Hidden Truths (Violet Chain Book 2) (15 page)

Martin was sitting at the bar when I strolled in. I sat down beside him.

He patted my arm. “So glad you called, Chain, it’s been a while.”

“Yes, it has. How are things going?”

“Well me and the wife just bought a new house. We are thinking about trying to get pregnant soon.” I was happy for Martin; he had been wanting a child for some time now, but his wife was hesitant because of her career.

“Good for you, Martin.”

He stirred his drink. “Chain, we have been friends for a long time and I really need to tell you something and I am not sure if I should.”

I could tell by Martin’s expression whatever he wanted to say was really bothering him. “Martin, I’m a big boy, you can tell me anything.”

“Phillip’s sister called me and told me that they arrested him for the attempted rape of a seventeen-year-old girl in Alaska.” I was shocked by Martin’s words, but not surprised.

“Sorry to hear that happened to that poor girl, Martin, and Phillip.” I smirked. I really wasn’t. I was happy that Phillip had got caught, that finally he would pay the price he should have when he attacked Violet.

Martin’s eyes widened. “Are you, Chain?”

I laughed. “About the girl, yeah, Phillip, not really. I know that Phillip is your friend, but what he did to Violet was unforgivable. If you want my honest opinion, I hope the bastard rots in prison the rest of his life.”

Martin let out a loud laugh. “I was thinking the same thing. Chain, what Phillip did to Violet was wrong and I stopped being friends with him a long time ago. I agree with you, prison would be the perfect place for Phillip. He’s a sick man who needs to be locked away so he can’t hurt any innocent people again.” I smiled at Martin’s words. I was happy he shared the same feelings as me. “So tell me, Chain, when are you going to make an honest woman out of Violet?”

I shrugged. “I’ve been trying, she keeps denying me. I don’t know what to do, Martin, I ask her practically every day to marry me and she basically tells me no.”

“Keep trying, Chain. It took me nearly two years before my missus said yes.” Two years. I didn’t want to wait two years to marry Violet.

“Christ, Martin, I’m not sure I want to wait that long.”

“Will you leave her?”

“Of course not.”

He smiled. “Then you’ll wait.” He was right. I would probably wait an eternity to be married to Violet if I had to.

***
 

It was after nine when I got home and Violet still wasn’t there and I became worried. I wasn’t sure if this was normal for the hours she kept when working late, but I didn’t like the idea of her being alone in the office building this late.

I texted her to no response, then dialed her cell and there was no answer. I didn’t want to be the overbearing boyfriend and chase her down, but after about twenty minutes, I decided to drive over to her office and check on her.

I walked into the office building and was surprised when the door was not locked, opening with just a push of my hand. The place was deserted, the receptionist desk empty. As I strolled down the hall, I could see a light peering out from beneath Violet’s office door. I opened the door and smiled as I took in the sight of her.

Her head was slumped down on a stack of papers, her one hand still holding a pen as it rested next to her head.

I walked over to the desk and gently pushed her back before scooping her up into my arms. She let out a light moan.

I kissed the top of her head. “Shush, sweetheart, I’ve got you.” She snuggled into my chest and I carried her out.

Chapter 4.5 – Violet

My head was pounding and jarred me out of my sleep. I sat up, rubbing my temples, feeling like I was hung over. I glanced around, surprised to find myself in my bed. The last thing I remembered was being in my office, sharing a latte with my new client Lonnie. I tried to think but the storm that was brewing in my head was overtaking every thought I had. I needed aspirin stat. Quietly, I lifted the covers and slid out of bed, creeping into the bathroom. I felt dizzy and leaned against the counter to get my senses in check. Blindly, I reached into the cupboard and grabbed the bottle of pills, sliding two out and popping them into my mouth. I turned on the faucet, placing my mouth under the streaming water to wash the pills down. Then I remembered when I was younger, I often had migraines when I skipped meals. I had been so engulfed in my work, I had completely forgotten to eat. The last meal I remembered eating was a small bagel from the office.

“Are you okay?” Chain asked with concern as he walked into the bathroom.

I nodded. “I woke up with a migraine. I think it’s because I didn’t eat last night.”

He growled. “Violet, I know that your job is very important to you and all, but you can’t work yourself to exhaustion and you most definitely cannot skip meals!”

I reached for my toothbrush and pasted it. “I know, Chain, the first day is always the hardest; it will calm down.”

He folded his arms as he leaned on the counter next to me.

“I don’t like you in that office building alone.”

I slid the brush briskly across my teeth, then spat and rinsed. I grabbed the cup, filling it with water, dumping it in my mouth and spitting it out.

I heard him exhale before saying, “Violet, why weren’t your brothers there?”

“They had something to do.”

He raised a brow. “They left you alone?”

I turned to face him, throwing a raised brow right back at him. “Chain, do you really think my brothers would leave me alone?”

“I would hope not. But they had to have, because when I showed up, there was not a soul in the place. How could they leave you there alone?” I was a little shocked by his words. I remember my client Lonnie being there; surely she wouldn’t have left me alone.

“They didn’t leave me alone, my client was there. A tall brunette. She wasn’t there when you came?”

A look of concern flashed in his eyes. “There was no one there when I showed up. I don’t like it, Violet, falling asleep on your desk is a clear indication that you are over-exerting yourself and it is probably why you woke up with a migraine. Not to mention that you are a woman alone in a building that should have been locked up!” I was confused, really confused. The security guard was stationed in front of the doors, given strict orders by my father to stay until me and my client were done. I rubbed my temples as questions floated through my mind. Where did Lonnie go? Why did the security guard leave me there alone? I couldn’t believe I fell asleep. Had I fallen asleep on Lonnie, was that why she left? God, I wished I could remember something to explain all of this.  Chain rubbed my arms gently.

“Anyone could have walked in off the street. What if I hadn’t come by?”

I cracked a smile. “I would still be sleeping on my desk.”

His eyes thinned. “Not funny. Not funny at all.”
I gave him a quick squeeze. “I know, I’m sorry, that was a bad joke.”

I released him before saying, “I’m going to hop in the shower real quick.”

He grinned as he curled his arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. “I think I will join you.”

***

It was 7:45 before I got to work. I was suppose to meet our new client at 7:30, but Chain was insistent on me eating breakfast with him, wanting to make sure I had at least one meal in me. I thought about fighting him on it, but being as my car was at the office and he was my ride to work, I had no choice but to wait.

I rushed into the conference room to see my brothers practically drooling all over Lonnie. And who could blame them? The woman was sexy with just that right touch of class. Long, sleek black hair that hit her waist, olive skin, rounded off with big dark brown almond eyes. She was dressed in a taupe business skirt suit that accentuated her curves in the right kind of way, and showcased her long toned legs.

After shooing my brothers away, I gave Lonnie an apologetic smile before sitting and blurting out the first thing that came to mind. “I am sorry I am so late, my boyfriend was pushy about me eating breakfast before I left.” I couldn’t believe I just said that out loud. What did she care that I had to eat breakfast with Chain! How unprofessional. I flushed with embarrassed as I tilted my eyes down. Trying to redeem myself, I said, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she said with a wry smile. I was still a little confused about last night, so who better to help answer my questions than Lonnie.

“Lonnie, did I fall asleep on you last night?” I queried.

She seemed surprised and confused at the same time. “Why would you ask such a question?”

“My boyfriend came by the office late last night and found me out cold on my desk.”

“Don’t you remember, we finished up the presentation and left. You walked me to my car.”

I was shocked. “I did?”

“Yes—” She stopped, snapping her fingers. “You did say you left your cell phone in the office and you were going back to get it.”

“I did?”

“Yes and I remember you telling me before you left that you needed to go through the pictures to see which ones you wanted to give the graphic designers to put up on the billboards,” she explained. That did make sense and I did remember thinking about going through the pictures for the billboard. It was obvious what happened. I probably walked into my office and saw the pictures and went through them. It was like Chain said, I probably worked myself to exhaustion and fell asleep. Not that I would ever admit that to him. If he found out that was what happened, he would never leave me alone in my office again. Chain wasn’t overbearing, more paranoid, paranoid that something would happen to me. I was now confident in what happened last night and all the confusion was gone.

I smiled at Lonnie. “Thanks for helping me figure out what happened last night.”

“Anytime.”

My father strolled into the room and glanced around.

“I’m glad everyone is here. Let’s get this meeting started.” With my pen in hand, I turned my attention towards my father.

***

The meeting ended at exactly 12:15 and I made my way back to my office. My brothers and father were taking Lonnie to lunch and asked me to go, but I refused. I had promised Chain that I wouldn’t work another long night, so if I was going to get done what I needed to, taking a lunch break was not an option.

I was surprised to see a box of chocolates sitting on my desk. I lifted them up, looking for a card, but it was nowhere to be found. I lifted the box to see a plethora of mint patties, my favorite. This was the second time someone had left something for me. Just yesterday afternoon, I found a steaming hot cup of coffee on my desk, doused with caramel. Definitely one of my favorite coffees.

“I see you got the chocolates I sent you.” I looked up to see Harrison leaning against the door of my office. I practically choked on the mint in my mouth as I tried to swallow quickly.

“You sent these?”

“Of course I did.” He smiled and sauntered into the office, taking a chair in front of my desk.

“And the caramel coffee?”

“Guilty as charged.” I should have known it was him. Who else would know all of my sinful pleasures except a man who I had spent four years with?

He leaned his elbows on the desk. “On a more serious note. I just heard what happened with that Phillip character; one of the girls in accounting mentioned it today. I’m really sorry you had to go through that. I would have been there for you had I known. I really would have. I thought about calling you a few times, but I was not certain you would want to talk to me.”

The mention of Phillip’s name always soured my mood. But I didn’t want Harrison to know that it bothered me, so I forced a smile. “I have no ill feelings towards you, Harrison, I’m over it, really. And as far as Phillip goes, I’m over that too, but thank you for your concern.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Violet, I will always care about you, always.” Why did him saying that make me so uncomfortable? Did I still hold a grudge against him? I had to put the thoughts out of my mind. What Harrison and I had was over and done with and putting any thought into it would only rehash the past and it was not something I wanted to do. I needed to leave the past where it was and move on to the present and the future.

I folded my hands and sat up straight. “So what have you been up to?”

“Not much, working and paying the rent, what about you?” I almost slipped and told him about Chain. He was a big part of my life and I did spend most of my time with him. But, I wasn’t sure if Harrison even knew that we were together, it wasn’t like he hung around my family or Callie anymore and I was pretty good at keeping my private affairs out of the office. I wanted to tell him about Chain, I should tell him, but a part of me didn’t want to ruin this moment, the friendly conversation we were having, so I retreated into a different topic of discussion.

I smiled as I folded my hands. “You know Callie and David got married.”

He looked at me, surprised. “No I didn’t know that, good for them. Did they have a big wedding?”

“No. David went through some pretty serious medical issues, so they ended up eloping.”

He crossed his legs. “Ah. So Callie passed up the chance for a big shindig?”