Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 12

Staring at the closed door, I frowned.
Pursing my lips, I turned back to my work, and picked up a stack of papers.
A few hours later, I peeled back another envelope seal, and let out a breath as I pulled out another check.
Who even writes these?
Ignoring the amount, I slid the check under the scanner, and hit a few keys. While the check was being scanned over to the bank, I picked up another stack of papers. These were what looked like payments and deductions from Mr. Lawson's places of business around the world. Frowning at the paper on top, I noticed the label that was clearly in Italian.
Fancy...
Lifting the first paper I was pulling the paper clip off the top, when the door to Mr. Lawson's office opened and Damon stepped into my office. I started, feeling a sting in my finger, and let out a breath. Holding back a glare I lifted my head, dropping the paper, and pulling my finger into my palm.
Damon paused, glancing down to my finger, before he met my gaze. "Go home." His tone was enough to make me tense, and I felt a shiver of anxiousness wash over me.
"What's wrong?" I instantly regretted the waver in my voice. Hastily, I cleared my throat.
"Nothing. Take the day off." He shrugged, but his shoulders were too tense for the action to be convincing. "I'm sending you home early." He crossed his arms, signalling that I needed to move.
"I haven't finished-"
"It's fine, you need to go." His voice lost the last bit of asking, and sounded threateningly demanding. Standing up, I grabbed my phone, and began putting away the papers, while Damon glanced down at his phone and back to me. "You need to leave, now. Take the back exit." Damon shook his head, shoving his phone is his pocket, and grabbing my jacket off the hook beside the door. I moved to follow him to the door, and he reached out behind me and pulled my forward through the door. I was about to ask him to remove his hand, but with one glance up at his face, I decided against it. His eyes were several shades darker than normal and the darkness brought a dangerous edge to his normally smirky, smart-Alec-y personality.
I didn't like it.
For some reason, his sense of urgency affected me, and I rushed down the back stairs with Damon close behind. When we reached level 4, Damon handed me my jacket and instructed me to head ouside and get a taxi. For some reason, it was vital to him that I did not walk home.
"Mr. Lawson, I don't understand-" I began, shaking my head.
Damon clenched his jaw, looking down at me quickly. "And I wish I had time to explain- but I don't." He told me, gesturing that I make my way down the rest of the floors without him. With my phone in hand, I rushed down the last eight flights of stairs, and towards the lobby. My mind was whirling with questions and scenarios, as I crossed the lobby and exited out the back door.
Why did I have to leave? What- or who was his 'buisness'? Why was Damon- Mr. Lawson suddenly so secretive and demanding? And finally, what the heck did I have to do with all this?
As I walked around to the main street, I glanced around at the many people walking by on the streets, and the few people going in and out of the Lawson's building. Was one of them the reason for all this? Did this person- if his buisness was a person at all- have anything to do with the letter I'd found?
I shook my head, stepping to the side of the street to call a taxi, and trying to keep my emotions off my face. I was anxious as to why Damon had suddenly seemed so serious, but more than that, I was bewildered as to why on earth I was even involved! I didn't see Mr. Damon escorting his other assistants out through the stairwell because of his 'buisness'. Grimacing at the pain in my shoulder, when I raised my left arm suddenly to try to signal to a speeding cab, I dropped my arm and let out a breath. The taxi passed without even slowing down. Glancing around, a thought occurred to me.
Was he doing this to play some sort of prank on me?
Pursing my lips at the thought, I tried to look up to where I knew Mr. Lawson's office was, but I couldn't see anything. Turning on my heel, I began walking back towards my apartment, reaching into my pocket where I had stored my phone. I called David, but he didn't answer, so I decided to head home and wait for him to call me back. Reaching the crosswalk, as my heart beat settled back into it's normal rhythm, I checked the time, and saw that I had left nearly four hours early.
Mr. Lawson had better have a good explination for this tomorrow.
I thought with a breath, moving across the road with the rest of the people. As I moved forward, I felt a distinct pair of eyes on me, and looked up to see an older man, staring at me head on. I passed him quickly on the crosswalk, and as I did so, his almost-black eyes followed me. Once he was past me, I glanced over my shoulder to see him pull out his cell phone. He was barely taller than I was, and clearly hispanic, with slicked back black hair. Something about him made me pick up my pace a little bit, and pull out my phone to dial David again. Glancing back one last time, as the phone began to ring, I saw him walk up to the Lawson building and enter the front door.
*
"Wait, so why did you get off so early again?" David asked me, frowning, as he spooned some mint ice cream into his mouth.
Should I tell him what happened?
"Mr. Lawson dismissed me early for an exclusive meeting that I'm not supposed to be present for." I shrugged my right shoulder, having learned not to shrug my left. David smirked at me, and I raised my eyebrows, but he just nodded.
"That worked out. Now we can go home and chill for the rest of the day." He said, standing up suddenly, after glancing at his phone.
I noticed his sudden urge leave and frowned. "Why the rush?"
David shrugged, making me raise my eyebrows again. "I'm just tired from the gym."