The Dancer

11. The Call

Sara had never in her life felt this way. Sick to her stomach, her head a complete fog, her body loose and lite as a feather. She had two drinks that night so far. A shot and a martini. The shot was ordered by her when she first entered the club. The martini was given to her by... 

Sara couldn't remember, her brain swarming was questions, one right after the other. Her paranoia was kicking in. What if she was given poison? What if her stalker gave her that drink? What if she was being watched right now?

Sara stumbles from her seat at the bar, struggling to stand correctly. She walks down a hallway in search of the bathroom. She finds a line of girls and passes it. Was that it? her mind drawing a blank of what she was after before. She turns around but there isn't much to see in the hallway anymore, no line, no one in sight. She runs a hand through her knotted hair, her body shivering from fear. Had she imagined the line of girls? She attempts to continue down the long hallway. How long can one hallway be? she questions herself some more until she stumbles again, taken out of her reverie. 

She needed help. Oliver was gone with his girlfriend. Where was James? She swore he had left her at the bar, saying he'd be back in a minute. How long ago was that?

She reaches out for the red velvet wall to sturdy herself. She feels her back hit the cool wall and she slowly lets herself down to the floor. The room was spinning now, causing her brain to fail at common sense. Think! She begs herself. She tries to focus, her hands roaming along her sides until she realizes she is holding her clutch like she held before.  She opens the black leather purse and pulls out her phone. She mentally praises herself for thinking correctly but hopes her body won't give into the fatigue that was quickly setting in. 

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Malcolm sat in the back of the expensive company car beside Howard Richards. Howard's driver focused on Malcolm's address, that being ten minutes away. Howard was quiet however satisfied with Dominic Verdez getting his ass handed to him. 

Howard was a family man, married to his high school sweet heart who birthed two girls and just birthed a boy. Howard was a man who had been raised by a single mom, his father being a dead beat drunk. Howard knew how hard it was for women in the workforce, he'd witnessed it. His witnessing the struggles his mom had as well as the problems his wife endured when she worked, bother made him a man who loathed other's in his work. He was cautious around the secretaries in his work, all of whom were female, never giving them too much work since they were already overloaded with work from other associates. Howard hated men like Verdez, men who preyed upon women in the workforce. He had been dying for Verdez to get a talking too and it overjoyed him to finally hear the words, "suspension" and "fired." 

Howard admired Malcolm however. The two were in different circles, as Malcolm was much higher up the ladder and being a trial attorney as Howard was a senior associate who practiced tort. 

The silence of the car faded as Malcolm's simple ringtone buzzed away from his jacket pocket. Malcolm reached into his inside pocket, fishing out his smart phone, he didn't even bother glancing at the caller ID.

"This is Malcolm Linden," He answered. 

"M-M-Mal-Malcolm?" The voice stammered. The voice was coated in fear. The voice's innocence and quiet, soft tone made his heart race. 

"Sara? Whats wrong?" Malcolm was quick, his pulse accelerating. Was it her stalker? He cursed himself for even thinking about leaving her alone. It had been a week since their fight but it was just a stupid fight. He regretted his words and soon his chest was painfully moving fast as the fear in her voice came to him.