Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 95311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
You can't run. You can't hide. I will find you wherever you go.
She dropped it onto the floor as if it had scalded her. Whoever was out to get her had her home address now. It was one thing to know a coworker slipped messages under your door, or sent you threatening emails, or even wrote cruel things on your car. But when they found their way to your home to taunt you... that was something else altogether.
With a sick stomach, and all ideas of possible food pushed aside, she grabbed the letter and stuffed it under a pile of old mail. She made sure the door was locked when she left, though she knew it wouldn't stop letters from sliding under her door to haunt her later and promised herself if it kept escalating, despite knowing it would be no help, she would go to the cops.
–
She barreled into his driveway with ease of her surroundings. Elliott looked out his study's window when he saw the lights pull up. It wasn't often she went to his house. Once in a while when he forgot something at work, she would bring it to him. But he hadn't messaged her about anything.
Hannah climbed out of the car and opened the passenger door, pulling out six hangers of suits wrapped in plastic. She usually dropped off his dry cleaning early in the day when he had a meeting. He probably never even knew how the clean clothes got in his bedroom. They were just always there.
She hadn't even considered that he might have been home. She didn't even notice his car right in front of hers in the driveway. She unlocked the front door, closing it behind her and starting for the staircase.
"Hannah?"
She froze, her heart thrumming madly in her chest. EM? What was he doing there? She turned toward the sound of her name and found him starting to rise from his desk in the library.
"Oh," her voice sounded breathless. "I didn't know you were here. I was just dropping off the dry cleaning like usual."
He studied her for a moment, not saying anything. She took the silence as a chance to slip away and put the clothes in the closet and get out of there without having to have any kind of conversation with her boss.
"Wait," EM's voice caught her just as her foot hit the first step. "Wait. The clothes can wait. Can you come here for a second," he asked, hoping his voice sounded reassuring, calm.
Hannah took a deep breath and turned, walking into the study and hanging the clothes on a coat rack next to the door. "Yes?"
Elliott waved a hand to the chair across from his desk. "Have a seat."
Hannah nodded, feeling extremely uncomfortable. What could he possibly have to discuss with her? She had been making sure her work was irreproachable. She did every task he set before her and had it done in less time than he allotted it. Except his lunch that afternoon. She had screwed up there. Though she found it incredibly strange that he would be so annoyed by that that he had to pull her aside and chastise her like a kid in a principal's office.
She sat down, folding her hands in her lap and looking at his face while carefully avoiding eye contact. There was a pregnant silence, she could hear the wind making a tree outside tap against the windowpane. She heard the buzz of the white noise from his computer. Finally he sighed. The sound caught her off guard, making her jump slightly.
He was trying to find the right way to begin such a delicate conversation. She looked so small and worried sitting there, like a strong breeze or one misspoken word could knock her right over.
"Hannah..." he started, noticing how straight she was holding her spine. "How are you?" he asked, feeling dumb and lacking.
Hannah's eyebrows raised. He was asking her how she was? He had never asked her that. He probably never asked any of his employees that. "I'm... fine," she said quickly. Too quickly.
Elliott shook his head. "No, don't do that," he said, getting out of his chair and moving toward the front of his desk. He leaned against it, putting himself right in front of where she was sitting, his feet only inches from hers. "Something is going on with you. And it has been going on for a while now. I just want to know what it is."
Hannah was silent a moment, panic filling her so full she felt nauseated. She couldn't get into this with him. He would never understand. He would probably even be angry with her for not telling him. He wouldn't accept this behavior in his office. And on top of all of that, it was too embarrassing to let him know all the horrible things that were being said about her.