. Do you have anything else? I have to head downstairs to check on a project.”

  “No. Thank you, Ben. Really. Thank you.” Maggie smiles as she gets up.

  I follow behind her and stop at the door. “I'll have Bella look into the budgets and once she reports back to me, I'll find you.”

  Maggie nods and we head in different directions as I head to Bella's office to relay to her what I need. I haven't seen her all morning, since we both arrived to the office. But with the new project, she has been out of the office meeting with Naomi and getting the teams what they need.

  This new project will bring home technology to a new standard. If all works well, each home will be more than a smart home, but a smart everything: energy conservation, adaptable to climate change and surroundings, and best of all, connected to the homeowner's network while maintaining stringent security so that all their information is protected. Teaming up with Ryder Tech, while we have competed on previous projects, was the smartest idea I think I’ve ever come up with.

  I leave a note for Bella and consider texting her. Instead, I hope I run into her on the team floor where they're working on everything.

  We chose my offices, as I have clean environments on two levels, whereas Ryder only has one zone dedicated to clean environments. I had the extra space at the moment, and it was my idea, so my building is the home base.

  I go downstairs and check in with everyone. I speak to a few of the team leaders and get an idea of where they are currently with everything. We're still in the beginning stages, and while plans have been created, there is still a lot going on. In the corner of the lab, a 3D printer is creating a house, which I assume will be used for examples.

  I smile at what we have created so far and continue to look around.

  I stop when I see Naomi standing alone with a clipboard and her pen in her hand. I look around the area and still don't see Bella. As I approach, her face reddens and she quickly looks away.

  “Hello, Naomi. Have you seen Isabella?” I ask her.

  “She was supposed to be here. Someone told me when I got here that she went out to pick up some supplies and food, but I haven't seen her or heard from her all morning.”

  That's strange. She's not flakey by any means and she's usually very good at communicating her whereabouts to everyone.

  I check my phone and see no messages from her. I pull up her last text to me and I quickly type something out to her as I thank Naomi and continue walking the floor.

  My phone vibrates in my pocket. Bella's number appears on the screen and I smile as I slide to answer her call.

  “Well, where have you escaped off to?” I say teasingly.

  “Hello, this is Nurse Erikman from Hollybrooke United Hospital. This phone was on the person who is my patient. I assume you are a relative, or spouse?”

  “Yes.” I croak, my throat suddenly dry.

  “Good. Mr…?”

  “Adams. Benjamin Adams,” I rasp.

  “Mr. Adams. Isabella was in a motor vehicle accident. She was just moved into the ICU after surgery and is currently in critical, but stable, condition.”

  “I'm on my way,” I say and hang up as I get into the elevator.

  My mind is racing in a thousand directions. I dial for my driver and wait for him at the curb. While I wait, I call Maggie and inform her of the situation and indicate that I'll follow up on what we spoke about when I have a chance. She offered to come with me, but I declined. I need to see Bella, by myself. I need to make sure she's all right, to see her with my own eyes and confirm she is okay.

  She lies still in the hospital bed with tubes and machines surrounding her. Her area has an eerie silence interrupted only by the constant beeps of the machines and monitors. One of the machines breathes for her, another machine is providing her fluids, wires are hooked up to her in all sorts of places and even though there is constant beeping, there's a thickness in the room. Her face, her neck, and her arms are blotchy and bruised.

  I feel so helpless. The lights are dim, but bright enough to burn my eyes as I fight off the range of emotions that I'm feeling. I sit in the chair beside her bed with my head in my hands. I feel like I'm having deja vu. I shake my head and fall back into the chair beside her bed.

  The room is bright and smells like hand sanitizer. Renae is motionless in the hospital bed, hooked up to wires that connect to hospital machines.

  These machines are keeping her alive until her mother arrives.

  “Brain dead,” the doctor said, his voice full of apology. “She and Mr. Hunter – her boyfriend – were speeding down the highway and were stuck by another vehicle. Her boyfriend was taken in an ambulance as well, but we believe he was discharged with non-life-threatening injuries. He said he would be right back, but that was hours ago. Who are you again?”

  I clear my throat. “Family.” I'm not sure if that’s the right answer right now, but the rest I will have to sort out later.

  Not even a year ago, I sat in this very hospital saying goodbye to my ex. Now I have to do the same to her.

  A uniformed police officer knocks on the window, breaking me out of my past. I stand to greet him.

  “I'm Officer Simon. Mr. Adams, I presume?” He shakes my offered hand and then motions to the chairs against the wall near the door.

  I nod, then clear my throat. “What happened?”

  “Ms. Dubois's vehicle
was struck head on by another vehicle. The airbags deployed, but it appears that there seems to have been a malfunction. The individual of the other vehicle attempted to flee the scene; however, he is in our custody at the moment. The act appeared to be intentional based upon the scene and the actions of the suspect.” He pauses and clears his throat. “We would like for you to come down to the station when you can to see if you can ID the suspect,” he states. “I am hoping that you would be able to identify the suspect and hopefully you’ll be able to provide us with information pertaining to our investigation.”

  “You can't ID him?”

  “He's not speaking, he had no identification on his person when we picked him up, and his fingerprints are not in our system.”

  “No facial recognition matches coming up with DMV searches?”

  “That can take too long. If you know who he is, that's a hell of a lot quicker.”

  I nod with understanding.

  “Let me speak with the nurse and make sure that they have my number in case she wakes up.”

  Moments later, I'm walking through the hospital flanked by two police men on the way to their patrol car outside. We arrive at their station and I'm directed to a viewing room. Officer Simon stays with me as the door on the other side of the two-way glass opens. A man, dressed in all black walks in, his head is hanging down, stringy dark brown hair shielding his features, which appear to have dirt all over them. He keeps his head down as he's moved by the policeman to the seat at the table. The officer takes the man’s hands and pulls them up to handcuff him to the eyelet in the center of the table. The man's head is still down.

  “Was he injured in the accident at all?” I ask, not taking my eyes off of him. He seems familiar, but I can't be sure until I see his face.

  “Miraculously, not as bad considering the damage seen on the vehicles. His airbags deployed, he has some bruising but his injuries are minor.” Officer Simon says as he reaches to the button to turn on the speaker so we can hear what's being said on the other side of the wall.