Stolen Heart (Working title)

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Genre: Thriller Romance with queer POC characters

Chapter 1

Toni rushed up the stairs cursing the asshole who didn’t hold the elevator doors open for her. She had to run up three flights of stairs in two minutes or her manager will tear into her, possibly fire her. Her ankle rolls right as she’s swinging the third-floor stairway door open. Off balanced she falls onto the floor in pain.

“Damn it! Why is shit always happening to me?” Toni glances around then gently crawls to the stair railing careful not to rip her stocking. Taking hold of the railing she pulls herself up on her good foot and hobbles out the stairwell.

She keeps her tears at bay not needing to give her coworkers more to gossip about as she once again is late and making an entrance. Most don’t know her story. She tries to keep to herself not wanting others’ pity or their condescension.

“Toni, what the hell happened to you? Did you get hit by a car?” Nicky jogs over to Toni and helps her friend to her cubicle. “I covered for you. I told boss man you were picking up the breakfast order for the floor meeting today. Everything is under your desk already just make sure he sees you putting it in the room.”

Toni pulls her chair back and peaks under her desk. “I thought it was Freddie’s turn?”

“You know that man has a crush on me. I convinced him to help me out. If anyone asked, he had a family emergency and couldn’t do it.”

Toni smiles while pulling bags out from underneath her desk. “I thought you weren’t down with the swirl.”

“I’m not. He knows it. He just can’t resist the girls.” Nicky bounces her big breast in her heads laughing.

Without shame Toni eyes her friend’s breast. “They could cause wars.”

“Eyes up chica. Get your ass in there before my efforts are wasted and you’re fired.” Nicky retreats to her cubicle right next to Toni’s.

“You’re not going to help me? My ankle is fucked up.” Toni grabs two bags in each hand.

Nicky leans in her chair poking her head around the thin wall separating her cubicle from Toni’s cubicle. “Nope.”

Toni struggles setting up the conference room taking longer than she usually would. By time she brings in the last bag her manager is there with his arms folded.

“Ms. Jackson why is there no coffee made? You don’t seem able to do any task right.”

Toni bites her tongue hurrying to unpack the bag of pastries. “Mr. Larson there’s hot coffee already made from Stone’s Creamery. There’s regular and decade in those boxes right there. I can pour you a cup.” Toni moves the carryout coffee containers and lifts up a cup.

Thomas Larson snatches the cup from her hand and balls it up. “All the times you got my coffee you should know I won’t drink that. I need my coffee before the meeting. Make a batch of the cinnamon dolce. Hurry up!” Thomas storms off leaving Toni steaming wishing she could curse him out.

“I need this job. I need this job. I need this fucking job!” Toni tries to keep calm and makes the long progress of making the coffee her boss likes pod by pod until she had filled the carafe jug.
The conference room begins to fill up. Toni lowers her head silently walking to the door. Her limp is holding her back from jogging out as she wants to do.

“Ms. Jackson did you find time to make the coffee?”

Toni groans at the loud tone of boss. She  turns around not letting go of the door handle. “Yes, sir I made your coffee.” She put emphasis on the word your staring him down unwilling to look at the rest of the higher ups and see them look down on her as well.

“Did you send the PowerPoint to the online drive?”

She knows he knows that answer to that question. He was supposed to review it then send the approval that morning for her to make any requested changes. She did not have time to check her email. Toni feels nauseous. “No sir I did not. I was setting up the room, I didn’t know you sent…”

Thomas cuts her off. “Stop! I do not want to hear your excuses. You are holding everyone up here. Getting a conference room set up is something an intern can do and do it much better than you. I knew we should have hired someone with just an Associate’s degree.”

“Sir, I twisted my ankle, and you didn’t send me the file on time.” Toni glances at everyone not for pity but to avoid the venom in Thomas’ eyes.

“Just get out of here.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll hurry and send that file. “Toni walks fast as she can and goes to her desk avoiding the eyes of her colleagues. She opens her email and sees the date and time stamp of the email from her boss was only ten minutes ago. She tosses her computer mouse against her cubicle wall then slams it down and sends the PowerPoint to their online storage.

“Girl, don’t let that demon get to you.” Nicky hovers over Toni’s chair.

“How can’t I? That piece of shit sent me the PowerPoint back ten minutes ago and ripped into me in front of the other managers and supervisors as if he sent it first thing this morning. He held me up making his stupid coffee.” Toni spins in her chair facing her friend.

“Want me to go in there and kick his ass? I have a month of savings. I can always go somewhere else. People love hiring us vets.”

“No, then you won’t be here for me.” Toni smiles.

Nicky sits in Toni’s lap. “Come on give me a real smile or I’m going to lose my job ripping him a new ass hole.”

“How can I not smile with a beautiful lady in my lap?” Toni smiles then laughs when Nicky playfully gags and immediately gets up.

“You’re lucky I feel obligated to be your friend after you saved my life in Iran.” Nicky laughs.
Toni’s eyes darken as flashes of that day come to the forefront of her mind.

“When the boss is gone you two always act up.” Freddie comes over smiling at Nicky.

“We’re working,” Nicky glances around. “We’re plotting how to overthrow the overlord.”

Freddie laughs again. “Ah, ok. So, what’s the plan?” He looks at Toni. “Toni, are you alright?”

Toni pulls herself from the horrors of her memories. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Nicky reaches for Toni’s hand. “Are you having another flashback?”

“No, I’m good. I need to get back to work before Thomas tries to burn the place down.
Freddie pats her shoulder and he and Nicky leave her be.

Hours later Toni’s stomach rumbles. She had sent Nicky and Freddie ahead of her when they invited her to lunch. She didn’t want to tell them she didn’t have the money to buy anything. Toni glances at the eaten apple she had for breakfast in the trash bin wishing she had wait to eat it.

The breakfast spread in the conference room had made the wait impossible, so she ate her lunch for breakfast. The floor sometimes could get leftovers of a food delivery, but the food had been gone by time she finished enough work to feel safe to go check. Now she sits with a rumbling stomach wondering what excuse she’ll come up with today to avoid going to lunch with her friends. The “I’m on a diet” doesn’t really work when you’re only 130 pounds. She lost some muscle weight so she might not be 130 anymore, she knows she’s not that’s why she refuses to get on a scale.

Toni looks at the trash bin again when an idea comes to mind. She gets up taking her purse with her and goes down to the basement and walks with confidence not wanting to look suspicious. She passes the storage room, then the custodians’ area making her way to the back where the trash bins are held until they are full enough to empty in the outside cans.

Toni stares at the cans. “It’s clean girl, just open the bag and grab before someone sees you.” Toni whispers to herself trying to motivate herself to rip through the top bag containing the breakfast leftovers from her office floor. She rips the clear bag open and takes a closed box of pastries, three unopened juice bottles, and a few oranges knowing she doesn’t have to eat the skin. She puts them all in her purse except the box of pastries wondering how she’ll avoid anyone asking questions until she get back to her office.

Toni’s cellphone rings right as she gets on the elevator. She fumbles through her purse.
“Yes, Mr. Larson?”

“Where are you? I need you to go to the reception desk and escort a client to my office immediately.”

Toni loses grip of her pastry box as she jumps to push the button for the first floor not waiting to pass it.

“Are you listening to me?”

She regains her grip and looks down in her purse to take out a Notepad. “Yes, sir I am.” She sighs when the elevator dings at the right floor. She continues her search in her purse. “Sir, who is the client?” Toni rushes out the door and collides with something knocking her box down spilling the pastries. At the stinging pain of liquid heat, she yelps and steps back her phone falling in the process.

“Damn it!”

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” Toni yells looking up from her lunch spread out on the floor to the most gorgeous woman she has ever seen. She is frozen in place by piercing dark brown eyes. She swears she can see lightening in them.

“You’re the one who ran right into me.” The woman who has at least two inches on her steps in the elevator letting the door close.

“No wait, I have to meet someone.” Toni jolts to the door stumbling as a sharp pain shoots in her twisted ankle. She stumbled right into the woman who graciously catches her and holds her up.
Toni breathes in the perfume in a daze and locks eyes with the lady.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, sorry about that.” Toni doesn’t move back but she stands on her own willpower. “And sorry about your shirt. I’ll pay for the dry cleaning and get you a new coffee.”

“No, I will take care of it. I could have been looking better too. I was texting on my phone.” She smiles at Toni and looks down ay the floor. “You can make sure someone cleans this mess up though.”

“Right,” Toni smiles and the two of them lock eyes for a few seconds until her cellphone rings breaking the moment.

“OH, fuck” Toni answers the call with a swipe. “Mr. Larson I’m so sorry. I dropped the phone. Who did you want me to escort?”

“How do you drop a phone? What is wrong with you? You’ve been unable to do the simplest of tasks. You’re never going to get promoted like this! You might not even last until the end of the month!”

Toni presses her back against the elevator not wanting to see the expression on the beautiful woman’s face as her boss screams through the phone at her. Toni knows the woman can hear Thomas.

“Do you have the client at least?”

“No sir I don’t the elevator closed and is going up I’ll hurry back down. I need to know who…”

“What you need to know is how to get your tuition money back because that school didn’t teach you anything. I’ll go get him myself. I want to see you in my office after my two o’clock meeting. If you’re late don’t even bother showing up just clean out your cubicle.” Thomas interrupts not letting her get a word in.

The phone line ends. Toni leans her head back against the wall and chews on her tongue embarrassed.

“Wow, your boss is…”

“A major asshole?” Toni interjects not giving eye contact. “He tells me to escort a client during my lunch break and doesn’t bother giving me the clients name. How will I find the client without a name or description? I’ve been a disaster today.” She finally turns and looks at the woman. “I promise I’m not always like this.”

“Like what, a disaster?” She smirks at Toni.

“You sure you don’t want me to take that off?” The woman raises her brow. “I mean take that off of your hands. Your suit looks expensive. I should get it dry cleaned.” The elevator doors open again. Toni startles chuckling lightly at herself.

“This is me.” She steps out then grabs the closing door before it closes all the way. “If you really want to make up for spilling melting hot lava coffee on me then have dinner with me tonight.

Meet me on this floor at six.” She let’s the door go as it closes again.

“What’s your name?” Toni calls out as the woman turns.

“Octavia.”

“Toni”

As the doors close Toni yells out her own name. She pushes the button for her floor. She doesn’t stop smiling until she’s sitting at her desk and her stomach growls again.

She rips into some crackers and sets an alert on her computer to remind herself to go to her boss’s office on time.

Nicky rolls her chair over next to Toni. “What happened to you? You didn’t meet us.”

“I got busy then screwed up again with the boss.” Toni picks up her desk phone dialing numbers.

Nicky hangs up the phone. “You’re not getting off that easy girlfriend. Why are you smiling like your soul was eaten out of you by Halle Berry when instead your ass was chewed out by that incompetent jerk?”

“I met someone on the elevator, well I ran into someone, literally. She’s hot. Top model hot. A brown skin goddess with curves and muscles.” Toni’s voice raises as she described Octavia.

“What’s her name? What department does she work in? I know almost everyone here.”

Toni shrugs. “I don’t know what she does here. She got off on the top floor. Her name is Octavia. I didn’t get her last name.”

Nicky’s jaw drops.

“What?” Toni asked in a whisper wondering what’s wrong. Nicky shoves her way closer to Toni’s keyboard and opens the browser and searches the company’s website and goes to the executive board under the About Us tab.

“Is this her?” She scrolls down and points.

“Yes, that’s her.” The smile and excitement in Toni’s voice fades as she reads the title next to the portrait. “Oh shit.”

“Oh, shit is right. Damn girl, you’re fucking the boss, top boss I mean.” Nicky holds her hand up palm outward.

“Put that down. I’m not fucking my boss. I didn’t even know who she was. I just got this job a month ago. I haven’t even been in this city for years.”

“Woah, calm down woman I wasn’t interrogating you. I’m not judging if you want all that as a scratch post.” She grins and spins her chair away from Toni’s incoming punch.

“She asked me to dinner tonight. I can’t go. I need this job. There’s no way I can risk things getting messy and being fired or people looking at me as if I’m only where I am because I’m screwing the CEO.”

“Toni, it’s just dinner not a marriage proposal. And trust you won’t be the one to mess it up. Octavia Terrell is known for having a new girlfriend every week, the typical money hungry model latching onto her for their fifteen minutes of fame. Octavia is just a dumb wealthy player. Get yours and don’t worry about her again.”

Toni chews her cheek casting her eyes down. “She did start this company. Everyone wants us to do PR for them. She has to be smart.” The words come out against her brain telling her to shut up. You don’t know her. Why are you defending her?

“Smart doesn’t mean anything. Most serial killers have high IQs. Go to dinner and get your fifteen minutes. Dating her does wonders for every girl’s career. Just don’t fall for her.” Nicky slides back to her cubicle.

Toni groans and lays her head in her hands.

“Too late.”