The Corporate Raider part 5

by Denise Mayes

"There! That way you don’t have to worry about us being interrupted with the door opening."

At the same moment that the stop button was hit, Alex’s video alarmed. She hit the switch and the
image of the girl and the man in the elevator immediately showed.

"Damnit!!" She cursed as she hit the speed dialer and called the police. She told them what was
happening, then hung up and hit another button that alerted the guards of the building that something
was happening on the top floor. The final call was to the in-house medical clinic, She told the Doctor to bring her rape collection kit to collect possible

specimens, and get to the top floor immediately. She then hit a switch on the video panel to have it
continue to record as it always did, but without the images showing. "Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!" She
cursed, as she raced to the elevator to wait for it to automatically restart and come on up the last few floors.

Meanwhile, Taylor was screaming for the man to stop, and she was saying "no" every way she knew how. He cursed at her in Italian, and then in English.

"If you think I’m going to let someone else have the pleasure of popping your cherry, then you are
obviously a fool. I’ve invested months with you, I even planned on having you become my wife, but
no, you up and try to break up with me. Well...I’ll leave a very real reminder of our special time
together right now. You’ll never forget me, no matter who comes and goes in your life." He laughed
evilly, as he reached for the girl. She knocked his hands away. He decided to just overpower her in
the corner and have his way with her.

He caught one hand, but couldn’t catch the other before she laid a staggering blow to his head.
When she went to try to get away, he hit her across the face with his hand and she fell back against
the wall of the elevator. He then pinned her up against the wall of the stopped elevator, and while she had her hands pinned behind her back he slipped one of his hands under her dress. It went into her pantyhose and then into her underwear. Taylor was going wild as she tried to fight him off of her. Several times she managed to keep his hand from going further by sliding down the wall, but he
would pull her back up, pin her firmer, and then try again. Finally, just as he was about to end her
innocence, the elevator began moving again, and it startled him. He tried to reach the stop button
from where he was, but he could not reach it, so his hand came out, and he went to hit the stop
button again, but found that it did not work this time.

"Shit!" He hissed, as he turned to confront the girl again. She was wild-eyed, and when he turned,
she caught him across the face with her fist. He staggered again, this time far enough away from her
for the elevator to make it to the top floor. Just as he was about to charge the girl to lay her out for
striking him, and take her, he caught a figure out the corner of his eye and turned to see who it was.

He never got a chance. He was rendered unconscious by a powerful blow to his face. It sounded
like it had broken some bones in the man’s face. The girl was now shaking violently in the corner of
the elevator, and was going into shock. She barely heard the familiar voice calling to her.

"Come here." Alex had been calling her to come out of the elevator, so that she would not have to
go in after her and mess up the evidence scene.

"I...I...can’t." Taylor managed, as she stared at the unconscious man who was bleeding from his nose and mouth.

"Come here, now!" Alex commanded with purpose.

The girl was startled by it, but it got the effect the woman wanted. The girl’s eyes locked on the
Alex’s as she once again told her to come out of the elevator. Taylor hesitated for a moment, then
she rose from the corner she was cowered in, and cautiously eased around the downed man and
reached for the reaching hand. She ran into Alex’s arms. Alex felt the girl shaking and it radiated
through her own body as a result. The police and crimelab people all arrived at the same time the
medical personnel from Alex’s in-house clinic had. The woman had gotten enough information from
Taylor to be able to tell them where to collect the specimens, specifically those that would be the
most crucial evidence. One of the medical personnel happen to work part time at the hospital as a
rape specialist. The specimens were taken and then the MD turned to Alex.

"I need to take her to the hospital to take some samples from her as well." She said, as she saw the
reaction from the girl.

"No!, No! I don’t want to go to the hospital!!" Taylor said, almost hysterical at the thought.

"It’s all right, calm down, shhh...she needs to get the samples so that we can get this piece of scum
sent to prison for as long as possible. You know she has to do this. I know your scared...look at
me!" Alex scolded gently, seeing how the girl's eyes would widen every time she looked over at the
man. She knew that only hindered the girl's understanding further, especially considering she was on
overload." Go with her, it’ll be all right, I promise, nothing will happen to you."

"I don’t want to go to the hospital!!"

Alex sighed at Taylor’s pleading, fear filled eyes.

"Okay, okay. Clarissa, is there any way you can do your test in the clinic here? I mean it is fully
stocked with pretty much the latest equipment."

"Yes, I guess I can, but I can’t run the labs here, they have to be run at the hospital."

"That’s not a problem, You can have one of your staff take them over to the lab at the hospital, it’s
only five minutes away."

"That’s fine, but the police would have to have one of their people go along to insure the security and integrity of the specimen, to make sure it has not been tampered with."

"That’s fine, whatever, just do it!" The woman said impatiently.

Alex then looked back down at the girl in her arms and asked her if that would work for now.

"Will you come with me?" Taylor asked, scared to leave The woman’s protective arms.

"I’ll come down as soon as I know he is in custody, okay?"

"Promise?" She asked, tears streaming down her face as she was being gently taken by the Dr. and
the female police officers out of Alex’s arms and guided the girl towards the stairs.

"I promise, oh Dr. come here a moment, I want to tell you something."

The Dr. left the shaking girl with the female officers and walked back over to where Alex stood
watching everything.

"Yes."

"She was a virgin, I think she may still be since I didn’t see any blood on the man’s hands. Be careful that you don’t accidentally change that if she managed to preserve it." She said, warning the woman.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be very careful, I’ve had a few who managed to keep it long enough to be rescued before it happened. I have to go, but I will let you know what I find."

"Good. I’ll be there as soon as I can."

Alex watched the woman and female police officers escort Taylor to the stairs. Just before she went
through the door the girl looked back and asked with her eyes one more time whether the woman
would indeed come. Alex nodded her head and the girl let out a relieved sounding gasp. She turned
back to the other women who spoke softly to her as they now guided the trembling girl. Once they
were gone down the stairs Alex turned her attention back to what was happening in the elevator.
She stood and watched, taking mental notes on everything. Once the police had the man restrained
on thestretcher, they told her that one of the officers would stay and get any information she may have about what had happened.

The physical evidence was already taken care of, so she could again use all of the elevators.

"I want him locked up until his trial." She stated.

"That’ll be up to the Judge. But I’m sure even if he did have the chance to get out, it would take a
large bond to do it."

She realized that the man’s father could easily raise whatever amount of money was necessary, and
that he would probably have his men sent out to take care of the girl. Her mind went to darker
thoughts and she knew what she had to do.

"Fine, but don’t let it be known who is in custody right away, and why?"

"We know who he is, and you can be sure that we have no intentions of letting the information out.
Here's my card, if you need anything please just give me a call?"

An officer took information from her, and then went to leave. He too left a card.

"Thank you." She took one last look at the unconscious man, then turned and headed into her office
to make a few phone calls.

"I want you in my office in the next few minutes, and if I’m not here you had better wait!"

CLICK!!

She slammed down the phone and then after taking a few moments to calm herself, she picked it up
again. She called her friend, the Attorney General, and told him what just happened. She told him to
go forward with the cases against the man, and to put the new rape charge on the top. He was to
present the case the way they had talked about before, and she would testify if she was needed for
the girl.

"You know by having such a powerful witness, I’m sure we can get a conviction." The man on the
other end of the phone said.

"I want him to remain behind bars until his trial date. I want the case brought forth within the next
week. I want the trial within a few days after that, am I making myself clear? I don’t want this guy on the street with the chance to disappear and then reappear and do something worse to the girl." Alex said high-pressurely.

The man knew the woman meant what she said, and he told her he would start the process right
away. They hung up and she put her head in her hands for a moment as she thought about Taylor.
Although she did not have time to think long, one thought played over and over in her mind.

"What is it about....this....girl....that I feel so protective of her? When did she go from being just
another employee, to someone that I care about, someone I like having around? Or was she ever
just another employee? Since that first day she came to my attention there was something about her;
qualities that I admire. Her kindness, and her devotion to her friends. But she’s also naive and shy.
Hmm...I have to get down to the clinic to check on her." Alex said shaking her head of the thought
and refocusing on her next move.

She arrived in the clinic a few minutes later.

"How is she doing?"

"Fine, now. At first she fought us when we were trying to examine her, but then I remembered seeing how much of a calming effect you had on her. I used that to get her to allow us to take the specimens we needed. We also took pictures of her face and fist. Luckily her light caramel skin tone allowed the bruises to show up. She’s going to have a bruise around her eye for a bit, but it’ll heal fine. I also dressed the cut to her eyebrow on that same side, after the pictures were taken.

"Cut?" Alex asked not remembering seeing a cut.

"Yes, but it’s just a small one. His ring evidently caught her, but it was not the stone part, it was the
band part. So it wasn’t a gash, just a cut. It will heal without scarring as well."

"Well good. It would be a shame for such a pretty girl to be scarred physically by such a violent act.
It’s already horrible enough she’ll carry the scars of this day in her mind." Alex said tightly through
her teeth.

"Well, with time and help, even those can heal." The Dr. pointed out to the angry woman.

"Well that won’t be a problem." She said, as she glanced over at the Dr. now with a more
determined look.

"I’m glad you said that." The Dr. replied.

"You said the mention of me had a calming effect on her?"

"Yes, she seems to calm at the mention of you, or even the thought of you. I figure it was because
you were the first one to get to her, and you actually saved her from him."

"Hmm...speaking of saving?" Alex quickly jumped to the other important issue.

"Oh...yes, he didn’t get a chance, she’s still very much intact."

Alex let out an audible sigh of relief, and the doctor looked up at her.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." She said briskly.

"Well that seemed to get the same response from the girl. I had to sedate her a little right after I told
her. I think the reality of how close she had come to losing that, really shook her up again."

"Which door?"

"That one." The Dr. replied, pointing to the closed door of the room the girl was in.

Alex headed over to the door and opened it slowly to look in. The officer motioned for her to come
on in. The officer then whispered to the girl and told her that the woman was there. Taylor slowly
and groggily turned her head over to look towards the door. When she saw the woman, a weak
hearted smile came to her face, as tears rolled slowly down her cheeks. Their eyes locked on each
other, and Alex found herself trying to maintain her composure. She felt herself about to lose it, so
she motioned for the officer to leave them. The officer nodded and told the girl she would come
back later. The officer then walked over to where Alex stood and leaning over she whispered to her.

"She’s been asking for you the whole time."

After the woman had left the room and Alex stepped nearer to the bed Taylor was laying on. She
spoke to the girl.

"You okay?"

"I’m glad your here." Taylor said, as her tears rolled unhindered down her cheeks, and her eyes
showed the effects of the sedation.

She tried to reach for the woman’s hand, but the sedation kept her from controlling her arm enough.
Alex saw what she was trying to do and took the girl's hand in her own and held it. The girl managed to squeeze the warm hand a bit as the tears rolled faster. The woman sat on the bed and was determined to maintain her composure..

"I told you I would come."

The girl smiled slightly, at least it looked like an attempt at a smile, but the effects of the sedative,
kept her from using her muscles well enough.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked, causing an ironic chuckle to escape the woman’s lips.

"Look at you? Asking me if I’m all right, and it’s you who was attacked? Aren't you just the one?"
Alex said, as she used her other hand to move stray strands of hair out of the girl's face. It also gave
her something to do with her free hand, seeing how completely off balance she now felt.

"I’m sorry this happened at the company. I know you didn’t want it to come anywhere near...." The
girl started to ramble off.

"Stop. This was not your fault, you know that right?"

"But If I...."

"No! You listen to me, this was NOT your fault, this guy is a jerk he wanted to hurt you for his own
purpose. There is absolutely nothing to blame yourself for. NOTHING! Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Why don’t I believe you?"

"I just think if I could have gone and talked to him, then maybe he would not have done this?"

"Did you talk to him in the elevator?"

"Yes."

"Did you say any of the things you think you would have said to him if you had spoken to him before this?"

"Yes, a lot."

"Then if you said a lot of those things in the elevator, and he still tried to rape you, what do you think he would have done if you two were alone. Do you think you would still be a virgin?"

"Well?"

"I know your smarter than this, I’m assuming that your hesitating in your responses due to overload
and being sedated? Because it can’t be for any other reason. Especially after I’ve told you that you
were not to blame? Unless you think I’m lying?"

"Oh, no, I wasn’t thinking that at all." Taylor said, fearful that she had offended the woman.

"Good. Now you try to rest...."

"You're not leaving are you?!" She asked, with rising panic at being left alone, despite the sedative.

Although Alex had planned to return to her office to make a few more phone calls, she gave the girl
an answer she could handle.

"I’ll be back in one hour, I’m just going to my office to TALK to someone. I will be back, and if the
medicine has worn off some, then I’ll take you home."

"One hour?"

"Yes, maybe sooner, but no longer."

Taylor held the woman’s hand tightly, but then with a final squeeze she let go. The woman caressed
the girl's cheek, and looked deep into her eyes and with a reassuring look she told the girl, "I’ll help
you get past this if you want me to?"

"Thank you." The girl said, as she tried to smile again, but instead tears rolled down her cheeks.

Alex gave her a sympathetic smile, then with a final pat to the girl’s cheek, she stood to her full height and turned to walk out of the room. She was controlling her breathing as she motioned for the officer to return to the room. She also told the Dr. that if the girl needed anything to let her know. She would be in her office and would return in one hour.

The woman left and when she was in the elevator once again the questions ran through her mind.
When she arrived on the top floor she stepped out of the elevator and strode into the outer office.
Salina was now at her desk talking to some of the other people who had seen the police going up to
the top floor. They all took the next elevator up as soon as they had been restarted.

"Good morning Ma'am." They all said, greeting the woman.

"I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE WORK TO DO. I suggest you get to it!" Alex warned.

The outer office cleared and Salina turned on her computer to start work. She did not even spare a
second glance at Salina, but now focused on the pacing woman in her office. Salina let out a sigh of
relief.

"Whew! She doesn’t even know about my involvement, and I hope that jackass can keep his mouth shut." Salina thought to herself, in disgust at the man’s failure.

Meanwhile Alex went into her office and slammed the door behind her as she then laid into the
woman who had been waiting for her.

"What the hell happened?! How is it that, THAT boy was able to get to the girl?! And on top of that, inside of the elevator’s in MY building?! Especially, if you were supposed to have him under
surveillance?!!" Alex shouted, as she stood within inches of the woman looking slightly downward
into the woman’s wide eyes.

"We were following him from a discreet distance. He was just a few cars ahead of us when
suddenly...this 4x4 truck came skipping out in front of us and the police was right behind in pursuit.
We had to get out of the way, which meant that we lost him. I’m sorry, I hope the girl is all right?!"

"Sorry?! That is no where near good enough!! The woman hissed, as she turned away from Kiara.
She stormed over to sit in her chair and glare at the woman who now had obvious signs that she
wanted to cry, but instead kept them balanced on her lids. "Those aren’t helpful either!" She
sneered. "That child was raped, and almost lost her innocence because you failed in your job!!"

"What could I have done?! We had to let the police by." The woman said, trying to defend her
position. She probably would have been able to do that with anyone else, but Alex always saw
alternatives, and was not buying it.

"Have you ever heard of a DAMN PHONE?!!" She shot back, and the young detective now stood
thoroughly chastised.

"Who...who would I have called?"

The woman’s eyes narrowed as she now looked at Kiara with disbelief.

"Who do you work for?" She asked calmly, belying the rage that was running through her, and not
necessarily at the detective.

"You." The detective said, as she realized that she could have done that and then the woman would
have been able to do something to protect the girl.

"I didn’t think of that, I jeopardized the girl." She admitted as she now lowered her eyes.

After a long moment of silence she raised them back up to look at the woman. Alex was still glaring
at her.

"Get out, and next time you tell me you have something handled and don’t, you and I are going to
have another MEETING! Do I make myself clear Kiara?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good, now leave!" She turned her chair and the young detective dropped her hands in frustration
and guilt as she turned and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Alex sat looking out the window of her office, out over the skyline of the city. The sunlight reflecting
off of the steel and glass of the buildings. Thoughts of the girl came to her, and what had happened to her. Then, an unexpected thing happened. While she was sitting there, she felt tears on her cheeks. Alex had not allowed herself to feel anything emotional for anyone in a very long time... sadness, rage and joy all were washing over her. She felt sadness for the stark fear Taylor must have felt doing the whole ordeal. Rage at the rapist, who almost succeeded in his assault. Joy that the girl escaped the full savagery of the attack and was left intact. She gave herself over to these emotions for just a moment before she put her wall back up and was in control once again...but she could feel the walls had cracked just a bit.

Alex returned to the clinic one hour later and took the girl home. Once they were back at her home,
she told the girl to go and get cleaned up. She would go and get them something to eat, and bring it
to her room. Taylor didn’t want to stay in the room, and she didn’t want to go to sleep, so she came up with an excuse not to.

"I’d rather get cleaned up and then come and help you make dinner?"

"You need to rest."

"Please, it’ll give me something to do?"

Alex wanted the girl to rest, but she also realized that Taylor was still scared.

"All right, but when you come, bring your hair brush with you and after dinner I’ll brush your hair for
you, okay?"

"Okay." The girl said with a grateful smile, but the tears were never far away in her eyes. She started to turn and go to shower, but then turned back around and wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist and hugged her. "Thank you." She said, as she let go just as abruptly as she had taken hold of the surprised woman. She ran up the stairs and into the bathroom to get cleaned up not wanting to see the possible disgust in Alex’s eyes at her emotional reaction.

Alex again felt tears on her cheeks and wiped them away, determined not to allow Taylor to see
how much she hurt for her. She knew the girl needed someone strong to be there for her, and if
anyone was capable of it, she knew she was. She was determined not to fail. Wiping her eyes once
again she turned and went to go and start dinner. Taylor came down after a while wearing pj’s and a terry robe and slippers. Her hair was wrapped in a towel hanging down behind her back. The
woman looked at her and smiled. The girl moved over to the counter where she was just getting
ready to cut up some vegetables.

"Here, you can do this I think?" Alex said evenly. Giving the girl something to do.

"Yes." The girl said quietly, as she took the knife, positioned the first vegetable and began chopping
it up.

She watched the girl discreetly as she moved around the kitchen, to get one thing or another for their dinner. She saw the tremble in the girl's hands whenever the girl let her mind drift back to what
happened in that elevator.

"If you want to talk, I am a very good listener." Alex offered, as they went about setting the table to
eat.

"Thank you, maybe later?"

"All right."

The two sat down to eat and the woman kept the conversation light. She asked about the girl’s
studies and how they were coming along. By the time they had finished eating and cleaned up the
dishes, she thought the girl was ready to go to bed to rest, but Taylor had other ideas.

"I brought the brush?"

Alex smirked at the girl's attempt, but wanted her to get some rest, so she made her own suggestion.

"Okay, I will brush your hair for you, but only if you’ll get in bed?"

"I’m fine, really."

"You need to be honest with yourself. That’s the only way you're going to get past this. I’ll make you a deal, if you are honest with yourself and your feelings about what has happened to you, then I
won’t make you talk, and I'll stay in the room with you until you fall asleep, all right?"

"All right." Taylor agreed, as they went to the room she was using. She climbed into the bed and was told to lay on her belly. Alex sat beside her on the bed and began to brush the girl's hair. Not
because it needed to be brushed, but more as a therapy. She knew that the sensation of having one’s hair brushed was very relaxing, and if one was not careful, they could easily wind up asleep. That was Alex’s plan. Taylor slowly relaxed, but she had things on her mind, and she knew she needed to talk to someone she could trust. Someone who was not out to use her for their own benefit.

"Have you ever known anyone who was raped?" The girl suddenly asked of the woman.

"Yes, but it was slightly different."

"What was different about it?"

"She was dating a guy, and they had been intimate before, so she was not...a virgin. Unlike you, but
it was still a violent crime committed against her."

"Did she file charges against him?"

"She wasn’t going to at first, but I told her she was going to, and she did. He was sent to prison for
10 years without possibility of parole."

"Have you heard from her since?"

"Yes, she works in one of my companies overseas. She’s now happily married."

"You mean you helped her the same way your helping me?"

"No, it’s a lot different. She was just an employee who was new to the company. I just happened to see her crying one day in one of the hallways as I was heading to my office. I asked her what was wrong and at first she was too shocked to talk to me because of who I was, but then I told her
maybe I could help if she told me what had happened."

"And she did?"

"Yes, and I had to scold her the same way I did you to get her to understand that what happened
was not her fault. Despite the fact that she had slept with him before, the fact that she had said no,
made it rape when he forced himself on her. Eventually it went to trial and the jury saw it the same
way we all did, so he was convicted. She was able, with help, to get past it and she’s doing very
well in the company now. She has a wonderful attentive husband, and they're looking at having
children."

"So there’s another quality that you're good at." Taylor said, still resting her chin on her folded arms.

"What’s that?"

"You have this maternal side to you that seems to be as natural to you as it is to most mothers. Only
you keep it hidden, why?"

"Hmm...when did this conversation change to being about me? And I wish you would STOP
referring to me as a mother figure. I’m only so many more years older than you are."

"Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just a softness I see in you, that’s all I meant." The
girl said, as she turned to look Alex in the eyes with her meek one’s.

"Well that’s different." The woman said, with a playful smile lighting her eyes.

Taylor smiled back and then slowly turned her head back around when she was sure that the woman was not mad. Then she went on.

"It’s just something I noticed. You know you still owe me seven more things that your not good at?"
She said through a yawn.

"Yes, I know."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Tell me?"

"Okay, let’s see, what am I not good at? Hmmm...Well I can’t paint."

"Can you draw?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I guess painting is a little different, why can’t you paint if you can draw?"

"I don’t have the patience to wait for the paint to dry."

"Hahahahhahahaha." The girl laughed into her arms, and the woman caught a bit of the girl's hair and
gave a slight tug on it to quiet her back down.

"What’s so funny?"

"It’s just funny as to how much that fits your personality. You don’t even have the patience to wait
for art paint to dry, hahahahaha, sorry." The girl said through her laughter.

"If you laugh again at that, then I am going to stop brushing your hair." Alex warned with humor in
her eyes. She was actually happy to see Taylor laughing so soon after everything that had happened. It gave her hope that the girl would indeed be able to get past this with her help.

"No! I mean I won’t laugh at it again, or at least I’ll try not to, okay?" The girl said, stifling the rest of her laughter.

"All right I won’t stop then. Now close your eyes and relax."

Taylor did as she was told and then the woman spoke.

"You have very beautiful hair yourself, it’s soft, thick, and...mmm...smells very nice, like...honey
dew?"

"Oh, well I use a natural shampoo and conditioner. But my hair is nothing like yours. Yours is so
silky soft, and it has that spring fresh scent." The girl yawned again and this time she mumbled
something else. Before long, her breathing had lightened, and became regular. Alex brushed a few
more strokes and then stopped and set the brush on the bedside table.

She stood up and tucked the girl in and then she leaned over and was debating on whether to kiss
the girl's forehead or not. She decided not to and leaned back, stood up and took a deep breath.
She looked at the dressing over the girl's eyebrow, then the swelling and light discoloration to the
girl's eye. Anger came washing over her at what the man did to the girl. She turned and eased out of
the room. She finished cleaning up from the day, and had gotten into bed to try to rest, but her mind
was on the girl in the next room. Alex laid in her bed wondering why she felt the way she did. She
knew there were qualities in Taylor that she admired, but she herself was practical about things. She
did not have time for a long term relationship, she didn’t even know if she wanted a relationship with anyone. For some reason, this girl had burrowed a hole straight to her heart, without her even
realizing it.

She thought long into the night, and just as she closed her eyes to finally go to sleep, she heard
Taylor screaming. She flew from her bed, grabbing a heavy silver candlestick holder along the way,
as she ran to the girl's room to see what was going on. The door flew open and she scanned the
room instantly looking for the danger. Her eyes fell on the girl, who was still screaming "NO!" Taylor was in her bed still asleep, having a nightmare. Alex went over to the bed and shook the girl to wake her up. The girls eyes flew open, wild, fearful and unfocused.

"It’s okay! You were just dreaming, it’s okay!"

The girl fought for a moment, but because of the woman’s strength and determination to wake her,
she finally calmed the girl. Taylor soon realized where and with whom she was with. She wrapped
her arms around Alex’s neck and held her tightly as she trembled with relief and fear from the
realistic dream. The woman sat on the bed holding the trembling girl, all the while whispering words
of comfort to the girl. Eventually she was able to calm the girl down. Once she had, she laid her back down on the bed and covered her back up, then she pulled up a chair to sit by the bed.

"I don’t want to stay in here alone, I know I’m asking a lot, and I feel like a child asking it but..."

"I’ll stay in here with you if you like."

"Yes Please?"

"All right. I’ll sit here ."

"No, I wouldn’t feel right you sitting in a chair all night in your own home. I don’t mind if you lay in
the bed, please?" Taylor asked, with sincere gratitude and pure intentions.

Alex, on the other hand, had to remember why she was being asked to stay in the room with the girl. Not that she had forgotten, but there were many things going on with her that the girl had no idea about.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea, I’ll be fine sitting up, besides, I can read a little. I’ve stayed up
many nights, working on things."

"Yes, but we have to go to work tomorrow."

"NO. You are not going to work tomorrow, matter of fact not for a few days. Until your feeling
better about things, work will only remind you of what happened. Besides, when we do go back, it’s going to be hard for you to get on the elevators. I won’t allow you to NOT get on that proverbial horse again. Anyway we have time to think about that later. I want you to close your eyes and go to sleep, and I’ll be right here."

Taylor had a nervous yet appreciative gaze in her eyes, but she slowly relaxed and soon was closing
her eyes as she fell asleep. The woman eased out of the room, went and got her briefcase and went
back to the room. She sat back down on the chair and began to go through the paperwork in her
briefcase. Over the next few days, Alex stayed in the room with the girl, sitting in the chair or taking
brief naps in it. Whenever she had other episodes of nightmares, the woman was there to calm her,
and eventually the nights would come to an end. Taylor woke one day to find the woman had
cleaned up and dressed. She was making phone calls on the phone that was in the room the girl
stayed in. Alex heard the girl stir and looking back at her, saw her eyes opening. The woman
covered the speaker part of the phone and whispered,

"Good morning."

"Good morning, you're going to work?"

"Just for a few hours, but I will be right back. You won’t have any problems. If you need to talk to
me, you can either call me on the regular phone, or use the video conferencing line, that way you will be able to see me."

"I’ll get dressed and go with you." Taylor said as she started to move to get out of the bed.

"No you won’t. You will stay here and rest. I’ll be back real soon, and if you need me just call, and
I’ll come back all right?" The woman said as she caught the girl’s legs and moved them back into the bed and recovered the girl.

Taylor looked like an abandoned kitten, and the woman had to strengthen her resolve not to just hug and protect her.

"If I call you every hour that I am out there, will that make you feel better?"

The girl wanted to say, "NO, I’ll feel better if you stay here with me." But she couldn’t ask such a
thing of a woman in Alex’s position. It was bad enough she was intruding into the woman’s home,
but to be a needy house guest was something she did not want to be seen as, despite her fear of
being left alone.

"No, you don’t have to do that, I’ll be fine, plus the maid is here right?"

"Right, and the cook."

"No, you go ahead to work, if I need something, I’ll call, if that’s all right?"

"It’s fine, I’ll see you in a little while and I’ll call to check on you." Alex said, as she noticed how
tightly the girl was holding the covers in her hands.

Reaching down, she tentatively caressed the girl's hair, then cheek. Catching herself before she got
carried away, she said in a strong, yet gentle voice.

"I’ll see you in a while."

Taylor’s hand caught her warm, yet strangely stimulating hand and held it to her cheek. Alex smiled
at the girl, and then gently caressed the girl’s cheek again, and then removed her hand from within
the girl's.

"Lay back down for a while. I’ll have the cook make you something to eat and bring it up here for
you."

The girl laid back down, and the woman tucked her in. Taylor smiled a truly lost, doe eyed smile at
her. Alex inhaled quietly, and slowly. Then she stood to her full height and with a light wave of her
fingers, she turned and left. The girl laid in the bed. Her mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts;
from those of what happened to her to what would happen when the trial came about. Mostly she
thought about what was going on with herself. She was confused about the feelings she had towards
the woman. Feelings she didn't understand and therefore did not recognize for what they were. Alex, in the meantime was barely able to keep her mind off of the girl the whole time she was at the office. When she was not in a meeting, and just sitting in her office, she found her mind drifting. Wondering how she would have handled laying in the bed with the young woman. Her mind teased her, presenting images to her that allowed her heart to skip beats at the very thought.

"Ma'am? Ma'am?"

Alex suddenly heard Salina's voice cut through her thoughts and she felt both irritation and surprise.
But her voice betrayed neither feeling.

"Yes Salina?"

"Ma'am, your next appointment is here, Mr. Yodash."

"Aha, send him in and then close the door." She ordered, and prepared herself for another meeting.

Taylor was now up walking around the house, and found herself in Alex's bedroom. She had been
walking around in a contemplative state, and couldn’t figure out why she was feeling so restless and
unsettled. She figured part of the reason was because of what had happened to her a few days ago,
but there was something else. Something was missing

and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what it was.

The phone rang, and she waited to see if the maid would get it, but when she didn’t the girl went to
go and answer it.

"Hello, this is the clerk at the district courthouse, may I speak with Alexandra Madison please?

"She’s not here, but this is Taylor Young her personal assistant, may I help you?"

"Ms. Young, yes, I am calling to inform you that Mr. Giovanii Macellis’s trial date is set for the 25th
of the month."

"The 25th?" She asked, suddenly nervous again.

"Yes Ma'am, have a nice evening."

Taylor didn’t think to say goodbye, she just hung up the phone, and before she removed her hand
from it, she looked down at it thoughtfully. Just when she was about to pick up the phone again to
call Alex, it rang again, startling her.

"He...hello."

"Hello, it’s me, I was calling to see how you were doing, everything all right?"

Taylor exhaled in relief at the sound of the woman’s voice. Alex heard the fear and her heart
tightened at the thought something had happened.

"What’s wrong? Are you okay?"

"The clerk at the courthouse called..." Taylor managed to say before she lost her voice due to the
fear of soon having to face the man who raped her.

The woman heard the crack in the girl’s voice and the fear in her tone.

"What did the person say?"

"The trial date is the 25th." She said, with a tremble to her voice.

"I see, well good, this’ll soon be over. How are you doing?"

"Um...I...I’m all right..." The girl said, leaving the words hanging.

Alex heard more need in those words than the girl wanted to admit to.

"Hmm...did you eat breakfast and lunch?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Good. What have you been doing today?"

"I just read some, but I was feeling a little restless."

"Restless?"

"Yes, it’s like something was or is missing, something just doesn’t seem quite right."

"Missing from where?" Alex asked, then changed her mind about wanting the answer at that
moment. "Never mind, don’t answer that, you can tell me when I get home. I have one more meeting scheduled and then I will come home and we can talk."

A smile came to the girl's face despite the previous news.

"All right."

"All right, I’ll see you soon." The woman then hung up the phone.

The girl looked at the time and seeing that it was almost dinner time, she decided to make dinner for
them. Taylor had prepared dinner, set the table, then went and cleaned up and put on a sundress.
She heard Alex’s car, and going to the window to look out discreetly, she smiled when she saw the
woman. She did not know why she was feeling both giddy, and nervous, upon seeing the woman,
but for some reason she was happy just to see her. The disturbing news of earlier was now on the
back burner of her mind. She hurried into the kitchen to check the food one last time, and then when she heard the front door open and close she came out of the kitchen.

"Hi." She said, greeting the woman with a shy but bright smile.

"Hi yourself. So...what’s up with you?"

"I’ll tell you after you go and change into something more comfortable."

The woman cocked her head at the girl and a curious smirk came to her mouth. With a raise of her
brow and a slight nod of her head she turned to go and change. She noticed the blush come to the
girl's face, along with a brighter smile. Alex’s heart leaped at the sight. She was relieved that Taylor
could smile despite knowing the trial was starting in two weeks. She also entertained wishful thoughts that maybe the girl had some feelings for her. The woman then turned and headed upstairs with the image of the girl's smile imprinted in her mind. By the time she had changed, and come back down, light jazz was on the stereo, and a glass of her favorite wine was already poured and waiting for her.

"Here you go." Taylor said, offering the glass of wine to the woman.

"Thank you. Something smells good, did you cook?" The woman asked, walking over to her favorite lounging chair and sitting down in it. The girl moved to sit on the sofa, closest to the chair.

"Your welcome, and yes I did. Have you eaten?" The girl asked, hoping that she hadn't.

"No." She answered, as she watched the girl.

"Good, because I made a wonderful dinner. I figure you didn’t eat very well while you were at the
office, if at all, and that you would probably be famished by the time you made it home."

"Well, aren’t you the studious little one?" She said, with a teasing voice, but there was something else in her tone.

"Well I’ve been around you for a long time now, I sort of know some of your habits."

"Hmm..." She replied, as she took a sip of her wine, and continued to consider what was going on
between the two of them.

"What?"

"I was just thinking how nice it was of you to make dinner, that was very thoughtful. I mean you
didn’t have to do it, especially considering everything?"

"It was no big deal, it’s the least I can do. Plus it gave me something better to think about, rather
than worrying about the upcoming trial. So are you ready to eat?" The girl asked, changing the
subject.

"Sure." The woman said with a smooth tone.

Taylor jumped up from the sofa and waited for the woman to stand up, and the two headed out of
the den.

"You go ahead and have a seat at the table, I’ll bring everything out."

The woman once again didn’t say much but instead, gave a considering gaze, and raised a brow.
She nodded at Taylor, who smiled at her. Alex narrowed her eyes in a thoughtful fashion as she
turned and headed into the dining room. Taylor brought out the food and they sat down to eat. Alex
praised her for her cooking abilities, then said in a tone of teasing and seriousness.

"Once I win our little wager, I’ll expect such delicious meals." Her eyes never leaving the girl's face.
She wanted to see Taylor's reaction to her words. The girl did not disappoint her with her reaction.

"If you ever tell me the ten things then maybe you’ll get your wish?"

"I’ll tell you, but not right now I want to know what you meant earlier. Something about feeling like
something was missing, do you still feel that way?"

"No I don’t feel that way now, it was just earlier, I felt it all day. I was restless and anxious, but now I don’t feel like that."

"How long had you been feeling like that?"

"I’m not sure, but whenever I’m alone I feel like that. It’s like I have a hard time concentrating on
anything. For instance when I was trying to read today, I had to reread over parts that I normally
would not have had to, because I wasn’t concentrating on what I was reading. Therefore I didn’t
remember what I had read, it’s really strange." Taylor said thoughtfully, as she took a bite of the filet
mignon she had made.

Alex sat cutting a piece of hers as she thought about what the girl had told her. Her mind had a
million thoughts running through it, and her heart was pounding, at some of the possible causes of the girls restlessness. But she didn’t dare hope it was for the reasons she was thinking, that maybe...just maybe the girl had missed her. "No..." She thought to herself. "It probably has to do with this boy mess." Her mind continued to search for a more plausible reason.

"How long have you been having these feelings? Were they before or after what happened at work?"

"I’m not sure, but I think...it was before, yes, it was before."

"Are you sure?" The woman asked without emotion.

"Yes. But it seemed to become more apparent to me after, I don’t know why I feel like that, but I
can tell you that it started when I first came to stay here with you. Hahaha, maybe I miss you when
you're not here?" The girl said innocently, not realizing what she had just said to the woman and the
truth and meaning of her words.

Alex’s heart now pounded wildly in her chest and her palms were damp from the inadvertent
revelation made by the girl. But the only reaction she showed was that of simply raising one of her
eyebrows. For the next few days the two women pretty much dealt with going over her testimony
with the Attorney General who was handling the girl's case personally, because of the people
involved. One day while Alex was at the office, she received a call from Kiara the detective.

"Yes Kiara, what is it?!" The woman said sharply, still angry at her for failing.

"I sent you a video, I think you need to watch it alone because of what it contains. It’s the guy's
father and some of his people talking, and the conversation is very ominous, you should get it in the
next hour. When you're done watching it, let me know what you want me to do?"

"Fine."

Click!

The woman hung up without further conversation. Almost 40 minutes later Salina brought a large
envelope to her.

"Close the door and I don’t want to be disturbed, until I tell you differently, unless Ms. Young calls,
is that clear?"

"Yes Ma'am."

Salina left the office, closing the door behind her. Alex hit the button to close the blinds to the office
so that no one could see what she was doing. She then put the video disc in and sat watching to see
what would come up.

"Mr. Macellis, we haven't found the girl yet. No one seems to know where she is, it’s like she just
disappeared off the face of the earth sir."

"Well I know the police don’t have her in protective custody. J. Tylan would have informed me, and then I could have had him take care of the girl. No, she’s out there somewhere, but she hasn’t
disappeared from the earth...YET. Have J.T get some of the men at the police station that have
worked with us before to be on the lookout for the girl. Have some flyers and posters printed up
with the girl's picture."

"What do you want us to put on them?"

Alex saw the man smile a devious smile that did not reach his eyes.

"Have the printers put something sweet on them, like...

"Please help us find our granddaughter, she has been missing from our lives for far to long and we
are willing to give a big reward to anyone who can tell us where we can find her. We pray she’s
alive, but if that should not be the case, please let us know where her remains are so that we can
collect her and give her a proper burial." Anyway, you get the point, now go. We’ll wait for a few
days and if we don’t hear anything back at that time, then I plan on having a talk with my guy on the
inside on Thursday. We can meet with them and see what we can come up with. We’ll meet them at midnight on Thursday, at the restaurant on 3rd street."

Alex sat, her nostrils flaring, her eyes boring into the image of the father of the boy who raped
Taylor.

"We’ll see who gets to who first Giavano." She said, as the image faded from view and the disc
player stopped playing. She sat and thought for a while, then picked up the phone and made a few
calls, one of which was to Kiara.

"It’s me, I want all of Macellis’s people talked to about the errors of their ways. Before the police
arrive at the restaurant, make it a conversation between families, if you know what I mean?"

"I understand. They’ll be spoken to, you can be sure."

"Fine, let me know how the conversation goes."

"I will Ma'am."

"Also, when the first group of police arrive, they will be the one’s who work for Mr. Marcellis. See
that you get their pictures and send them along with an anonymous letter to the chief at the police
station. Send a copy to the Attorney General also, clear?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good. Oh, and Kiara, don’t mess up again." She warned.

"I won’t Ma'am."

Click!

Again the woman hung up without so much as a goodbye. Alex swore an oath to herself that she
would not allow anything to happen to Taylor again if she could help it. This was one of the ways she planned on assuring that oath.

"Ma'am, the girl is on line 1 for you." Salina’s voice chimed in over the intercom.

"Okay. Hello."

"Hi, I know your probably very busy, but I was feeling very restless again, and since I couldn’t
concentrate, I thought maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Um...never mind, it was stupid of me to call you at work about my petty problem, I’ll see you when you get home, I’ll make dinner?"

"A.l.r.i.g.h.t. I’ll see you when I get home." Alex said, with satisfaction in her tone.

She arrived home and once again the girl’s restlessness ended as they enjoyed a nice evening.

"I want you to go to the office with me tomorrow." The woman stated, as she sipped her tea and
looked over her cup at the same time.

"I...I, I don’t..."

"You’ll be fine, I’ll be right there with you. Besides, I want my Personal Assistant back there with me in those meetings." The woman said in a firm voice.

"But isn’t Salina handling things for you, I mean she is your admin. I’m sure she’s doing fine."

"Don’t question me about things like this, it bothers me. Now I told you what I want, if you don’t
think you can handle my help, let me know and I'll hire a therapist for you. We can always go back
to a working relationship." Alex stated, somewhat annoyed by the girl’s assumption.

"I’m sorry, I...I didn’t mean to offend you, I really am grateful for all of your help, I will never be
able to repay you for it." Taylor said solemnly, as she covered the woman’s hand with her smaller
hand.

Alex looked into her eyes, and but when the girl covered her hand she lowered her gaze to look at
the smaller hand on top of her own.

"All right, I forgive, just don’t let it happen again. Now, answer my question, and then go and get the brush and I will brush your hair for you."

"I’ll go in with you tomorrow, but I really don’t think I can go to the mail room by myself and..."

"I’ll send one of the guards with you, and she’ll stay with you until you have the mail and come to the office."

Taylor smiled a relieved smile at the woman, who felt and saw the girl's gratitude in her eyes. She
quickly patted the girl's hand and then said in a firm voice, trying to cover what she was feeling.

"Now go and get the brush."

"Okay, I’ll be back in a moment." Taylor said, as she jumped from the chair she was sitting in and
went to go get the brush.

Taylor returned with the brush and the two went to the den where Alex sat on the sofa near the
warm fireplace, and Taylor sat down on the floor in front of her. Alex the took the brush from Taylor and begun brushing her hair as Taylor talked to her about her day and the woman spoke about hers.

Continue

alt fic index <> homepage