Free Deception by April Isabelle Ordonez Page B

past―and of the times that I was so madly in love with him. When we let go, I feel like pulling him back in and smelling him some more. But I think better of it.
    He pushes the door open, without looking away from me. He hesitantly turns and disappears. I remain standing in place a moment longer, absorbing the lingering scent of him in the air. Once my legs begin to feel weak, I return to my office and Julie trails behind. "So how did it go?"
    I smile somewhat, but it fades quickly, replaced with sadness. "It was fine. It was difficult, but it went well. We didn't finish the interview. It was too much for one day."
    She can see the sorrow on my face, so she nods. "Rich was here. When I told him that you were in a meeting with a client, he said he would wait. But then he took a phone call and decided to leave."
    "You didn't tell him who I was meeting with, did you?"
    She chuckles. "No. I was not going there with him after the morning you've had."
    "Good. Thank you."
    I tell her that I’m going to leave for the day since I don’t have any other appointments scheduled. "Do you have a copy of that invoice we spoke about this morning?" I ask her on my way out.
    "It’s right here," she says, handing it to me.
    "Thank you, Julie. I'll be in tomorrow. See you then."
    I decide it's time to go home and confront Rich with the invoice.
    • • • •
    Where the hell is he? I pace the floor and glare out the window. I haven't been able to do anything but pace the floor of the entire house since getting home nearly four hours ago.
    I decide to text him before I burn a hole directly into the floorboards. Where are you? I text, and then put the phone in my pocket.
    After ten minutes of more pacing, my feet start to ache so I sit on the arm of the couch, resting my feet on the cushion, while staring out the window.
    Another hour passes, and still no sign of Rich. “If he’s not going to come to me, then I guess I need to go to him," I rage, grabbing my keys, and storming out the door.
    I drive to the one place I hope he'll be―his office. I pass by slowly, attempting to see if there are any lights on. But I don't see any. I drive to the back of the building, and find his car in the parking lot, along with another car as well. I’ve seen that other car before, but don't recall who it belongs to. What do I do now? Do I attempt to text him again, or do I go into his office? What if he's with a client, and I go storming in with the invoice in hand? I'm torn, so I sit a while longer running through a variety of scenarios.
    Moments later, I turn the engine off, grab my phone, and walk to the front door. It’s locked, so I press my face up against the dark windows and peer in, looking toward his office. I can see a dim light. Remembering that I have a spare key, I slide it into the keyhole. Should I go in? My conscience says no, but I eventually say screw it . I open the door and walk into the lobby. It's quiet. But as I stand there, listening for voices, I can hear muffled sounds coming from behind Rich's closed office door. I take slow steps in that direction, keeping in mind that he doesn't like to be interrupted when he's in a meeting.
    When I get to his office, I look into the long narrow window beside the door, and I gasp. Afraid that he's heard me, I put my hand over my mouth while I let out an even louder gasp. I’m motionless and unsure of what to do next. In the faint light, Rich leans back against his desk. He appears to be completely naked. A girl is kneeling down in front of him and she seems to be wearing something. I narrow my eyes, because while it looks like it's a dress, it also doesn't look like any dress I've ever seen. She's draped in black leather something-or-other, with chains hanging off of it everywhere. Her hands are behind her back, and they’rebound by somethin g— maybe handcuffs or chains?
    I jump in response to a loud sound, and then gut-wrenching screams. Rich has a whip in his hand and he's flogging