Aurora stared at her wrist, where four distinct fingerprints had darkened against her skin from where Zachary’s hand had been.
She tilted her arm slowly, testing the soreness, and felt a dull pain shoot up to her elbow.
He had grabbed her harder than she would have expected from a man who had never worked a day in his life.
Aurora looked up at Jaxson, who was still standing beside her with a concerned expression.
“Let me see your wrist.”
“I’m fine,” she said, pulling her arm back.
“No, you’re not. He grabbed you hard enough to leave bruises.” Jaxson stepped closer, his voice low.
“Let me see.”
Aurora hesitated, then held out her arm, letting Jaxson examine the marks with careful eyes without touching her.
He only looked, his jaw tightening.
“That’s going to leave a bruise.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” He stepped back, meeting her eyes.
“You need to report this to the security department and file a complaint. There are cameras in the lobby. I’m sure they caught the whole thing.”
“No.” Aurora shook her head.
“Aurora—”
“I said no.” She pulled her sleeve down to cover the marks.
“Savannah already assigned me to mentor him. If I file a complaint against her son, she will use it against me and say that I’m causing trouble, and she’ll—”
“She’ll what? Fire you?” Jaxson’s voice went sharp.
“You have grounds for a harassment claim. The camera footage alone will—”
“The camera footage won’t matter if she decides to make my life miserable. I mean, she already has.” Aurora met his gaze.
“I fought too hard to lose this job. My family depends on my income. I can’t afford to make any more enemies right now.”
Jaxson stared at her for a long moment before he sighed.
“Fine. At least let me at least secure the footage.”
“What?”
“The lobby cameras,” he said.
“If Zachary decides to twist this around or if he tells Savannah and anyone else that you attacked him first, we’ll need proof of what actually happened.”
Jaxson pulled out his phone.
“I can have security save the recording without anyone knowing.”
Aurora was hesitant. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
She didn’t want Cassian involved or him to know anything about this.
He had already involved himself in her life through her grandmother.
She didn’t need him fighting her battles for her too.
“Fine,” she said, “but don’t tell Cassian.”
Jaxson paused, his thumb hovering over the screen.
“He’s going to find out eventually.”
“Let him find out eventually, just not from you or right now.”
“Done.” Jaxson nodded slowly as he typed something into his phone.
“The footage is secured.”
“Thank you.”
They walked together toward the exit, where the lobby was still quiet because Saturday hours meant the building was mostly empty.
But there were a few employees lingering around, and they had seen what happened between her and Zachary.
Aurora could still feel their eyes following her movements.
By Monday, she was sure the whole company would know what happened.
“You’re really going to mentor him?” Jaxson asked as they reached the doors.
“I don’t have a choice.” Aurora pushed through the doors into the cold afternoon air.
“You always have a choice.”
“You don’t understand. My job is currently on the line,” she said as she stopped on the sidewalk, turning to face him.
“Savannah wants me to fail and quit so that she can tell everyone I was never qualified for this job in the first place. So if I refuse to mentor Zachary, she will win.”
“But you know that this is a trap,” Jaxson said as he stared at her.
“I won’t fall for it. I will just do the job properly and document everything.”
Aurora tightened her jaw.
“If Savannah wants me to teach her son, I will teach him, but I’ll make sure that there’s evidence to support my claim.”
Jaxson nodded slowly.
“You are smarter than Cassian gives you credit for.”
“He doesn’t give me credit for anything.”
He smiled, a small and genuine smile.
“Get home safe, Aurora.”
She only nodded before she walked towards the street to hail a cab.
The cab ride was silent.
Aurora sat in the backseat, her head propped against the window, watching the city blur past.
The adrenaline had completely worn off, leaving behind a fear that was simmering through her slowly. This story is hosted at g.com.
The way Zachary had grabbed her, holding her in place while he enjoyed watching her struggle.
And now she had to work with him.
She thought about Jude and the night he’d been arrested, all because of Zachary.
Zachary’s actions had destroyed her family, and now she was being forced to teach him how to do a job he didn’t even deserve.
Her wrist throbbed on cue, and she pulled her sleeve down, pressing her fingers lightly against the marks to soothe it.
When she finally got back home, she was going to make a training schedule and document every step.
She would make sure to be professional and thorough, and provide proof to Savannah and everyone else in Black Corp that she deserved her job.
She would make sure that Zachary Black never had the guts to touch her again.
The house was empty when she finally got home.
Jude was going to sleep over at a friend’s to study, and Amber had left a note on the kitchen counter:
“Gone to meet a client. I’ll be back later. Don’t burn anything.”
Aurora smiled despite herself before she padded to her room and opened her laptop.
She pulled up a blank document and started typing Zachary Black’s training schedule.
She stared at the title for a moment before she continued typing.
Week one would be company overview.
Week two would be project management.
She continued to fill in all the details, all the assignments and deadlines.
When she finished, at the back of her head, she knew she was setting him up for failure, but if he couldn’t handle this, it meant he didn’t deserve the opportunity to work at Black Corp.
She knew he would inevitably screw up.
She’d make sure to have the evidence to prove that she had done everything she could.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen.
It was a text from Jaxson with an attachment of the security footage.
She wondered where he got her number before she dispelled the thought.
He might have gotten it from Rhett.
“Thank you,” she texted back.
Then she set the phone down and went back to her training schedule.
She kept working until the sun set and her eyes burned from looking at the screen for hours.
But by the time she was done, the document was as thorough as it could be.
When she finally closed her laptop, she felt prepared.
Zachary Black had no idea what he was walking into.