Chapter Five

After trying to find Linda and being unsuccessful, I headed back to my room. There was a thin pretty brunette in the kitchen and I decided to head there instead. She greeted me with a smile as I hopped up on a barstool. 

“You must be Avery, I’m Natalie” She said, as he placed a bowl of grapes in front of me. 

“Are these for me?” I asked her, confused.

Natalie nodded while she continued to cut and prepare other food on her counter. I picked the grapes, and they were delicious. It had been a while since I had fresh fruit. Ms Reynolds swapped for only baked goods since there was less waste because we could freeze them. 

“How long have you worked for Derek?” I asked, trying very hard not to swirl around on the barstool as my feet dangled, swinging a bit. 

“I’ve worked for Mr.Swanson for about 6 months now.” She replied, still concentrating on the food.

“Do you have to live here too?” I was curious if all the employees had to live within the building, or just a select few. More importantly, if others could get out of it, so could I. 

She met my eyes briefly before turning to her work, shrugging her shoulders softly as she spoke. “I could if I wanted to. But I’m not really needed outside of meal prep. I do the grocery shopping about twice a week ” 

“So you cook all his meals for him?” I finished my grapes. And reached over to set the bowl into the sink gently, she took it from me and tossed it into the dishwasher. 

“When he’s home. Majority of his business meetings are done over dinner. But just let me know what you like to eat and I’ll cook it for you, okay?”

I shook my head, putting my hands. “Oh no I’m not picky. If there’s free food being offered, I’ll take what I can get.” 

Natalie laughed. “You just haven’t had good food yet. Then you wouldn’t just accept anything.” 

I shrugged my shoulders at her, not wanting to go into my life story about how some days I didn’t have food at all. “Well whatever you make,I’ll take it as long as I don’t have to pay for it.” 

“You don’t have to pay for it, Avery,” Derek said from behind me. 

Natalie nodded her head briefly before saying. “Mr.Swanson” 

“Come. We have a meeting to attend.” He motioned at me. 

“You want me to attend a meeting with you?” I asked him hopping off the stool. He led us to the elevator, pushing the button for the ground floor. 

“Yes. During the meeting, I want you to only listen. When the man talks about his ideas, write it down or type it on your phone. I want you to keep track of how many times he contradicts himself.”  Derek explained as we walked out to the door. A very tall man opened the door for us to sit in the backseat.

“I don't know how to use the phone” I told Derek, honestly. 

“To the usual, Sam,” Derek said to the driver. “Then write it down” 

“Should I only use a blue pen too?” I replied back, not liking his matter of fact tone. 

I watched Derek’s fist clench before he let out a small sigh. “When we’re in public, you will respect me. Keep your smart ass comments to yourself. Do you understand?” He said hardly, making eye contact with me. His face showed no emotion.

 I nodded, biting my lip to help control my anger. The meeting was really two men chatting over an overly priced meal in a stupid crazy restaurant. Derek offered to buy me whatever I wanted but when I didn’t recognize anything on the menu, I declined. I quietly sipped my water so I listened, writing down what Derek asked. 

After the food was gone, they both bickered on who was going to pay the tab before the man finally backed down, thanking Derek for the meal. The man walked away without once glancing in my direction or acknowledging my presence. 

As we waited for Sam to bring the car around to the front, Derek asked to see what I wrote down. I handed them to him without a word. He browsed through them, nodding at a few points.

“These are good. I definitely missed a few.” He said, tearing the page from the notepad and folding it into his pocket, handing me the blank pad again.

I gave a thumbs up as he did. Derek cocked his eyebrows at the gesture. “Are you still pouting?” He asked.

Sam pulled the car forward and jumped into the back, without waiting for him to come around to open it. Derek followed behind me, closing the door as Sam walked back to the front. 

“So we’re still pouting. I’m not sure why you would think you being silent would be a punishment for me” 

I narrowed my eyes but nonetheless fell into his trap. “I’m not pouting.”

Derek pulled out his phone, “Aren’t you though? You didn’t even eat, which was quite rude actually” 

I crossed my arms, looking at the window. “I didn’t eat because I didn’t recognize anything on the menu.” 

Derek scoffed. “What do you mean you didn’t recognize anything on the menu?”

I pursued my lips, not knowing what I wanted to tell him about my life. He rolled my eyes at my silence, moving on from the topic.

“We’re leaving for Tokyo tomorrow morning”

I gawked at him. “ I don't have a passport.” I had rarely traveled outside the state, let alone the country. 

He waved his hand, dismissing me. “Don't need one. I have my own plane”

 “Of course you do. Can we stop by my apartment? I need to grab a few things.” Annoyed at his nonchalant attitude.

Derek paused at the subject but decided not to press it. He checked his phone before reluctantly agreeing and gave Sam the address. 

The remainder of the car was silent as Derek took phone call after phone call and we hit a bit of traffic, driving out of the city. 

By the time we got over the bridge, the sun was already setting. I was thankful I was off from my gas station job today and told Derek I would have to let them know tonight or tomorrow. He nodded and said he would have Linda take care of it. 

As we pulled up to my building, Derek paused mid-conversation on his phone call as he took it in. 

“I’m going to have to call you back,” he said; getting off the phone. “You live here, Avery?” 

I shrugged, opening the door. “We can’t all be rich. I'm just on the second floor. 1st door in the hallway so I’ll be super quick” I said, slamming the door shut before he could reply, hurrying inside. 

I unlocked the door of my apartment, pushing the heavy door. I realized after a day of elevator buttons and light glass doors, how messed mine was. I tossed my keys on the counter as I reached for the duffle bag under my bed. A knock on my door interrupted me before I could grab the few clothes that I have. 

Looking through the peephole, I could see Jeremy on the other side.  I opened it, apologizing profusely. 

“Jeremy I’m so sorry I forgot to tell you I got a new job.” 

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He said quietly, looking past me into the apartment. I opened the door wider, letting him in. 

“Yeah I’m fine. I really am sorry I forgot to tell you” 

He followed me inside as I walked back to my small closet. 

“I asked Mrs. Reynolds but she wouldn’t say…. Are you leaving?” He asked; stopping mid sentence.

“Umm yeah just for a little bit.” I wasn’t sure how to explain that my new job requires me to live with my boss. Oh and on my 2nd day on the job I get to fly to Tokyo. 

“You can’t leave,” Jeremy said. 

I sighed, I didn’t realize how close he had considered me. But I understood how hard it is to break a routine that you’re comfortable with.

“Like I said it’s just a bit. Maybe I can get you a job too then we could commute together.” 

“No you don’t understand. I won’t let you leave.” Jeremy’s voice changed as I turned around. 

“What are you — Jeremy…” I stopped talking as I realized he had a knife in his hand. It was a small butterfly knife, it wasn’t a giant threat but it was big enough to cause some damage. 

“You’re not allowed to leave,” He repeated, his eyes flashing at me dangerously. 

My heart pounded in my chest frantically, fear drying my throat up making it hard to talk. “Jeremy please. You don’t want to do this” is all I could think to say. 

He shook his head at me. “No I have too. You can’t leave me” 

I swallowed hard, trying to calm my breathing. I put my hands up as a gesture of good faith. “Okay I won’t leave” 

Jeremy narrowed his eyes a bit, but the hand holding the knife wavered. “Do you mean that?”

I nodded aggressively. “Yes, yes of course I do.” I took a small step away from my closet, and towards my bed. I had a small can of pepper spray under my pillow. I was about to lunge for it when pounding at my door interrupted my thoughts altogether.

“Avery what the fuck is taking so long?” Derek yelled through it. 

Jeremy’s head snapped towards him. “Who is that?!” He yelled at me. 

“Derek help!” I screamed in pure panic. Jeremy’s anger at Derek's presence, set off a flight or fight in my body. 

Derek kicked in the door as Jeremy lunged at me, knife still  in hand. I jumped over the bed to avoid him, but slammed against the wall in the process. I slumped to the floor as Derek jumped Jeremy. 

“He has a knife” I tried to yell at Derek but I wasn’t sure how coherent my sentence was. They slammed to the ground as Jeremy wiggled out of Derek’s arm and kicked him  in the side. Jeremy scrambled to get off the floor and make his way back to me, but Derek grabbed his leg pulling him back to the ground. This time Jeremy swung the knife nicking Derek on the side. 

“Ahh fuck!” I heard him say. I could hear neighbors starting to come out of their apartments from the commotion. I know Jeremy heard the same before he briefly locked eyes with me before running out of my apartments. 

I ran to Derek as he laid on his back, clutching his side. 

“Let me see it” I said, unable to contain the panic in my voice. 

Derek hissed in pain as he let go, causing blood to start flowing from his wound. 

“Oh my god. Oh my fucking god. We need to get you to the hospital.” I yelled, frustration tears started to roll down my face. 

“Help me up. Sam will take us there.” Derek said calmly. His face held no emotion but his eyes had a soft hint to them. 

I put my arm under his and let him put all his weight into me as we got him to a standing position. We walked slowly down the stairs and back to the black car. Neighbors talked in whispers as we walked, but no one offered to help. I repeatedly looked behind us, half expecting Jeremy to appear any second. 

“Who was that, Avery?an ex boyfriend ?” Derek asked as we got to the ground floor. 

I shook my head. “No, he was just a neighbor. Really. I— we took the bus home together sometimes.” 

As we approached the car, Sam’s eyes widened as he quickly got out of the car to help Derek into the backseat. 

“Do you want me to look at it, boss?” He asked. 

“What? No, he needs a hospital.” I replied to Sam. He ignored me, waiting for Derek’s reply. Derek looked at me pointedly before agreeing to go to the hospital. Sam nodded and sped off. I sat in the backseat with him, his head was on my lap. I absentmindedly stroked his hair as we drove. 

“You’re not returning to that place. Do you understand?” Derek said, his tone harsh. I looked down at him and nodded. As we approached the hospital, Derek’s body completely relaxed and I looked down at him realizing he had passed out. 

“Sam he’s unconscious” I said, my voice cracking as panic started to creep back in. 

Sam floored it, pulling into the Ambulance bay of the hospital.

As nurses rushed out to tell us we could park there, I climbed out of the backseat, blood now staining my pants and shirt.

“Please!! he's bleeding. He was attacked by a knife.” I cried. 

Nurses rushed past me, a few more coming out of the room with a gurney. They quickly pulled Derek out of the car and started to wheel him inside. I followed  them before one stopped me. 

“Only family allowed. You’re have to stay here” she said, going to walk off

I paused for a second before I called after her. “I’m family!! I’m family. I’m his wife.” 

She motioned me to follow as I left Sam behind, giving him a small glance before the doors closed on him.