Breathless Read online

  snowed for two solid days and Alex had never felt

  so glum. The television offered no comfort as it

  announced day after day, that more snow was on

  its way. When it was all said and done, twenty

  inches of snow laid on the ground in Ashmore

  Valley in a perfect white blanket. The day after it

  finished snowing, the beautiful white was covered

  by a grimy black covering of soot from cars, trucks

  and buses.

  Alex had had enough of this cloistered life she was

  leading. Before leaving her house that morning, she decided that if Morgan or Grayson asked her to

  go out with them, she would, consequences be

  damned.

  "Last chance, Alex, we're on our way now," declared

  Morgan, trying to coax her to go with them one

  more time.

  Morgan had sensed a different attitude in Alex that

  day. Alex had stopped and talked with Grayson

  and Morgan at lunchtime and ended up spending

  her lunch break with the entire machine shop. It

  was Friday, and as per usual, Alex had dressed

  down in a pair of blue jeans and a white top. She

  had long ago taken Francine's advice and began to

  dress down, while still staying professional. She

  looked radiant with her hair down framing her face

  and enhancing her blue eyes. Alex wore her makeup simply, not overdoing it no matter what

  the fashion. Morgan was determined to make her

  come with them tonight.

  "Please, Alex. You'll have a good time, I

  promise. Just come this once and if you don't

  have a good time, I won't ask again," he pleaded

  while leaned against one of the filing cabinets

  behind her desk.

  Alex laughed lightly. She knew that was a bald

  faced lie. No matter how many times Morgan had

  asked and she had said no, he always asked again,

  "Liar," she replied chuckling, "You always ask and I

  always said no."

  "Said? As in past tense? Does that mean you'll come

  with us?" "Sure, how do I get there?"

  Morgan all but kissed Alex at that moment; he

  couldn't believe she was finally saying yes.

  "Cool," he enthused, gave her brief directions and

  hurried out of the office to tell the rest of the guys.

  "She's coming," asked Grayson astounded.

  "Yep, she said so herself and even asked for

  directions to the O.”

  "Wow, our very own red-head," said Steve listening

  in.

  "My very own red-head," said Morgan.

  "Well see," remarked Grayson. Grayson knew it

  was going to be fun to see if Alex's cool exterior

  would melt in the heat of their bar. He remembered the first time he saw her and felt a

  twinge of what might grow into love someday. He

  knew that she professed a fiancée, but there were

  no rings on her fingers, no pictures on her desk and

  no sightings of the mystery man. Grayson thought

  that if she were ever his, he would never leave her

  side. The three of them were huddled beside

  Grayson's machine where the noise level would

  keep anyone from overhearing unless they were

  standing right beside one of them.

  Steve Pearson, Morgan's best friend and neighbor

  was one of the leaders of their inner circle and had

  been after Morgan to keep the pressure on Alex to

  get her to go with them. Morgan had done just

  that and now they all were stunned to discover she

  was going with them. None of them had thought

  about what to do when she gave in. "Now what," asked Dave.

  "Now, we see what she's made of," noted Grayson

  smiling, having decided what he wanted to do

  tonight, conquer the ice queen.

  James saw the six of them huddled in the corner

  next to Gray's machine and became suspicious. He

  saw Morgan run from the offices like his pants were

  on fire and straight back to the machine

  shop. Shortly after that, Dave, Steve, Bert and

  Doug had joined them, away from their usual

  areas. James sauntered back and casually joined

  into the conversation.

  "So, that's the plan," finished Grayson as James

  stepped into the circle.

  "Hi guys. " "Hey Jimmy, guess who's coming to the O?"

  "Who?”

  "Alex," gushed Morgan.

  "You're kidding," hoped James.

  "Nope, right on the money. She just told me that

  she'll be there," he confirmed turning to Grayson,

  "Did you see the jeans she had on? My God they fit

  her like a second skin. Nice and tight right across

  the ass. I'm practically drooling. "

  "You and me both bud. You and me both," Steve

  interjected and mockingly wiping his chin.

  James felt sick to his stomach. He wasn't sure

  what they had planned but he knew he didn't like

  the sound of it. "What are you guys up to," he

  asked. "Nothing," explained Steve, "I better get back

  before Larry rips me a new ass. " The other four

  agreed and left Grayson, Morgan and James alone

  in the machine shop.

  "So you coming," asked Grayson.

  "Yeah, I think so. "

  "This is going to be so much fun," declared Morgan

  going back to his machine.

  James left the machine shop, lit a cigarette and

  made a beeline for the offices. He had to talk Alex

  out of going tonight. James gained his office,

  tossed himself in his chair and reached for the

  phone. He never had a chance to dial the number,

  because Francine came in the office and closed the

  door. James could tell by the look in her eye exactly what she was after and he was too

  distracted to even think about it now.

  "Not now, Francine," he said dismissing her.

  "Yes, now, James, I'm leaving early today,

  remember. We won't get a chance to do it later.”

  James gave in. It was easier than arguing with

  her. As he closed the blinds, Francine undid the

  buttons on her blouse and revealed her naked

  breasts underneath. With little ceremony or

  foreplay, James eased Francine onto the floor and

  angrily pushed up her short jean skirt, ripped off her

  panties and shoved his now hard shaft into her

  roughly. He had to admit he enjoyed her

  pleasures a little too much, but was able to relieve

  his frustrations on her without a word being

  said. He knew that he had hurt her, by the way she bit her lower lip, but he had meant

  too. Maybe it was the only way out for him. He

  needed to end things with Francine to have a

  chance with Alex.

  "Dammit, James that was too good," remarked

  Francine, retrieving the shreds of her underwear

  and straightening her skirt. Her blouse remained

  open to bare her breasts, still glistening from the

  sweat they had created. He glanced at them, as

  he adjusted himself and noticed the bruises

  beginning to form.

  "I'm sorry, Francine, I didn't mean to hurt you," he

  lied.

  "That's okay," she replied, taking his face in her

  hands and kissing him passionately, "I enjoyed it.” Franc
ine finished pulling herself together and left

  his office via the factory door. She casually made

  her way around to her office, grabbed her purse

  and proceeded to the ladies room without anybody

  spotting her. James was becoming a better lay

  every day and she understood why. As long as

  Alex, remained unavailable to him, Francine could

  enjoy the pleasures he fantasized giving to

  Alex. Francine wasn't a fool. She knew that

  James was hurting her to vent his anger at

  Alex. She hadn't disillusioned herself so much as

  to believe that James would fall in love with her, but

  she knew that he was falling in love with Alex. She

  had seen the glances between the two and felt the

  tension whenever they were together. By all

  accounts, Alex's feelings were the same, but neither

  one of them had a clue as to the other's feelings or if they wanted to pursue them. That suited

  Francine just fine. She could continue to use

  James as a good time and use their trysts as

  leverage to keep her cushy job. Francine smiled to

  herself as she removed a spare pair of panties from

  her purse, put them on, left the bathroom and strolled back to her desk.

  Chapter 8

  As Alex stepped from her car, the thunderstorm

  that had been threatening all day arrived. The

  dark clouds, ominous thunder and lightning should

  have been a warning signal for Alex not to go in, but

  she did anyway.

  The dark paneling of the bar was similar to the

  paneling in James' office and swallowed the light

  from the lanterns attached to the walls. Alex

  walked over to the vintage style jukebox and eyed

  the selections. Popping a quarter into the

  machine, Alex chose some classic Van Halen and a

  few from Stone Temple Pilots. The music put her

  in the frame of mind that she needed to be in and she strolled over to the bar to join Grayson and

  Morgan who had seen her come in.

  "Nice selection," said Grayson over the song

  "Poundcake. "

  "Thanks. Nice place. "

  "Thanks, we like it. What are you drinking?"

  "Screwdriver," replied Alex chuckling at the stunned

  look on his face, "I don't drink beer.”

  "Fabulous," noted Morgan, signaling Vickey to order

  Alex's drink.

  "On my tab," declared Morgan as Vickey left the

  drink in front of her.

  "The next one is on me," smiled Grayson as Alex

  settled into her stool to watch the pool game between Bert and Joey. Alex saw that all of them

  were drinking beer either from the bottle or draft,

  occasionally, noticing an empty shot glass sitting

  beside the beer. It seemed as if the entire factory

  had crowded into the small bar and said hello to

  several of her boys. She hadn't realized it would

  be such a large group.

  "Feeling overwhelmed yet," came a voice from

  behind her.

  Alex turned to find Shane standing there and staring

  over her shoulder at the crowd and the pool game.

  "A little," taking another taste of her drink and

  looking down to see another drink waiting for her

  there. Since she came in, Alex had not paid for her

  own drinks. "Don't be. We don't bite," he laughed and walked

  over to the pool game to lay down a bet on the

  table and reserve the next game.

  "Do you shoot pool," asked Bert from the bar as

  Joey made his shot.

  "I haven't done it in a while. "

  "After this game, you'll have to try again.”

  Bert stomped back over to the table and laid waste

  to the remainder of the balls. Joey looked crushed

  and Alex had to laugh. Several of the guys lost

  money betting on him and now he would be the

  brunt of more cruelty. Alex noticed how badly

  everyone picked on Joey. He took it in stride and

  laughed off most of the jokes, but Alex could see

  that some things he was just too sensitive about. Joey reminded Alex of everyone's little

  brother. Maybe if she gave him a quarter he

  would go away and steer clear of their barbs.

  Bert motioned Alex over to the table so that she

  could try her luck at the game. She turned and

  placed her empty glass on the bar and reached for

  the full one she knew was waiting. Alex was about

  to hop down off the stool, when a red rose was laid

  in her lap. Alex dropped the glass and it shattered

  on the floor. Even with a healthy buzz happening,

  the fear she experienced six months ago returned in

  the form of this beautiful bloom. Alex's head

  jerked up to see who did it and found Dan Reynolds,

  standing in front of her. His stare wasn't directly

  at Alex, but through her. A cold shiver of fear ran

  down Alex's back as she took in his height and beard. "He would be just about the right size,"

  Alex thought.

  Grayson, Morgan, Bert, Joey and the rest of the

  guys had heard the glass break against the

  floorboards. They had been engrossed in the split

  of the winnings, when the icy tinkle of broken glass

  had shattered their conversation. Morgan was the

  first to see Alex's expression. He saw the color

  drain from Alex's face and the terror in her eyes as

  she looked at Dan, who didn't look right to Morgan

  either. His glare at Alex was cold and

  deathlike. The old saying of "If looks could kill,"

  rang in Morgan's head.

  James had taken that moment to walk in the

  door. He hadn't had the chance to talk to Alex

  before she left, thanks to Francine, so he came to avoid a catastrophe. When he came through the

  doors, he immediately found Alex and Dan in a face

  off. She was holding a red rose in one hand and

  holding onto the back of her stool with the

  other. Her knuckles were as white as her face and

  he could see the terror.

  "Dan," he asked as he approached the scene.

  "Go away, Jim. The lady and I have some

  unfinished business. "

  Morgan and Grayson had left the pool table and

  joined Alex, Dan and James at the bar. Bert and

  Steve casually positioned themselves behind Dan

  and leaned against the bar, watching. Alex glanced at James quickly, but then returned

  her attention to Dan. He was still staring at

  her. Cautiously, she tried to back away from him

  and into the relative safety of Morgan and Grayson

  who were nearest to her, but Dan's hand seized her

  arm and jerked her against him roughly. Alex

  winced as his fingers dug into her arm and she could

  feel the bruises beginning to form.

  "Leave her go, Dan, now," demanded James.

  Alex felt weak in the knees and the combination of

  alcohol and a greasy lunch made her

  queasy. Immediately, she knew that Dan was the

  one who had been stalking her and had attacked

  her in Francine's office.

  "Dan, you're hurting me," whimpered Alex, leaning

  against him to keep from falling down. Just as quickly as Dan had grabbed her, she was free

  from him as Bert grabbed Dan from behind a
nd

  forced him to leave go of Alex. She would have

  sunk to the floor then, but James caught her and

  pulled her against him away from the beginning of

  the fight.

  Dan swung violently to release himself from Bert

  and found himself thrown to the floor. Morgan

  was immediately down upon him to pull Dan back

  to his feet and Grayson sent a crushing blow to the

  abdomen which made him double over in pain.

  James moved Alex away from the ensuing melee

  and placed her in a chair near the pool table with

  her back to the wall. She sat there shivering and

  trying not to retch. James moved back to the brawl, grabbed Dan, pulled him to the door and

  shoved him through the portal.

  James, Morgan and Grayson surrounded Alex in her

  chair making her claustrophobic and barraged her

  with questions.

  "Are you okay," asked James kneeling in front of her

  and taking her hands. He was sure she was going

  to faint. Her eyes were glassy and hands were like

  ice. He rubbed them together to get the

  circulation back in them.

  “I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered

  removing her hands from James.

  Morgan led her to the bathroom and Alex divested

  her stomach of its contents. She stood at the

  mirror and checked her upper arms for damage. She found the old bruises beginning to

  fade and the new ones beginning to form. She

  rolled down the sleeves of her shirt to cover them

  and left the bathroom. The attack had sobered

  her and she decided to go home.

  "I'm going home," she announced upon returning to

  the group.

  "Let me drive you," offered Grayson stepping

  forward.

  "No thanks, I’d prefer to be alone,” Alex

  commented somberly shrugging at the offer.

  "Well at least let me walk you to your car. Dan

  could be outside waiting for you.”

  Alex nodded her assent and walked out the

  door. She found that it wasn't only Grayson who walked her to her car but most of the Hasani

  employees who were still there. Thanking them,

  Alex got into her car, started the engine and drove

  home.

  "Where can we find him, James," queried Morgan.

  "He probably went home. I would.”

  "Chickenshit. He better be in hiding."

  "Let's find out. "

  "You guys do that. I can't participate. But kick

  his ass for me," suggested James. Morgan,

  Grayson and Steve left immediately for Dan's house

  and James left to find Alex's house. He had