Chapter 5: Threatened

_Lynette’s Point Of View_

Savannah’s phone was still in my grasp as I tried to think of how I would get myself out of this scandal of being Bladen’s mistress. I didn’t have much time, so when Savannah’s burst of laughter died down and she reached for her phone, I did the most stupid thing I could think of.

I bolted.

“Hey! My phone,” Savannah whisper-shouted behind me, but I paid her no attention, and thankfully, she didn’t follow me as I rushed for the restroom. It was only a matter of time before this news would spread around the office, so I needed to think quickly.

My mind was set on the destination ahead that I didn’t notice when I was cornered by someone until a sharp sting on my left wrist almost blinded me.

“Ow!” I cried out, snapping my head up to see who was inflicting such pain on my hand, only for my blood to run ice cold on meeting his bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair. Victor. “H-how are you here? You’re not supposed to be here, Victor,” I said breathlessly, looking around for someone to draw their attention.

Victor grunted, sounding just as angry as he looked, and I gasped as he spun me so that my back was painfully shoved against the wall and so he could pin me to it, but I felt the wall budge slightly on impact, which meant that it had to be a door.

“You would like that very much, Lynnette, won’t you?” He sneered, his hot breath fanning my neck, his grip on my wrist tightening to a fault, and I squeezed my eyes shut. “You got your little plaything to do your bidding by banning me from working here, right?”

I shook my head vehemently, my heart rate picking up, and I trembled through my words. “I had no idea about that. You must have done something to warrant what you got,” I said, and that seemed to infuriate him more as he jerked me closer to his chest before shoving my back on the wall again, all traces of the man I once dated, gone.

Instead of crying out in the pain I was feeling, I bit down hard on my tongue.

“You’ve taken everything I’ve worked for from me,” Victor seethed like a pot of boiling water, spitting venom at me, and if I wasn’t so weary of his outburst, I would have scoffed. “You may think you have won, but watch your back, Lynnette. I am going to drag you down and make sure you pay for this, even if it’s with the last drop of my blood. Mark my words,” Victor roared, and my eyes met his to see if he was joking only to find a sick darkness and conviction in them that had me abandoning fight and bouncing straight to flight mode.

With my heart in my throat and goosebumps surrounding my neck, I searched the wall behind me using my free hand. I touched a knob, almost exhaling a small breath of relief as I twisted the knob open before staggering into the room behind the door.

Victor let go of my hand like it burned him, and he took a sharp step back, but I was more concerned about getting away from him that I didn’t think before I locked him out, shutting myself in the room.

I dropped my head against the door, using my right hand to soothe where Victor’s violent grip burned, and it took a moment for my breathing to return to normal. Turning to take in the room I was in, a shocked gasp fell from my lips as I jerked backwards.

“Oh my goodness!” I jumped, looking around me to see that the room…office that I had escaped into, was Bladen’s.

I must have been so absentminded on my run for the restroom that I didn’t realize I was in front of his office when Victor cornered me.

Bladen was still seated behind his desk, his expression plain and unreadable, but it was enough to pin me to my spot.

“I’m so sorry,” I apologized, wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible. I just hoped to heaven that he hadn’t seen the headlines yet. “I thought this was the restroom, silly me. Don’t mind me, Sir,” I waved, turning my back to him to leave.

“You’ve worked here for how long and you mistake my office for the restroom?” The question had me turning to face him to see the menacing scowl on his handsome face.

Instead of cowering under his scrutiny, I pushed my chest outward to appear taller and more confident. It wasn’t of use, but I still spoke. “It was a mistake, and it won’t happen again,” I promised.

“Can you say the same for the news you have online about me?” Bladen asked, his tone hinting at the accusation, and I balked.

So he remembered me? Or was it because I still had my club dress on?

“I did no such thing,” I defended myself while trying to keep my attitude in check. He was my boss after all.

“A scandal like this is no simple mistake,” he scolded with a pointed look, flashing his phone to me, and I wondered how I missed this asshole personality of his yesterday. “It is not something to be attached to my name, and it just so happens that it’s not one I can fix with a flick of my finger,” he spat, and I almost scoffed. “But I can certainly douse some of the flames by simply having you fired.”

My jaw slacked as my heart came to a screeching halt.

“Unless you have another solution, of course” he added coldly, and the wheels in my head started to turn.

Victor had voiced out his intent for revenge on me, so my safety was on the line. My job was just threatened, and my reputation was sitting on a ticking time bomb. All of this could be solved if…

My train of thought was cut short as Bladen leaned forward in his seat and growled the words out. “Who. Did. That. To. Your. Hand?”