A/N: This chapter is a shorter than the other ones (2,730 vs. 4,000+), but for whatever reason, I just couldn't make it work for me the way I wanted it to.
Anyway:
Larcian: the confusion is totally called for and will be addressed at some point in the next three chapters. I've already got the scene typed out, I've just got see where it fits. No worries lol
LadyJoa:I'm really glad you like Lyndel so much :) I think it's every writers worst nightmare to have a character be considered a Mary-Sue, so I try really hard to make my OCs have all of those wonderful faults that make us each human. And- while I've never even held a job for longer than a summer- I feel like there's always some kind personal spin to everything in the professional world, especially when you're stuck working with the same day-in and day-out. So, yeah, rivalries and relationships are going to be a thing in this fictional workplace lol
HermioneandMarcusand Lila: Thank you both very much :)
FYI: Things are a little...M-Rated weird in the first section (directly below this note), so anyone with delicate sensibilities can go on and skip ahead.
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His breath hitched and turned into a strangled moan of torturous pleasure as Lyndel slowly lowered herself onto him once more. The feeling of her slick, warm walls hugging his heavy, hard member was just too good, and his body shook as she fully engulfed him.
Her panted breaths were music to his ears as she worked herself on him, her soft hands pressed to his chest as she rode him. A low whine rang from her bitten lips as she went down on him again, a look of anxious concentration gracing her flushed face.
An agitated growl broke from Alec's throat as he gripped her hips and slammed into her, desperation forcing him to break her slow-and-steady pace.
He felt her quiver as he took over, repositioning her on top of him and hitting just the right spot- the one that turned her quiet moans into wild cries. A suffocating heat filled the atmosphere as his frenzied thrusts pushed them each closer and closer to a sweet oblivion. The delicious sound of his sweet Lyndel's pleasured screams met his ears as she tightened around him, her pulsating walls drawing him to his own loud, desperate end as he thrust his hips up one last time and emptied his seed into her.
Then, it all ended. The hot, sex filled air, the passionate breaths and fevered body of a sexually gratified Lyndel resting on his heaving chest…
He was alone. Alone in his now sticky bed with nothing but the memory of a very hot, very wet dream.
"Fuck!" He shouted angrily, beating a fist against his mattress.
Annoyed, Alec threw the bed sheets off of his naked body and stood, ripping the sheets off the bed entirely and carrying them to the in-suite washer and dryer. Starting the load, he then traveled to the bathroom to clean himself up after the third wet dream in the month.
After the first two, he knew he shouldn't of fallen asleep nude- even a pair of boxers would have saved him the hassle of washing his bedding- but the exhaustion of his 4am wake up calls had beaten him. And now he, and his sheets, paid the price.
"Sounds like you need to get laid." Demetri commented as he and Alec walked through the front door of their office.
Alec sighed, "I tried that; in the beginning, actually. It worked for about two days…." He trailed off; his thoughts focusing on the one top Lyndel wore that had the round tops of her pert breasts peeking out. He was talking with Eleazar when he caught sight of leaning over the back of her chair, stretching out her spine and pressing her plump tits against the unyielding blouse.
He had nearly died.
"Well, you gotta do something, man." His friend told him as they walked towards the elevators, "Unless she really fucks something up, Lyndel isn't going any- Speak of the Devil. Lyn!"
A blonde woman waiting for the lift abruptly turned and smiled at the two men. Demetri happily dove into a conversation, but Alec's attention was caught by an inconsistency.
When she had turned, her eyes kept moving and her pupils were different sizes. Even now, standing still ad focusing on a stationary thing- Demetri- she seemed disoriented.
"Are you alright?" He asked suddenly, grabbing the two other's attention. While Demetri looked confused, Lyndel seemed rather suspicious when she gave him a weak smile and gently insisted that she was fine.
He wasn't convinced. Especially when the elevator arrived and she all but fell into the car.
Demetri's eyes caught his own and he knew they were both thinking the same thing.
What the hell was going on with Lyndel Parker?
The two of them entered the lift after her stood against the back wall, silently watching as the young woman turned pale and slid down to the floor. In an instant, both Alec and Demetri were kneeling by her side.
"Lyndel?"
"Are you alright?"
Gingerly, the woman nodded, though her head stayed placed between her knees and her eyes squeezed shut. The disgusting feeling of nausea spiced her throat and shaky breaths rocked her body.
"Lyndel?" A smooth voice asked again, the deep sound soothing her pounding head and aching stomach. She felt a cold hand brush back her curtain of hair and run down her spine.
Suddenly, the lift jerked to a stop- jostling her already aggravated stomach- and the doors slid open.
With great care, she ignored the roaring in her ears and the dizziness in her head as she tried to stand. As she wobbled on her feet, a firm arm wrapped around her waist and led her to her blessedly close desk.
Whoever was helping her lowered the woman into her chair and kept a hold on her arm as his other hand pressed against her forehead.
"Lyndel?" The voice asked again, "Open your eyes."
She did as she was told and saw blue eyes staring into her own with a frightening concentration. Though he was looking into her eyes, it was blatantly obvious that he wasn't looking at her. He seemed to be searching for something in the mess of brownish green that was her particular brand of hazel.
Demetri walked up, handing her a cup of water and a damp paper towel before insisting she see a doctor.
"No, no," she said with a dry throat and a very slight shake of her head, "I'm fine. It was probably just motion sickness or something. It's not uncommon to happen in elevators."
"But to that degree?" Alec questioned sternly, "Besides, have you ever had motion sickness before?"
"That's irrelevant."
"It's as relevant as you are infuriating," He argued, his voice getting shockingly loud. He took it down a few notches after seeing her frightened reaction. "Lyndel, something is wrong and you know it. Remember when you nearly collapsed walking out of my office a few weeks ago? Did you ever get that checked out?"
She rolled her eyes- and regretted it as soon as the dizziness hit her- and dispelled his concerns.
"It's nothing, really." She assured the men in front of her, "I'll be fine. Now, if you gentlemen don't mind, I've got work to do." To emphasis her point, Lyndel spun her chair to face the computer and logged on, the Window's startup sound sending the boys away.
~8~
"Renata?"
The woman looked up at her approaching boss.
"Email Eleazar. Tell him that Lyndel Parker is sick and to limit her physical activity today."
The assistant obediently nodded and started typing, sending the message to both Eleazar and Biers- seeing as they both had control over Parker's workload- before promptly returning to her previous work.
"Parker!"
Lyndel jumped in her seat- bringing on another minor headache- and turned around.
"Yes, Mr. Biers?"
He dropped a small pile of folders into her lap.
"Take that down to the mailing room." He demanded nonchalantly.
"Yes, Mr. Biers." She said obediently, turning her chair around and slipping on black heels. The world around her spun as she rose to her feet, but she ignored it with nothing more than a mental note to try to make it to the doctor at some point.
She made the short trek from her desk to the elevator with no incident. However, recalling the near-vomiting situation from the morning, she diverted to the stairwell, instead.
With an exhausted sigh, she flung open the door and began walking down, keeping a firm grip on the handrail as she did.
Outside the stairs, waiting for the elevator, stood Diego and Bree, deep in a discussion of water-cooler politics when a short, high-pitched shriek broke through their communication cycle.
Quickly, the pair jumped over to the stair well and opened the door, Diego calling out.
"Hi," came a meek, tepid response. The voice was clearly in pain, sending both Diego and Bree dashing down the stairs.
Three platforms down, Lyndel Parker was sitting in the corner with a notch on her head, tears on her face, and a scrapped hand nursing her right arm. Papers and folders were scattered among the steps and landing.
"Could one of you call a cab?" She asked casually, though the scratch in her voice gave her pain away, "I think I should make a quick trip to the ER."
Bree nodded and darted back up stairs.
Diego kneeled down and wrapped his arms carefully around the injured woman, gingerly lifting her from the cold platform and acting as a human crutch as the made their way back upstairs. Bree met them at the door and wrapped an arm around Lyndel's waist.
"The cab is on its way," She told them as they got the woman to her desk, "I told Eleazar and he said to just go home after the hospital and forget about work for a while."
She nodded ever-so-slightly and bent over to get her purse. Bree beat her to the punch – she seemed to like doing that- and gathered her stuff for her. As Lyndel stuck out her arm for her purse, Bree swiped it up to her own shoulder.
"I'm going with you," She said simply, "Just let me go get my phone and wallet and I'll meet you in the lobby. Diego, head down with her, would you?"
The man nodded and hooked an arm around Lyn's waist and walking with her to the elevator.
~8~
With a shaking hand, Renata replaced the phone to the receiver.
Lyndel was in the hospital. And she'd have to be the one to tell Alec.
Why did she suddenly feel ill?
Okay, alright, it'll be fine. She just had to handle this properly.
According to Eleazar- who was speaking for Brenna Tanner- Lyndel Parker was walking down the stairs when she assumedly fell and injured herself. Ms. Tanner accompanied the injured woman to the hospital. A preliminary investigation arose the idea that she was running an errand when she was in the stair well. Considering this and the email from Alec Volturi requesting a lack of physical activity from the now injured party, Camargo decided to halt the investigation until further notice.
Renata knew without question that Eleazar had made the right move.
Alec would be furious enough as it is. The last thing they needed was him pissed about mishandling the situation.
However, she also knew- without question- that if Alec were in charge this would be mishandled anyway. She had to handle this herself. And she had to get it done before Alec found out.
Instantly, she picked the phone back up and dialed the number that everyone hated.
"Chelsea Gaudette." A feminine, yet firm voice answered.
"Chelsea, it's Renata. We have a problem and we need it handled. Low-key, ASAP. Can you do that?"
"What's the problem?"
Four hours later, Renata knocked on the CEO's door.
"Come in."
Hesitantly, she opened the door and stepped inside, standing herself in front of Alec's desk.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, noting her avoidance of eye contact and hunched shoulders.
"There was an accident," she began, noticing the sound of a squeaking chair as her boss leaned back, "Everyone is fine, as far as I'm aware. A dislocated shoulder and possible concussion, but not severely threatening."
"Who was hurt?" he asked emotionlessly.
"She tripped going down the stairs-"
"Renata?"
"Diego and Bree got to her-"
"Renata."
"Bree's with her at the hospital-"
"Renata!" He called, his now booming voice filling the room.
"Lyndel Parker." She told him, still avoiding his eyes, "As of now, it looks like she was running an errand for Biers when she fell."
The office could have been a meat locker with how cold her boss suddenly got. She was reminded of Aro, in a way. A perfectly pleasant person and friend, until you piss him off. Then, it's like standing in a knife-shop with Robert Kuklinski.
"Wait for a full report from the hospital," he told her with a blank tone to his voice, "When it arrives, call Biers in. Understood?"
She nodded firmly and walked out the door, waiting until she was at her own desk to let the frightened shaking begin.
A knocking ripped her from the happy reclusiveness of sleep.
Scowling, Lyndel rolled off of the couch and shuffled to the door, ignoring the black spots in her sleepy vision. If her sight had been on par, she would have checked the peep hole. However, it wasn't and she didn't, so the confusion in her mind was sincere when she opened the door and saw the 23 year old of Canto Gioiello standing in front of her.
Still overcome by sleep, she moved to the side and gestured in doors, ushering him into her humble abode.
He took the invitation with grace and stepped inside, following the young woman as she sluggishly traveled to the kitchenette. He stood awkwardly in the opening and watched with interest as Lyndel got herself a glass of water.
Her steps- if you could call them that- were shambled and messy, and he clearly noticed the way she kept her eyes squinted and her pained swallowing of the drink. She still had her headache.
"I was on my way home and thought I'd stop by, make sure you were alright." He told her, his eyes scanning the counter tops aimlessly when he saw a little orange prescription bottle sitting in the corner. "Are you?"
She nodded, kind of, and started to speak.
"The doctor wants me back tomorrow for some blood tests. They think I may be anemic or something."
He nodded. "And the pills?"
"Painkillers." She told him simply, "For the shoulder. I feel fine, though. I took some Tylenol earlier and that was sufficient, so I'll probably just end up taking them back to the pharmacy."
He nodded once more and fell silent, trying to think of a way to keep the conversation going. He didn't feel comfortable leaving her, not yet. After answering with a false positive the past three times he's asked her, Alec knew he couldn't trust her when she said she was "fine". Until he reached that conclusion on his own, he wasn't going home. He wasn't going to leave her alone.
"So what happened in the elevator this morning?" He asked nonchalantly, walking into the kitchen and sitting on top of a counter.
He watched as she shrugged and started walking to her fridge. Alec knew that she knew what was wrong and was just too tired to talk about it. The poor girl was exhausted.
He hopped off the counter.
"Go sit on the couch," he commanded gently, motioning towards the living room they had walked through.
She gave an aggravated confused look.
He wasn't having it. "Now."
Conceding to the order she shuffled away from the ceramic flooring and onto the soft carpet. Once she was gone, he began raiding her pantries.
Memories of a very young Jane came back to him. The little girl had been diagnosed with anemia when she was in grade school. Their mother had fed her hotdogs every night for dinner until they reached junior high.
Smothering amusing thoughts of his sister's now very strong hatred for Oscar Meyer, Alec thought back to why the food of choice had been what it was.
Iron.
As he opened one of the cabinet doors, Alec was greeted with a jar of peanut butter.
Perfect.
~8~
Snuggled under her favorite blanket- created by her aunt- Lyndel was watching reruns of an 90s sitcom when Alec came out with a peanut butter and banana sandwich and a glass of milk.
He handed her the plate and set the glass on the in table before sitting on the couch himself. And scowling at the television. His hand reached for the remote and Lyndel kicked him, sending a death glare his way.
Shooting her an innocent smile, he leaned back and watched the show- which turned out to be a marathon.
He didn't leave for two and a half hours.