snowed for two solid days and Alex had never felt
so glum. The television offered no comfort as it
announced day after day, that more snow was on
its way. When it was all said and done, twenty
inches of snow laid on the ground in Ashmore
Valley in a perfect white blanket. The day after it
finished snowing, the beautiful white was covered
by a grimy black covering of soot from cars, trucks
and buses.
Alex had had enough of this cloistered life she was
leading. Before leaving her house that morning, she decided that if Morgan or Grayson asked her to
go out with them, she would, consequences be
damned.
"Last chance, Alex, we're on our way now," declared
Morgan, trying to coax her to go with them one
more time.
Morgan had sensed a different attitude in Alex that
day. Alex had stopped and talked with Grayson
and Morgan at lunchtime and ended up spending
her lunch break with the entire machine shop. It
was Friday, and as per usual, Alex had dressed
down in a pair of blue jeans and a white top. She
had long ago taken Francine's advice and began to
dress down, while still staying professional. She
looked radiant with her hair down framing her face
and enhancing her blue eyes. Alex wore her makeup simply, not overdoing it no matter what
the fashion. Morgan was determined to make her
come with them tonight.
"Please, Alex. You'll have a good time, I
promise. Just come this once and if you don't
have a good time, I won't ask again," he pleaded
while leaned against one of the filing cabinets
behind her desk.
Alex laughed lightly. She knew that was a bald
faced lie. No matter how many times Morgan had
asked and she had said no, he always asked again,
"Liar," she replied chuckling, "You always ask and I
always said no."
"Said? As in past tense? Does that mean you'll come
with us?" "Sure, how do I get there?"
Morgan all but kissed Alex at that moment; he
couldn't believe she was finally saying yes.
"Cool," he enthused, gave her brief directions and
hurried out of the office to tell the rest of the guys.
"She's coming," asked Grayson astounded.
"Yep, she said so herself and even asked for
directions to the O.”
"Wow, our very own red-head," said Steve listening
in.
"My very own red-head," said Morgan.
"Well see," remarked Grayson. Grayson knew it
was going to be fun to see if Alex's cool exterior
would melt in the heat of their bar. He remembered the first time he saw her and felt a
twinge of what might grow into love someday. He
knew that she professed a fiancée, but there were
no rings on her fingers, no pictures on her desk and
no sightings of the mystery man. Grayson thought
that if she were ever his, he would never leave her
side. The three of them were huddled beside
Grayson's machine where the noise level would
keep anyone from overhearing unless they were
standing right beside one of them.
Steve Pearson, Morgan's best friend and neighbor
was one of the leaders of their inner circle and had
been after Morgan to keep the pressure on Alex to
get her to go with them. Morgan had done just
that and now they all were stunned to discover she
was going with them. None of them had thought
about what to do when she gave in. "Now what," asked Dave.
"Now, we see what she's made of," noted Grayson
smiling, having decided what he wanted to do
tonight, conquer the ice queen.
James saw the six of them huddled in the corner
next to Gray's machine and became suspicious. He
saw Morgan run from the offices like his pants were
on fire and straight back to the machine
shop. Shortly after that, Dave, Steve, Bert and
Doug had joined them, away from their usual
areas. James sauntered back and casually joined
into the conversation.
"So, that's the plan," finished Grayson as James
stepped into the circle.
"Who?”
"Alex," gushed Morgan.
"You're kidding," hoped James.
"Nope, right on the money. She just told me that
she'll be there," he confirmed turning to Grayson,
"Did you see the jeans she had on? My God they fit
her like a second skin. Nice and tight right across
the ass. I'm practically drooling. "
"You and me both bud. You and me both," Steve
interjected and mockingly wiping his chin.
James felt sick to his stomach. He wasn't sure
what they had planned but he knew he didn't like
the sound of it. "What are you guys up to," he
asked. "Nothing," explained Steve, "I better get back
before Larry rips me a new ass. " The other four
agreed and left Grayson, Morgan and James alone
in the machine shop.
"So you coming," asked Grayson.
"Yeah, I think so. "
"This is going to be so much fun," declared Morgan
going back to his machine.
James left the machine shop, lit a cigarette and
made a beeline for the offices. He had to talk Alex
out of going tonight. James gained his office,
tossed himself in his chair and reached for the
phone. He never had a chance to dial the number,
because Francine came in the office and closed the
door. James could tell by the look in her eye exactly what she was after and he was too
distracted to even think about it now.
"Not now, Francine," he said dismissing her.
"Yes, now, James, I'm leaving early today,
remember. We won't get a chance to do it later.”
James gave in. It was easier than arguing with
her. As he closed the blinds, Francine undid the
buttons on her blouse and revealed her naked
breasts underneath. With little ceremony or
foreplay, James eased Francine onto the floor and
angrily pushed up her short jean skirt, ripped off her
panties and shoved his now hard shaft into her
roughly. He had to admit he enjoyed her
pleasures a little too much, but was able to relieve
his frustrations on her without a word being
said. He knew that he had hurt her, by the way she bit her lower lip, but he had meant
too. Maybe it was the only way out for him. He
needed to end things with Francine to have a
chance with Alex.
"Dammit, James that was too good," remarked
Francine, retrieving the shreds of her underwear
and straightening her skirt. Her blouse remained
open to bare her breasts, still glistening from the
sweat they had created. He glanced at them, as
he adjusted himself and noticed the bruises
beginning to form.
"I'm sorry, Francine, I didn't mean to hurt you," he
lied.
"That's okay," she replied, taking his face in her
hands and kissing him passionately, "I enjoyed it.” Franc
ine finished pulling herself together and left
his office via the factory door. She casually made
her way around to her office, grabbed her purse
and proceeded to the ladies room without anybody
spotting her. James was becoming a better lay
every day and she understood why. As long as
Alex, remained unavailable to him, Francine could
enjoy the pleasures he fantasized giving to
Alex. Francine wasn't a fool. She knew that
James was hurting her to vent his anger at
Alex. She hadn't disillusioned herself so much as
to believe that James would fall in love with her, but
she knew that he was falling in love with Alex. She
had seen the glances between the two and felt the
tension whenever they were together. By all
accounts, Alex's feelings were the same, but neither
one of them had a clue as to the other's feelings or if they wanted to pursue them. That suited
Francine just fine. She could continue to use
James as a good time and use their trysts as
leverage to keep her cushy job. Francine smiled to
herself as she removed a spare pair of panties from
her purse, put them on, left the bathroom and strolled back to her desk.
Chapter 8
As Alex stepped from her car, the thunderstorm
that had been threatening all day arrived. The
dark clouds, ominous thunder and lightning should
have been a warning signal for Alex not to go in, but
she did anyway.
The dark paneling of the bar was similar to the
paneling in James' office and swallowed the light
from the lanterns attached to the walls. Alex
walked over to the vintage style jukebox and eyed
the selections. Popping a quarter into the
machine, Alex chose some classic Van Halen and a
few from Stone Temple Pilots. The music put her
in the frame of mind that she needed to be in and she strolled over to the bar to join Grayson and
Morgan who had seen her come in.
"Nice selection," said Grayson over the song
"Poundcake. "
"Thanks. Nice place. "
"Thanks, we like it. What are you drinking?"
"Screwdriver," replied Alex chuckling at the stunned
look on his face, "I don't drink beer.”
"Fabulous," noted Morgan, signaling Vickey to order
Alex's drink.
"On my tab," declared Morgan as Vickey left the
drink in front of her.
"The next one is on me," smiled Grayson as Alex
settled into her stool to watch the pool game between Bert and Joey. Alex saw that all of them
were drinking beer either from the bottle or draft,
occasionally, noticing an empty shot glass sitting
beside the beer. It seemed as if the entire factory
had crowded into the small bar and said hello to
several of her boys. She hadn't realized it would
be such a large group.
"Feeling overwhelmed yet," came a voice from
behind her.
Alex turned to find Shane standing there and staring
over her shoulder at the crowd and the pool game.
"A little," taking another taste of her drink and
looking down to see another drink waiting for her
there. Since she came in, Alex had not paid for her
own drinks. "Don't be. We don't bite," he laughed and walked
over to the pool game to lay down a bet on the
table and reserve the next game.
"Do you shoot pool," asked Bert from the bar as
Joey made his shot.
"I haven't done it in a while. "
"After this game, you'll have to try again.”
Bert stomped back over to the table and laid waste
to the remainder of the balls. Joey looked crushed
and Alex had to laugh. Several of the guys lost
money betting on him and now he would be the
brunt of more cruelty. Alex noticed how badly
everyone picked on Joey. He took it in stride and
laughed off most of the jokes, but Alex could see
that some things he was just too sensitive about. Joey reminded Alex of everyone's little
brother. Maybe if she gave him a quarter he
would go away and steer clear of their barbs.
Bert motioned Alex over to the table so that she
could try her luck at the game. She turned and
placed her empty glass on the bar and reached for
the full one she knew was waiting. Alex was about
to hop down off the stool, when a red rose was laid
in her lap. Alex dropped the glass and it shattered
on the floor. Even with a healthy buzz happening,
the fear she experienced six months ago returned in
the form of this beautiful bloom. Alex's head
jerked up to see who did it and found Dan Reynolds,
standing in front of her. His stare wasn't directly
at Alex, but through her. A cold shiver of fear ran
down Alex's back as she took in his height and beard. "He would be just about the right size,"
Alex thought.
Grayson, Morgan, Bert, Joey and the rest of the
guys had heard the glass break against the
floorboards. They had been engrossed in the split
of the winnings, when the icy tinkle of broken glass
had shattered their conversation. Morgan was the
first to see Alex's expression. He saw the color
drain from Alex's face and the terror in her eyes as
she looked at Dan, who didn't look right to Morgan
either. His glare at Alex was cold and
deathlike. The old saying of "If looks could kill,"
rang in Morgan's head.
James had taken that moment to walk in the
door. He hadn't had the chance to talk to Alex
before she left, thanks to Francine, so he came to avoid a catastrophe. When he came through the
doors, he immediately found Alex and Dan in a face
off. She was holding a red rose in one hand and
holding onto the back of her stool with the
other. Her knuckles were as white as her face and
he could see the terror.
"Dan," he asked as he approached the scene.
"Go away, Jim. The lady and I have some
unfinished business. "
Morgan and Grayson had left the pool table and
joined Alex, Dan and James at the bar. Bert and
Steve casually positioned themselves behind Dan
and leaned against the bar, watching. Alex glanced at James quickly, but then returned
her attention to Dan. He was still staring at
her. Cautiously, she tried to back away from him
and into the relative safety of Morgan and Grayson
who were nearest to her, but Dan's hand seized her
arm and jerked her against him roughly. Alex
winced as his fingers dug into her arm and she could
feel the bruises beginning to form.
"Leave her go, Dan, now," demanded James.
Alex felt weak in the knees and the combination of
alcohol and a greasy lunch made her
queasy. Immediately, she knew that Dan was the
one who had been stalking her and had attacked
her in Francine's office.
"Dan, you're hurting me," whimpered Alex, leaning
against him to keep from falling down. Just as quickly as Dan had grabbed her, she was free
from him as Bert grabbed Dan from behind a
nd
forced him to leave go of Alex. She would have
sunk to the floor then, but James caught her and
pulled her against him away from the beginning of
the fight.
Dan swung violently to release himself from Bert
and found himself thrown to the floor. Morgan
was immediately down upon him to pull Dan back
to his feet and Grayson sent a crushing blow to the
abdomen which made him double over in pain.
James moved Alex away from the ensuing melee
and placed her in a chair near the pool table with
her back to the wall. She sat there shivering and
trying not to retch. James moved back to the brawl, grabbed Dan, pulled him to the door and
shoved him through the portal.
James, Morgan and Grayson surrounded Alex in her
chair making her claustrophobic and barraged her
with questions.
"Are you okay," asked James kneeling in front of her
and taking her hands. He was sure she was going
to faint. Her eyes were glassy and hands were like
ice. He rubbed them together to get the
circulation back in them.
“I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered
removing her hands from James.
Morgan led her to the bathroom and Alex divested
her stomach of its contents. She stood at the
mirror and checked her upper arms for damage. She found the old bruises beginning to
fade and the new ones beginning to form. She
rolled down the sleeves of her shirt to cover them
and left the bathroom. The attack had sobered
her and she decided to go home.
"I'm going home," she announced upon returning to
the group.
"Let me drive you," offered Grayson stepping
forward.
"No thanks, I’d prefer to be alone,” Alex
commented somberly shrugging at the offer.
"Well at least let me walk you to your car. Dan
could be outside waiting for you.”
Alex nodded her assent and walked out the
door. She found that it wasn't only Grayson who walked her to her car but most of the Hasani
employees who were still there. Thanking them,
Alex got into her car, started the engine and drove
home.
"Where can we find him, James," queried Morgan.
"He probably went home. I would.”
"Chickenshit. He better be in hiding."
"Let's find out. "
"You guys do that. I can't participate. But kick
his ass for me," suggested James. Morgan,
Grayson and Steve left immediately for Dan's house
and James left to find Alex's house. He had