Love and War

Part 2: Out in the Open

                 

"Start at the beginning, Jeanie." He said, leaning back in his chair.

            "I was 17, innocent, and hormonal. He was 20 with blue eyes and a head of black curls that could make a woman melt, I tell ya. When he approached me at a party, I literally stared with my mouth open." I smiled at my boss, he hung to my words intently. "Mr. Ainsley?" I asked.

            "Call me James, I'm not your boss, anymore." He gestured for me to keep talking.

            "Alrighty, James. Well, it started off great. He was amazing. Told me all the right things, told my family all the right things. He was basically an angel, too good to be true, ya know? Six months after Leo and I started dating, though, my parents died in a car accident. It hit me hard, but he never left my side. He was so good to me back then." I started to wipe away a tear before continuing. "After the funeral, everything changed. Leo moved in with me to help me pay the bills and, for a couple of years, I felt so lucky. He was incredible." A sigh escaped my lips as James hung to every word. "When we fought, he always apologized first, he always came home with flowers. His words were so sweet. He was perfect. But, it went sour so fast. After my 21st birthday, we had a nasty fight about money. He forced me to drop out of college and told me I needed to earn serious money or he'd leave. I got a job as a dancer at a local club and it went from there." I paused, taking a sigh for air before sharing the rest. "After 6 months of dancing, he started making me run drugs and sleep with men for extra tips. If I refused, he would beat the hell out of me. He took every dime I ever made. I was arrested at least six times, spent 30 days in prison for running his drugs, made us thousands of dollars a month and I have nothing to show for it. I begged him to let me stop. He always swore he'd take care of me. I always believed him." James let out an involuntary grunt, turning his head to hide his expression. I was used to it, they all looked at me the same.

"Well, one night, I'd had enough. I told him I wasn't going out with another man ever again and, if he loved me like he said he did, he wouldn't make me. 4 hours later, I woke up with two bullet holes in my stomach and half of my head shaved, stitched from ear to rear. He's serving 25-life for attempted murder. As soon as I recovered, I sold that house to pay my bills and I left. I haven't stopped running." I sighed, James is the first person I've ever actually told my story to.

            "Jesus, Jeanie. You're incredible." He sighed, feeling a pang of guilt.

            "Don't feel bad for firing me, really. I understand." I retorted.

            "I know a guy who runs an incredibly successful business out of Miami, he's been looking for a decent assistant for a couple of years but can only find dumb blondes and actresses, I can give him a call for you." James offered, but, I held my hand up.

            "I don't think his boss will appreciate my story as much as you did, sir, but, thank you." I started to stand, ready to leave.

            "He is the boss, and, trust me, your past wont scare him." He said, offering a smile.

            "Why are you helping me? I'm a nobody." I asked. Frankly, I was suspicious of anyone who helped. I've only seen people help me for two reasons. People will help you if they think you have money or if they think you can make them money.

            "There's something I see in you that I think he'll really like. You'd have to move to Miami, but, like you said, you've been running already. It's about time you ran TO something instead of FROM it." I sat back down in the chair and crossed my legs.

            "Well, aren't you quite the therapist?" I smiled.

            "Let me make the call?" He offered. I nodded.