Falling for Her Boss Again

29. Crumbling down

"What's going on? You're making me worry. Where's Gemma?"

"Promise me you won't go ballistic. I've taken care of the issue but I need you to calm down."

Fuck...something bad is fucking happening. I'm getting antsy as my fists curl before I decide to shove them in my pockets and take a deep calming breath.

"It's Schultz."

"What the fuck did he do now and is Gemma okay?" I ask, seconds away from calling her when Tyler has yet to give me any information about what is really going on.

"Larry..."

"Okay...okay, shit... Tyler, you can't expect me to calm down when I..."

"Larry, for once. Trust me."

"Shit! Okay..." I'm getting frustrated when I take a deep breath and sit down on the sofa in the middle of his office. My insides are still bubbling with anxiety, feeling like I'm going to burst any second.

"When I went to find Gemma, she was not at her desk. So I went to the pantry thinking she was preparing both of your lunches. But then I found Schultz pinning her to the counter, she was pushing him, resisting him, when I yelled at the guy. I sent him to my office and called HR to meet us there. Gemma looked embarrassed, she moved so fast I couldn't stop her. So I decided to handle Schultz first. He's being transferred temporarily, the guy is too good to let go. We can't afford our competitors snatching him away, HR is making a harassment case. But at the moment I just need to relocate him away from Gemma. Make her feel safe in her environment."

Tyler sits in my front. He puts his hand on my shoulder, telling me to slowly take it all in. "There's nothing more that we can do. I tried to call her but couldn't get through, so I texted Gemma about the transfer, assuring her that she'll be safe to work tomorrow and give her the rest of her day off. Now...we should go back to our..."

"Fuck...I'm going to..." My rage is getting the best of me, I'm ready to punch the guy for laying his grabby hands on her.

"You're going to sit down and breathe, Gemma is okay. You'll see her and comfort her when you get back home after lunch. You just need to get through another hour or two. Then I'll cover for you. I'll tell Dad you need to take care of an office emergency. You will have to thread with Dad carefully here, Larry. You've worked for this account so hard."

Suddenly there's nothing that I want more than to run to Gemma. And I hate that Tyler knows me too well. He knows that I'll go with his suggestion. I sigh and take the glass of Scotch that he's offering, I gulp it down and let him refill another shot and finish it before we walk out of his office.

As Tyler said, two hours later he tells Dad that I need to leave early to take care of the still ongoing office emergency. He stays with Dad, Samuel, and Alix for dessert and lets me quietly go to Gemma.

The second I enter my apartment, I can feel something is terribly wrong. And I finally find out as I enter the walk-in closet finding most of Gemma's clothes are gone including her bags and shoes.

My hands reach for my phone as I call her and wait for her to answer. It goes straight to voicemail and something in my gut tells me that this is bad. My vision blur and warm tears flow down my cheeks.

"Fuck..." It hurts so fucking bad. I've never experienced this much hurt, it feels like someone is squeezing my heart from the inside and trying to rip it out of my ribs.

Her dad's...I need to go to her dad's. That was the last place she went to when she was upset. I grab my keys and drive straight to her dad's. I feel so light, so empty on the inside as if nothing is teetering me to the ground.

I straighten myself and wipe my tears before I walk towards her childhood home. And when her dad opens the door I can see it in his eyes that I have made his only daughter upset. Still, the man lets me enter his house and tells me to sit.

"Larry...she doesn't want to see you. She told me you have a fiance." Her dad says the moment he's back from her room. "Is that true?"

"It's complicated. I...it's my family, I don't want anyone else. I love Gemma."

"Son, if you do love Gemma. Then, you should fight for her."

Fight for her... It's that simple. So I nod and let myself out. Her dad lets me go with sympathy in his eyes.

"Maybe you shouldn't drive. You're clearly upset." He reminds me but I shake my head telling him I'll be fine.

I am absolutely not fine.

My vision gets blurry as I slowly drive out of their driveway. I need to fight for her. My hands grip the steering wheel so tight that my body shakes when the first pathetic sob hits me hard.

"Fuck..."