Discovering Happiness (Book 2)

Chapter 19- Leon

It was 9pm and I was stuck at the office, I sent an exhausted Linda home half and hour ago. She was here since 5am she had also worked everyday since the day after Christmas. A small group of us which included Linda, Dale, Grayson, the head of our security and Ricky the janitor, brought in the new years in the break room with some much needed champagne and pizza.

Grayson was here whenever I was or any of the partners worked late. After what happened to Dante he seemed to up security and felt like her should take on the extra responsibility. I heard a knock on my door and called for them to come in. My office was a little messy. Ever since Ebony left for Texas I had been sleeping here. The house was too empty for me to go home to.

Grayson strode in with a bag of takeout. We had become friends over the past few days, he was a pretty cool guy, early forties, super tall probably 6'6 or so, tattoos covered his arms and hands and he had one cross earring in his ear. He was also Dutch, he moved here from the Netherlands 15 years ago. He wasn't the stereotypical handsome guy but there was something about him that made him very attractive. It didn't escape my notice that Linda had kept her eyes on him a bit longer than the rest of us. Grayson and I  had worked out together a lot of the past 8 days and he was becoming a great friend.

"I brought dinner since I didn't see you leave to eat." He said coming over and placing it on my desk.  "You should go home, get at least a decent nights rest, take a day off." I blew out a breath.

"Once everyone gets back I leave to get my daughter and I'll been gone for a few days." I tell him. He grunts and hands me a carton of Chinese food. He plops down across from me, eyeing me.

There was another knock on my door and I looked at Grayson.

"Who all is still here?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Dale just left and Ricky and his crew were working on the first floor when I came up." He stood and went to the door opening it to Linda. She looked startled to see him there.

"Hey, I thought you had left." He said almost surprised.

"I um left my purse in here." She said softly. I looked from one to the other as they stood there staring at each other. I smirked. I didn't know what Lindas relationship status was but I noticed her wedding ring was gone a few days ago. Grayson on the other hand was painfully single. He was always talking to me about the horrible dates he's gone on.

I scanned the room and saw her purse on the couch. I hadn't even realized it was there.

"It's on the couch." I say standing. She finally looked away from Grayson and to me.

"Please, don't get up on account of me." She said softly stepping around Grayson who barely moved so she had to brush up against him. I noticed how he leaned in ever so slightly and inhaled her scent, I also noticed has his eyes roamed down her body as she walked to the couch. Linda was always dressed very professionally, never wore anything too tight or revealing. Today she had on black pointe pants and a blue long sleeve blouse tucked in with her signature red bottom Louis Vuitton shoes. Her hair was done in curls that hit her mid back and framed her face beautifully. I was definitely going to ask him about what was going on there because the sexual tension I was felling was strong.

"I had extra food if you want to stay and eat." Grayson blurted out seemingly coming out of his trance. She smiled at him.

"My dog has been home too long without a potty break, my dog walker came in at 3 and it's been a few hours." She said.

"Your husband is out of town?" He asked softly, I don't think I've ever heard tone come out of his mouth. She smiled almost painfully.

"You can say that." She said. Grayson walked over and took a carton out of the bag and handed it to her.

"At least have one to go. I got way too much." He said. She stared at it for a moment before taking it.

"Thank you Grayson." She said softly before spinning on her heel and basically running out. Grayson stood there staring after her.

"Dude. What the fuck was that?" I asked amused. He sighed.

"She is so gorgeous." He said coming over and dropping into his seat again. He looked at me then back at the door. "I hope I didn't overstep. I didn't think you were interested in her but if I'm wrong just call me off." He said. I shook my head chuckling. I hadn't told him about Kyle and Ebony. Everyone knew we would be living together but that was the extent.

"No man, just be careful. I'm not sure what's going on with her and the husband." I said. He nodded thoughtfully.

"When she came in the day after Christmas her ring was gone. I've been working here for 10 years and I've never seen her come in without her ring." He said. I snorted.

"Stalker much?"

"Hey, she is my dream woman. How can I help but to notice." He retorts. I raise my eyebrows. Very interesting.

"Well, she's an amazing woman and I've only known her 2 weeks. So I can't imagine what knowing her 10 years is like." I respond eating some food. He smiles and we continue to small talk for the next 20 minutes before he finally convinces me to go home and rest.

"If I see you coming in tomorrow I'll lock you out the building." He says as we part downstairs in the lobby. I chuckle shaking my head. I was ready to be back in my bed but I knew it wouldn't be the same without Ebony and Kyle. I felt bad for having neglected her the last few days but I was glad they would both be back tomorrow.

I pulled into the driveway feeling like I've lived here for years. As I made my way inside I was oblivious to the lights being on in the kitchen. I dropped my briefcase on the chair and took my coat off and hanging it up. The was a bottle of wine on the counter and I immediately went for it.  I definitely needed something to take the edge off. I poured a glass and went to the refrigerator to find a snack. I didn't end up eating that much with Grayson.

"Leon is that you." It was Ebony's voice. My head shot up as she rushed into the room and jumped in my arms. I held her tight almost shocked to see her.

"Oh baby, I thought you were coming tomorrow." I said once I got my bearings. I pulled her back and dropped my lips to hers gripping her tight around her sides. She whimpered almost in pain and I pulled back immediately only then noticing the handprint sized bruise on her cheek, anger filled me as my gaze fell to where my hands were. I pulled up her shirt to see her right side from under her breast to the top of her hip was completely covered in a dark purplish black bruise.

"Holy shit." That came from Kyle because I was completely lost for words. I looked up at her face to see tears pooling in her eyes. She started to open her mouth to say god knows what but I shook my head at her.

"The next words need to be what the fuck happened to you and who the fuck am I about to kill." I said slowly. The tears dropped down her cheeks.

"And there is no way in hell stairs did that." Kyle added. I had to look up at him because the tone of his voice was so dark it was almost unrecognizable. She began to sob and Kyle came up behind her and almost as if she was made of glass placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned her into his body.

I didn't miss the slight flinch that went through her body and the look of pain that crossed his face when he noticed it as well. I assumed this isn't the first time she has flinches at his touch. I stepped in so that she was fully surrounded by us. Not to be scared but to feel the comfort of our closeness. She rested her forehead on my chest as more sobs escaped her.

"Fuck baby. Please let us help you." Kyle said softly. The anger turning into pure worry. She reached up and wrapped and arm around my neck and turned slightly to wrap one around Kyle's neck as she pulled us closer to her. Her sobs quieting to sniffles as she clung to us for dear life. We let her. We needed her to let it all out so that we could talk.

I felt like shit that I didn't go with her to Texas. I didn't think for one second that she would be in any kind of danger being alone. When I looked at Kyle he was looking at me and the look he had was what I'm pretty sure he could see on my face.

We weren't there to protect her and now someone had hurt her.