“Seems to me that I can speak to you however I want,” he said, one of his arms caging me on one side to cutt off my escape, and the other going to the back of my head and grasping my hair to hold me in place. My eyes went wide, my mouth went dry and my breathing sped up.
“Get off me or I’ll scream,” I told him, furious again that my voice wasn’t stronger.
He let out a bark of laughter.
“You’re so overdramatic,” he said, dropping my hair and taking a step back. “I was only messing around. Don’t be so sensitive.”
“If you ever try anything like that again I’ll report you.” I moved towards the door but he caught my wrist as I passed him. He still wore a neutral expression and his voice was still eerily calm but his grip on my wrist was crushing.
“Careful, Kira. I’ve already drafted a dozen reports about your unusual behaviour and unstable mental health – ready to go in your portfolio, if needed.”
“W…what?” I whispered.
“Everyone knows you’re a flaky little hippy,” he told me. “Nobody will be surprised when you have to be put into special measures for being alittlebit crazy.”
“B–but I’ve never had any problems at work,” I told him. “I’m the most reliable registrar on the rota. You can’t fake all my past records, all my other references and recommendations. People aren’t just going to believe I’m crazy because I have some pink hair and I eat falafel.”
“I think you’ll find that when it comes down to it, people will believe a stable, male consultant with an unblemished record over a weird little girl like you. That’s the way the world works.” A loud bang sounded on the door and both of us flinched. Simon let go of my wrist and I spared no time speeding past him, but not before I’d kicked him in the shin.
“Kira?” Sam shouted, and the handle started to turn.
“Ow! You bitch,” Simon swore as I ran away from him. I shivered at the fury I could hear in his voice. All façade of civilised male was stripped away now to reveal the dangerous predator underneath. The door burst open as I reached it and Sam stepped into the office.
“Who are you? This is my private office,” Simon snapped, his eyes flashing and the colour in his face deepening.
Sam didn’t reply. Instead, he looked between Simon and me slowly. My eyes were stinging, both from the pain having my wrist squeezed a little too tightly and the humiliation of the whole situation. One look at my face and Sam’s turned to granite.
“Dr Murphy,” he said, ushering me past him and out of the office and ignoring Simon completely. He kept his hand on my back as he moved me to the department’s small coffee room. I wrapped my arms around myself as I leaned against the counter. I was shaking and concentrating on not throwing up.
“You know I’m here for your protection,” Sam said. “It doesn’t matter what it is I’m protecting you from. I’m here to keep yousafe.”
I let out a short humourless laugh. There wasn’t much even Sam could do about this particular situation. Wankpuffin was right. Nobody would believe me over him. All I’d get was a reputation for being a troublemaker and terrible future job prospects. After a long moment of silence, a warm mug was pushed into my hand and I blinked up at Sam who was staring down at me.
“He’smyboss, Sam,” I said, taking a sip of tea and feeling a little better. “I can deal with it. It’s nothing to do with you.” Much as I would have loved to set my own personal bodyguard onto Simon, I knew that this was something I would have to sort out on my own.
“If that’s the case then why are you shaking?” Sam asked. His voice was low and measured; if it weren’t for the muscle ticking in his jaw, I wouldn’t have guessed he was annoyed in the slightest.
I looked down at my tea and bit my lip. “It was from the press. They took me off guard when I got to the entrance.”
Sam narrowed his eyes at me, probably because I hadn’t been overly camera shy in the past. “Well, we’ve dealt with the press.”
“Oh? That was quick.”
“I rustled up some hospital security. Between us we managed to get rid of them, for now.”
“Right, thanks.”
My voice was hoarse and my mouth felt too dry. I gripped my tea harder and tried to ignore the pounding in my chest. It felt like my skin was crawling where he’d touched me, like I was contaminated. The loss of control had shaken me to my core. I could feel little tendrils of fear snaking through me – fear and anger. How dare that sick bastard make me feel afraid at work of all places?
“They’ve never really bothered you before.”
I blinked and tried to snap my mind back to the conversation with Sam. Everything felt unreal – like I wasn’t quite standing there with him. Like I was watching myself from afar. “Did you know I’m married?”
Sam was not exactly a sharer, so no, I was not aware of that, and the fact he was telling me now was slightly bizarre.
“No. Um, congratulations?”
“She’s off the wall just like you,” he told me.
