Hazel thrashed and growled in pain, but Mr Cambridge kept his grip firm. A chuckle slipped from the man's lips as he leaned into her face.
"Nobody can hear you struggling, Hazel love." He breathed into her face. "My office is soundproof for this very reason."
"Please...." She whimpered, but he ignored her.
"Now, for my ground rules," he continued. "While we are together in Malibu, your body belongs to me. That is, of course, if you want to keep your job."
At these words, Mr Cambridge lifted his other hand and slowly began to stroke her face. His cold hands felt clammy and reptilian, and she fought the urge to lean away from him in disgust.
"Try resisting me, and you will come back to Seattle without a job!"
Hazel gasped. At that moment, she had never hated this man as much as she did now.
Her hands began to wander, the same way his own trailed the curves of her body. She was leaning against a shelf, filled with antique objects. The objects pressed against the small of her back, adding to the ache that riddled her body.
Hazel felt as though she was going to pass out, but luckily her fingers found one of the objects on the table. Without looking at what she had picked or thinking about the repercussions of her actions, she raised a hand to Mr Cambridge's head, with the object in it.
The man let out a howl of pain and staggered backward.
"YOU BITCH!" He roared. Blood was dripping from his head, over the fingers he pressed to his face.
For a moment, Hazel was rooted to the spot in fear. She glanced at her hand and saw shards of glass.
She'd hit Mr Cambridge with a small vase.
Fuck, she'd hit the man with a vase!
She would be in so much trouble!
For a moment, her heart was full of terror. But when the man reached out to grab her again, the terror was quickly replaced by anger.
"Get your hands off me!" Hazel snapped, pushing him off.
As soon as he stumbled backward, she stared wildly around the room and her eyes fell on the dollar stacks on Mr. Cambridge's table. Before he could react, she dashed towards the table and picked up a handful of dollar stacks, then turned and ran towards the door.
A gasp of relief slipped from Hazel's lips as she reached the door. Her hand trembled as she grasped the cold, hard doorknob. Her freedom was just within reach, but before she could turn it, a strong hand clamped onto her shoulder and yanked her backward with a force that made her stumble.
Mr Cambridge stood behind her, his expression twisted into a snarl. "You bitch!" He screamed. "Come back here!"
But this time, Hazel was ready for him. She kicked out, her feet connecting with his groin. Mr Cambridge let out a grunt of pain and stumbled to the ground.
"That's for touching me inappropriately!" She snarled.
Hazel heard him give a muffled yell as she raced out of the office, but she didn't look back. She slammed the door behind her to give herself a headstart.
Claire immediately shot up from her seat the moment Hazel burst out of the office. "Hazel!" She called out. "What the hell was—"
Hazel ignored her co-worker and brushed past her to her table. Throwing the stack of money on the table, she reached for her bag and dumped the handful of money into it.
Her heart stopped as Mr Cambridge burst out of his office, leaving a trail of blood. "Stop there!" He roared.
But Hazel was too blinded by the desire to leave this life behind. Something in her heart was calling her home, and she was ready to heed this call.
She dashed through the door and into a corridor, then looked around wildly for a means of escape.
Thankfully the corridor beyond her office was empty. She sighted a nearby staircase and scrambled towards it, hurrying down the stairs. She didn't dare to look back, didn't even stop to imagine what he would do to her if she managed to catch up with her. All she could think of was leaving this wretched firm behind.
All she could think of was the relief that going home would bring her.
She skidded to a stop at the front door of the firm's building, then kicked it open, just as the man stumbled out of his office. Hazel turned back with a start and watched as his eyes bulged with rage before he yelled. "Guards!"
As though on cue, four men dressed in the garb of security officers poured out of a door to her left. Immediately they sighted Hazel, they came running towards her.
Hazel stumbled out of the building, then ran to her car, slipping into the driver's seat and placing her bag on the seat beside me.
As she started the ignition, the guards raced out of the building. Hazel did not allow them to catch up with her. She turned the steering and maneuvered the car towards the street that beckoned to her beyond.
"Bye!" She called after the guards as she passed them, wiggling her fingers.
Hazel drove out of the compound of the large firm, watching through her rearview mirror as the guards all skidded to a stop outside. Mr Cambridge was at their head, clutching his bleeding head and screaming incoherent words at her.
She couldn't care less. The man could simply go to hell!
Her heart hammered with unease and fear as she steered her car through traffic, towards the interstate road. Her mouth was dry with terror, and the tears that had been gathering in her eyes threatened to fall now, in the solitude of her car.
Hazel did not hold the tears back this time. She was finally going back to Moon Gold wolf pack, back home to where she was relevant. And that was all that mattered to her.