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Norman's face turns red and when he opens his mouth, I grab him by the arm. "Let's go."
"Let go of me!" He shakes me off, tossing me onto the ground. This time, I'm caught by someone else. As Norman storms off, Ilook up to see a man with a terrible scar on the left side of his face.
"Are you okay?" His voice is kind, and I blink.
"Um, yeah. Sorry about that."
Steadying myself, I look at Tom. "Let's go."
However, before I leave, I find myself looking over my shoulder at the man watching me.
I've never seen him around before.
Turning my head, I focus on the current problem on hand, whose name is Norman.
Catching up to him, I grab his shoulder, swinging him around to face me, "Have you lost your mind? Do you think anyone will want us to acquire their company if you behave like that? This isn't a game, Norman! If you want to become Alpha, then you'd better start acting like it instead of like a spoiled brat!"
I never speak like this to Norman. I don't have a death wish. But if he doesn't get this merger, I don't get my freedom.
"You'd better watch your mouth," he snarls, getting in my face.
I don't back down. “If you had been on time today, we would have managed to make some headway. You showed up late, and on top of that, you acted that way in his company's lobby. You think he's going to want to go ahead with the acquisition now or even hear us out?"
His hand lifts, and before I can so much as blink, it comes crashing down on my left cheek.
"Norman!" Panicked gasps from the lawyers have me gritting my teeth. The pain doesn't bother me, but I know Jonathon will blame me for his outburst, and he's already pissed at me from this morning.
I can only imagine what he'll do to me.
I watch Norman get in his car and drive off, furious.
I close my eyes, resisting the urge to throw up.
Me and my damn big mouth!
"I'm okay." I lift a hand when the rest of the team runs up to me. "Not a word to the CEO."
"But he slapped you!" Tom growls. "Even if he's the Managing Director––"
"Not a word, Tom," I reiterate, wearily. "Trust me. It'll be worse if he finds out."
I let out a shaky breath before steadying myself. "You guys should go. I'll talk to Jonathon."
"There's no way we're going to get past the door," Tom mutters, shooting me a worried look. "Not after the stunt Norman just pulled. Why is the Alpha not seeing any of this?"
"Tom––" There's a warning edge to my voice, but he doesn't seem to care right now.
"You know I'm right, Cynthia," Tom spits out. "From the moment Norman came on board, everything has been screwed up. The whole company is going under and Jonathon has been blaming you."
"Tom!" My voice is sharp as whiplash as I glance at Tony, who is still in the driver's seat, listening in.
Tony is the one who drives me anywhere I have to go. It's another power move by Jonathon to keep me in check. He's already witnessed what happened, and there is no doubt in my mind that he's going to spill the beans to Jonathon, who's going to take it out on my already burning back.
Hollow exhaustion fills me.
Sometimes I just want to sink onto the ground and scream. I want to scream and scream until my throat is raw. My heart is a tattered thing, my soul refusing to give up, determined to fight back. But for what? This void is endless. No matter which way I turn, no matter where I go, pain and suffering are waiting for me at the end of the road. I already know what Jonathon is going to do to me, and the fear is choking me up. He has never once held Norman responsible for his actions. He's always found another scapegoat. And for the last couple of years, that scapegoat has been me. With each worsening mistake that Norman makes, I have to bear ten lashes.
I open the car door, my body feeling heavy.
