I'm Meant To Hate You

21

The weather had remained grim for the past three weeks. Three weeks. I hadn't seen Emily. I had actually referred her to another agent, and I was awaiting confirmation from Richard. He wasn't pleased when I requested the transfer, but he also had nothing to lose by doing so. He wanted me to become CEO of the business. He wanted time to decide if it was something he wanted to go ahead with, but he also wanted to ensure that he had another agent lined up that would he as good to Emily as anyone.

I still hadn't found out what had happened between them all, seeing that they were all friendly when they first arrived to see me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. But it also wasn't my place to dig around. I had to drop it, before I risked it all. If I become the CEO, I will very much find out what happened. I would need to know the ugly side of the business too, knowing what lurks beneath the waters will help me avoid any scandals.

My feet dragged me up from my current desk, pulling me to the door to head home. My hands harshly pulled against the handle, the sight before me making me freeze. Mr Fox.

"Mr Fox? How can I help you?" My voice nearly failed me, his glare making my heart skyrocket.

"Richard has informed us that Emily has a new agent." His voice slurred as he pushed past me into my office, making me grip the door handle harder. I wasn't willing to shut the door, I needed an exit.

"It's better for her future. Her new agent is beyond amazing in that aspect." I tried to reason with him, but the stench coming from him made it all too clear that the person in front of me was not the level-headed Mr Fox.

"I didn't recall what happened with you and my Emily before. Now I do. You even so much as look in her direction ever again, I will finish what I started when you were younger." His gruff voice made me shiver. My back was flat against the door, but I still couldn't get far enough away from him.

"I will not harm your daughter." My voice wobbled as he crept towards me.

"I don't mean that. And you know that. Don't fucking get smart with me Jones." He sneered, one of his hands gripping harshly around my neck. His fingertips dug into my neck, making me wince as he pushed weight into his actions. My heart was hammering beneath my chest, and not in the way it usually does with Emily. This was bad. I gasped as he squeezed, but he soon let go as he heard a voice.

"Leave her alone. This is not your business, you don't control what goes on here. Get out, before I get you involved in a lawsuit that even you can't wriggle out of. Come back here again and I'll follow through with my warning." Richard spoke from the door, grabbing onto Mr Fox and dragging him away as handed him off to a few guards. My head fell back against the door, my chest rising and falling at an inhuman speed.

"Kiana. Are you okay?" He rushed back to me, gently pushed me down to the floor to relieve me of my frozen position. "We have to get you checked out. I'll call an ambulance." He panicked, moving to stand before I latched onto his arm.

I shook my head in defeat. "No. You can't."

"Kiana, you need to get that looked at." He insisted, his eyes running over my neck a few times.

"No. I'll go home and get Mel's partner to look over it. She's good with this stuff. But not a hospital. I can't." I finalised, releasing a breath as he nodded at me.

"Okay. Let me drive you home. I'll have a guard stationed outside of the elevator on this floor from now on. I am not risking him coming back. I don't know what I ever saw in that man. He is not a friend. Especially not when he's like that with you. In this building, you will never have to experience that again okay?" He spoke, a frown taking over. He was angry, and rightfully so. But I needed to make a change. I needed to be able to defend myself.

"I need to leave this place Richard." I breathed out, grasping onto his hands that he had offered me. He gently pulled me up, wincing at my neck.

"I get it, but are you sure? You want to leave all of this behind?" He asked, looking around my office. "I want you to take over someday Kiana. At least if you leave, promise me that you will come back? You're the only person I trust with this." He spoke softly.

"I will. I promise." I said as he pulled me in for a hug. "I'm sorry for this." My voice strained.

"It's not your fault Kiana. I have a friend in the army. I know it's a rash decision, but that's a way you can go. Only of you want to."He offered, pulling away from the hug and ushering me out of my office.

"Well I will certainly learn defence there. I've always wanted to do something for my country. Pass my name on if you will?"

"Of course." He said, gently motioning for me to go into the elevator before him.

"Thank you Rich. You've helped me so much. I don't know how I can thank you enough."

"Come back. It doesn't matter when, but please come back. I won't be the only person who misses you, but you know that." He said as he once again allowed me to exit the elevator before him.

"I know. I'll have to explain to Mel. I'm sure she will understand. Can you tell Emily? Tell her that, when I come back, my fears will no longer hold me back. And that I think I like her more than I should. I need her to know at least that. Please? Do you think that's fair of me to put that on her?" I asked, overthinking my request.

"I think, you should say what you need to say, in case you don't get the chance to. I'll tell her. And I'll make sure she's okay. You have my word." He said, clearly realising that I needed him to say that. I needed to know that she would be okay.

As much as going in the Army was a decision that I should have mulled over a little more than I have, it was an escape route. And I didn't want to miss the opportunity to get out whilst I could. I had so much to think about, so maybe the Army would help me. I was willing to try. But I also knew that it wouldn't be an adventure of a lifetime, getting away from here meant that I was going straight into something else. Something much more dangerous. But taking a big jump will help me in the future. Facing my fears head on, making decisions without thinking too much. Just doing it.

It wasn't something I had dreamed of since I was younger. It wasn't something that I had ever thought that I would do, but there was a want in me. A want to do something about the situation I was in. I had gotten romantically involved with someone from my childhood that I was certain I would never see again. As much as running away wasn't a good option, I needed time to get myself together, to figure out if this was a path I actually wanted to go down.