Within seconds, Levi had come around the desk and he stood before Lyse before gently tilting her head up so that he could have a better look at her face. Despite her attempts to use makeup to bury the signs, he could tell that she had been hurt.
Her left eye was red and the skin around it was slightly swollen. He had seen her only yesterday so it must have happened after she left the office. He could not see the extent of damage because of the makeup and he wanted to repeatedly slam the face of whoever it was that had dared to lift a hand against her.
The grin was wiped clean off Lyse's face when Levi tenderly touched her face, softly tracing the edges of what was most likely a purple bruise around her eye.
Then in a deceptively soft voice because despite how he sounded Lyse could still see the rage brimming in his eyes. She shivered as he asked. "Who did this to you?"
Lyse suddenly felt uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her and touching her and she took a step back and self consciously looked down at her feet.
"I ran into a door, it was dark and I did not realize where I was going." And even though she had rehearsed her little lie throughout the morning, it still did not come out smoothly.
Levi examined her, noting that she refused to look up at him and he knew that she was lying but he could not think of how she could have gotten such a bruise, making him wonder if she had been beaten.
"That is a lie." Levi said at last and Lyse's head snapped up.
"You did not get that from running into anything, you must have gotten into a fight of some sort." Levi insisted calmly.
"I did not—"
Levi suddenly stepped forward again and grabbed her jaw, this time holding her in place so that she would not be able to retreat like before.
"You will leave the office—"
"Please sir—"
"Shhhhh." Levi interrupted her and she pressed her lips together. She did not want to be fired before she even started working, not now when she needed the money and because of that stupid Max.
"I want you to go to the hospital and get that checked and when you are back to normal then you can return here."
Lyse's chest which had been held tight in fear expanded as she let out a breath of relief. She had feared that he would fire her but surprisingly he was only concerned for her.
"I don't like my staff to look anything less than pristine, it is not a good look for the company." He said, blowing Lyse's bubble.
She frowned while thinking that she had thought that the man had a soul but apparently all that he had been thinking of was his company.
"Oh, did I interrupt something?" A voice asked and Lyse and Levi jumped away from each other.
At the open door stood Chris who was looking at the couple with undisguised interest. He noticed as Lyse hurriedly put on sunglasses but she had not been quick enough because he had seen her red eye and puffy face.
"You may leave now." Levi said after he settled back in his seat.
"Thank you sir." Lyse nodded and turned to leave but Chris stopped her and held a hand out.
"Chris Norton, Levi's best friend and lawyer. You must be Lyse."
With her hand in Chris's hand, Lyse shot a surprised glance at Levi before looking back at the tall blonde man standing before her.
"Yes, I am Lyse Spade."
"Well, it's nice to see you." Chris said and released her hand while Levi did not look pleased at the interaction.
Lyse quickly scurried away and shut the door behind her while Chris took a chair opposite Levi and studied him speculatively.
"What!" Snarled Levi and Chris shrugged.
"Isn't it a little early to be getting into fights with your bride?" He teased and Levi frowned.
"She claims that she got it while running into something in the dark." Levi said as he placed a phone call and spoke into the receiver.
"Ethan, get one of the guys to follow Lyse. I want him to go everywhere she goes and report back to me."
After issuing directives he ended the call and looked up to see Chris staring at him.
"What!" Levi demanded again.
"Are you not doing a little too much for your son's ex? I would feel uncomfortable about being so close to someone my son slept with." Chris shrugged.
"First of all, she never slept with Brandon and—"
"Just how did you know that?" Chris leaned closer, curiosity written all over his face.
Levi moved his mouse around then turned the screen around so that Chris could watch what was on the screen. When it was finished Chris looked up at Levi and muttered, "A virgin at twenty seven, how nouveau."
"So she never slept with Brandon, it doesn't change anything. If anything it makes it easier to annul this farce of a marriage since you also did not sleep with her." He added
"I know, I just need to figure out what she is doing." Levi insisted. "Didn't you see her face? What if someone has forced her into the marriage with me and is behind the beating?" He reasoned.
"Then annul the marriage and let the police deal with it."
"I can't."
Chris sighed, knowing how stubborn Levi could be.
"I hope you know what you are doing Levi." He said.
Levi wondered the same too, he did not want to become emotionally involved but when he had seen Lyse's face he had felt overcome with rage. He wanted to find whoever it was that had done that to her and smash their face in for daring to touch his wife.
Levi told himself that he was only feeling that way because he had a reputation to uphold, it would not do for Levi Van Doren's wife to be beaten. It would look like he could not protect his own. He was not angry because he could not bear the sight of those big brown eyes of hers reddened and in obvious pain.