Dangerous Attraction
Chapter 20 of my Dangerous Attraction story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.
Chapter 20
Reaching the door to Emily's office, Mike prepared himself. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy or pretty, but it had to be done. So, he knocked on the door.
"Come in." Emily snapped from the other end.
Mike cringed. She was already angry, so that was just going to make this worse. Still, he persevered and entered the office. Emily was seated at her desk, typing on her computer, her face etched in anger.
She looked up when he entered and her eyes widened when she saw him. But it was only brief and, switching her computer monitor off, she turned to face him, schooling her features into something neutral.
"Mike? I wasn't expecting you. What is it?" she asked, her veneer of calm barely covering the obvious anger beneath the surface.
Mike shook his head. "Emily, we...we need to talk."
He saw her tense up, but he refused to let up. He couldn't let her dictate the way that the conversation goes again. He had to stay focused.
"I'm sorry, Em. But...with the way that things have been going for a while now..." he began.
"Mike..."
He shook his head. "Emily, our relationship...it's not working. It's clearly obvious. Look at how things have changed between us over the years."
"You can't just..." she spluttered.
"Emily, have you seen or heard yourself lately, with the way that you've been behaving? The paranoia over hiring new employees... We need those employees, their talents and qualifications can help the company improve even more." he interjected. "Then there's the fact that the only reason that we ever spend time together anymore is only when you want us to have sex."
She glowered, realizing exactly where this was going and she was beyond furious. Getting to her feet, Emily snapped.
"Excuse me? Just what do you think you're doing?! How dare you?!"
Mike shook his head sadly. "Emily, think about it. When is the last time that we've spent proper time together, just the two of us? If it doesn't involve work, or getting me into your bed, then you just don't seem to care."
"I am giving you a great opportunity with me, Michael!" She was trying hard to control herself now. "Yet, you just don't seem to appreciate that!"
"I want a proper relationship, Emily. What we have now isn't that anymore." he explained firmly. "I'm sorry, but I can't keep doing this with you. We have to end this now."
"You've got some fucking nerve." Emily's voice had suddenly lowered, becoming dangerous. "And how you dare say that I'm just after you for sex when here you are, breaking up with me just so that you can get back to fucking that slut, Jessica!"
Mike froze, his eyes wide as he heard that. Emily knew what was going on with him and Jess!
"That's not..."
"Michael, I saw you both this morning in the shower together! It's clear what happened!" Emily practically exploded at him. "You're lecturing me, when you got her hired just to get into her pants and..."
Mike shook his head, shockingly calm. "What Jess and I have, Em, is a proper relationship. We care about each other, we spend real time together. What you saw was the aftermath of our first time...after three dates and a long time of being together, simply being happy with each other."
The color drained from Emily's face and she shook her head, unwilling to believe this. It was worse than she had thought! But it also led to her being caught in a bind. The company couldn't afford to lose Mike and there were currently no new models available. Besides, even if there were, it still wouldn't resolve things.
"Fine. If that's what you want, Michael, then we'll end it. We'll just be an employee and the employer. Now get out of my office." she told him, her tone sharp, but firm.
Mike just nodded and left without looking back. Emily sat back down heavily and turned her computer screen on again.
She shook her head. 'Of all the fucking, no good...urgh. I may not have a chance right now, but even if I did fire the bitch, Mike would still be in her grip. I need to teach her a lesson and make Mike see the truth about her!'
She immediately began plotting. She would have her revenge for this!
Walking together, hands linked, their fingers entwined, Mike and Jess were both smiling. As they walked back to Jess' apartment, she turned her head towards Mike.
"So, I noticed when you left during the photo shoot. You looked rather...serious?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I...I've finally managed to break up with Emily."
"So you mean there's nothing stopping us?" Jess gasped.
Mike shrugged. "She didn't take it very well, but I don't think so. She knows that she'll have real trouble replacing us, so our jobs are safe. It wasn't pretty or easy. But it's done now."
"I can guess how bad it must have been. But hey, if there's anything that I can…?" she began, her expression softening.
Mike just grinned. "I'll be fine. Trust me."
She returned the grin and they resumed their walk. However, approaching Jess' home, they stopped, Jess gasping, suddenly worried. Her reason for worrying? Her apartment door was ajar.
"What the fuck? I closed and locked it, I know that I did." she whispered.
Hearing that, Mike tensed and, sharing a nervous look, they carefully made their way inside. Once inside, it was immediately apparent that there had been a break-in. The place had been ransacked, yet it seemed odd. At a glance, Jess was pretty sure that nothing had been stolen.
"Why would someone…?" she began, uncertain.
Mike shook his head. "Let's call the police. We need to get out of here."
Jess nodded and they quickly did just that.
Approaching the site of the reported break-in, Detective Samantha Giddings took note of the two people standing just outside the perimeter set up by her colleagues as they searched for evidence. Looking around and noting how everyone else seemed to be busy, Sam approached the couple.
"Excuse me." she said, getting their attention. "I'm Detective Samantha Giddings, and you are?"
The man introduced himself first. "Michael Munroe."
"Jessica Riley." the woman then said. "I live here."
"I see. Has anybody collected a statement from you yet?" she queried, and they shook their heads. "Alright then, let's get started. What can you tell me?"
So they began telling their story and Sam took down notes. As she did so, she took special interest in the fact that the door had been locked since the night before and also that nothing seemed to have been stolen. In the end, she sighed.
"If nothing has been stolen, then it's highly unlikely that the intruder left any clues." she admitted. "I don't know what we can do right now, but...I will keep an eye on this, rest assured."
They nodded. They knew that it wasn't going to provide an answer, but it was better than nothing being done at all. They could settle for that, for now.
Sam reassured them that they would be done investigating Jess' home by the end of the day, so Jess wouldn't need to live somewhere else for a while.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.