Free The Coming of Anna (The Manhattan Series) by Leilani Rinder Page B

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by date.  I take my chance and jump up.  I run into the bedroom and grab my
robe which I quickly tie around my waist.  I don’t want to leave the room in
this state.  But I also don’t want to be in the room with a man who was clearly
going to rape me if he had not been too drunk. 
    Anton comes toward me again.  He is unsteady on his feet. 
His pants are still undone with his dick hanging over the edge of his
underpants.  Is this the man I thought I had been in love with? 
    I realize arguing with him is not going to get him out of my
room.  I don’t want security involved so I decide to open the door.  He comes
after me again.  I stand in front of the open door and when he lunges at me, I
get out of the way and he falls halfway out of the room.  I push him out the
rest of the way and shut the door behind him.  My legs give way under me and I
sit against the door, sobbing. 
    I hear him swearing and slurring his words as he walks down
the hallway.  The shock from the previous ten minutes makes me tremble and I
know that I have to pull myself together.  What am I going to do?  If I report
him, our previous relationship will come out.  My name and reputation will be
dragged through the mud.  The fact that I did not know that he was married and
that I broke it off with him and resigned my position the moment I found out,
would not count in the judging eyes of others.  How will people understand that
I went to dinner with him even though I did not want to?  How do I explain that
even though I had sex with him in the past, it is not what I wanted tonight?
    No, I can’t risk it.  What happened here tonight must never
come out.  But at the same time I am not up to attending the rest of the
sessions, knowing he is in such close proximity to me.
    I get dressed and pack my bag.  I go to the bathroom and
clean up the mess Anton caused by falling and also letting me fall.  Then I
call a cab.  The nightshift reception worker is fast asleep behind the counter
when I leave the hotel.  I look around wearily but there is no sign of Anton or
anyone else.
    When the cabdriver asks where I need to go, I ask him to
take me back to the airport.
    The airport building is deserted and I find a seat from
where I can see the counter.  As soon as the counter opens, I will buy a ticket
to go home.  I came here because I really did not know what else to do.  I can
now feel my body starting to ache from the bruising.  All I want is to be in
Thomas’ arms.  I want to take the first flight home.
    **********
    During the night I realize that I cannot go home in this
state.  Thomas will know something is seriously wrong the moment he sees me. 
But I am also in no state of mind to attend the rest of the conference.
    When the sun comes out the next morning, I walk out of the
airport and hail the first cab I see.  He takes me to a hotel on the opposite
side of the city. 
    When I get to my room, I lock the door behind me.  Nobody
knows I am here but I need time to think and weigh my options.  First of all, I
need to call the organizers of the conference.  Even though my session is done,
they will still wonder what happened to me if I just disappear. 
    I pick up the phone and dial the number.  It rings a few
times before Libby answers.  I tell her there was an emergency with one of my
children.  Nothing too serious but that I felt I needed to be there for them. 
Of course she is very understanding and she will pass along my regrets to the
rest of the organising committee.  I feel a bit guilty about lying to her but I
don’t feel like I had a choice.
    Thomas will be more difficult.  I cannot go home yet.  He
will immediately know that something is seriously wrong.  He swore that he
would kill anyone who ever hurt me.  So I will just have to leave him with the
impression that I am still attending the conference.  I will call him tonight
just like I did last night.  The idea of lying to Thomas makes me feel