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ngela's breath was heaving up and down as she rushed towards the third apartment to the right. She didn't even stop to catch her breath. Instead, she began to bang her fists against the door as loudly as she possibly could. After a few moments, she could hear curses from the neighbors in the hall. Panic started to spread through her system when she didn't hear a response from the other side of the door.
She had a bad feeling about whatever had been in the box that he had brought to her. Angela looked around; she waited a few minutes before she knocked again, and then she pressed her ear to the door and waited for a while, hoping to hear some sign of him being there, but as she waited by the door, she didn't hear anything on the other side. This confirmed her suspicions that Toby wasn't in there, and he was up to something that could possibly put his life in danger.
She couldn't think straight; in a hurry, she pressed the phone to her ear with Toby's name flashing across the screen as she waited. The first few rings went through without a response, and she had started to worry that he wasn't going to pick up.
Just as she was about to give up on calling him, suddenly she heard his voice on the other end. She finally exhaled, but the feeling of relief didn't last long when she heard what he was saying in a rather shaky tone.
"I.... I’m on my way to the courthouse. I'm sorry, Angela, but I can't let him get away with this; I need to do something with or without you. He needs to pay.”
Exactly what Angela feared had started to come to life; she shook her head as she practically screamed over the phone towards him.
"Toby, please just stop whatever it is that you're doing and talk to me. Don't do this alone. You need to hear me out, and besides, you don't nearly have enough evidence if he doesn't threaten your life. His team of lawyers will simply tear you to pieces in court."
She was out of breath by the time she finished speaking, but something told her it was already too late. She heard what seemed to be a car door slamming before Toby spoke again.
"I don't care about what happens next; all I know is that I can't let him enjoy and live his best life while my friend is no longer here because of him. He has Daren's blood on his hands, Angela.”
Angela almost smashed her fist into the wooden door out of pure frustration. She was about to speak up and tell him to calm down, but before she knew it, the line went dead. Angela knew that the moment Toby would file for the case, he would be willingly walking towards suicide. And she also knew there was no stopping him, but there was one thing she could do, she could stand with him; she could provide him with the one piece of evidence that would save his whole case.
Before she had even fully thought through the plan, she was already rushing out of the apartment towards the main road. She hailed a cab, and just as she got in, she practically yelled towards the driver.
“Take me to the Haywire Industries main headquarters on the Upper East Side.”
The driver stared at her for a few moments, but when he realized just how deadly serious she was, he instantly stepped onto the paddle. She said a prayer under her breath as the cab came to a halt outside the huge glass building. Angela practically chucked the money towards the man in the front seat as she rushed out of the cab.
She pushed through the men and women in suits coming and going from the huge corporate building. Angela ignored the stares she was getting as she proceeded to run towards the reception. The blonde woman at the reception desk raised her eyebrows at her in a judging manner, but Angela didn't care; she practically screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Where is David? I need to see him right now!”
The woman shook her head as she spoke.
"I'm sorry, but who exactly are you?"
She was about to call security when Angela spoke up.
"It's Angela, just tell it to him, Angela!"
Before she could cause more of a scene, she heard the place calming down, and pin-drop silence took over the whole place in seconds. She couldn't understand why until she looked up.
There he was, and all eyes were glued to the two of them; he had his hands tucked into the pockets of his tux as he gestured towards her, completely unfazed by the people who were staring at the two of them like they were in some sort of a movie.
David spoke when he was close enough for her to clearly hear him.
"Follow me.... let's talk somewhere more private."
She didn't argue, and she wasn't really given the option to either. She watched as he simply began to walk through the huge posh building as she hurried behind him. They took an elevator to what seemed to be the top floor, and as soon as they made it into his baffling office, Angela didn't even wait for him to close the sliding doors to his office before she spoke up.
"I'm going to ask you one question, David, and all I ask is for you to reply with all honesty."
She was fighting tears as she refused to let him see her being weak. He noticed the look on her face, and he froze in his place; he didn't come closer to her, leaving merely a few inches between the two of them; he nodded his head as he spoke.
"Anything, you can ask me anything you please, and I give you my word that I will be honest."
She could see it in his eyes; she couldn't believe what she was about to do as the words left her mouth.
"There was a kid your company took under your wing, Daren...."
She wasn't even done yet when she watched as the man before him flinched. She took a deep breath as she went on, knowing she had hit a nerve.
"Did you and your company have a hand in his death? Did you and your people kill him, David?"
He looked away from her. She could see tears on the verge of his eyes, but now, she didn't care. She took a step closer to him, and her body was practically shaking as she heard him speak.
"How...how do you know about him? Angela, I swear, I didn't mean to get him caught up in everything.... I swear it happened so fast."
She grabbed him by the shoulders, and the tears had started to make their way down her eyes; she was holding onto him with all the energy in her body as she spoke.
“I need one answer, yes, or no?”
David stared back at her, and she noticed a sense of hopelessness washing over his face. He spoke up.
"Angela...please take a seat. Let's talk about this. I'll tell you the whole story; please just give me some time."
She shook her head as she made sure to look him straight in the eyes.
"Yes or no, David, that's all I'm looking for, and don't you dare lie to me."
It came out in a whisper.
“Yes”
He was about to go on, but she cut him off as she felt a part of her own heart breaking at what she had just heard. She pulled away from him and tried to stay as strong as she could. He tried to reach for her, but she made sure to push him away with all the force in her body as the words left her mouth.
“I’ll see you in court.”
The recorder in her pocket was pulled to a halt as she made her way out of the building, leaving him behind along with the feelings she had started to form for him.
For Next part of Tempted Series, just click on the link below:
ONE STEP CLOSER : A Mystery Thriller (TEMPTED Book 2)
Once again, thank you for reading the book.
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