Before Neil, she might not have cared. Her entire life had been overshadowed by her own guilt and loss. It was as if she went through the motions of living for years without even realizing how unfulfilling her life was. Meeting Neil had changed all of that. With him, just existing was no longer an option. For that, and much more, she was beholden to him. They belonged to each other and she was determined that nothing ruin their life together.
Jessica’s tragic death had been another reminder that she couldn’t take her life for granted. She had helped Natalie make arrangements for Jessica’s memorial service. It had been a lovely service, held exactly a week after the accident. Natalie seemed to be holding up okay, but she was grief stricken and numb. She couldn’t risk Roger finding her, so as Natalie was still staying with Charlie, Kate was prevented from spending time with her. She talked to her daily and sent lots of text messages offering hope and encouragement.
Having a constant shadow was not easy to get used to. She’d had a bodyguard for the past week. Every time she left the condo, either Zack or Porter was there to protect her. After seeing Roger at California Pizza Kitchen, she seemed to see him everywhere for the next few days. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Even men who didn’t really look like Roger ended up resembling him in her mind. She was terrified, but having the security made it easier to go about her daily life.
Dressed in casual clothes, Zack and Porter blended in on campus. When she was in the classroom, one of them stood out in the hall near the door. She had overheard some of her female classmate’s remark on how handsome Porter was, but none of them realized that he was there to protect her. She basically kept to herself so that no one knew what was going on. It was better that way. It was bad enough that Charlie and Mitch were in danger because of her. She didn’t want to endanger her classmates as well. Kate still felt responsible for Mark’s disappearance, and until that was resolved, she knew she always would.
***
After class she would start working at Neil’s office. They agreed that they wouldn’t disclose their relationship to the majority of people working at the firm. He would tell his dad and his assistant, Laura, who Kate would report to directly. Neil had spoken of Laura in such glowing terms that she was looking forward to meeting and working with her.
Since Porter drove her to the office, and everywhere else, she was becoming accustomed to having a chauffeur. When all of this was over, it was going to be difficult to drive herself. But when would it be over? When Roger killed another person and they could find enough evidence to arrest him? He had already gotten away with murder twice. Maybe three times. Would he finally get arrested after he killed her? Chills spread throughout her body as she considered different scenarios involving Roger.
“We’re here, Miss Simmons,” Porter said, shaking her from her thoughts, as they arrived at the office.
“Thank you, Porter. I was just thinking…,” she said, not finishing her statement.
He came around and opened her door. As she got out, she asked, “Are you coming in or staying out here?”
“I’ll be staying out here, Miss Simmons. The front entrance is the only unlocked part of the building. All of the other exits are only accessible from the inside. I’ll be, in essence, guarding the door.”
“Good to know,” she said, beginning to walk toward the entrance. “I’ll see you after work.”
He didn’t answer but nodded. Porter was a man of few words, yet his presence kept her calm.
Kate knew that Neil was in court today and that she was to report directly to Laura. She checked in with Arnold, the security officer and received her employee badge. He directed her to go up to the fourteenth flour but she already knew that from Neil.
She glanced at her watch as she rode the elevator. She was about three minutes late. Stopping to go to the bathroom at school had not been the best idea, so she hoped that Laura wasn’t a stickler for timeliness.
Stepping off the elevator into the beautifully decorated office space, Kate appreciated the sleek and modern area, with its ivory limestone flooring and pale blue walls. It was serene with demure scenic artwork completing the sophisticated ambiance. She waited for the front receptionist to end her call and then asked for Laura. The receptionist directed her to Laura’s desk.
Kate walked with urgency toward Laura’s desk. She was now five minutes late. “Hi, I’m Kate,” she said, extending her hand.
Laura shook Kate’s hand. “I’m Laura,” she said looking at her watch. “Just so you know, promptness is an expectation here at Statton and Goldstein.”
“I completely understand. It won’t happen again,” she said, acknowledging Laura.
“Let me show you what you’ll be doing and you can get started.”
Kate followed Laura to the file room. She could see why they needed help. File boxes had been piled everywhere. Laura handed her a notepad and pen to take notes, then proceeded to describe the filing system and what was expected. Kate wrote down all of the important key points and then Laura left her to get started. As Laura departed, she informed Kate that she was entitled to a thirty-minute lunch break and an afternoon break.
This was by no means her dream job but it kept her out of the public eye and Roger wouldn’t be able to find her here. She was safe and that was all that mattered.
The day zoomed by and before she knew it was time to leave. Neil popped his head into the file room.
“Hey, beautiful. Ready to call it a day?” Neil asked with a stack of folders in his hands. Kate knew he would be spending part of the evening preparing for clients.
Kate looked up from the filing drawer she was bending over. “I’m ready whenever you are, Mr. Statton.”
She got up slowly and sauntered over to him. Her muscles were tired from leaning over all day. She wanted to kiss him and hold his hand, but she knew that would have to wait until they were home. She didn’t want to blow their cover on her first day.
They started walking toward the elevator. “How did things go with Laura today? Did she show you the ropes?”
“Yes, everything went great.”
“Well, Laura is my right arm around here. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
The doors opened and they both entered the elevator. Once the doors closed, Neil pushed her into the wall, covering her body with his. He crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with abandon. His hands slid up her thighs to her hips, along her curves to her waist. He continued up her ribs to cup her breasts. His kiss was urgent, like he was kissing her for the first time. It was so hot to think that at any moment the doors could open and they could be caught. Kate’s heart was thumping in her chest and she wished they were at home so Kate could tear Neil’s clothes right off him. Her insides had turned melted like molten lava from Neil’s kiss and roaming hands. He had a way of making even something as simple as riding the elevator seem sensual. Kate was relieved that they made it to the bottom floor without anyone joining them on the elevator. Neil released her when he realized that they were on the bottom floor. The doors opened. Porter was there waiting.
“Porter,” Neil said, acknowledging him.
“Sir, will I be driving Miss Simmons tonight or will she be riding with you?”
“I’d like to drive my girl tonight,” Neil responded as they walked toward the door. Just then, the other elevator door opened and Laura walked out into the lobby. Neil caught a glimpse of her approaching.
“Have a good evening, Laura.”
“You too, Mr. Statton,” she called. She said nothing to Kate. It was clear that Laura didn’t like Kate, but was tolerating her for her boss’s sake. Neil seemed to be oblivious to Laura’s coolness toward her. Typical male. She realized that minding her p’s and q’s was of utmost importance where Neil’s assistant was concerned.
Chapter 16
Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching and Roger had not spotted Kate at school or leaving the apartment that she shared with Neil. In fact, he had spent almost an entire day
in front of the parking garage and Kate’s car had not moved. Had she quit school too? It had struck him as odd that he couldn’t get his eyes on her. He saw her boyfriend leaving for work, but Kate was nowhere to be seen. It was time to investigate the building, learn the exits, and perhaps break into Neil Statton’s apartment. He could obtain evidence that Kate lived there by searching the place.
Having Paulina around all the time had put a dent into how much time he could dedicate to finding Kate. Paulina was more demanding than he had remembered. She hadn’t found a job yet and wasn’t looking that hard, as far as he was concerned, which annoyed him. She seemed content to have him pay all of the bills and provide for her and Jacob with him getting nothing in return. She could at least fuck him when he wanted to, but she had refused, saying that it would confuse Jacob since they weren’t technically a couple.
She had always wanted to be a stay-at-home mother. That would have been fine with him if Jacob had still been at home all day. But Jacob was in the first grade, so Paulina didn’t have anything to do while he was at school. This made him anxious since she was always around and in his business. He needed her to get out of the house and do something with her life so the whining would stop. If only she would be useful to him but that ship had sailed.
There was also immense tension between Paulina and Rose. Both women seemed to have marked their territory. The only difference was that Rose shared his bed and Paulina didn’t. Rose was at least a better lay than Paulina and willing to do whatever he wanted in and out of bed. Paulina didn’t want Jacob to be around Rose. She didn’t like Rose and wanted him to break up with her. This was the source of constant bickering between them. Every chance she got, Paulina was in his face about Rose. It had begun to take its toll, even though she had only been back for a few weeks. He was growing tired of her trying to control everything.
Rose had been very welcoming to Paulina, but that changed when she finally realized that Paulina wasn’t actually unfriendly, she was just unfriendly to Rose. He had to get into the middle of them one evening when Rose snapped and called Paulina a “cold bitch.” Things went downhill from there. He could no longer invite Rose over and if he decided to spend time with Rose at her place, Paulina pouted. Trying to find Kate was a welcome distraction from all of the female drama that had invaded his life. Something was going to need to change soon. Maybe it was time for him to get out his tools and cut one of these stupid bitches out of his life.
The garage doors opened at Neil’s condo. A black sedan pulled out with a man in the driver’s seat and a young woman in the back seat. The car went by quickly, but he was sure that he had just caught a brief glimpse of Kate. It was definitely her! He could make out her silhouette as the car sped by.
He started his car and proceeded to follow them. Maybe this was the break that he needed. He managed to stay a few cars behind them, assuming that they were heading to SDSU. It was time for her to go to class. When the sedan took the college exit, he realized that she hadn’t quit school. She had someone protecting her and that’s how she had skirted him for the past couple of weeks. He parked on the street outside of the parking garage, watched and waited for her to appear.
As if on cue, Kate walked out of the parking garage with her security guard in toe. He could tell that the guard was ex-military by the way he carried himself. His presence would be problematic but Roger knew he would find a way to overcome this obstacle. Why did she have to make things so difficult? Didn’t she realize that he didn’t want to hurt her? He wanted to be with her. Maybe her boyfriend understood what a threat he was and had been wise enough to take this precaution. Seeing her today clarified for him that she was worth fighting for. She looked more beautiful than ever. He hoped that she appreciated everything that he was going through to have her in his life. He would take on anyone or anything that got in his way --even if he had to take on a former Navy Seal. No doubt she would truly appreciate having that gorilla off her back too.
All he needed was a plan. A plan that he could execute that would result in Kate becoming his.
***
Kate entered her class with time to spare. She decided to review her notes since she had made it a policy not to befriend anyone. Being friends with her was dangerous. Jennifer and Tracy walked in talking. “Can you believe that they found parts of Mark out in Alpine?” Jennifer asked.
“I know. It’s so creepy. The hikers who found him must have freaked out when they opened the bags,” Tracy said, her body shaking at the repulsion of the thought.
Kate couldn’t help but overhear. “Do the police have any suspects?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Jennifer responded. “The news indicated that the police didn’t have any leads.”
Kate nodded, but started to shake on the inside. She felt sick to her stomach. This was all her fault and there was nothing she could do about it. Poor Mark died because he was interested in her, because he showed up at her apartment and Roger got the wrong idea. This means that Neil could be in danger. If anything happened to him, she would… she didn’t know what she would do. She couldn’t wrap her mind around having a life without him, but he didn’t have any security detail protecting him. That needed to change immediately.
She got up to leave class. Before going, she asked Jennifer if she could copy the notes after their next class.
“Sure. Is everything okay? You don’t look so good.”
“I’m not feeling that well. I need to go. Thanks for the notes.”
Jennifer nodded as Kate turned toward the door.
She went out in the hall and Porter gave her a puzzled look.
“Porter, I need to see Neil right away. Will you take me to him?”
“Of course,” he said, following behind her.
They walked quickly to the car. Once they were moving, Porter did something very out of character; he asked her if everything was okay.
“No, Porter. Nothing is okay. I just found out that my classmate Mark, who went missing, has been found dead. I need to talk to Neil.”
“I see,” Porter answered, accelerating. “We’ll be there in ten.”
She didn’t respond. All she could do was stare out the window, fighting back the tears. Tears for Mark. His death was so wrong. His life was over and hers would never be the same. How was she ever going to have a normal life with his death hanging over her?
She entered the law offices in haste. Laura gave her a cold reception. “Glad to see that you are early today. You have a lot to do.”
“I’ll get to it when I get to it. Right now, I need to speak to Neil.”
“Well, I’m afraid he’s busy and you’re going to have to wait,” she said trying to block Kate from making her way to Neil’s office.
“Laura, I know that he is busy, but it is an emergency. I need to speak with him immediately.”
“Like I said, he’s busy and you’re going to have to wait,” Laura said, raising her voice.
Neil could hear the commotion outside of his office. He stuck his head out the door. “What’s going on out here?” he asked gruffly.
“Miss Simmons is insisting on seeing you and I was telling her that you are busy.
“Laura, I’m never too busy for Miss Simmons,” he said curtly. “Please let her pass.”
Laura glared at Kate as she stepped to the side to let her by. She didn’t say anything else before returning to her desk.
Neil closed his office door after Kate entered.
“What’s going on, baby? Did you leave class early?” he asked, glancing at his watch.
“Yes, I did. I overheard two classmates talking about Mark. His body was found in Alpine. The police don’t have any suspects.”
“Oh, shit baby. I’m so sorry to hear that. Let’s sit down,” Neil said motioning to the sofa behind them. ” They made their way to the sofa and took her hands in his.
“Neil, if Roger could kill Mark… then he could kill you, too. I’m scared that something is going to happen to you,” Kate ch
oked out. You need… you need to have security too,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
“Baby, it’s going to be okay. I’ll call Paul and get some men assigned to me if that will make you feel better. I’m not going to let anything hurt us. I will do whatever it takes for you to feel safe again.”
“Thank you,” she said, sobbing, as she fell into his arms. “I just couldn’t bare it if something happened to you,” she said, looking up into his soft eyes.
“I don’t want you to worry about working today. I want you to go home and take care of yourself. I know that you are upset about Mark. Maybe call Dr. Cox and see if he can do a phone session. It might help to talk to him about how you are feeling right now.”
“Okay,” she said, relieved to not have to deal with Laura.
“Is Porter waiting outside for you?”
“Yes.”
Neil took out his phone and texted Porter. “He’s expecting you, so why don’t you head down. I’ll try to leave early if I can.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when you get home,” she said, breaking free from his embrace. All she wanted was to be home alone with him, cradled in his arms.
Neil kissed her on the forehead and walked her to his office door. “See you in a few hours, baby.”
She smiled at him and walked out of his office. As she passed Laura’s desk, Laura hissed at her, “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Mr. Statton has told me to go home for the day,” Kate replied without stopping. She didn’t have anything else to say.
***
“Laura, could you come in here please?”
“Yes, Mr. Statton.”
She entered his office and he closed the door behind her. “Please have a seat.”
She sat down and waited for him to return to his seat.
“I couldn’t help but overhear some of what happened out there. I just want to make something clear to you. No one is more important to me than Kate. If you ever speak crossly to her again, you will no longer be employed here. Do I make myself clear?”
Taken By You Page 13
