She Was Mine: An Incapable Novella Read online

  I stepped toward her. “Let’s go away. Me, you, and Flick.”

  She looked at me strangely. “Okay…when?”

  “Now.”

  Her mouth dropped to the floor. “Now? As in right now?”

  I nodded, dragging her to our room. “Yeah, now let’s pack.” I stopped when we got to our room. “In fact, don’t even worry about packing, I’ll have new things where we’re going.”

  She laughed, pulling her arm away from mine. “Haha, very funny, Grayson. We can’t just go away.” She went back into the living room and grabbed the cleaning supplies again. I had just noticed the TV was on, the volume was low but still audible.

  “Fine, I’ll humor you. If we were to go somewhere, not that I’m saying we are, but where do you want to go?” she said, while spraying the glass table.

  “Your pick. I don’t care.”

  She smiled as she rolled her eyes and glanced toward the TV. She picked up the remote, turning the volume up. “You’re in the news again. No shocker there,” she laughed as she looked back to the TV. Her smile slowly faded. Fuck. Me.

  “Emmalin,” I spoke calmly. “I need you to look at me and not at the screen.”

  Her gaze met mine briefly, before they darted to the flat screen behind me, where I had no doubt the video footage was playing. Her eyes grew wide, and her hand covered her mouth. She was transfixed at the scene that played out before her. I slowly turned my head to the screen, not wanting to see what I already knew was there.

  “The CEO of Mandrake Towers, Grayson Mandrake, has put himself in the middle of a domestic abuse scandal with one of his employees. Sources have allegedly confirmed that Mr. Mandrake and Ms. Schaffer had a previous relationship that lasted a year off and on. Sources have also confirmed that Mr. Mandrake has a rather unusual taste in regards to his sexual relationships; he enjoys tormenting and being aggressive with his partners. Our sources state that their relationship started off innocent, but then Mr. Mandrake made numerous advances toward Ms. Schaffer. As their relationship progressed, Mr. Mandrake then became aggressive and combative. Sources have confirmed that Mr. Mandrake lives a rather extreme sexual lifestyle.”

  It then cut to a video of Claudia in a white button-down coat with oversized glasses, hiding her face as the paparazzi crowded her. She acted like she didn’t want to be bothered, but it was the smirk on her face that said she was enjoying it. A few minutes later, it showed Claudia standing next to her lawyer. “My client wishes this to be a peaceful situation, and we will do everything we can to make sure justice is served. The simple fact is Grayson Mandrake abuses women, and I’m almost certain that others will come forward. I can only imagine, the onslaught of torture that his wife goes through.” My hands balled into fists at the referral to Emmalin. After a few minutes of Claudia’s lawyer giving a statement, it finally went to commercial. I turned back to Emmalin, who was still staring at the screen. I slowly crossed in front of her to block her view.

  “Emmalin,” I whispered. She finally looked at me, as if she was seeing me for the first time in her life. She wasn’t looking at me with love or adoration like she normally does. I couldn’t read her, and that’s what scared me the most. Emmalin has always been good at schooling herself, but usually left a crack open for me to find my way in. This time, there was no crack. Everything was sealed shut. I stepped forward again, and she took a step back. “Emmalin?”

  Suddenly, she made a pained sound as she clutched her stomach, turned, and ran out the room. I was on her tail, reaching her as she got to the bathroom and lifted the lid of the toilet in time to empty everything she had for breakfast. After a few minutes, she slowly got up, went to the sink, and splashed water on her face. She reached for the mouthwash and after she spit, she finally met my gaze in the mirror.

  I was on guard, because anything could happen. She wiped her mouth, turned, and stood in the middle of our bedroom. She wasn’t saying anything, just standing there. I was about to reach for her when she stepped forward and went into the closet. I knew what she was about to do, and I had to put a stop to it.

  She emerged with a bag and a few of her things in hand, carelessly stuffing what she could in the bag. When she turned to grab more things from the closet, I grabbed her arm to stop her and grabbed her bag, throwing it off the bed. She glared at me with such hate.

  “Talk to me,” I urged her on. She pulled her arm from my grasp before finally staring at the ground, taking several deep breaths.

  “I keep telling myself that any minute now you’re going to tell me that it’s not true. That everything I just saw out there wasn’t true and that it was some fucked up joke.” She continued to look at the ground as she spoke, and finally she looked up at me. “But you haven’t,” she whispered. “Why, haven’t you said it? Why haven’t you denied it.”

  She wiped away a tear. “Say it, Grayson. Say that everything that was on that news channel wasn’t true. Tell me you didn’t…” her voice cracked as she pleaded to me. For as long as I’ve known Emmalin, I’ve always promised her that I would never hurt her. I never wanted to see her in pain from something that I did. Yet, here she was barely keeping it together, begging for me to tell her I didn’t just fuck everything up and break her.

  I took a deep breath. “I don’t remember any of it happening. We celebrated after the meetings went better than expected. We drank…a lot. She started to help me to my room, but she needed to stop at hers first and…I just remember waking up the next morning and I wasn’t in my room. I was in hers.” I took another step toward her.

  “Is this why you wanted us to go away? Was it so you could buy yourself some time?”

  “I wanted to protect you.”

  “You protect me by not lying to me and not trying to fuck around!” She covered her mouth, as if saying it was physically making her sick. She went back to grabbing her things out the closet.

  “Emmalin, what are you doing? You can’t leave. We need to talk about this. I didn’t fuck her!”

  She exited the room, going into one of the spare bedrooms that held some of Emersyn’s things, and she started putting them in another bag. Panic started to take over. She was going to leave and she was going to take our daughter with her. She started to move past me, and I blocked her way. “I need you to stay. Please don’t do this.” I reached out to touch her, and she froze.

  “Fuck, Emmalin, please! I am begging you.”

  She slowly shook her head. “I can’t stay here with you right now. I need to think and have a clear head before talking to you. Emersyn and I will find a place to stay, until I work something out.”

  “I’ll go.” It pained me to say it. “I’ll go,” I whispered again. “I’ll pack a few things, and I’ll leave, and give you some space.”

  “You don’t have…”

  “I’m not letting you and Emersyn go when it’s better if I did. I don’t want her getting confused by being in a different surrounding. She should be in her home. Our home.” As if sensing she was being talked about, Emersyn’s cries filled the speaker, and it just now dawned on me that I had to say goodbye to her. I walked to her room and gently picked her up from her crib, hushing her.

  “I can…”

  “She’s my daughter, too. I won’t be kept from her,” I snapped, then immediately regretted the words that came out. Emmalin looked at us with pure anguish on her face. “I didn’t mean it like that.” Emmalin was already retreating back as I rocked Emersyn, and she finally quieted down. I gave her a tight squeeze, kissed on top of her head, and placed her back in the crib.

  There wasn’t much I needed to pack. Everything I needed was at my office apartment. Emmalin stood in the living room, facing the mantle, as I grabbed my keys.

  “I’ll stay in my office apartment for a few days.” She glanced at me over her shoulder. I ran my hand through my hair. “I will fix this, Emmalin. I’ll get to the bottom of it, I swear.” She was twisting her wedding ring around her finger, deep in thought. I walked to the elevator,
and she walked behind me. I hesitated pushing the button, but knew I had to. I slowly stepped in. Emmalin wouldn’t look at me.

  “Tell me one thing, before I go. I don’t care what it is, just one thing you’re thinking. I need to know you’re here.” I touched my chest over my heart.

  She slowly licked her lips, before meeting my gaze. The elevator doors started to close, and that’s when she said it. It was low, but we both knew I heard it.

  “I would’ve spent the rest of my life with you.”

  13

  Grayson

  The moment I drove out of the garage, the cameras started. People were everywhere, making it harder for me to leave. It didn’t get any better the moment I reached headquarters. Once I got in the apartment, I texted Hawkins, I needed triple security for Emmalin and Flick. I didn’t give a fuck about me, being ransacked, it was them I was worried about. Hawkins was my main security. The person I trusted with my entire family. Hell, he was there when Emmalin went into labor with Flick and got her to the emergency room. So, to say I owed him my life was an understatement. I tried not to depend on him too much, now that he’s married to one of Emmalin’s best friend’s Gwen and they have a set of twins. My phone rang. I grabbed it, praying it was Emmalin.

  It was Chace. I threw the phone down. I sure as fuck couldn’t deal with him right now. He protects Emmalin, just as much as I do, and if there’s even a thought I had hurt her in some way, Chace was there to ream my ass. Maybe this time I would actually let him win.

  I sent a text to Emmalin.

  Grayson: I love you, please know that. Give a hug and kiss to Flick for me and tell her I love her. I love you both.

  A few minutes went by, and my phone dinged.

  Emmalin: I’ll tell her.

  The ultimate blow. I got up - fuck sleeping - and dialed my lawyers. This shit stops now.

  “I want her fired immediately.”

  My lawyer Francisco shook his head. “Mr. Mandrake, I advise against that.”

  “The fuck do you mean, you advise against that?”

  “If you fire her, she’ll use that against you in court. You need to have a probable cause for firing her.”

  “Bullshit. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the state of Illinois is an employment at-will state. An employer may terminate with or without any reason or cause.”

  “While that is true, Mr. Mandrake, I strongly advise against it. She’ll paint you as the bad guy for firing her because of your relationship.”

  I gritted my teeth. “If you say the word ‘relationship’ again, you will be fired. We didn’t have any fucking relationship!”

  He held up his hands in defense. “Noted, my apologies. But, we do have to play smart. You can move her to another position, but I strongly recommend against termination. At least not now, and not yet. Not until we have everything we need.”

  I slumped against my chair. My other lawyer Syed finally spoke up. “We’ll start with investigating her background. We’ll bring up everything on her. We’ll go as far back as preschool if we have to.”

  I mull over the decision for a few seconds, and turned to Helen Peterson from Human Resources. “Have her moved, effective immediately.” She nodded as she quickly wrote down notes. “Any particular area, or do you want us to accommodate?”

  “I don’t really give a shit where you put her, she can clean the fucking toilets for all I care, just get her off my fucking floor.” Helen nodded, as she exited the room.

  I ran my hand through my hair. At this rate, I’ll be bald before the end of the fucking week. I turned to Jack Devers. He was former CIA, but he could do and hack anything and everything. Nothing was a challenge for him. “I want everything, and I do mean everything, down to what food she hates, allergies, exes, family. Everything.”

  He smirked. “That I can do. It’ll be great working for you again, although I think you only call me when there’s a fuck up.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You know that’s not true.”

  He faked scoffed. “I didn’t even get invited to your wedding!”

  “You were in Nagano.”

  He looked to be pondering that before he smiled. “Yeah, that was fun. The women over there are spicy.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he stood up. My lawyers followed suite and left. Jack stayed, mulling around until they left. He finally turned to me, all serious. “We’ll fix this.”

  I took a deep breath. “We have to. I won’t lose my family.”

  14

  Emmalin

  I’ve barely been able to leave the house without a camera being shoved into my face. And heaven forbid Emersyn is with me. She’s terrified to leave the house, as she should be. We’re practically mobbed, and she’s scared. Hell, I’m scared.

  I glanced in the fridge. I needed to get groceries and couldn’t wait for whatever assigned security Grayson had for me to get here. Emersyn was getting fussy, and I was out of formula. I sighed. Emersyn was winning the battle. I scooped her up, and decided to take a taxi. Of course, if Grayson knew we were taking a taxi, he would lose his shit. But, I couldn’t focus on that right now. Grayson wasn’t here, for good reason, even if I did want him here.

  I held Emersyn’s hand as I picked up the few things I needed to last me a few days until I was able to do some real shopping. I noticed a few people watching me out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored them, quickly grabbing what I needed. Emersyn was going to have to walk with me, since I couldn’t carry her and the bags at the same time.

  I held her little hand as we left the store, and that’s when it happened.

  The cameras started flashing.

  “Mrs. Mandrake, how do you feel knowing your husband cheated on you?”

  “Have you, or will you, file for divorce?”

  “Does he beat you, too?”

  My head shot up at that. Emersyn started to cry, and before I had time to pick her up, someone got too close, knocking her over.

  “No!”

  I dropped all the bags and picked her up, her crying only grew louder as I tried to check to see if she was hurt. I felt myself tearing up, as more people crowded around us and more words and insults were thrown at me.

  Suddenly, a horn blared and an SUV pulled up onto the sidewalk, forcing everyone to move. I looked up just as Grayson was making his way through the crowd. He looked menacing, as if he would kill every single one of them. As upset as I was, I was relieved to see him. He quickly made his way to my side, gently helped me up, led me to the SUV, and Emersyn and I got in the back.

  “Are you okay? Is she okay?” He started to look us both over.

  I shook my head, as more tears fell down, and he looked at me with such remorse. “Can we just go…please?” I focused on buckling Emersyn in her car seat, so Grayson wouldn’t have to see my tears of guilt and shame.

  He nodded, shutting our door, and going back to the sidewalk to collect our bags. Before he got in, he turned to all of them. “Your shit is with me, not them. Leave my family the fuck alone!”

  He got in the car and slammed the door, the tires screeching as he pulled off. I smoothed Emersyn’s hair, and sang softly to her as she started to calm down. Grayson’s eyes met mine in the mirror a few times; I knew he was seething, but would wait until we got home to let loose.

  He stayed close as we got out, looking every which way to make sure no one was around. He had one hand on the small of my back, and his other, cupping the back of Emersyn’s head. No matter what, he would always be there protecting us.

  He set the bags in the kitchen. He glanced at the formula. “She’s hungry?”

  I nodded, and he got to work preparing it for her. When he was done, he came toward us, and held out his arms for her. “Can I?”

  I handed her over as she reached for him. She hadn’t seen him for a few days, and I knew that had to be confusing for her. I watched from a distance as he rocked and fed her. She played with his tie as she ate. Half an hour later, she looked ready to pass out. I didn’t interrupt as Grayso
n carried her to her room, whispering sweet things to her.

  I returned to the kitchen, putting up the remaining groceries. I jumped when Grayson’s arms wrapped around me.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you just now, but I needed you in my arms.” I relaxed against him, and we were quiet. After a few calming minutes, he turned me to face him. I knew the lecture was about to commence. He cupped my face in both hands. “You have security for a reason.”

  I nodded, ashamed, because I put Emersyn in danger. “I know. But she was hungry and I thought I had more formula and I didn’t.” I felt myself tearing up again. He shushed me as he pulled me closer.

  “It’s okay. I’ll make sure we’re fully stocked.” He wiped away a few of my tears.

  “How did you know we were there?”

  He gave me a knowing look. I sighed. He always knew where I was. “If Emersyn wasn’t with you, I swear I would’ve killed each and every one of them for swarming you like that.”

  I took a few deep breaths. “Thank you for being there.”

  “You know I’m always there for you.” Then his voice got stern. “No more going out without security. I’m assigning someone 24/7, as well as someone to run errands.”

  I didn’t even bother arguing, because he wasn’t kidding.

  “I miss you. Both of you.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. Yeah, I missed him too, but I wasn’t ready to talk yet, even though I knew it had to be done eventually. I decided to steer the conversation to a slightly different topic. “Has everything been okay with you? I know it’s been a media frenzy, and…”

  “I don’t give a fuck about the media. It’s you and Flick I’m worried about. I should be here. I should be here, with my family.” He spoke as if he was pleading and he was. It had been three days since he left. He had called and texted at least twenty times a day. “How much time do you need before we talk about it? We have to talk about it, Emmalin. You know that.”