His Slave

48. Fight

Early the next morning, the storm finally breaks, and I wake to rays of warm spring sunshine streaking through the open curtains in James' bedroom. He pulls me on top of him, soothingly dragging his fingertips down my back.

"I'm almost disappointed that the storm is over," James remarks with a laugh.

"Why is that?" I ask him, listening to his heart beat.

James reaches up, running his fingers through my hair. "Because that means that I'm going to have to go back into work," he replies, his words laced with annoyance.

I shake my head. "You're not allowed to go back to work," I tell him playfully.

James sighs. "Erin, you know I have to," he replies, a hint of resignation in his words.

"Well, then you know I'm coming with you," I say definitively, lifting my head enough to meet his gaze.

James smirks. "I never said I was planning on leaving you at home," he replies.

"I'm just making sure we're on the same page," I retort, making him chuckle. We lay there for a few more minutes before getting up and getting ready for the day.

I cook breakfast like usual, and when I make James' coffee I drop to my knees, presenting it to him.

"Thank you, Erin," he says, stroking my hair before taking the coffee cup from my hands.

I smile up at him. "You're welcome, Master," I reply as I get up and take my seat across from him. I force myself to wait for him to start eating before I do. I don't want to get punished again.

The drive to Persona Industries Headquarters is quiet and when we get there, Emily greets us.

"I tried to call you eleven times," she tells James, glaring at him as she approaches us. "What did you do? Turn your phone off?" She asks him, throwing her arms out before folding them over her chest

James gives her a shit-eating grin. "The power went out. Couldn't charge it," he lies.

Emily shakes her head. "Considering you have a backup generator that has the capacity to power a small city for two weeks, I find that quite hard to believe," she remarks, skeptically quirking an eyebrow at him.

James just shrugs as if he has no clue what she's talking about. "Must have blown a fuse," he replies simply.

"James Harrington, I swear," Emily gasps in exasperation, shaking her head as she turns to me. "How do you put up with him?" She asks.

I giggle. "Coffee," I tell her. "Lots and lots of coffee." We all share a laugh.

After a moment Emily turns back to James, the smile fading from her lips. "We need to talk about Riley," she says seriously.

James shakes his head. "Erin told me everything. He's been let go, right?" He asks, giving her a pointed look.

Emily glances to me nervously before nodding. "Yes. Well, actually he's been arrested by the West Lynfield Police Department," she corrects, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.

James nods. "Good. As long as he's no longer posing a threat to Persona Industries, I don't care if he gets shipped out to the ocean and fed to the goddamn sharks," he tells her.

I curl my bottom lip in disgust. That's... that's not something that they actually do, right? I'll have to ask James later to be sure.

Emily laughs before turning to me again. "I am curious to know how you figured out that he was an escaped debtor," She says.

Before I can answer, James waves her off. "It's of little concern. I would however, appreciate it if you could get legal started on working out the groundwork for opening a coffee shop," he tells her. Before Emily can ask him any questions, James takes my hand, leading me back to his office.