Wise Folly Read Free Page B

Noah never made the restaurant. He was detained by an impromptu meeting according to Charles. T he food was good, the wine better, and as the evening wore on she was put at ease by his bright smiles and too many sips of wine. Charles never let her g l ass get more than half empty. Fresh out of college and thrilled at the prospect of being Noah's girlfriend and starting her first 'real' job, she had been too naive to heed the warning bells
    However, w henever Charles gazed longingly at her or when he held her too close as they danced around the postage-stamp floor she pushed away to give her more personal space , only to see his brow furrow a second before he smiled again. It was a funny smile, one that sent a chill down her spine for no reason at all. How could she be afraid of the young man who owned a portion of the company for which she would be working? She had changed her drink from wine to a soda, and , at his insistence, still couldn't drink the full glass explaining it tasted funny.
    “Ready to go?’ His voice was slurred and Dianna wondered how many glasses of wine he had had to drink. She hadn't paid attention . But then, her thoughts began to swim around, too.
    The radio speakers inside the Cadillac emitted a drum beat that played havoc with her thoughts. Dianna had leaned her head back and clos ed her eyes as they exited the parking lot and turned into the downtown streets. She’d declined his offer of a nightcap at his penthouse apartment right next to his brother's larger one in the Wescomp building . She was feeling dizzy, warm, and uncertain of how to move.
    W ithin minutes Charles had made a wide rough curve into the Wescomp building’s underground parking garage. He pulled the car to a short stop with her door scant inches from the brick wall of the elevator shaft . Confused by the deliberate way he’d ignored her request to be driven home, Dianna blinked, looking at him to see dilated eyes leering at her with a half- smile in the dashboard’s dim light
    “Dianna! Mrs. Hammond! Are you all right?” Jason repeated, giving her shoulder a slight shake. She turned wide unseeing eyes up to him as slow-building panic bubbled in her throat to block off air. She was rooted to the concrete, transported into time past as its memories kept her in a viselike grip and shut out the present completely.
    Charles had reached for her, pulling her close to press his lips against hers. At first, she resisted, but he paid no attention. Then she went limp, hoping he would stop when she didn’t respond. His behavior was more irritating than frightening.
    Suddenly he was rough , gr inding his mouth against hers ; harder, harder, until she tasted the warm saltiness of her own blood. She push ed against his chest and attempted to scream with all her might . A small part of her mind refused to accept what he was doing. Soon he would recover and apologize. And she would slap him silly and call a cab. She knew it!
    When his hand reached down to cruelly grab her breast and knead it painfully against arched ribs, terror washed over her. She recognized bare strength and knew he would use it. She made a superhuman effort to fight him off, but his grip didn’t lessen until her elbow hit his stomach. She struggled, wrenching herself free of his grip and reaching for the door handle only to fumble in her haste. He recovered quickly and lunged at her before she could force it open, knocking her head against the unpadded edge just below the window. Stars exploded in front of her eyes and she lay dazed, hardly aware of the ripping noise her blouse made as he tore the buttons off in his fury. Her skirt was pushed up with rough hands, panties pulled until the thin elastic ate into the tender flesh of her waist . She felt his hot breath on her breast and the coolness of the night air on her tear-stained cheeks. Her mouth kept forming words to implore him to stop, but her voice came out in a slurred whimper.
    S he screamed as she tried to