Crossing lines -An Office Passion Story

Part VII

Great, now I need to get a new phone.

Back to present

Kathia was running between the conference rooms for the last minute catch ups before the year ended, when a hand sneaked around her waist pulling her body in one corner of the hallway.

Her mouth got covered by a swollen hand, and a disgusting smell invaded her senses.

'Missed me?' Thomas's voice sent goose bumps all over her skin and it wasn't the good ones. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and a feeling of nausea took over.

She struggled to ease from his grasp but she was too weak. Her eyesight started to blur and her body began to shake. She was having a panic attack.

'Don't give me the cold shoulder sweetie, you know I don't like to be ignored.' in one swift move he twisted her, back to the wall, fanning her face with his disgusting breath.

He's drunk. Kathia screamed for help but all that came out was muffled noises. His swollen hand was pressing harder and harder on her mouth cutting the air to her lungs with his proximity.

He poked his tongue out and got closer to her neck.

Repulsion.

Kathia squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the dreading contact but nothing touched her. Her body jerked when the pressure around her body disappeared and fell to her knees sure that she will faint any moment now. She opened her eyes and through tears she tried to make sense of what was happening in front of her.

'Ansel.' she croaked out in a voice she couldn't even recognise as hers. She felt dirty, shameful, fearful of her life.

He heard his name come out faintly from her lips and realised she's conscious again. She did faint for a moment, that's when he lost his shit and started beating  Thomas with no regards to any consequences. He blocked her view with his broad back and stood still like a wall, protecting her from anything that might come her way.

Through her struggle to keep her eyes open, she could see a bloody Thomas, laid out on the floor, surrounded by the first aider of the company and security. This can't be happening.

Strong hands lifted her limp body off the floor, and she left herself weak. She didn't have any power to fight back and she knew it was Ansel, his perfume invaded her senses pushing her to open her eyes again.

His face was unrecognisable, he looked like he was in pain, like he was being tortured by some unknown force.

Kathia tightened her fingers around the border of his blazer and pushed her head in the crook of his neck, Why is my heart hurting for him?

'I'm sorry.' was all she could say between she sobs. 'I'm so sorry.'

Ansel kept silent, he fought through the urge to return and destroy Thomas, and focused on having Kathia in his protective arms.

There was complete silence in the building's halls, complete silence in the reception floor as they passed through and she found it suspicious that there were no whispers.

She looked at Ansel again, his jaw was straight with anger, a fiery blaze in his eyes making them turn into a hot auburn, his eyebrows furrowed and his body tensed because of the adrenaline.

She understood then why no one dared to say anything, he looked murderous.

He placed Kathia gently on the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt making sure she was tucked safely in her seat.

He started the car towards the Capitol and with a calm demeanor he had to ask the questions that were eating at him.'Since when is this harassment going on?'