Mrs R (Mrs R & Mr V #1) (51 page)

“No.” croaked Luc bravely denying Joe. His lungs were screaming
as the hand around his throat squeezed harder. Tears leaked from the corners of
his eyes and his vision had started to blur. He had been so sure that Joe
wouldn’t actually hurt him but now a cold fear crept up his spine. It seemed
Joe Mason was not a man to fuck with after all.

Joe squeezed harder holding Luc easily in place, he couldn’t
believe the boy was still resisting him and even through his haze of fury was
slightly perturbed at the lengths Luc was going to to protect Rachel. The kid
was going to pass out if he kept this up. He could easily have relieved Luc of
his phone but he needed the boy to surrender to him. This was a power play Joe
was not prepared to lose. “Now, Vincent. I mean it.”

Luc shook his head and Joe slammed him into the wall. “Give it
up boy” he roared. Luc closed his eyes and let his body go limp and Rachel
panicked. Leaping across the room she tried to push herself between the two
men.

“Joe, get off him for god’s sake. You’re hurting him.” She was
pushing at Joe’s chest trying to get him to release his hold on Luc who was
wheezing disturbingly. “Joe! Stoppit Joe! Oh for fuck’s sake…” Rachel reached
into Luc’s pocket and shoved the phone into Joe’s face and screamed. “Now leave
him the fuck alone.”

Joe immediately released his grip so he could take hold of the
phone, and Luc slumped forward with his hands on his knees trying to catch his
breath. Rachel stood by him protectively running her hands over his back and
stroking his hair helping him to calm down.

“Happy now?” Rachel shrieked at Joe. He was blankly staring at
the photo and although he could only see a part of her face he was only too
familiar with Rachel’s freshly fucked look. Clearly Luc had taken the image,
which meant they were sleeping together. He no longer cared when; Rachel had
lied to him and the pain was unbearable. Now she was speaking to him and he was
having a hard time hearing what she was saying over the loud ringing in his
ears. “I think you should leave Joe. If you want me to explain I will, but you
need to calm down first.”

Both men looked at her then looked at each other. Luc made the
first move determined to get away from Joe Mason as soon as possible. The man
was an absolute tyrant clearly used to getting his own way and having everyone
around him think the sun shone out of his arse. Well, Luc did not and he was
not about to yield to the mighty Joe Mason just because the man refused to
listen first before throwing his considerable weight around. And he didn’t want
Rachel to know how deeply he was affected at being on the receiving end of
Joe’s passion for power.

Straightening out his dishevelled clothes and running a hand
through his hair he threw an apologetic grin Rachel’s way; blew her a kiss,
plucked his phone from Joe’s grasp, and strutted out the door. The boy clearly
had a death wish. Joe stiffened and surged forward, but Rachel quickly blocked
his path. Placing her palms against his chest to stop him Rachel pleaded with
Joe who still looked ready to spill blood. “Let him go. He’s not the problem.”

Forcing himself to look Rachel in the eye, Joe’s face was a
mask of hurt and Rachel’s heart lurched in her chest. “You lied to me, Rachel.
And now that little piss ant thinks he can mock me and get away with it.”

Shaking her head swiftly from side to side she tried to deny
it. “I did not lie, but admittedly I haven’t been totally honest with you. But
I was going to tell you this weekend, Joe, I promise.” Even to Rachel’s ears it
sounded a bit lame but she was desperate.

Joe wanted to believe her but his rage was too consuming and he
couldn’t find any reason not to trust anything but what his own eyes had seen.
He had trusted her and she had played him for a fool. Grey eyes blazing, Joe
angrily brushed Rachel aside. “This isn’t over.”

“Don’t hurt him, Joe,” whimpered Rachel as he slammed the door
shut leaving her in a state of utter turmoil.

**********

Luc exited the building and inhaled a deep lungful of fresh
air. Well not exactly fresh but certainly it helped make him feel less
claustrophobic, and it was a relief to be away from Joe Mason. The man may be
some bigwig in the City but he was nothing more than a complete twat treating
Rachel that way. A lot of bullies used physical intimidation as a weapon, but
Luc wasn’t scared; just disgusted with himself. Nothing Joe could do or say was
worse than anything he had already tortured himself with a hundred times over.
He was such a bloody idiot he couldn’t even fathom how Rachel could have
forgiven him but it seems like she had. Clearly she was head over heels in love
with the big brute who, judging by his reaction, felt exactly the same way
about her. Rachel deserved to be happy; he only hoped Joe would listen to her
explanation of what happened and accept there was nothing between him and her
any longer. Luc was sure he would spend the rest of his life crushing on Rachel
but she would never know it. One day maybe someone would come along to make him
forget her but he doubted it. A wave of melancholy threatened to overwhelm him
and he looked back at the offices of Gyles Bishop with a wistful look in his
shiny blue eyes.

“Vincent!”

Shit, Joe was on his tail still sounding royally pissed off and
now Rachel wasn’t around to witness round two, he decided not to be quite so
compliant. Standing his ground he turned to face his predator.

“It’s Luc, or Luc Vincent, or even Mr Vincent,” he told Joe in
no uncertain terms. The man may have a few pounds on him and be extraordinarily
strong but Luc wasn’t about to fall prey without giving as good as he got. Joe
scowled and grabbed the front of his jacket but Luc shook him off this time
pushing at Joe with all his might. The man looked surprised as he stumbled back
a step.

“Oh no old man – you only get one bite of the cherry and
that was just to make you look good in front of your girlfriend. Don’t fucking
lay your hands on me again, Joe.” Luc snarled at Joe.

Joe was quite impressed. Defying all reason he realised he actually
admired Luc’s bravado however, he wasn’t about to share that little nugget of
information. Luc sighed and shoved his fists into the pockets of his jeans
before he did something monumentally fucking stupid. “Whatever you want to know
has to come from Rachel.”

Joe raised an eyebrow at the boy’s audacity; stupidity;
bravery. Whatever. “Don’t you dare patronise me Luc. You’re lucky you’re still
fucking breathing.”

Luc shook his head and narrowed his eyes at Joe. “You have the
biggest fucking arms I’ve ever seen and more power in one hand than I have in
my whole body, but you don’t scare me Joe. Do you know why? Rachel – you
love her too much to hurt her and I bet she told you not to touch me.”

“Don’t be too sure of yourself boy.”

“I
am
sure because I
have been where you are now and I know what it is like to love her. Please just
don’t fucking hurt her mate.”

“Mate? I don’t think so. Give me your fucking phone. Now!” Joe
stood there with his palm facing upwards so Luc had to go to him and place his phone
in his hand. Bastard with the fucking power moves.

Luc did as he was told. He knew Joe was going to delete the
photo he had of Rachel and there was no point in trying to argue with him. Joe
scrolled through his images until he found the one he was looking for. Running
a hand over his face looking remarkably deflated, Joe deleted the photo.

“Is this the only one?” He asked Luc.

Joe was getting restless and tired with Luc’s impertinence.
“You
believe
so – or your
know
so? Which is for fuck’s sake?”

“It’s the only fucking copy and now you’ve deleted it. Happy?”
Luc was also getting snappy although his stomach churned at his foolish
bravado.

“Go away then
Mr
Vincent and don’t come back if you know what’s good for you. And if you so much
as breathe a fucking word to Jess and Lucy I will personally see to it that
your future in the City will be an extremely short one.”

Luc stiffened and straightened to his full height putting him
nearly as tall as Joe. “Oh don’t worry I’m off, but because of Rachel not you.
You have no fucking idea what shit storm you just created for yourself. That’s
Rachel Renton you just pissed off, not some fickle bottle blond ready to pander
to your every need just ‘cos you’re some kind of New York aristocrat.” Joe
raised his eyebrows at that. “Yeah – we’ve all Googled you,
mate
.” Luc sighed and ran his hands
through his hair. “Tread carefully old man, or you just might find yourself in
the same position as me. I’m telling you – she’s worth it.”

Joe’s hands fisted by his sides but he made no move towards the
boy remembering his warning that Rachel would be upset if he hurt him. He
wasn’t sure he really cared less at this juncture, but just in case there was a
semblance of rectifying this god awful mess, he knew it wouldn’t help his cause
if he let loose on Luc.

“Just get out of here.”

A big grin spread across Luc’s face, apparently the boy had
fucking dimples. “Despite everything, I’m not sorry for the most amazing Easter
of my life. I am so jealous of you Joe – don’t fuck it up man. We will be
great friends one day; I feel it.” The boy was certifiable but before Joe could
react, Luc had disappeared into the depths of the underground station out of
sight.

Joe sagged against the side of the building and let out a long
breath raking his hands through his hair. He was so out of his depth with all
this emotional turmoil he didn’t know which way to turn. Not a feeling he was
used to. His brain told him to try and process all this recent information
about Rachel in a logical, sensible fashion. However, rage kept bubbling to the
surface making him question everything she had ever said to him. How could she
lead him to believe that she was bereaved over Nate when all along she’d been
screwing Luc’s brains out? Who knows; they could have been having an affair for
years – God, what kind of woman was she? But maybe it was a one-time
thing; everyone makes mistakes; he should give her a chance to explain before
he sent her packing, literally. No more Genesis and no more Rachel Renton in
his life sounded like a good plan he told himself. Then why did it fucking make
his heart ache so much?

“Goddamit!” he cursed loudly causing passers by to jump in
shock. He just scowled at them when they glared his way which sent them
scurrying away like frightened mice. “Shit, shit, shit.” Grabbing his phone
from his pocket he scrolled through his contacts until he reached the number he
was searching for.

“Fucking bad timing Joe…. Jesus fuck baby that feels good…”
Ryan groaned at the same time as Joe, but for very different reasons.

Joe rolled his eyes. “Tell your boy toy to get his face off
your cock or out your ass or whatever – I need to speak to you. Now” Joe
waited for the inevitable cursing to die down.

“Joe for fuck’s sake this has better be good.”

“Ry…” Joe voice faltered and he heard his friend sigh. Ryan
prodded the man in bed next to him and pointed to the door not paying him any
more attention.

“Joe man – what’s up?” Ryan’s tone had switched from
aggravated to concerned. His friend was not one to ask for help but it sounded
like he was upset.

“I think I might have just gone and fucked up the best thing
that ever happened to me and I have no fucking idea how to make it right.”

“Shit – just tell me. Don’t leave anything out…”

**********

“I have to get back to reception – are you sure you’re
ok?” Angela was reluctant to leave Rachel alone; she was a mess, constantly
wringing her hands and checking her phone.

“Oh thank goodness.” A whoosh of relief escaped Rachel’s lips
as she read a text from Luc who was apparently still in possession of all his
limbs, major organs and dignity. “Luc’s ok” she told Angela, “I’ll be fine
now.”

“What about Joe?” Angela asked tentatively.

Rachel snorted inelegantly in Angela’s direction. “I don’t want
to see that ignoramus right now. How dare he throw his weight around behaving
like a big bully? Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.” Rachel was spitting
feathers now she knew Joe hadn’t touched Luc. Angela had recently suspected an
attraction brewing between her boss and Rachel but she’d obviously missed
something epic going on right under her nose.

“Ok but he’s going to be back any second. I’ll try and deflect
him, but I suggest you leave. I don’t know Joe all that well yet but I’m
guessing when the boss gets angry all hell’s bound to break loose.”

“Thanks Angela – you’re probably right.” Rachel one again
gave up a silent prayer that Luc had gotten away in tact but that still didn’t
resolve the issue that Joe had a right to demand an explanation for why she
hadn’t told him about their affair. He was right; it was lying by omission and
relationships demanded honesty above all else. If Joe couldn’t trust her, what
right did she have to keep him? Rachel had been an ignorant fool to think he
would understand; the thing she had with Luc was unconventional and selfish and
she should have felt guilty about it. The fact that she didn’t would make it
harder for Joe to forgive her, and Rachel braced herself for the possibility
that they may not make it past this latest revelation.