The Man I Call Strong

Chapter 20: He's Back

Two Weeks Later...

Tuesday had come and I was more than ready to resume my position at Strong Enterprises. After Sunday as a relaxing day off and Monday, a nervous anxious need to get back to work, I was more than ready to get some work done for once. Sometimes I think me working with Mr. Strong is more beneficial to me then him.

I walk into the flawless building discretely, just as I have been doing for quite a while now. The coffees start to burn my delicate hands as I dash to the front desk and place them down. "Good morning, Miss. LaRue." Gloria and Nancy both smile to me sweetly as I sign in and greet them softly, disappearing from their gaze with a sigh. I walk into the elevator and struggle to press the marble button to ask for entrance.

"Strong."

"It's me..." I whisper quietly to the intercom. "... Miss LaRue." I hear the elevator ping as I'm granted access. I step gingerly across the boarder of the elevator and the room. I step out and see four men in suits standing in the room outside the elevator. "Good morning, gentlemen. I'm Mr. Strong's assistant and secretary, how may I help you?" The men turn to me as one whole body and glare at my disheveled ponytail, my loose, below the knee skirt, and leggings underneath. I shrug my shoulder to stop the sleeve to my navy blue old lady sweater from falling off my shoulder. "We were trying to get in to see Mr. Strong. Perhaps you could ask him for an audience with us." I smile gently and exit the room to inform Mr. Strong of his rude, speculative, well groomed guests.

Practically kicking the door off its hinges, I manage to turn the knob and push open the door without spilling the coffees in my hands. "Good morning, Miss. LaRue."

"Good morning, Sir. I..." I walk over to his desk, breathless. "... I brought your coffee, Sir." I place the coffee on his desk and shlump down into my chair at my desk. "There... There are some men looking for you, Sir, outside the... The corridor to your office." Mr. Strong finishes writing something before rising from his chair, buttoning the few buttons on his suit jacket. "Thank you, Miss. LaRue." I sigh and sink deeper in my seat when he's exited the room.

I take a long gulp of coffee before placing it back down on the desk. "I need to get to work." I open my computer and check in on all files and charts that's happened in the past few days, making sure everything is in order. "What do you mean, you lost the money that I donated!" I hear a booming voice echo through the corridor and the offices of the building.

Seconds later, Mr. Strong bursts through both doors with the four men scrambling after him, chattering nervously, each trying their best to explain what had happened. I'd never seen Mr. Strong so angry before. He looked kind of cute. His hair was ruffled up, his posture stiff and rigid. I just wanted to run my hands through his hair and around his neck. "Well, you'd better get on it. Now!" The men all jump into action and exit the room, leaving Mr. Strong to drop into his seat, exhausted and worn out. "You look so tired." I whisper softly to him. "Thank goodness I have you to bring me my coffee, Miss. LaRue." He picks up the cup of coffee and sips it. I look down to my phone and see a message pop up on my screen.

'I will find you, you whore.' My heart skips a beat, the fear builds in me before the silence in the room becomes more evident to me.

With apprehension, I look up to Mr. Strong, not expecting his irony-blue gaze to be on me. "What did the text say?" His face is stern as his index finger traces back and forth across his plump, pink lips. A soft gasp from me brings me out of my inappropriate thoughts. "Um... Uh... Ruby-- she-- she was... Uh.... She wanted to know if we could..." I trail off after my terribly stuttered sentence, not able to bring myself to lying to those beautifully, wide, flawless blue eyes.

"I have... the papers for your next meeting."

"It doesn't start for a while, just put them..." His voice is interrupted by my phone ringing. I freeze, knowing who it is on the other line. With shaking hands, I picked up the phone and answered it, knowing Mr. Strong is staring directly at me. "Hey... Dad." Mr. Strong's eyebrows perk up in interest, but his eyes stay perfectly emotionless. "Lose the bodyguards." His voice is low and menacing. Pain explodes in my body at his words. "Y-ye-yeah... Of course I missed you." I choke out a chuckle as my eyes linger to Mr. Strong. I cover the mouth piece with my hand and turn my chair to face the wall of the office. "Lose the stiffs and that pimp of yours too."

"He's... not my... p-p-pimp, he's my b-b-boss and.... I-I-I'm not afraid of you any-any... Anymore. I'm a grown woman, you... You c-c-can't hurt me." There's a silence from the end of the line, then... a cackle. A blood curdling cackle from the other end, then it goes silent again, indicating the end of the call.

My hands, my knees, my body are all shaking with distress as I turn back around to find Mr. Strong looking at me intently. "I would like to meet your father some day, Miss LaRue. And your mother." I scoff, taking my hands and raking them through my unkempt ponytail. 'If you want to meet our mother, you'll have to go to heaven. If you want to meet our father... you'll have to go to hell.' Damn right. I rise from my chair and get a drink of water, my steps less uncoordinated than usual.

Taking a large gulp of water, I throw the paper cup in the wastebasket. "My mom's dead. And my dad... He... He's..."

Don't tell him!

'Tell him!'

"... He's dead too." Mr. Strong's face pulls down into a frown. "You were just..."

"No... No that... That was a friend, he's like a dad to me so..." I clear my throat. "... Sort of." I rub the back of my neck anxiously before looking at the clock. "Well, time to get going to your next meeting." I grab the charts and files he needs for the meeting and place them neatly on the desk. "Be safe while I'm gone, Miss LaRue." I nod, smiling falsely at him. "I will." He exits the room and I instantly fall against my desk and start sobbing as reality hits me.

'He's back.'

I cry and sob silently as I slide down to the ground behind my desk. "What am I going to do?" I sob out and close my eyes, managing to go to sleep.

* * *

I wake up to a hand stroking my cheek. "Aurora, wake up." I open my eyes and see Mr. Strong standing above me. "It's time to start heading home, Miss LaRue. Make sure Asher or Rocco drive, you seem very tired, too tired to drive." I smile softly to him, enjoying his hand against my face.

Getting up, I move to the mahogany doors. Opening them, I leave the office, suddenly remembering the terrifying phone call. I suddenly don't want to go home.