50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Chapter Four

    It was amazing, just how little you could know about someone despite having worked with them for several years. Such was the case with Bridgette. Aubrey sat beside her as she gave an official report regarding the events that took place the evening she randomly showed up to his condo. He paid attention to every single word that dropped from her lips, just waiting for her to slip up, or make a mistake, or contradict herself.

    She had the habit of talking in circles when she got nervous. Nervousness wasn't a trait that he would previously associate Bridgette. She was usually as cool as a cucumber. Collected. Together. But today, she was far from that. Her eyes were wide with fear and dread, from the moment she'd known that he intended to drag her into the police station. "But...he threatened me. If I go to the cops-"

    "I don't care," Aubrey had told her. After what he'd seen in her apartment, he was running low on sympathy. For all he knew, faking the attack could have been a ploy for her to get closer to him.

    Bridgette was scolded by the officers, for not coming forward sooner. "The severity of your injuries would have been a lot better documented, if you'd come to us the same evening of the attack."

    Ultimately, she told them the same story she'd told Aubrey. She walked into her apartment to find it ransacked, with the culprit still inside. The culprit grabbed her and a struggle ensued. According to her, she did not recognize the assailant. At the sound of nearby sirens, he bolted from her apartment.

    After the questioning was over, Bridgette and Aubrey sat in his car. Aubrey made no moves to start the car. She wrapped her arms around herself, staring blankly out of the windshield. "I can't believe you did that to me. You could have at least warned me that we were coming here."

    "Would you have come with me, if I'd given you warning?" he wondered, genuinely curious. "Or would you have bolted?"

    She didn't answer.

    He remained still with his eyes lowered. Several minutes passed. Small raindrops started to fall on the driver side window. "I'm getting the feeling that you aren't telling me or the police the full story of what happened that night," he said finally. "Which means you're hiding something from me. Which means that I can't trust you. Until you are honest with me, Bridgette, and I mean honest about everything...you can't stay with me. You can't expect me to help you. I can't help you unless you tell me every little detail, everything you know." Without waiting for a response from her, he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

    He gave her the option of having the rest of the day off, to which she responded, "Where would I go? I'd rather just work."

    Tempted to deny her that luxury also, he held his tongue and quietly drove to the office.

    Graham Enterprises was bustling with activity by the time they arrived. He stood beside her in a crowded elevator with his hands clasped in front of him, watching the different circles above the doors light up as each floor was reached. Around the thirtieth floor, he reached out and punched the button for the thirty-fourth floor. He could feel Bridgette's eyes on him, but didn't turn to look at her.

    Once the elevator reached the thirty-fourth floor, he wordlessly stepped off and headed to the glass doors leading to the media offices.

    Employees greeted him as he passed their work areas. He walked along the aisle with his eyes fixed in the far right corner of the open work space, where Destiny was standing near the copier speaking to Jeremiah Tiggs, the tall, lanky intern known for falling asleep during meetings, no matter what the subject matter.

    Aubrey's throat grew tight at the sight of her. Over the past several weeks, numerous occurrences had happened, leading up to him deciding that it was no longer safe for her to stay with him. A politician named Harry Palmer hadn't appreciated the fact that Aubrey mentioned his name in an article last year, and now had his sights set on Aubrey...which was fine. Aubrey was a grown man and could take care of himself. His main concern was keeping Destiny out of the crossfire. Now she's living with Brian, he thought, feeling a touch of sadness. As if on cue, Brian exited his office and turned in Destiny's direction. Aubrey slowed his steps at the look of affection in Brian's eyes. This very moment wasn't the first time he wondered to himself if he'd made a mistake by sending Destiny off to live with Brian. Taking a deep breath, Aubrey continued forward.

    The sound of employees greeting him made Destiny turn to look his way. She smiled at him briefly, then wiped the smile away, glancing around the office.

    "How's it going, Aubrey?" Brian asked him.

    "It's...going," Aubrey responded, his eyes still on Destiny. All of his effort went into maintaining his cool. His first urge was to grab her, drag her into her office, and ravish her. Smother her with kisses, hug her tight, and never let her go. He blinked his eyes and turned to Brian. "Are you in meetings today? What do you have going on today?"

    "A few meetings with the press, nothing heavy," Brian told him. "The press is eating up your press conference speech. They seem to be giving us a break in the media coverage. Where are we with the accounting investigation?"

    "So far everything is indicating that the unethical accounting ended with the staff member that was released from employment with us," Aubrey explained, sliding a hand into the pocket of his dress pants. "It looks like we may be in the clear. There was a report showing more recent unethical activity, but it seems that report may have been doctored."

    Destiny approached them timidly, as if she didn't know whether she was welcome. "Hi."

    Reaching out and touching her would be inappropriate. There are too many people around to witness it. Don't do it. "Hi," he returned. Subtext ran beneath the one-word greetings. Her "hi" said that she missed him, and his "hi" apologizing for not telling her about the vasectomy he'd had sooner.

    "It sounded like you said we're in the clear," she said brightly.

    "The reports showing recent unethical activity were most likely altered," he repeated. "So yes, it looks like we're in the clear."

    She frowned and turned her head to the side.

    "What?" he asked her.

    She shook her head. "Nothing, just...a sense of deja vu." She turned back and looked at him. "The first day you brought me here, when we were in the elevator...there was a guy. I think he had red hair. He said that he had accounting reports he needed you to look over, that it was urgent."

    Aubrey nodded. "I vaguely remember that, yeah."

    "Did you ever meet with him?"

    "I've been trying to, but he went on leave of absence a few days later," Aubrey said, the wheels in his head turning.

    "He mentioned a discrepancy, so maybe he knows something," she pointed out.

    Brian's eyes widened. "Who is she talking about?"

    "Steve McClintock," Aubrey replied. "He did seem a little worked up, so... Destiny, you're right. He could know something. I'll put in some calls to him."

    "Man, if he knows something, that would be amazing," Brian said, grinning. "It would make our work so much easier."

    "Don't get excited yet," Aubrey said. He looked around the office to see who was within earshot of them. Then he turned back to glance at Brian and Destiny. "I have to get to my office, I'm just now getting in. It was...nice, seeing both of you." Eyes on Destiny when he said those last words.

    She offered him another smile, and this one stayed. "It was nice seeing you too, Sir."

    Hearing that title spoken from her was hisweakness. In one small, three-letter word there managed to be respect, love,and admiration. With the look she was giving him, she knew the effect the wordwould have on him. One side of his mouth lifted, and warmth filled his eyes. Hedidn't want to walk away from her. He wanted to stay beside her until the endof time. But the stakes were high, and he didn't even know who their officemole was. The stakes were too high to risk even the smallest of slip-ups. Eventhough he wanted to show her some sign of affection to assure her that he stillhad feelings for her, he tore his eyes away from her and gave Brian anappreciative look before turning and leaving the thirty-fourth floor.