Harper didn’t know whether to lie and pretend it wasn’t her or come clean.
The honest woman in her prevailed. She took a careful step back, holding on tightly to her purse in case she needed to make a run for it. “That was a long time ago. I’m sorry if you were upset by your brother’s sentencing. But I was just an assistant in that case. I was fresh out of law school. I had no hand in the sentence that your brother received.”
“All he did was hold up that liqueur store because he needed money because our mamma was sick as a dog. He had no choice.” He took a step forward, covering the distance that she had tried to put between them. “If he didn’t get that money, she wouldn’t have gotten her meds. She would’ve died. What part of that did you not understand?” His voice raised up in rage.
Telah and Ashanti both looked over in horror upon realizing what was transpiring.
“You are just one of those pieces of shit who think they’re too good for the rest of us. Happy to lock us all up so you can get that cash you want. That’s it, isn’t?” He said in an abusive tone, continuing to walk forward until Harper was back up against the wall. “What? You scared?” He bolted his neck forward until he was inches away from her face. “If you want to play hard with people’s lives, you gonna get it hard.”
Her heart was racing. She realized that her fists were clenched into tight fists. She felt like she couldn’t breath. Her lungs didn’t work. Her mind was swimming with a million thoughts, one of them a tiny little ‘help’ that she desperately wanted to let escape from her lips.
Suddenly, a security guard pulled him away from her. Harper sighed in relief as another security guard took him by the arm and shoulders and basically forced him out of the VIP lounge and then out of the club. Harper still very unsettled. Alarmed. Nothing would’ve prepared her for something like that.
“You okay, Harper?” Ashanti said as she rushed to her side. “What was that guy’s problem?”
“You sure know how to pick them, don’t you, Lola?” Harper said as she sat down on the couch, still trembling.
“Harper - you’re shaking!” Lola said as she sat down and wrapped her arms around her. “What the hell did that guy say to you?”
Harper shook her head ruefully. “He remembered me from some case I was on when I was first starting out.”
“A case? You mean a court trial? I thought you didn’t do that anymore. I thought you mostly did meetings and lunches and tried to stay out of the courtroom.”
“And that’s probably the reason why.” Ashanti said, gesturing to the path that the security guards had taken when they escorted the unruly gentleman out of the cub.
Harper bit her lip to keep her chin from trembling.
“I just want to get some air.” She said as she stood up.
“There’s a beautiful rooftop bar here. Do you want to go there, sweetie?” Ashanti said as she hooked her arm through Harper’s and snuggled close to her, trying to be her protective self.
Harper nodded. They took the glass-enclosed luxury elevator up to the roof. Harper gasped when she saw they were all the way up on the 10th floor of the building and saw a gorgeous view of all the buildings of the city.
“You like it?” Ashanti said. “Oh, there’s Trina and Kierra over there!”
They moved over to a little set-up of comfy lounging chairs and plush couches. There was a nearby bar with a handsome stud who was preparing some drinks. “I like it here.” Harper sat as they sat down. “So quiet and peaceful.”
“Girl, when you spend as much time as I do at loud events, I need all the quiet I can get.” Telah said. Harper noticed that her Louis Vuitton briefcase was nowhere in sight. It seemed as though she finally decided she was taking the night off.
“I can’t do the loud clubs anymore.” Kierra said. “I’m in a loud ass kitchen all day and night overseeing what my Chef and cooks are doing.” She closed her eyes and put both of her thumbs to her middle finger, palms up, like someone meditating. All the girls laughed. “This is my zen place. I’m at a club, but not at a club. It’s the perfect middle ground between going out and chilling at home on my balcony. Plus, these views are to die for.”
“I hear you, Kiki.” Harper said with a laugh. She was so glad she had such good friends to comfort her and help take her mind off of that horrible thing that just happened.
But the mention of to die for sent a chill through Harper after what she just went through, but she turned to look over the rails at the huge skyscrapers that towered over her. As well as watch the people on the streets, out at night, enjoying themselves. She saw so many couples - the man’s arms around a woman, the woman looking adoringly at her man. She felt a bit of an emptiness.
If I was in a relationship, that whole event probably wouldn’t have happened, she thought to herself, thinking about how that crazy guy got so aggressive with her. I would’ve had a guy to…protect me.
Harper immediately chided herself for thinking such a thing. She was a strong, independent woman. She didn’t need a man to protect her. That was for weaklings. She and the other divas looked out for themselves. They didn’t need no man.
Maybe they didn’t, she thought to herself. But do I? She wondered.
“Poor Harper got accosted by some crazy guy that I just happened to find on the dance floor.” Telah said with a roll of the eyes. Harper wished she hadn’t brought it up. She was hoping that up here on the terrace she could just chill and enjoy the comfortably cool night air. “He seemed normal. I had no idea that he and Harper had history!”
“What type of history? Did you guys used to date or something?” Telah said
Harper rolled her eyes. “Apparently he was the brother of this guy that got put away. When I first started out, I was helping out on the case. For whatever reason, he recognized me and my name.”
“He was crazy as hell.” Ashanti said in a surprisingly calm voice. “But it’s over now. Let’s just stop bringing up.”
“Please.” Harper said in a pleading voice.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The girls were relaxing and chatting. Harper had pushed the awful thought of what happened out of her mind and thankfully no one brought it up again.
Just then, it was like fireworks were going off. From the corner of her eye, Harper recognized the lights as flashbulbs.
“Someone’s definitely getting papped right about now.” Ashanti saying. She was alluding to the fact that the paparazzi who hung out in the neighborhood found a target. A celebrity or someone worthy of getting their picture taken.
“Too bad I left my hater blockers in the car.” Lola said as she stood up to get a better view. “‘Cause I know I’m gonna need those over this visage when I go on out of here. I just got a text that my song “Baby, Yes” is now…officially…on the top 10 of iTunes!”
All the girls jumped and cheered, hugging each other in one big group. With perfect timing, the DJ put the song on and they all started dancing together.
But the flashing lights didn’t seem to stop. Curious, Harper broke away from the group and walked over to the side of the rooftop deck and rested her arms on the edge. She leaned over just a little to get a better look.
She sighed when she realized who the target was. None other than Bryce. She could see him from her view above - that shiny hair, that towering, hulking body. He wore what seemed to be a navy blue blazer and a pair of jeans. His lightly tanned skin radiated health and wellness.
A deep throbbing feeling was felt in her chest. A pain. A longing. She shook her head, urging herself to look away. But she couldn’t. She was transfixed by him, even from so far away.
But her mood turned sour when she saw that little minx following after him. His assistant she had the displeasure of meeting earlier. Victoria.
That bitch, Harper thought to herself. What does she have that I don’t? Is it because she’s of European descent? Is it because she’s around him all the time? Is that it? Is that how she got his attention?
But I d
on’t even know the guy, she thought to herself. He could be a raging asshole. Abusive. Or too obsessed with money.
Harper wandered back to the group, thinking about how there was no point in thinking of him in any way other than a business associate. Someone to exchange congenialities with. Nothing more.
The divas continued to celebrate the night away. Harper was so pleased that Lola’s song was doing well. Hopefully that would help the negotiations.
Harper looked at her watch and was shocked to see that it was a quarter to two in the morning. She had been having so much fun with the divas that she totally lost track of time.
“Okay, girls. I’m outta here.” She said to everyone’s disappointment.
“You can’t go, Harper!” Lola cried, her voice slurring a little due to all the drinking she had been doing. “It’s my first top ten in two years!”
“We’ll celebrate more tomorrow. I need to get some sleep. I’ve gotta work in the morning!”
Harper went to the front of the establishment and waited for a cab. The streets were beginning to get deserted.
“Ugh, I wish I’d brought my car instead of letting them talk me into taking a cab here.” She said, her arms folded. The night was getting more chilly and she wished she had brought that cute H&M light teal sweater she bought the other week during her lunch hour.
She started getting a creepy feeling, waiting so long. The cabs just weren’t showing up. Either they were off for the night or something, but usually it didn’t take this long for her.
“I’m going to give it five more minutes and then I’ll go back in and try to get a ride with one of the divas.” She thought.
She strained her eyes and saw down a couple of blocks was what seemed to be a cab stand. A bunch of cabs were lined up and it appeared as though people were walking there to get their cabs.
An employee from the club came outside the club to smoke a cigarette. Harper turned to him.
“The cabs only pick up from there now?”
“Yeah, some sort of agreement with the city. They want it all contained to one place. An official cab stand.” He shrugged as he lit up.
“Too bad I didn’t bringing my walking shoes.” Harper said with a sigh as she looked down at her sky high heels, which were already starting to hurt her throbbing feet even more.
Harper started off walking down the street, past all the restaurants and high end boutiques that had closed hours ago.
Just then, she heard a scuffle behind her. Her blood ran cold as she felt two big, rough hands go around her neck.
She gagged, swatting her hands in front of her uselessly as the terrible, too strong hands continued to choke her.
God, help me - she cried in her mind, unable to speak let alone breathe. She struggled valiantly, trying to get away. Her animal instinct kicked in – she knew she was going to die if she didn't do something. Or if someone didn't save.
Things began to get dark until she heard something. She was losing consciousness, but then she felt the ground. She had been let free.
She writhed around on the ground, letting the oxygen fill her deprived lungs. Her hand went to her throat were the person’s hands had been. She gagged, choking on the air.
Harper opened her eyes slightly but then shut them again. Her throat still hurt so much. The air…she was still getting used to the air she was breathing. Things weren’t focusing. Was the damage he did to me permanent? She asked herself.
She thought about how the street was so dark. How it was so stupid that the cabs had been so far away. That she had walked by herself. She’d been alone. She put herself at risk. But then she thought about how ridiculous it was that women had to be so fearful in situations like this. All these thoughts and more raced through her mind as she slowly regained consciousness.
“Harper. Harper.” Said a deep, slightly agitated voice repeatedly. “Open your eyes.”
Slowly she opened them, giving into the command. Even though she felt so tired. So sleepy. She just wanted to crawl into bed and lay there for days. Weeks. Away from the world and all of its brutality.
But that voice. She couldn’t resist it. Even though opening her eyes was the last thing in the world that she wanted to do, she had to do it for whoever it was that was asking her.
So familiar, that voice. Yet she couldn’t place it.
Her eyes focused on the face in front of her. A streetlight went on across the street and she could make the features. Shining Caribbean blue eyes, narrowed in concern. Full, masculine lips in a sharp line. A beautifully sharp jawline that was covered in a glazing of stubble.
Bryce, she thought. It’s Bryce.
Without thinking, she tried to sit up, but the pain was too much.
“Easy, now. Easy.” He said tenderly but in a commanding voice. His strong hand reached around to cradle her back. The touch soothed. Electrified. Her eyes fluttered fully open, the street light burning them momentarily. But then they adjusted and her eyes focused on the handsome face in front of her.
Suddenly the full impact of what had happened struck her. Struck her hard. She had been attacked. Choked.
She searched her mind for any recollection of the person who assaulted her. But he came from behind. She never got a look at his face.
But maybe Bryce did.
“Who…who did that?” She gasped. Her voice was rough and alien to her.
He shook his head remorsefully. “That piece of shit was wearing a mask and gloves. He didn’t say a word, either.”
A tear streamed down her cheek without her realizing. He brought his hand to her face and brushed it away with his thumb.
“You’re okay.” He said softly. “You’re okay now.”
Harper flinched as the headlight from a car shone in her eyes. Bryce turned around to see the sleek black Maybach pull to the side of the curb. In an instant, a distinguished looking man in a suit jumped out of the driver’s side and raced over.
“I’ve called 911. They’re on their way. How is she?” The man said.
“She seems stable.” Bryce said. His voice was strong, confident. Harper didn’t think he realized how reassuring she found him in this moment. Cradled by his arms, her head in his lap, she felt protected and safe in a way she’d never felt before.
The man bent down and smiled at her. “My name is Tyson. I’m Bryce’s friend.”
“He and I have been working together since we were roommates in college.” Bryce added.
Even through the fog of her pain, she immediately recognized the man as one of the founders of Bryce’s startup. Like Bryce, he was athletic looking. His shaggy jet black hair contrasted with the gleaming green eyes that she could make out even in the dark street.
“There’s gotta be a 100 billion dollars in this five foot radius,” she said with a chuckle referring to the purported net worth of the two men. She was surprised by her audacity. It wasn’t something she’d normally say. She usually was so polite. So professional. She must really be losing it, she thought to herself.
“I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of calling your mother and letting her know that you were attacked but okay now. That was the only person listed as your ‘next of kin’ in your personnel files.”
“And just how did you get those?” She asked, surprised that this perfect stranger would have access to something like that. She knew that the security protocols of her firm were world-class. They had to be to protect all the intellectual property, trade secrets, and other pricey bits of information that could be sold on the black market for millions of dollars.
“He built the system.” Bryce said. He raised one eyebrow and looked at Tyson. “You really should’ve asked Harper first.”
Tyson shrugged. “Her personality profile said —“ He halted what he was saying quickly as the lights of the ambulance lit the street up in blue and red. Tyson and Bryce waved their hands, signaling the ambulance to their location.
Harper was still in a haze. She could still feel her attacker
’s fingers around her neck. But then she felt Bryce’s strong thigh on which she rested her head.
Her protector, she thought to herself. The one who had saved me from a near certain death.
“You ready to get out of here?” Bryce said. His hand went to her shoulder and squeezed gently. Affectionately.
“Absolutely.” She said with a vigor that surprised her.
The paramedics put her on a stretcher and loaded her into the ambulance. Tyson stood outside the ambulance, talking to the paramedics and then the police that had arrived at the scene of the crime. Harper saw how authoritative he was. How they all submitted to him, even the hardened police officers deferring to his superiority.
ROMANCE: His Ebony Blood Jewel - A Novel (BWWM, Paranormal, Vampire, Billionaire New Adult Romance) Page 6
