Steal My Life
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter Four
"George!" squealed Sofia, running up to him in the middle of the airport after he exited the gate. She threw her arms around him and he scooped her up while she wrapped her long, tan legs around his waist. Their mouths locked in a rough kiss and Sofia ran her hands into his hair, tugging onto the short strands while his lips fell to her throat.
"God, I've missed you, sweetheart," he murmured, breathing in the flowery, expensive scents that lingered on her body.
"Me too. Don't you dare leave me alone again."
"Not for a while. Not for a good long while…"
"Otherwise, I'll have to seriously consider divorcing you and marrying someone who will give me all the attention that I deserve."
He groaned, shaking his head and Sofia laughed.
The following morning, George carefully knocked on the door to his manager's office. He had received an e-mail requesting his presence at 9am. Being responsible, he was there right on time, dressed in a fresh suit with a button-down shirt with the collar of his undershirt visible. He never wore ties and always left the top two buttons undone.
"Who is it?" called the manager, his voice coming over an intercom.
"King, George King."
"Come in, Mr. King."
George opened the heavy wooden door and closed it slowly behind him. He then walked up to the large mahogany desk where his manager sat, expensive leather shoes propped up on the desk, and thick fingers meeting in a steeple as he reclined in the leather chair.
"Sit down," he ordered, gesturing to a chair.
George did as he was told and waited for his manager to speak. Craig Smith was the leading supervisor in the company that he was employed with and it was an honor to work for him. Smith had started with the same low-level computer tech work that George did, and rose quickly through the ranks and now rested comfortably at the top calling all the shots. One of these days, I'll be better than he ever was. I'll become a legend.
"Mr. King, it has come to my attention that you went against orders from your project manager and by doing so, endangered the job."
"No, sir, I did not. I followed orders as given. They left the van on a recon and the system that I was hired to control locked me out. I told them to abort when I lost the system for safety. They cut me off. Instead of leaving them high and dry, I took it upon myself to re-enter the system and unblock their path," he responded with a hint of smugness. After all, I really should have just left them rather than compromise myself.
"So you saved the mission? Or are you just lying to cover your own ass?"
"No, sir, I never lie," George stated icily, crystalline eyes fierce at the accusation. How dare you insinuate such a thing? I do have standards, even though I'm in this business.
"Good, good. Dismissed."
"Thank you, sir."
George staggered into the apartment four hours later than usual at 11pm. Sofia came down the hall, her feet barely making a sound as she made her way across the floor.
"George, honey, is that you?"
"Yes, sweetheart, I'm home," he sighed, setting down his laptop bag, tossing the keys and his wallet onto the table beside the front door.
"What took you so long?"
"Busy night," he said, turning away from her to head for the bathroom.
"George, you're bleeding. Why are you bleeding?"
He looked into the mirror and glared at the cuts on his face. "It's just a scratch."
"Were you in an accident?"
"Sofia, I'm fine," he said calmly, turning around to face her and taking her chin with his hand. "Look at me. I'm fine."
"I was just so worried. You didn't call, you're late, you're hurt—damn it, George, what am I supposed to do! What am I supposed to think!"
She wrenched herself away from his grasp. He reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Let go of me, George," she said, her voice was a low growl, a warning to him.
He ignored it, his expression as blank as a sheet of paper. George yanked her closer and shoved her back into the bathroom wall.
"George, stop it. You're scaring me."
"Oh really?" He leaned in closer and pressed his weight into her as his left hand grabbed her wrists tightly and his right hand caressed her slender throat. "What are you gonna do about it?"
"Please, stop. Let's just get you cleaned up—"
"No."
"George—"
"No, Sofia. I said no!" He dropped her throat and delivered a stinging slap to her face. Then, he stumbled backwards and left the bathroom.
Sofia sank down to the cool tile floor, clutching her cheek. "George," she whimpered softly, her disbelief clear.
That's when she realized that he smelled funny—a stench clung to him like cheap beer. George King was drunk, bitter, and he had assaulted her. But he would never hurt her when he was sober. He still loved her. She had kept pushing him and he had snapped.
It was an accident.
Author's Notes:
Georgie boy's job is starting to stress him out already. Just wait until he finds out what Sofia does while he's working his ass off all day. Major thanks to emptyvoices for her help and to everyone else for reading/reviewing!