The Monster Behind the Smile

I practically ran toward the elevators.

All I wanted was to collect my things and go home.

My hands shook as I repeatedly pressed the call button, silently urging the elevator to arrive faster.

Come on...

Please.

The doors finally slid open.

I stepped inside, pressed the button for the executive floor, and let out a slow breath.

For the first time since leaving the gym, I was alone.

Or so I thought.

A polished dress shoe stopped the doors from closing.

A man stepped inside.

I didn't recognize him.

Judging by the smile on his face...

He recognized me.

He leaned casually against the handrail.

"Are you Blair Atcher?"

I nodded without enthusiasm.

"Mr. Parker's assistant?"

"Yes."

I frowned.

"You didn't press a floor."

"I'm going where you are."

His smile widened.

"I'll keep you company."

"No, thank you."

I wrapped my arms around myself.

"I don't need company."

He glanced at my face.

My swollen eyes.

The tears I'd tried so hard to hide.

For one hopeful second, I thought he was simply concerned.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

"A woman your age shouldn't be alone."

His eyes slowly traveled over me.

"Especially not one who's still a virgin."

Every muscle in my body went rigid.

"What?"

The slap landed before I could think.

His head snapped sideways.

When he looked back at me...

His smile was gone.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted.

He took one step closer.

Then another.

"I could teach you everything you're missing."

Panic flooded through me.

I backed away until my spine hit the elevator wall.

He lunged.

I fought him with everything I had.

I kicked.

Scratched.

Pushed.

Tried to scream.

Nothing seemed to stop him.

The elevator finally reached my floor.

The doors opened.

I dropped to the floor and managed to slip past him.

Freedom.

I almost made it.

A violent tug around my ankles sent me crashing onto the polished floor.

Pain exploded through my body.

He dragged me back toward him.

I clawed desperately at the floor, searching for anything I could hold onto.

Anything.

Nothing was close enough.

"Let me go!"

He laughed.

The sound was colder than anything I'd ever heard.

I kept fighting.

He struck me across the face.

The world spun.

Warm blood filled my mouth.

My vision blurred.

I begged him to stop.

He didn't listen.

Fear consumed every thought.

Every instinct.

Every prayer.

I thought...

This is how it ends.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I couldn't bear to see what came next.

Then—

A familiar sound.

The elevator chimed again.

Voices.

Footsteps.

A violent crash echoed across the office.

The crushing weight on top of me disappeared.

For a second, I couldn't understand what had happened.

When I opened my eyes, Jonathan was kneeling beside me.

"Blair."

His voice trembled.

"You're safe."

I threw myself into his arms.

Only then did the tears come.

Uncontrollably.

He held me tightly while whispering that everything was over.

That no one would ever hurt me again.

Behind us, another crash shook the floor.

I turned instinctively.

Leonard.

His fists were covered in blood.

The man who had attacked me lay sprawled across the shattered remains of the glass wall surrounding Leonard's office.

The elegant partition had been reduced to thousands of glittering fragments scattered across the floor.

My attacker begged for mercy.

Leonard showed none.

Years of cold self-control had vanished.

He looked like a man possessed.

Every punch carried the fury I'd never imagined he was capable of feeling.

It took several employees—including John—to pull him away.

Even then, he struggled to reach the man again.

His breathing was ragged.

His shirt stained with blood.

His hands trembling with barely restrained rage.

For one brief second...

His eyes found mine.

The fury disappeared.

Only fear remained.

Fear for me.

After that...

Everything became a blur.

Police officers.

Questions I could barely hear.

Someone draping a jacket over my shoulders.

A glass of water pressed into my shaking hands.

Voices fading in and out.

A quiet room.

Bia arriving and wrapping me in her arms.

The warmth of her embrace.

Then...

A car.

Darkness.

And nothing more.