Conquest of the Heart (27 page)

On their first day back at the office, Gavin
and Faith were scheduled to meet with Adrian to brief him on how
the trip went. At the meeting, they described their time in Denver
with enthusiasm, and expressed the desire to return and see more of
beautiful Colorado. Adrian watched them closely, seeing a
difference in how they were behaving around each other. He was
happy to see this progress.

“Are you both saying that Denver should be a
top contender for our new office?” asked Adrian.

“Absolutely,” they said in unison. They
looked at each other and laughed. Adrian smiled as he sat back.

Adrian nodded, “Alright, I will make a note
of this. Is there anything else you would like to add or
share?”

They shook their heads, saying no.

“Good. I believe you’ll be flying to Los
Angeles in a couple of weeks. That should be interesting for you,
Faith. It’s a little busier than what you’re used to.”

“I’m looking forward to it. You know I love
to travel. That’s the best way to learn about people,” she
said.

Gavin and Adrian both smiled at her.

“Well, I’ll let you two get back to work. I’m
sure you have a lot to catch up on,” Adrian said, dismissing
them.

Gavin and Faith stood and left.

Gavin returned to his office, while Faith
went to see Lauren. Lauren was just walking down the hall when
Faith spotted her.

“Hey, Girl Scout,” said Faith, as she gave
Lauren a hug. “I was coming by to see what you were doing for
lunch.”

“I’ve got plans today, but I would love to
catch up with you. I’ve got some free time right now. How was your
trip? Denver, right?” asked Lauren.

“Yes. It was awesome. There’s so much culture
there, so much to do. I loved it,” said Faith as they stood in the
hall talking.

“Did you do anything to get into trouble?”
teased Lauren.

Faith rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“You really are too much, you know that?” said Faith.

Just then, Gavin walked up to them.

“Lauren. How are you doing? Did things go
well with the updates?” Gavin asked, touching her lightly on the
shoulder.

“They did. We’re actually done with them and
have some down time. Things will pick up once we’ve decided where
the new office will be,” said Lauren.

“Good job. I’m glad things went well,” he
smiled.

Gavin turned slightly, nodded and said,
“Faith.”

“Gavin,” Faith nodded back.

Lauren looked back and forth between them,
smiling suspiciously.

“I’ll leave you two to talk.” He continued
down the hallway.

“I knew it!” Lauren said, glaring at Faith
expecting answers.

“What are you talking about?” Faith said,
confused.

“I saw that. Something is going on between
the two of you,” Lauren said, raising her eyebrows.

“All we did was say hello,” said Faith
defensively.

“You did more than that. I saw how you looked
at each other and you did a lot more than just say hello,” Lauren
accused.

“Lauren, I think you’re trying to make
something out of nothing. You need more work, don’t you? I have
plenty that will keep you busy.”

“That’s okay if you don’t tell me. I know
what I saw. Listen, I need to get going, but call me later this
week. We’ll get together for lunch, okay?” Lauren smiled and walked
back to her office.

Faith turned and walked to hers.

Chandler hadn’t seen or talked to Gavin very
much since the trips started. She could no longer call him because
he changed his cell phone number. That wouldn’t stop her plans to
make Faith think that she and Gavin were still seeing each other on
occasion. Her timing had to be just right.

Chandler stood in Gavin’s doorway. “Hey,
stranger.”

Gavin looked up. “Chandler. How have you
been?”

“I’ve missed you,” she said, walking in
towards his desk. She sauntered around to his chair, leaned down
and kissed him. Gavin fought to push her away, but it was too
late.

Faith cleared her throat. “Sorry to
interrupt.”

Chandler had a sinister smile on her face.
She stood up straight, and while still looking at Gavin said, “We
were just finishing up.” She kept that same smile as she walked
past Faith, who was standing by the door. She had accomplished what
she came to do.

Gavin quickly looked at Faith. “That was not
what it looked like.”

“I know. She planned that I’m sure,” Faith
said, walking towards Gavin’s desk.

“I’ve missed you today. We’ve both been
pretty busy. How was your talk with Lauren?” he asked.

“That woman is incorrigible. She said she saw
something in our eyes when we spoke in the hall. She will not leave
it alone,” Faith said, sitting down.

“Were we that obvious?” said Gavin.

Faith looked at him, thinking for a moment.
“I think so,” she finally answered.

“Lauren is just like that. Don’t worry. She
keeps things to herself. Even if she thinks she knows, she won’t
tell anyone. She just likes to know.”

They sat staring at each other for a moment,
without speaking a word.

“I should get back to work. I just wanted to
stop by and see how you were,” Faith said, breaking the silence. As
she started toward the door, Gavin stopped her.

“Faith, wait.” Her eyes followed him as he
stood and went to close the door. He returned and faced her. “I’ve
wanted to do this all day,” he said, pulling her close to him and
kissing her deeply on the lips. Faith grew weak in his arms.

Breaking their kiss, Faith said, “I’ve been
waiting for you to do it. Now I can work.” She grinned, opened the
door and went back to her office. Gavin grinned to himself as he
walked back to his desk.

The week was coming to a close. Faith wanted
to have a fun Friday, maybe even a short one. She stayed late the
night before to finish her presentation to try and make that
happen. Gavin had just left, so she would be alone for a little
while. Or so she thought.

“You’re working late,” Carter said, standing
in her doorway.

“As are you. What are you still doing here?
Do you have a trip coming up?” asked Faith, still looking down at
her computer. She was just logging off.

“I’m leaving tomorrow. How was the rest of
the Denver trip?” he asked, walking into her office.

“It was good. We liked Denver,” she said, now
looking up. She started to put her things away and began to get
ready to go home.

“We? As in you and Gavin?” he asked
sarcastically.

“As a company, Carter, we felt that Denver
should be a strong contender for a new office,” Faith said, shaking
her head.

Carter moved closer to her. “You know, while
we were there together, I felt a connection between us. Don’t you
think it’s time we capitalize on that?”

Faith frowned. “What are you talking about,
Carter? We only saw each other during meetings.”

“You flirted with me. The way you pranced
around in your workout clothes, running down the mall at six
o’clock every morning. Then you sat by the pool, enticing me with
your body in your tight little bathing suit. You’re so beautiful,
Faith. It’s time for us to be together.” Carter approached her.

“Were you following me? You need help,
Carter. That’s just,” she paused, shaking her head, “not right.”
She picked up her purse and keys. “I’m going home.”

Carter grabbed her by the arm. “You’re not
going anywhere until I get what I want. You think you can seduce
someone and not follow through. I don’t think so. It’s time for you
to stop playing games with me.”

“I’m not playing games with you. Let go of
me,” Faith tried to shake free from him, but his grip was too
tight.

Carter took her purse and keys and threw them
to the floor. He pulled her in and tried to kiss her. Faith turned
away, struggling to get free.

“Stop it!” Faith cried. She managed to
scratch his face. Carter grumbled, touching his face from the minor
pain. Faith went to pick up her keys, but Carter snatched her back
up.

“Bitch!” He slapped her hard, knocking her
down. She screamed as she fell to the floor. Before she could move,
Carter was upon her, pinning her down. He pushed her skirt up and
ripped her underwear. Faith was crying, screaming for help as loud
as she could. She squirmed with all of her might, but couldn’t
break free. He didn’t look like the same man. His face had somehow
changed, becoming disfigured as he groped at her breasts and tried
to kiss on her. As she continued to cry for help, she could no
longer control her language.

“Aide. S’il vous plait
quelqu’un m’aider. Aide,” she weeped. “S’il vous plait aider.
Aide.” (
Help. Someone please help me.
Please help. Help.
)

“Shut up,” Carter said, slapping her again.
Faith screamed, crying harder now. She knew she was alone. She had
to keep trying though, and continued to cry out as Carter unzipped
his pants.

“Gavin is not going to be the only one to get
some around here,” he said.

“Aide,” Faith cried out again. Her voice now
trembled from fatigue. “Aide, aide.” Tears streamed down her face.
Carter was too strong for her. He forced her legs open, pressing
her thighs so hard it felt as though they were being smashed flat
against the floor.

Just as he was about to penetrate, someone
picked him up off her and punched him with such force that he flew
against the wall. It was Gavin. He had forgotten his phone.

Gavin punched Carter again and again, hitting
him so hard, you could hear the sound of bones and teeth cracking.
Blood was splattering on the wall and the floor around them. As he
drew back his arm to hit him again, Carter found a way to put up
his arms in defense.

“Gavin, Gavin. She seduced me. This is not my
fault. She made me want her.” Carter’s face was dripping in blood.
Gavin’s knuckles were red from clashing against Carter’s jaw and
nose.

“Leave. Now!” Gavin yelled angrily.

“This is not my fault, man,” Carter said.

“If you don’t leave now, they’ll have to
carry you out of here in a body bag,” Gavin said, ready to hit him
again. He was furious.

Carter pulled up his pants and staggered out
of Faith’s office as he zipped them.

Gavin turned to Faith, now curled up in the
fetal position. She was rocking back and forth, quietly asking for
help, still in French. She screamed as he bent down to touch
her.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s me, beautiful. It’s
Gavin.”

She scrambled into his arms, weeping. He
gently pulled her skirt back down. Thinking fast, Gavin carefully
picked Faith up, grabbed her things, including her gym bag, and
carried her to his car. He had to take her to the hospital.

Gavin gently sat Faith in his car, placed her
bags in the back seat and quickly went around to the other side. He
started the car and pulled out of the building garage as fast as he
possibly could. As they were driving, he noticed that Faith was
shaking uncontrollably. He reached over and grabbed her hands,
holding them tight. Tears began to well up in his eyes seeing her
this way. Once they reached the hospital, Gavin pulled into the ER
driveway. He reached in the back and got Faith’s gym bag, jumped
out of the car, and ran around to the passengers’ side to get her.
Carrying her inside, he called out for help.

A female nurse approached them, asking what
had happened. When Gavin explained that she was attacked and
possibly raped, the nurse directed them to a private room. Gavin
gently placed Faith on the gurney. She didn’t want to let him
go.

“Sweetie, you have to let me go so this nurse
can help you. I’m not leaving your side, okay?”

Faith loosened her grip so that Gavin could
stand back, out of the nurse’s way.

“Did you bring her straight here after the
attack?” asked the nurse.

“Yes.”

“What’s her name?” the nurse asked.

“Faith,” answered Gavin.

The nurse walked over to the opposite side of
the bed and gently spoke to her.

“Faith, my name is Leisa. I’m going to be
helping you through the process, okay? I’ll try to make you as
comfortable as I can, and get you home as soon as possible.”

Faith nodded. The nurse looked at Gavin. “Has
she spoken?”

“No. We may not be able to understand her.
She speaks in uncontrolled French when she’s uncomfortable.”

Leisa nodded. “I’ve heard of people doing
that, just never witnessed it. I need to go ahead and get started.
I’ll help her get undressed to see if any evidence falls from her
clothing. Does she have a change of clothes? We’ll more than likely
keep the ones that she is wearing.”

“I brought her gym bag. I’m assuming she has
something in there,” Gavin said, worried.

Leisa gave him a warm smile. “I’ll take good
care of her. You can stay here, but you’ll need to sit behind this
divider. At least for this part.”

“Alright,” Gavin sighed. “Can I use my cell
phone in here?”

“No, you’ll need to go outside, or down to
the break room. Don’t worry, we’ll be pretty busy for the next hour
and a half. Just to be safe, let her know so she doesn’t get
frightened when she doesn’t see you.”

Gavin walked next to the bed to reassure
Faith that he was going to return as soon as possible.

“I need to call Adrian. I won’t be long,
okay?”

Faith pleaded with him with
her eyes. “S’il vous plait ne me quitte pas
.
(
Please
don’t leave me.
) She huffed in frustration
that she couldn’t speak English yet.

Gavin understood. “I promise I’ll keep it
short.” She nodded and he walked out, going to the breakroom.

Gavin dialed his parents’ number from his
cell phone. He wanted to keep his conversation brief, but wanted to
make sure Adrian was fully aware of what happened.