Daddy Devil

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

LEAH'S POV

Sitting down on my office seat, I work hard to keep the shaking to a minimum until I've hidden behind my desk. My ass hits the chair just as my legs give out. I desperately want to burst out crying but also don't want to give Mike the satisfaction of getting the better of me. He gets enough out of me and I refuse to let him take any more. The ding from the elevator brings my attention to it. The door opens, exposing a furious-looking Damien, who storms down the walkway through the office. The office grows quiet as he passes through but he was so deep in his fury he never notices. If it was physically possible, he would have steam coming out of his ears. He was fuming. Stomping past me and opening his office door, he turns around and looks right at me.

"Leah!" I jump with fear as he shouts my name. His eyes soften when he sees my movements, speaking in a calmer tone this time. "In my office...." Already looking at the floor, I nod my head as I stand up, walking towards him. Damien steps to the side of the door, giving me room to come through. He has an energy about him that I can't place but I know whatever it is, it's not aimed at me.

I finally look up at Damien's face and all I see is concern. "Leah." He stops his sentence and thinks as he walks closer to the lounge where I have sat down and sits on the coffee table in front of me. He places his elbows on his knees and rubs his hands together like he is figuring out how to word what he wants to say. "Leah... you can tell me it is none of my business but I am going to ask you anyway. What's going on with Mike?" Even the mention of his name makes my skin crawl and I am sure Damien can tell I'm not happy hearing it. I feel like I need to tell someone, but I don't think Damien is that person, and yet he makes me feel so safe... why? Why does this man who is essentially a stranger make me feel safer than I have ever felt? I feel fingers slide under my chin, gently tilting my head back so I am looking into Damien's eyes. "I..." I stumble over my words. I want to tell him the truth, but I just can't get the words out of my mouth. Instead, I sit in silence as tears threaten to spill down my cheeks. With pity written all over his face, "Leah. You can talk to me. I want to help you, but I can't if you don't let me." I sit on the couch not able to hold back the tears. Before anything can escape my mouth my phone starts ringing, taking my attention away from the eyes of the man in front of me. Reaching down into my pocket, I pull out the cell to see who saved me from blurting out my secret, only to see Michael's name flashing. Standing up I moved away from Damien as I answer the call. "Hey, Michael. What's going on?" I can hear him breathing through the speaker and I know instantly he isn't happy. Looking over at Damien, I notice him looking back at me with concern in his eyes. Distracting myself, I speak again before Michael gets the chance, "Mike, are you ok? Did something happen? What's wrong?" Hearing a growl on the other end scares me into dropping my phone. Damien scurries to grab it and puts it on speaker, not giving me any choice but to allow him to listen to the conversation. "Leah.." Mike starts as he takes a deep breath and releases it. "What the fuck did you do?" I'm confused. What is he talking about? I haven't done anything since he dropped me off. I mean he left me 20 minutes ago. I can't get into too much trouble in that amount of time. Mike's tone is making me nervous and I stammer as I try to get the words out. "I haven't done anything, you have just dropped me at work, Mike." He growled possessively through the earpiece.

"I am going to ask you a question, and you better fucking answer me truthfully." He speaks to me like I am a child, knowing that it takes me back to my childhood. "Did you go to your bosses house and fuck him?"

My eyes cut to Damien's, who is already looking at me with a hint of pity mixed in with something else, something I can't figure out.

"N..N..No , Mike. I mean I took him to his home because he was drunk and needed to shower and sleep it off, so yeah, I mean, I did that part. But I haven't had sex with him. Why would you even ask me that?" While his question has me fired up, he knows I won't be able to do anything about it, I am too broken. I was cracked before I got to Mike, but that 'man' had completely broken me, now no one will want me. "Your fucking boss, 'Mister fucking perfect' told me." I'm back to looking at Damien. That's what it is, it's guilt. He feels guilty. Did he really tell Mike we had slept together? He wouldn't know the hell Mike puts me through, if he did he wouldn't say anything that would piss Mike off. " Are you really going to tell me he was lying, Leah? Why would he lie about that? More to the point, why would he lie about doing it with you? I'm sure that man wouldn't even have to beg to get pussy, he wouldn't even look sideways at someone like you." Hatred seeped out of his mouth and over the phone, entering my brain in the hurtful and painful way it usually does, and once again making me feel that he is right. No other man will ever want me and I will never be needed the way a woman feels like she should be.

Damien pulls me from my thoughts by his movements. He takes the phone off speaker and moves towards the door before turning around and yells out, "Leah! Get off the phone please. We have a meeting in 20 minutes and I need you to set up for it since Maria is away today. No personal calls, we just don't have time right now." Putting the phone up to my ear with my shaky hand, I go to repeat what Damien told me. Not having to say anything before I hear Mike's voice on the other end. "Go to lover boy, Leah. We will talk about this later. I will be picking you up every day and dropping you off. It seems that I need to remind you who owns you." He says before hanging up on me. I can't hold myself up any longer and collapse on the floor in a heap, sobbing to myself. Damien runs over to me, picks me up and places me gently down on the couch, before laying his jacket over my tiny body. I hear him as he leaves, talking to Maria as he closes the door behind him. I don't know what he is saying to her but he isn't gone for long. I feel him as he sits on the floor next to my head and starts to move my hair away from my wet cheeks. His sweet gesture made the tears fall harder. I should be mad at him for telling Mike those lies, but in my heart of hearts I know he wouldn't say them like Mike took them.

I open my eyes but the world that was in front of me was blurry through my tears. I could see Damien with kindness written all over his handsome face, he was obviously concerned

"I'm sorry, Leah. I didn't say those words, but I may have let him take what he wanted from what I did say." He looks to the floor, shaking his head, ashamed of what has happened. There is no way he can know what trouble he has caused and I have no idea what will happen when Mike picks me up tonight.

I know he won't be happy. I will tell him I will meet him outside so he won't come in and cause a scene, I'm already embarrassed enough and Damien is the only one who has seen me. I can't have Mike coming in here and trying to start a fight with my boss; my boss who has been nothing but kind to me.

Leaning up on my forearm, slowly making my way to sitting upright, I can feel the tension that is coming from Damien. I know he is resisting the urge to ask me questions that I am just not ready to answer and it's like he knows I'm not.

"Leah." He sighs and I look towards him. I can't look him in the eyes, I am too embarrassed, but he grabs my chin, forcing me too.

"Leah, I don't know what is going on with you and Mike, but I am going to be honest, I don't like the way you look scared when he is around or even when he's only on the phone." He still hasn't let go of my chin and that is making it hard to hide the feelings that I know he can see on my face. One thing I have always been told is if my mouth doesn't tell you how I feel, then my face certainly will. Damien exhales, "Leah, I know something is going on, but I understand you don't want to talk about it. I want you to know that when you are ready to talk to someone, my door is open. I want you to talk to me about it. I can help, whatever it is. I have money if that is what you need and I know people that can help. Whatever it is, when you are ready, I will do everything I can to help."

This man, who in the grand scheme of things, barely knows me, wants to waste his money helping me. I am baffled, I am a nobody, I am not special, I am not someone he should save.

"Mr Caldwell, I appreciate your concern and your offer, but there are people out there who deserve to have your help, I, however, am not one of them." Standing myself up and straightening my clothes, I walk over to the mirror fixing my makeup before opening the door and leaving his office, quietly closing the solid wood behind me.