Chasing Brittan

by A. D. Herrick

  “How did you know to come get me?” I asked as I climbed into the crisp clean black Ford truck.

  “Brittan called me when he showed up at the party, he heard a rumor that you were there and sent me the address.

  I closed my eyes and let out a huff of air. Leave it to Brittan to keep tabs on me and know exactly what I had been up to.

  “I love him,” I whispered softly. I knew he had heard, though, I saw him shift uncomfortably in his seat.

  “He loves you too, which is why he is doing all of this for you, calling me and having me take you away from here. However, he told me about his issues. I hope the boy can pull out and clean up his act. Otherwise, you’re better off without him. He will only drag you down baby girl.” The rest of the ride to North Carolina was made in silence.

  Three weeks later, Brittan was found dead, burned alive in his car. The news said that he had placed several 9-1-1 calls before the incident in which the dispatcher heard his cries for help as he slowly burned to death. The police had gotten there several minutes too late. His truck was in one of the bays at the car wash. How ironic, to burn to death in your car in a car wash. They never found his murders. It was written off as a freak accident chalked up to faulty wiring. The police report stated that the handles on the interior of the car had been broken as he fought desperately to escape the burning vehicle. Even to this day, remembering breaks my heart all over again.

  It was all my fault. If I hadn’t said though words. If I hadn’t tried to push him. If I had just done as he asked, he would be alive. He would have been safe. It was my fault he was dead. It was my fault that he dropped out of school and started dealing. I was just as greedy as my father.

  I shook the saddened memories from my head. There was nothing I could do to change the past. I forced my protesting limbs to start moving and made my way into the shower, leaving a trail of clothes behind me. The hot water felt good raining down on my sore stiff muscles. I leaned my head against the cold tile wall and let the steaming water cascade down my body. “I promise I’ll never forget you.” Tears stung the back of my eyes, threatening to fall. I would be strong. I could do this.

  I took my time in the shower scrubbing my body clean. I needed to remove any trace of last night from my body. I scrubbed until my pale skin was crimson and tender before being satisfied.

  I dressed in a pair of sweats and a three-quarter sleeve t-shirt, my hair piled on top of my head in a wet bun. There was no sense in blow-drying it. I had no intentions of leaving the house today. I had no intentions of doing anything today, or for the rest of my vacation for that matter. I intended to seek out every hidden memory of Brittan and recommit his face to memory, a memory that I wouldn’t forget this time.

  Chapter Six

  Shelby

  My entire body felt heavy and brittle as I stepped onto the elevator at Heutige Software. My weeks’ vacation had ended and it was time to get back to work. Working as a linguist for Heutige Software had been a dream of mine while in college. I knew that whatever I did in life I wanted to be able to change the world in a positive way and languages just came naturally to me, German more than others. Britt had taught me German when we were together. His family was from Germany and it was our own little language when we were teens. It was a way for us to talk and further absorb ourselves in our own little bubble as the world went on around us. When a position on their team came available I had eagerly submitted my resume.

  I was a top graduate of Harvard University, all thanks to my Uncle Hank who put his foot on my back and held me to the grind, forcing me to graduate from High School and worked with me diligently on the SAT and ACTs, forcing Brittan from my mind and replacing him with academics. It was with his help that I was accepted to Harvard and with his help I was able to rise through the ranks to be one of the top graduated in my field. It was the high honors and the letters of recommendations from my professors that got me the position at Heutige Software.

  Heutige was a top rated fortune 500 company specializing in medical and educational software. Our software helped save lives and educates medical professionals in high-risk fields. It was a rewarding path that was not easily won. Every day someone was at risk of losing their job. The company had a firm policy regarding workload and expectancy. Failure was not an option, for failure in our field could result in the loss of lives.

  My days were spent pouring over code, working computer speech recognition and trying to find the acoustical patterns which correspond to the sounds and words that somebody says. Our programs could detect and understand accents without failure. Our company was known for producing the world’s top grade voice recognition programs. Our programs were used in hospitals across the world in lifesaving operations and research studies.

  The elevator dinged, signaling my stop. I inhaled deeply and pushed onward despite my aching limbs. The smell of coffee over the office ramblings sent my stomach growling angrily. I had overslept and missed the opportunity to grab some at the house. I rounded the corner to see my assistant, Meg waiting with a steaming cup in her hands. I sent up a silent prayer to the gods. How did I get so lucky to have such an amazing assistant?

  “Meg, you are my savior this morning.” I nearly squealed with delight as I took the offered cup from her hands.

  “Don’t thank me yet, Boss. You missed a lot while on vacation and your schedule is packed to the brim. It looks like we are going to have a few late nights ahead of us.” She warned giving me a solemn smile.

  I shot her a wink and walked into my office. “That’s why I pay you the big bucks,” I called over my shoulder.

  Meg chuckled. It was our ongoing joke. We both knew that I had absolutely no say in how much she made or when she would get a raise. I often rewarded her when I received bonuses, as she was a key factor in projects being completed on time. Meg was like an extension of my hand, I couldn’t function without her.

  “How was your vacation?” She asked following me into the office, shutting the door behind her.

  “Eh, it was more of a staycation. I caught up on all of the sleep I had been missing.” I gave her a warm smile. It was mostly true.

  “I take it, that included turning off your phone?” She asked arching her manicured brow at me.

  “What kind of vacation could I have if I was constantly pulled away by my phone ringing?” I said with a wink.

  “Well, apparently not a good one being I was the one that took the calls. You drink your coffee while I give you your messages. Trust me, you’re going to need it.” She warned.

  I took a hesitant sip of the hot delightful concoction, my stomach and nerves gave a shout of joy at the first sip of pure happiness.

  “Let ‘er rip,” I motioned with my hand for Meg to continue.

  “Janet called forty-seven times, she was worried. I assured her you would call her the first moment you could.” I groaned wrinkling my nose, how could I forget to call her back.

  “The Schnider project had a few unexpected delays, modifications were added that you need to go over with a fine tooth comb and submit, like yesterday, Roz is retiring so you will be picking up her slack until they find a replacement so you will be doing double time. She is scheduled to leave tomorrow. I have spoken with her assistant Heather and we have worked out a schedule that will hopefully make things easier for you during the interim until a replacement is hired. The company is under new management. Apparently, Mr. Wolf has retired unexpectedly and his son has taken over. He arrived just as you left last week and had asked for a meeting with you. I have scheduled your meeting with him in exactly fifteen minutes, hate me later. I honestly had no choice. I have a list of callbacks that had no real time constraints, your emails are laid out in order of importance and you have three new projects that were dumped on your lap this morning.” Meg fought to catch her breath after her long-winded report.

  I couldn’t believe how much had happened in the week that I was gone. One would have thought that I had been gone for months. I closed
my eyes and took a long draw of coffee, allowing the caffeine to seep into my bones. One disaster at a time, that was exactly how I would handle this. First on the list was to speak to Mr. Wolf, seeing how I didn’t have much of a choice.

  I finished my coffee and rose from my seat. Meg studied me with watchful eyes that scrutinized my every move. “Meg?” I asked confused by her sudden interest in me.

  “W-what?” She said shyly.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked confused and a bit put out. I had no patients for games today. There was a lot of catching up to do on top of the ever-expanding workload.

  “You just seem… off…” She slowly drawled out.

  I waved away her concern with the flick of my wrist. “I’m just finally rested,” I said giving her an appeasing smile.

  Meg returned my smile but it didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Yeah, sure,” she muttered before turning away.

  I followed her out of the office, bypassing her as I walked to the bank of elevators of which I had just come from. I assumed that Wolf Jr. would be taking up in Daddy’s old office. Stepping out of the elevator I realized I had been correct. Not only had Wolf Jr. taken his father’s office, he seemed to have set the whole floor on fire. People were dashing around the busy office space like their coat tails were on fire. The energy of the room was tight with tension.

  I carefully picked my way through the madhouse to the other side of the room. Elizabeth, Mr. Wolf Sr.’s assistant had been replaced by an older gentleman dressed impeccably in a classic black suit with white shirt and black tie. His face was cold and frosty, barring no warmth to any who approach.

  “I have a meeting with Mr. Wolf.” I gave the menacing looking man my best carefree smile.

  His face never changed from its cold stoic mask. “Name,” It wasn’t a question.

  “Shelby Krause, linguistics.” I tried to melt him again with a warm smile, with no avail.

  The man gave me a swift disapproving once-over before picking up the phone on his desk. “Diese Frau ist her zu sehen That woman is here to see you.“ He spoke curtly into the phone. His lips curled with disgust as he looked at me. I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation but I could imagine it wasn’t good. It was apparent that he had no idea that I could speak German. Either that, or he just didn’t care.

  ”Enter,“ He said curtly, jerking his head toward the dark cherry solid wood door that separated the CEO and owner of Heutige Software from the masses.

  I inhaled deeply reminding myself to remain calm when what I really wanted to do was scream and throw things. How did this asshole get off taking over a company and then treating all of the employees like scum on the bottom his shoe? Someone needed to teach him a lesson about how to run a company. He wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all of the employees who broke their back trying to make this company the success it was.

  “Asshole,” I muttered under my breath. I squared my shoulders as I marched toward the door. With a not so gentle shove, I turned the handle and swung open the door. Despite its appearance, the door was not as heavy as it looked. The door swung from my hands as it flew open, crashing loudly against the wall behind it and what sounded like every expensive glass.

  My shoulders drew up to my ears as I cringed bug-eyed in shock at what I had just done. Before I could open my mouth to apologize a deep rumbling voice crashed around me basking me in fear. “If you are quite finished destroying what’s left of my father’s office, get your ass in here Ms. Krause.”

  My eyes jerked forward in search of the owner of the voice. Familiarity crept up my spine. Where had I heard that voice before? My eyes were met with the back of the tall dark leather office chair. Mr. Wolf sat facing away from me, his view on the expansive view of the Miami skyline. I nimbly picked my way to the head of his desk.

  “Is there a reason you sent my door crashing into a thirty thousand dollar antique Lilique Bacchantes vase?” He asked flatly, his back still turned to me.

  I closed my eyelids and inhaled deeply, willing my nerves to settle. “It was an accident, I assure you.” My excuse sounded weak even to my own ears.

  “Ms. Krause, accidents are unacceptable. A simple accident could be the deciding principal that could end a life or even millions. We do not tolerate accidents here, Ms. Krause.” He deadpanned.

  I sunk into the leather seat in front of his desk, not even caring what he thought anymore. I knew my fate had been decided. I knew I had fucked up. The worst part was that he was right. I knew that more than anyone. “Is there anything else you need?” I sighed from my seat in front of his desk burying my face in my hands. I knew when my number was up but that didn’t stop my mouth from running.

  “Ms. Krause, you have been on vacation for a week. One would think you would have used that time to recharge your batteries to come back even stronger. From where I sit, it looks as though you need more time off. I am giving you a week to get your shit straight. Do not disappoint me.” His tone was firm and bartered not an argument.

  I looked up in absolute shock. Did he just agree to give me a week off to get my head out of my ass instead of firing me? My eyes were met with a familiar face full of sharp angular lines from his broad high cheek bones to his full jaw. Thick brown brows arched perfectly over his piercing bright blue eyes, daring me to speak.

  My eyes were glued to his thick pouty lips. I remembered all too well how those thick lips felt pressed to mine. His thick short dirty blonde hair was tussled in the I-just-got-out-of-bed look. His lip twitched into a smirk I sat there in stunned silence. Mr. Wolf, my boss, was the same man from the club the other night. I couldn’t fucking believe my luck, or lack there off.

  He may have been the sexy hot guy from the club that got my blood boiling but he was also the same guy the fucked me senseless and then left me immediately after, like a piece of garbage stuck to his shoe that he couldn’t wait to get away from.

  “Perhaps this time you will spend more time recovering quietly at home than partying hard in the club with random strangers.” He said arching a perfectly sculpted brow at me, challenging me to deny it.

  “You’re right; there‘s no telling what kind of disasters lurk in those insidious places. I hear the men that frequent them are vile creatures.” I challenged right back at him.

  A thin tight smile pressed across his lips. “You don’t say? Tell me, Ms. Krause, what of these men, these vile creatures you speak of?” He pushed.

  Unwilling to back down from a challenge I laid into him. “They are the type of men who are disarming with their smooth grace and faux gentlemanly demeanor and unbelievable good looks,” Shit, did I say that part out loud? I pushed on; hoping he had missed that part, the look in his eyes said he didn’t. “The kind of men that blindside you, the moment they have you alone they take what the need and leave you like a piece of garbage on the side of the road.” I fought my voice to stay strong and not waver. I refuse to let him know how badly he affected me.

  I wished I had a camera. The look on his face was priceless. He was in absolute shock. “Perhaps he was the one left stranded on the corner and you were the one riding in luxury to your destination? Did he make you any promises? Are you not also in the wrong?” He pushed back from the desk, his tall frame hovering over the desk as he leaned in closer to me. His once bright blue eyes were now dark and stormy.

  I rose from my seat and leaned over his desk, my face inches from his. “It’s well understood that you don’t leave a woman like that after giving her the most mind blowing orgasm she had ever had before in her life,” I screaming into his face, letting loose of all of the pent up emotions I had been harboring since our night together.

  “Did you ever think that it affected him as much as it affected you and that was why he had to get away?” He yelled back seething with anger.

  “I wouldn’t know, I never even got his name.” I spit out.

  “The name’s Klaus Wolf.” He said before crashing his lips into mine.

&nb
sp; His thick strong hands gripped the side of my head, pinning me in place. I gasped in shock. Klaus took the advantage and deepened the kiss. Unable to fight him, I kissed him back. My body moved of its own accord. My knees seeking purchase as I climbed onto his desk, his lips never leaving mine.

  Klaus pulled me across the desk until he stood towering over me as I sat perched on my knees before him. His thick strong arms wrapped around my waist as he drug me off the desk. I landed straddling him in his dark leather chair, my legs wrapped around his waist. His hands worked quickly ripping my black lace thong from my body.

  The smart pencil skirt I had decided to wear into the office was shoved up my hips leaving me bear to him. His lips never left mine as he worked his zipper down and unclasped the fasting on his slacks. Lips tongue and teeth clashed between us. Our kiss was one of desperation. My fingers begged for purchase in his short dark blonde hair. My body was on fire, an inferno that only he could produce.

  I felt his cock spring from his slack, the rich velvety skin grazed across my wet greedy pussy. Klaus ate my money hungrily. I rocked my hips forward begging for him to fill me with his thick heavy cock. A growl escaped his lips, reminding me that I was not the one in charge, he was. I whimpered in the back of my throat.

  “Greedy girl,” He rasped out against my lips. “Mmmhmm,” I purred against him.

  I rocked my slick wet pussy back and forth across his thick pulsing cock. I knew he wanted it as bad as I did. He just needed a little encouragement. His thick strong hands clasped my wrist and pulled them behind me. With a few flicks of his wrist, his tie was removed from his neck. He worked swiftly binding my hands behind my back. My mouth parted from his to protest only to have him shove my wet torn panties in my mouth muffling my cries.