His Obsession

4- Late Night Work Meeting

Rolling over I slammed my hand on the alarm clock shutting it up. Could it really be 6:30 already? It had been two weeks since I left Lorenzo Albertini's penthouse. It was my third day back at work after my boss gave me a week's suspension because of the no-call no-show I pulled that horrible day, and I could still see the faint bruises on my wrists.

I have tried my hardest to forget him, to forget what he did to me. But I couldn't get him and what he did for me out of my head. I kept replaying everything that happened that night in my mind. He had something in his eyes when he first looked at me. The first moment that I turned around to face him after he had let himself into the room, it mesmerized me and I wanted to figure out the man. I couldn't get the smell of his cologne out of my head no matter how hard I tried.

Sighing, I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I pulled my hair into a high pony and dressed in my typical yoga pants and tank, throwing a light hoodie over top. I filled my water bottle and got ready to head out on my morning run. Because I never knew when he would appear, I had to stay in shape. I had to be ready in the event he found me. I ran through the park and around a couple of blocks, returning to my apartment, as usual, an hour later.

Walking back into my apartment sweaty from my run, I walk into my bathroom to turn the shower on so that I can wash the sweat and sticky off.

As it turned out, I had to get ready for my day at work. After getting out of the shower, I slipped on one of my pencil skirts and a white button-up blouse as was my uniform requirement. I finished off with my simple black feminine tie and name tag, braiding my hair to the side and putting only mascara and lipgloss on my face. A sigh escaped my lips as I looked in the mirror. I looked fine for a normal day at work. I just wish I could get rid of these damn dark circles under my eyes. This is because of the lack of sleep I've had since the day those guys attacked me. I have been having nightmares and even the ones I got rid of have started coming back. I hate them. I hate not sleeping and being scared all the time.

I head outside my apartment and take a deep breath of fresh air. It was a beautiful sunny day for the month of November. It had actually been warmer for the past few days. I decided to walk to work since it was only three blocks away and I was trying to conserve gas for the colder days. Yes, I was able to get my car keys from the store and park my car at my apartment complex.

Walking into the old building that held my work, I immediately spot my boss at the bar before work sipping on his usual cocktail. He blows a whistle at me as I stroll past him, and I roll my eyes up at the ceiling. Ignoring him, I walk into the back employee lounge, where we are all getting ready for our shifts.

I found another co-worker already there. She's been here for three weeks and has become one of the few people in my life that I could possibly call a friend. "Good morning, Elle!" I say as I settle down on a bench near my locker. I had to put on my work shoes. Robert Caldwell, our jerk of a boss, insists that we all wear enormously tall high-heeled shoes. I swear I was about to break my neck one day. He inspected us personally every day before the restaurant opened, insisting that we had to look aesthetically pleasing, and appealing to the male clientele.

"Oh hello Az, how are you doing today? Did you sleep well?" she asks me, as she sits down on the bench to put her work shoes on.

"No..." I begin but get interrupted by our boss stumbling into the room.

"Good morning ladies." Our boss says as he walks into the room. The restaurant was opening in twenty minutes at 11 am, just in time for the lunch rush. I had a lot to do to get ready for my shift, as I was assigned to operate the bar tonight. I hated working at the bar, often having to deal with drunks. They always hit on me leaving me with a lack of sense of security. I never felt secure working at the bar, so I preferred waiting tables as a waitress. I didn't complain since I knew he was punishing me for that no-call, no-show, but I wish he would just get over it already because this was annoying.