AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He scoffed loudly. “I didn’t think I had to spell it out. I mean, come on. How dense do you have to be?”
My patience snapped at his insult, and I spun, heading straight for them. Julie’s hands were clenched in her lap, her eyes downcast, and her chin against her chest. She looked like she was trying to make herself small for him and that a wave of fury swept through me so powerfully, I almost knocked him out.
“Julie. Come with me, please.”
She nodded lightly, sniffling, but she didn’t look up. Pushing her chair away from the table, she grimaced at the floor.
“Alan, can we talk about this later? I just–”
“There’s no point, babe. I can’t make it any clearer. I gotta get going anyway. I’ve got a meeting.”
She whimpered and nodded, turning away slowly. Her footsteps were hesitant, and I could tell she was hoping he’d change his mind and call her back. Over my dead body. I took her arm gently, guiding her away and glaring at the gawkers who stood around staring. Bennett waited by the exit, a dark look on his face, and he fell into step on her other side, silent as the grave as we headed upstairs.
Luka was waiting in my office, a few documents in his hand and his feet on my desk. He smiled at me, but when his gaze dropped to Julie, his face fell and he shot to his feet in an instant.
“What the hell happened?”
I shook my head, urging Julie into his vacated seat. “Bennett, shut the door.”
He did as I asked, closing the door quietly. I grabbed a bottle of water from the mini bar in the corner, bringing it to Julie while Bennett handed her a box of tissues. Luka looked bewildered, shooting me a confused look.
“Her boyfriend broke up with her.”
I didn’t want to get into it with him, I didn’t want to embarrass her any further, but Bennett wasn’t as tactful.
“He didn’t just break up with her, he humiliated her. Julie, he was wrong. There’s nothing that he said that was true. Please–”
She shook her head wildly, tears spilling down her cheeks. She didn’t believe him. It wasn’t surprising, not after all that, but it bothered me that she thought Alan’s cruel comments were true. Kneeling in front of her, I took her hands gently.
“He’s right. The things that man said were meant to hurt you. They held no truth to them. Anyone who’s ever met you would know the truth.”
She just shook her head again. Nothing we could say right now would penetrate through what that douche just did.
“What the fuck did he say to her?”
The smile that almost constantly graced my friend’s face was gone, and he was seething watching her cry. I sighed, grabbing his arm and pulling him aside. Bennett took over, whispering reassurances to her that would probably fall on deaf ears.
“You need to calm down.”
“Fuck that. Tell me what the hell happened. Why is she crying like that?”
I grimaced. It didn’t feel like my story to tell, but I knew if I didn’t fill him in, he’d keep pestering her about it and she’d been through enough. Speaking low, I described what we witnessed in the cafeteria. With each passing moment, Luka’s face grew darker until he was almost unrecognizable. He bared his teeth, his fists clenched at his sides.
“I’ll fucking kill him.”
I shook my head, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “You’ll do no such thing. It’s a personal matter and has nothing to do with you.”
He scoffed. “Like hell it doesn’t. She’s my friend and I’m not gonna let him get away with treating her like this.”
“If you start a fight, I’ll have no choice but to report you. You’re too valuable here for me to lose you. Stop and take a breath.”
He was vibrating with fury, his eyes darting between the door and Julie’s crying form. I had to grab his face and force him to look at me to get him under control. He glared at me and knocked my hand away, but when I took a deep breath, he copied me until he no longer looked like he was going to go hunting down a douchebag.
“So what now?”
I didn’t have an answer to that. I wasn’t exactly an expert on dealing with crying women. If anything, Luka was the best at that kind of thing, but right now, he wasn’t thinking clearly.
A shushing sound drew our attention. Bennett had taken the liberty of pulling Julie into a tight embrace. She clung to him, her shoulders shaking in silent sobs, and he rubbed circles on her back. He lifted his gaze to me and the pained expression gutted me. Luka and Bennett were my closest friends, and Julie was important to all of us. We all were hurting for her and none of us knew what to do next.
