Damage Control

Chapter 38

"Anastazi."

"Nathaniel."

Apart of me missed this useless bickering between us.

"It's about your company," he finally revealed.

Why the fuck didn't he start with that?

"I'm listening," I sighed wearily turning to face him as I arched an eyebrow waiting for him to speak.

"Take it off."

"Nathaniel, speak." I snapped irritably, hoping he would drop the subject.

"I want to see you."

My stomach did a somersault, but I refused to get caught up in his words.

"Unless you're fucking blind, I think you can see me just fine, now speak."

His crystal blue eyes bore through my shades as his jaw clenched in anger. "Can you stop being stubborn for one fucking second?"

No.

"I see I'm just wasting my time here," I responded, slowly turning around to leave. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, and I didn't want to be here when another panic attack took over me.

"You can email me if you actually have something to say pertaining to my business."

But before I could take a step in the direction of the door, Nathaniel reached out and gripped my wrist, making me yelp out in pain.

Instead of letting me go like any sane person would, he loosened his grip on my arm and gently pinned me against the wall with his brows furrowed in worry.

"You just caught me off guard," I quickly lied through ragged breaths before he could figure out the real reason, but it was too late.

Nathaniel shoved my sleeve upward then did the same to the other, revealing the red marks on my arm. Rage and hurt flashed across his face as he took my arms in his giant hands, rotating them to see the 360 damage.

His nostrils flared as his chest rose heavily, taking in every inch of my exposed skin. If he was acting like this just by the sight of my slightly bruised arm, I knew he'd blow up if he saw my face.

"It's nothing," I mumbled, trying to pull my sleeves down to cover it up, but he wouldn't let me.

"Nathaniel—"

In a blink of an eye, he snatched my sunglasses off the tip of my nose and tossed them to the floor before cupping my face in the palm of his warm hands. I winced slightly as his fingers gently brushed over the nasty bruises on my cheek as he looked down at me with a tortured expression etched across his face.

Minutes passed as we stood there in silence, my breathing shallow and even and his, ragged and harsh. I could feel his hands trembling against my skin, doing his best to stay composed, but the wild look in his eyes told me he was seconds away from exploding and going on a murder spree.

"Who did it?" He finally whispered in a strained voice taking his hands off my face and curling them at his side.

"I fell down the stairs," I lied.

"Anastazi, don't," Nathaniel jabbed a finger in my face, then came to his senses and dropped it as he took a step backward. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying, you can call Stella, and she'll tell you the same thing."

Maybe.

He nodded and pulled his phone out, doing exactly as I told him.

"But don't call now; she may be busy doing things with Theo," I rushed out, taking a painful step forward in hopes it would be enough to stop him from talking to Stella's blabbermouth.

He held his hand up, stopping me mid-stride as he put the call on speaker.

"How can I help you, my sweet cousin?" Stella's high-pitch voice chirped through the phone, answering on the first ring.

"What happened to her?" Nathaniel growled, getting straight to the point. He was gripping his phone so tight I was convinced it was going to shatter.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Stella feigned ignorance bringing a small smile to my face.

"Stella," Nathaniel warned, glaring down at his phone.

"Stella tell him how I fell down the stairs so he can leave me alone," I piped in, praying she would go along with my lie so I could leave and go back home.

Nathaniel shot me a murderous glare then turned his back on me.

Asshole.

I heard Stella sigh through the phone, seconds away from giving me up to the enemy.

"Stella," I warned, clutching my abdomen.

"It's not my place to say," she finally muttered in defeat, ignoring me. "But I can tell you she definitely did not get those injuries by falling down the stairs. I'm sorry, Stazi."

Shit.

Nathaniel hung up immediately after getting his answer and turned to face me, his eyes cold and hard.

"Tell me who did this."

"I fell down the stairs," I repeated, sticking to my story; I didn't owe him anything, especially not an answer.

"Cazzo! Anastazi, stop with fucking the lies," he roared, driving his fist into the wall directly beside my head, making me flinch back in shock.

"Stop it," I whispered through gritted teeth, feeling a surge of complete rage coursing through my body. He had no right to act like this; I was the one that should be angry, not him.

"Then tell me who did this," Nathaniel ordered, towering over me as his nostrils flared, losing his temper by the minute.

"Why? So you can blame me and say this was my fault? Tell me that I was asking for it just like you did when Jason attacked and almost fucking raped me?" I finally snapped, feeling hot tears flow down my cheeks freely, but I did nothing to stop it as I recalled the painful memory.

Even though Nathaniel apologized, I never forgot how he blamed me for what happened and that's the exact reason why I didn't want to get him involved in this.

He grimaced at my words, and I could see his eyes filling with regret, but I continued anyway.

"I'm handling this fucking situation the best I can, and you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me the moment I was fired, so stop pretending like you actually give a shit."

The flood of tears blurred my vision, and pain erupted in my head, but I needed to finish—I needed to say my piece so I could move on.

"I have enough on my plate already; I don't need you telling me that I was too weak and pathetic to defend myself while my ex-boyfriend was beating the shit out of me in the corner of a fucking carnival because I'm well aware. I'm done with this place, and I'm done with you, so please, just leave me alone." I whispered, ending the unspoken thing between us.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt saying those words to him, but I knew it was the best decision for me—for my healing.

Nathaniel didn't even try to stop me as I stumbled blindly out of his office. In all honesty, I was hoping he would chase after me, tell me he was sorry— anything that could put us a step in the right direction but that was just foolish wishful thinking.

Nathaniel only ever cared about himself, but I was just too blind to see it, just like I was blind with Brandon.

Old habits die hard, I guess.

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