The CEO's Entanglement

6 She Hates Me

Morris POV

By the time I leave for the office I've only had three hours of sleep. Not that I'm complaining. For that matter, neither was Elise. I left her in bed with another promise to be on time tonight that I don't intend to break. We never did talk about the trip so I plan on surprising her tonight. I make my way through the lobby and to the elevator. As it moves toward my floor, I think about the conversation that I'll be having with Loreli this morning.

The more I thought about it last night from Elise's perspective, I would have been pissed if I found her like she found me. I'm glad my wife at least spoke to me. I deserved the silent treatment for being such an id*ot. I never should have sat down to eat with Loreli alone. I step off the elevator and make my way down the hallway that leads to my office. Loreli is out of her seat as soon as she sees me, but her normal smile isn't in place.

She hands me my coffee. "Thanks Loreli, give me a few minutes, and we can go over my messages and schedule." She nods and takes her seat at her desk. I take my seat behind my desk and smile when I see a text from Elise telling me she is having a bath because she is sore in all the right places. A few seconds later, the door to my office opens and Loreli steps inside. Again, I notice that the dress she's wearing is on the shorter side, and it shows more cleavage than normal.

Why the hell is she dressing this way for the office all of a sudden? I hate myself for even noticing, but it's just so different from her usual attire. She takes her normal seat across from my desk. "Loreli, I'd like to talk about what happened last night." Her eyes meet mine and she bursts into tears. What the f**k? I'm not sure what to say, so I just wait for her to calm down. "I'm so sorry Morris. I didn't mean to cause problems between you and your wife," she says.

"That's good because you didn't. My wife and I are fine." "Oh, my God, that is wonderful. I would have hated myself if I had caused problems for you." "Now, there are a few things that I want to address that happened last night that can't happen again. I appreciate that you bought dinner to apologize, but us sharing a private meal crosses a professional boundary that I need to maintain with you and all employees."

"Also, you calling me by my first name also crosses that boundary. I would like you to continue to refer to me as Mr. McNair. The last thing is, I know you were being friendly by touching my arm, but it can't happen again." "Of course, I'm so sorry I crossed so many lines. You must think I'm some kind of id*it for not realizing that I was being inappropriate" she says, on the verge of tears again.

"Please stop crying Loreli. I don't think you intentionally did anything inappropriate. I crossed the same lines by allowing it at the time. So going forward, we will both do better. Now let's move onto real work." After we went over my messages and my agenda for the day, she left my office. Part of me felt bad for making her upset, but the bigger part of me was glad we have clear boundaries. Elise is my world and I never want her to doubt me like she did yesterday.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, and I couldn't have been more grateful. I grabbed my computer and phone ready to head home on time. As I made my way toward my office door I could hear raised voices. What the hell is going on? I push open my door and a large man is towering over a crying Loreli.

"Brad, please, this is my job. Besides, you're scaring me." "I don't care about your f**king job or if you're f**king scared you wh*re." I use my cell to text security 911 to our floor. "Excuse me" I say loudly and step toward them. His head whips in my direction. "Who the f**k are you" he asks. "You need to leave my building now" I say with all the menace I can muster. I'm a big guy, but he's bigger. "Oh, you must be the pr*ck she's been f**king" he says.

He takes a step toward me and I prepare to defend myself. The elevator dings and four guards run toward us. "Get this man out of my building and call the police. He was threatening one of my employees." The four of them drag him away. Before I know what's happening, Loreli has her arms wrapped around me. Despite our earlier conversation, I pat her shoulder knowing she needs comfort. Especially after that pr*ck scared the sh*t out of her.

Her sobs finally stop, and she releases me looking horrified. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry Mr. McNair. I shouldn't have done that." "Loreli, I think this isn't exactly a normal situation. Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" "He didn't hurt me, just scared the sh*t out of me. He broke up with me, so I don't know why he is so angry." "Guys can be a**holes sometimes for no good reason. Does he know where you're staying?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he'll bother me again tonight. Especially if the police get involved," she says. "Maybe you should stay at a hotel for a few days until he cools off." "I can't exactly afford that, Mr. McNair, but thank you for your concern. Besides, you really should get going so your home on time. My drama is making you late again." "Loreli, this is not your fault. Besides, if Elise were here, she would kill me if I left you in danger."

"Thank you, Mr. McNair. You have no idea how much that means to me." "Grab your stuff, and I'll drop you off at Derek's hotel." "Mr. McNair, I can't," she starts to say, but I cut her off. "My brother-in-law owns the hotel, Loreli. I'll get you a room for a few days, then you can go back to where you were staying after your crazy ex cools off." "I can never repay you for this, Mr. McNair. Are you sure that your wife won't be upset that you're doing all of this for me," she asks.

"Of course, not. My wife is amazing and, besides, I'll tell her about all of this when I get home. She'll understand and support me helping to make sure you're safe." We make it to my car and I open the passenger door for her. Once she's inside, my phone rings and Elise's name flashes on the screen. I slide into the driver's seat and press the hands free. "Hello love" I say. "Hi Morris, I thought you would be home earlier, but I can hear you're in the car now," she says, and I smile.

"I am, but it's going to be a little bit longer because we had a bit of a situation in the office. Loreli" I start to say before my wife's angry voice interrupts me. "I swear to God, Morris, if you tell me that your late because of that woman. We are going to have a problem." "Elise, Loreli is in the car with me, and you're on speaker."

Before I finish the last word, the line goes dead. What the f**k? "Oh my God, your wife hates me. She thinks I'm the reason you're late all the time because of last night." Without thinking, I pat her thigh to offer her comfort when I realize I'm touching her bare skin. I quickly move my hand. "Loreli, everything will be fine. I will explain what happened to Elise, and she won't be angry. She doesn't hate you."