Bound to the Fallen (Prophecy #2) (39 page)

Ashley:
WTF?

Ashley:
Who?

Ashley:
Tell me ur joking.

I texted her back
.

Not joking.
He wouldn’t tell me.

Moments later Ashley responded.

Ashley: U better not be fucking with me

             
I swear.

Ashley:
Nicole!!!!

             
U think?

Ashley:
Who else could it be? Amy?

             
No, He said it wasn’t Amy.

Ashley:
Nicole, she’s crazy and has always wanted him.

             
We need to find out somehow.

Ashley:
Oh, I will. Don’t worry.

I
fell back into the bed. I knew that Ashley would figure out some way to find out, and I knew she’d also find a passive aggressive way to get back at whoever the girl was.

My personal motto was
that karma’s not the bitch, but the people you mess with can be. I could handle anything gracefully, except for someone trying to ruin the most perfect thing I had in my life. You mess with that, be prepared to face destruction.

Brooke

I
woke up the next morning and made an attempt to cook breakfast for Gavin. He walked out, in only boxers, as I was sprinkling powdered sugar over the French toast I’d made.

He rubbed his eyes and stretched. “Look at you, making me breakfast. So thoughtfu
l!” He walked over, gliding his hands over my hips and giving me a kiss.

I brought the plates over to the coffee table and
then walked back into the kitchen.

“Coffee?”
I asked.

“
Yes, please.”

I poured a cup of black coffee and carried it to Gavin.

He cut into the toast and raised his fork to his mouth, “Mmmm…” He looked up at me. “It’s wonderful, love, simply wonderful. And you said you couldn’t cook.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“Is it really good?”
I asked nervously. I figured he was just humoring me.

“Yes. It really is. I guess I really am going to have to keep you now.”

I sat down and cut a piece of toast. I was pleasantly surprised, it actually was good.

Gavin noticed the smile on my face. “See, I told you it was good. I wouldn’t lie to you
.”

As I chewed my food
I spotted the rose I’d put in a vase the night before. “Oh, I forgot to tell you thank you for the rose last night. I was so upset with your little visitor. It was really sweet of you. I’m such a lucky girl.” I leaned over to kiss him, but Gavin pulled back.

“I didn’t leave you a rose,
” he said, a concerned look creeping across his face.

P
ointing to the vase across the room, I said, “I found it on my windshield yesterday when Constance dropped me off.”

Gavin shook his
head. “No, Brooke, that’s not from me.”

“Well, then who the hell left it?”

I stared at the rose with a bewildered look on my face.

Gavin took a sip of his coffee as he stared across the room at the single
, red rose. “Hmmm… maybe someone left it on your car by mistake?” He sat his coffee cup down. “Or maybe you have a secret admirer.” A soft smile formed on his lips and he pinched my side. “So, now I have some competition, I see.”

“I don’t like it
. It’s creepy!”

Gavin stood up and carried his plate to the kitchen sink. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Just an isolated incident.
”

The plate clinked against the side of the sink.

I sighed. “I guess. It’s just with all the weird stuff that’s happened lately, I’m a little paranoid that everyone’s crazy.”

The fact that I didn’t know who’d sent that book to me
only added to my paranoia.

Gavin laughed a
nd shrugged. “Full moon phenomena, maybe?”

I pulled into the parking deck and turned my car off
, stepping out into the crisp morning air that was traveling through the deck. As I walked to the elevator, I heard my phone beep. I dug through the assortment of cosmetics and crinkled-up receipts, pulling my phone out to read a text message from Ashley.

Ashley:
Come to my office ASAP. I’m so goo
d


I knew that Ashley had found out something
, and I couldn’t wait to hear what it was.

As
I came through the back entrance of the office I could see that Nicole’s door was cracked open. I was certain it had been her that came into Gavin’s office the night before, and I tried to subdue the strong urge I had to march in there and start calling her horrible names. I walked past Gavin’s closed door to Ashley’s. I pushed the door open and pulled it shut behind me.

“Was it
her? I’m so damn mad!” I leaned against the door, trying to keep my voice down as I ranted. “I mean, what did she expect him to do? Really? Just throw her down in the floor of his office? Did she really think he’d be like that?”

Ashley handed me a manila envelope. She had a smug grin on her face and her brown eyes sparkled with revenge. “Open it.” Her eyes grew larger
and her grin became more sinister.

Lifting
the flap, I stuck my hand inside. I felt a thin, glossy piece of paper. My jaw dropped as I pulled it out. My eyes widened, my mouth continued to lag open, and my eyebrows arched as I looked up from the treasure I held in my hands. A slight grin pulled at my lips when I glanced back down.

“
How
did you get these?” I shuffled the three pictures in my hands.

Ashley pulled a piece of her hair across her chin
and looked at me slyly. “Oh, I have my ways…”

I studied the pictures I’
d pulled from the envelope. Ashley came over and stood behind me, peering over my shoulder as she snickered. “So freakin’ stupid.”

The pictures were of Nicole. She was completely nude, with the exception of Dr. Knight
’s white medical coat, which was precariously pulled open, exposing her breasts and well-manicured lady-parts. She was positioned on top of his desk, legs spread; one leg perched on top of his desk, the other resting in the seat of his leather office chair.

One
photo I found particularly interesting was of her straddling the chair against his wall. Nicole was looking shyly over her shoulder at the camera. I cringed knowing that I’d sat in that seat. My bare legs had brushed against the fabric Nicole’s bare genitals had been grinding against.

Ashley pointed at Nicole’s lower bac
k. “Look at that. A tramp stamp. Never would’ve thought she had one of those.”

S
hoving the pictures back into the envelope I said, “I can’t believe you got these! Where’d you find them?”

Ashley
rested her ass against the desk and carelessly crossed her feet in front of one another. She looked down at the hem of her shirt and pulled a loose string. “In his office.”

“What?” I was astounded. “How did you get in there
? When
did you get in there?”

“Well, you know
, I hate her anyways, but after you texted me last night and I realized you were serious I started thinking about what a complete bitch she is. The way she looked at Mrs. Knight when she met her, the way she feels entitled to everything. She thinks she’s such a fucking gem.” A devious smirk appeared on her face. “Well, I just set my alarm for three forty-five so I could get up here well before anyone else.” She blew a breath of air from her lungs. “You know the cleaning staff gets here at like four o’clock, so I just wandered around until I found someone. You know the guy that’s always hanging out around the service elevator? Super sweet, always talks to you?”

I nodded slowly
, terrified of what she was about to confess. “Yeah?”

“Well, I found him. I told him that I neede
d to get in Dr. Knight’s office, asked him if he’d unlock the door for me.”

“And he did it?”

She inhaled and rubbed her lips together. “Well, it took some coaxing.” Ashley bit her lip and furrowed her brow a little.

I kne
w she’d done something terrible by the worried expression she wore. “What did you do, Ashley? Oh, my God — what did you do?”

She pull
ed at the ends of her hair. “I tried to explain everything to him. He told me he could get fired for letting me in his office. I didn’t know what else to do. I knew I could find something if I could just get in there — a letter, something. I’m so sick of her getting away with shit.”

“Ashley
, what the hell did you do?”

“I sucked his dick.”

She buried her face in her hands and peeked through her fingers at me, flinching like she expected me to hit her.

“What?” My voice became loud. “No
! No, you didn’t! Ashley?”

“I kno
w, I know, I’m horrible.” She slumped down in her chair and pouted.

“What about Colton?” I asked.

“God, don’t do that. I feel horrible. I was in the heat of the moment. You know how I get when I have an idea. I just knew I needed in that office.” She glanced up at me. “It’s not like I did it because I
wanted
to. It was a means to an end.”

“Oh
, my
God!
” I ran my hands through my hair, grabbing handfuls of it and tugging on it. “You’re like a prostitute, Ashley.” I sighed. “I’m sorry, I just can’t believe you did that. It’s gross.”

“I know, I know
. Just when I started to think that it was a really bad idea and that I should stop, he got off. I mean, I only did it for about sixty seconds.” She glared at me. “You better
not
tell anyone.”

I
slapped my hand across my forehead and promised, “I’m not, don’t worry.”

“That includes Gavin. Do
not
tell him.”

S
cooting myself away from the desk, I assured her, “Oh, don’t worry. I’m most definitely not gonna tell him.” I looked down at my hands and pushed my cuticles back. “So how do you know it was Nicole that came in Gavin’s office?”

“Well, who else
could it have been? I mean, if it wasn’t Amy? You even told me Nicole stared at you all the time. She got all huffy when she saw the roses. She’s always staying here late to do work. It had to be her, there’s no one else.”

I sat there. I was pretty sure Ashley was right.

Ashley waved her hands around and groaned. “I feel horrible, but at least I found those,” she said, pointing to the envelope on the desk.

I picked the envelope back up
, skimming through the photos once more. “So, where were they in his office?”

“In his center desk drawer. It was locked
, so I figured something good was in there. I dumped all of his pens out on his desk and the key fell right out.”

I shook my head as I stared at the photos. “So, what’s your plan for these?”

“Well, I’m gonna send them to Mrs. Knight.” Ashley shot a smirk at me.

“Poor woman.” I sighed and t
ossed the packet back down on the desk.

“What? It’s not like I’m the one
fucking him. Hell, if I were his wife I’d want to know so I could kick his sorry ass to the curb!”

“True.”

I stood up and started to open the door. I couldn’t help but think if someone had done that for my mother she could’ve wasted less of her time with my father.

“I took pictures of them with my phone too
. For back up, you know.” Ashley smiled.

“Remind me to never piss you off
, okay?” I said, walking out into the hallway.

Ashley called out from her chair, “Hey, you got any gum or something? I have a horrible taste in my mouth.”

I burst out laughing. “Nope. Sorry.”

“Damn
,” she said, making a fake vomiting sound.

P
assing Dan’s door, I saw him leaned back in his chair.

“You’re late
, Brooke,” Dan said.

I turned around. “Oh, sorry
, Dan. I was in Ashley’s office.”

“Hmmm
. I see. Exchanging juicy details about your love life?” He crossed his short leg over his knee and tugged at the hem of his pants.

I rolled m
y eyes. “Nope, discussing studies.”

Spinning
back around, I pushed my door open. As I was plugging my phone charger into an outlet I heard someone lightly tapping the metal door frame. I looked up and found Dan standing in the doorway. His dingy teeth were holding the dry skin of his bottom lip in.

A perverted look fell over his face. He took a quick glance down the hall and then looked back down at me. “I bet Gavin bends you over like that a lot. You’ve got too nice of an ass to not hit it from behind every once
in a while.”

I
rose from the floor and glared menacingly at him. “I don’t appreciate you talking to me like that, Dan!”