Deadbeat Mother

Office Meetings

~Steven~

We sit at the conference table, neither of us speaking. I look down at my phone, almost hoping it would alert me to some news about my missing wife. Where the f**k did she even go, and how did she get away?

I asked my guards, and they were f**king useless. How the f**k are they in the house and don’t see her leave?! Luckily, their contract was up, or I would have fired their asses. I really want to beat their ass, but I don’t have that kind of juice.

“Well?” I don’t respond or look at my father. There’s really nothing for me to say. “Answer me, boy.” His voice is low, and I know what that means.

“What would you have me say, father?” Out of the corner of my eye, I see my father’s hand on the table, clenching and unclenching. I know he would love nothing more than to put me through this table, but we both know there are too many ears for that to happen.

“How long are we going to go through this s**t? At what point will you let this s**t go? It’s clear that she didn’t want to stay anymore. How much more of my resources will you waste on this foolishness?”

“I need to find her.” I feel the anger building in my body. I hate how my father acts like this doesn’t matter; like this isn’t important. I want to lash out at him, but I know better.

“I told you not to marry her. She was a nobody and you had much better offers. You always think you know better than me and you are always wrong. Good riddance, I say. Her presence here is-” I slam my fist on the table, causing all of the items to jump up before they fall back down.

“THAT’S MY WIFE YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT! WATCH YOUR F**KING MOUTH WHEN YOU SPEAK OF HER!” I didn’t have time to consider my misstep. I’m slammed onto the top of the table before I can even move. His hand is wrapped tightly around my neck, and I’m struggling to breathe.

“You have lost your f**king mind talking to me like that. Don’t let that b***h have you acting brandnew. I don’t give a f**k how old you are, you are never above me. You ALWAYS submit to me. You want to be a big man, find a b***h to have under you, don’t play with me!” He gives my neck one last squeeze before letting go and storming out of the conference room.

I turn over on my stomach, trying to suck in the air I was just deprived of. I’m coughing, spit pooling on the table. I place my hands under me, palms down, and raise myself up. My arms are shaky, and my throat burns. I plop in the chair behind me and throw my head back.

Everything is falling apart, and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know where my wife is or where she would go. I can’t believe she was even bold enough to leave. I thought I had her on lock, had her understand that she belonged to no one else but me. Clearly, I was wrong. I knew coming here would f**k s**t up, but I didn’t expect it to get this bad. I didn’t expect my wife to disappear right from under me. I came here with her to keep this very thing from happening. I failed; I royally f**ked up, and I have no idea how to fix it.

I don’t know how long I waited, but I had to make sure that I had composed myself. I know little Mia is waiting for me in my office, and I plan to get some f**king answers. She may not know where my wife is, but she knows something about her that I don’t know. I want to know everything because when I get her back, she will pay.

I stand up and fix my clothing. I run a hand over my face a few times, trying to get myself together. I slowly walk out of the conference room, my confidence returning to me. Everyone who sees me steers clear, so I must be doing something right. I walk down the hallway and stop in front of the office door I’ve been using.

I take a deep breath and open the door. Little Mia seems to jump at the sound, making me feel good. She won’t be getting over on me, no matter what she may try. Before I let her out of here, she will give me some answers.

~Mia~

The sound of the door opening makes me jump. I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting here, waiting for Steven to arrive. I’ve been trying to ready myself to deal with him, knowing I already hate interacting with him.

Steven is a vile person, and I thought this before I even found out everything he’d been doing to Neela. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself, which shows in everything he does. He treats women like a possession, and that isn’t right. Add everything he’s been doing to Neela, and he’s a s**t person.

Steven walks toward me, and I expect him to sit at the desk. I’m sorely incorrect because he leans against the desk instead, right in front of me. I feel his hard eyes cut a hole in me, and my body shivers. He chuckles, and I’m pretty sure he thinks it was a shiver of want.

I keep my head down, not wanting to meet his eyes. “Mia, Mia, Mia. You are such a gorgeous girl, do you know that?” I swallow the lump in my throat and try to figure out how best to answer him without egging him on.

“Th….thank you.” I take a deep breath and swallow again. “What did you want to see me about?”

“Are you in a rush or something? Is there someone waiting on you?” I slightly shake my head.

“I’m just eager to pack so I can go home. We’ve been out here for a while, and I miss home.” I catch movement from the corner of my eye. I turn my head slightly to catch Steven pulling a chair very close to mine. He sits in the chair and leans over in my direction.

“Do you have someone to run home to?” S**t, s**t, s**t.

“I…I don’t know what you mean.”

“Do you….” His finger gently caresses my arm, and I feel like I’m going to puke. “Do you have a man at home….or maybe a woman?” Steven leans in closer, placing his hand on my thigh. His finger makes lazy circles, and I want to push him off of me. “I find the idea of two women really stimulating, if I’m being honest.” I hurry to my feet, moving behind my chair. Steven sports a smile full of confidence.

“It’s nothing like that. I just want to get home.” I move quickly toward the door, praying that he lets me leave. “If…if you hear anything from Neela, please let me know.” I turn the doorknob and pull the door open. I have no idea what happened or how; I just hear the door shut and Steven’s standing over me.

“I don’t remember saying I was done with our conversation.” I risk looking into his eyes and immediately wish I hadn’t. He looks every bit the predator, and I’m the little lamb that was sent to the slaughter.

“I re….really need to go pack.” Steven places his hand at my hip but doesn’t touch me. He moves his hand up my body, stopping at my chest. I silently pray that he doesn’t grab me and almost sigh in relief when he doesn’t. His hand continues before harshly grabbing my neck.

“I know you know something. I’m not sure if you know where my wife is or maybe you helped her, but you know something. I will get the truth out of you if it’s the last thing I do.” I don’t know where I get the courage from, but it arrives, and I use it. I swiftly bring my knee up, connecting with his crotch. His face contorts in pain, and he kneels over. I quickly open the door and fly out of the room. The sooner I get on a plane, the better.