Free Flesh: Part Five (The Flesh Series Book 5) by Sky Corgan Page A

the door. I turn to him, a bit
startled.
    “ What are you
going to do now, Amy?” His voice is all seriousness.
    I sigh, knowing what
he's talking about. Lucian expects that I'll give in to him from now
on. I'm pretty much at his mercy, and I don't doubt that he'll
advance on me again. As Derrick said before, my new relationship with
Lucian puts both me and the company in a bad position. At this point,
if I refuse him, he could very easily pull out of the contract.
Things aren't just about the job anymore.
    “ Let's just
say, I hope we can stay friends if I get fired over this.”

    ***

    The day is long,
partially because I spend most of it stuck inside of my head and
partially because I keep obsessively checking my email for something
from Lucian. After I send him a few different furniture selections
that I picked out for his bedroom, I wait and wait and wait. There's
nothing. No response.
    When I don't hear
from him by noon, I start finding myself staring at Tyra's office
door, waiting for her to come out and tell me that Lucian requested
another private meeting with me. She doesn't though. In fact, I
barely see her all day. If she has any news about Lucian, she doesn't
seem interested in sharing it with me or Derrick.
    My thoughts
culminate into a horrendous headache since my brain just won't take a
rest. Lucian. Lucian. Lucian. He's all I can think about.
    Does he like the
furniture I picked out? Has he had time to look at it yet? Where did
he go last night? Why was he hiding those pictures from me? Is he
bored of me already? Will I really be able to resist him if he
advances on me again? What will I say to him when we see each other
next?
    By the time my shift
is over, I'm every bit as depressed as I was when I came in to work
this morning. Lucian didn't contact me at all, and that just feels
weird, like something is wrong.
    It's strange driving
home, knowing that I have the rest of the afternoon to myself. For
the past two nights, I've been with Lucian. Been with him in a very
physical way. Not seeing him today makes me feel things between us
might actually be over. It's an unrealistic thing to hope for though.
He has a career and a life outside of working on redecorating his
home. More than likely, he just got too busy to interact with me
today. I should think nothing of it, but it stays at the forefront of
my mind.
    Luckily, Janice has
the night off from work, so I have something to distract me. She's
sitting on the sofa in our living room when I get home, watching some
sappy love story that I've seen at least a dozen times before but
can't remember the name of. Just seeing the happy couple on the
screen makes my heart ache. I'll never have that. Love like that
doesn't really exist anymore.
    “ Hey,
Amy.” Janice glances at me from over the sofa as I set my purse
down on the bar. “How was work today?”
    “ It
was work,” I sigh, retreating to my room to change into
something more comfortable.
    Dread spears at me
with the realization that Janice will probably want to talk about my
new love interest at some point tonight. If I'm lucky, the movie will
keep her entertained, and she'll forget all about it. Maybe I should
just stay in my room. That wouldn't work though. Then she'd really
know that something was wrong with me.
    I put on a footed
pair of fleece pajamas with cupcakes printed on them. It's the pair I
always wear when I want to feel secure. My mom bought them for me a
few years ago, and they quickly became one of my favorite things to
wear to bed at night. If Lucian could only see me now, I think with a
sneer. Maybe I'm not even mature enough to handle a man like him.
Obviously. Otherwise, I wouldn't be taking this so hard.
    I peak around the
corner before waddling out into the living room, knowing full and
well that Janice is going to make fun of me for my childish
appearance.
    “ Oh
Lord.” She tosses her head back in amusement when she sees the
pajamas. “It must have been a tough day for you to