Breathless (2 page)

and each radio its own style.
Alex heard the
sounds of Van Halen, Garth Brooks, Boyz II Men and
Hank Williams filter out and mix to create its own
melody.
"What's going on," Alex said leaning closer to
James, who had stopped walking.
"Break time, it’s a good time for us to go into the
shop without having to worry about your shoes.
We only wear steel toe shoes in the factory," he
replied as several of the employees began to
converge on the soda and snack machines station
near two picnic tables.
Alex and James moved
around the men who were heading their way and
into the machine shop.
Alex caught the eye of
several of the guys as they passed and made mental
notes of names on their shirts and the faces to go
with them.
She knew she had better learn their
names quickly to keep her head above water.
James made the tour short and sweet.
He
outlined the abilities of the machinery, the band
saw and finisher.
Alex paid close attention to
what James was saying, but also let her eyes stray
to the men who inhabited the shop.
They had not
left their area for a break, but stood around
chatting amicably and picking on a baby-faced man,
who reminded Alex of a street urchin.
James
walked over to the group and told Alex to watch her
step over the cooling hoses as she followed him.
"What's up guys," he said when he had reached
them.
"Not much, just picking on Joey here," replied
Morgan, glancing past James, "Are you going to
introduce us?"
"If she didn't have to work here I would say no,"
replied James caustically turning sideways to allow
them to see Alex and introduced her.
Alex braced herself mentally when one of them
stood up from his stool and approached her.
She
saw James stiffen a little out of the corner of her
eye as the man began to extended his hand towards
her.
"Hi," he said as he extended a greasy hand for her
to shake.
Alex understood the challenge that he was making.
To not accept the hand, would make them think she
was above her co-workers.
Alex eagerly took the
hand and shook it.
James relaxed as he watched
Alex shake hands and engage in a conversation with
Grayson and the rest of the machine shop workers.
He had feared the worst and expected her to just
say hello and leave the shop.
Now he relaxed
some more as he followed the conversation quietly.
James found himself learning more about Alex as
she continued to talk with Grayson, Morgan, Dave
and Shane.
He learned that she had come from a
small town above Pittsburgh originally and had lived
in Washington for the past six years.
James' ears
perked up slightly, when Morgan asked about her
romantic life and she changed the subject.
A small
smile crept over his mouth as he took another long
drag on his cigarette.
She was very unwilling to
talk about her love life or lack of it.
That amused
him.
She would break that habit soon.
Nobody
had a personal life at Hasani.
The buzzer sounded again signaling the end of the
break and the guys said goodbye as James and Alex
made their way back into the office.
James led
Alex into the reception area and showed her to her
desk.
She was just sitting down in the
uncomfortably new chair when Jeff came in to
check on her.
"Well, looks like you made it in the lion's den," he
said jokingly.
"I don't eat office assistants alive, Jeff.
Francine is
still here isn’t she," scolded James.
"Damn straight I am," came a response from the
reception area.
After a few minutes of conversation, everyone soon
left Alex alone to get acclimated to her
surroundings.
Alex immediately turned her
attention to the pile that had seemingly come as an
accessory to her desk.
Jeff had made her aware of
the fact that she would have to be ready to "hit the
ground running.”
She had begun to sort her pile, when Francine
bounded into the room.
Alex studied Francine
casually as she talked with Allen Morris.
Allen was
the accountant for the plant and Alex's immediate
supervisor.
Alex recognized Francine's flirtatious
manner and shook her head.
She had seen this
type of behavior before and it always meant trouble
in some fashion.
"So, Alex, diving in with both feet are we," asked
Allen from his desk, sending a glance at Francine as
she bent over to pick up some object too small for
Alex to see, but necessary for her to pick up and
allow Allen a glance at her upper thighs.
Alex
sighed softly at the action.
"I'm trying to.
There is a lot more to understand
than I thought.
But I love a challenge.
"I'm sure you do," responded Francine, "A helpful
hint, Alex, you might want to dress down.
We
don't wear too many suits around here.
"I'll take that into consideration," Alex replied
acidly.
Francine sauntered into James' office and closed
the door.
Alex peered around the cubicle wall that
separated her from Allen to a window that
connected Allen and James.
Alex heard Francine
giggle as James closed the blinds on the
window.
She had a feeling she knew what was
going on, but kept her mouth shut and her mind
open as she continued to rummage through her
pile.
Chapter 2
Alex had completed an exhausting month at the
factory.
More often than not, she was staying late
and finishing old projects so that a new one could
be begun the next day.
She had taken all of the
knowledge that Jeff, James, Larry and Allen were
able to give her and put it to good use.
The offices
and factory were running a much more smoothly
and even Francine had to admit that Alex was good.
James worked late every night, too.
It wasn't so
much that he had work to do, but it gave him an
excuse to be near Alex.
She had refused to give an
inch in the office romance department and objected
to his carrying on with Francine even if it was
silently.
Jean had moved out of their house and
into her father's and he no longer liked to be there
alone.
It was too big for just him and the dogs and
he considered selling it more than once.
Alex had just finished clearing her desk for the last
time, when the intercom on her phone
buzzed.
She had thought that she was alone in the
offices because she hadn't heard anyone moving
around for a while.
A glance at her watch told her
it was past six and her stomach reminded her that
something more substantial than Pepsi and half a
sandwich was necessary.
"This is Alex," she said into the receiver.
"Hi, can you come in here, please," said the
voice.
It took two seconds for Alex's brain to click
on the name to go with it.
She was still having
difficulty matching faces, names and voices.
Jeff
didn't express any concern, though.
He knew it
would take time for her to learn them.
"Sure, I'll be right in," she replied, then hung up the
receiver and made her way into James' office.
James had just finished replacing the receiver and
calming his nerves, when Alex came in.
He had
come to know her a little better in the past
month.
He was impressed with her work even
though he only requested a few items here and
there.
His reaction to her when they shook hands
that first time came as a shock to him, particularly
on the heels of his pending divorce from
Jean.
When Jean had served him with divorce
papers, James had admitted to himself that he
would probably be spending the rest of his life
alone.
He had understood her reasoning behind
the request for divorce.
Jean had made her point,
when she had discovered his passion for sampling
the women in his travels and as much time as he
had spent at home, Jean was better off for getting
the divorce.
"What's up?"
"Close the door, please," he requested.
"There's nobody here, James, accept for the second
shift machine shop.
I'd prefer to leave it open,"
said Alex, remembering the recurring incident that
took place every day since she arrived.
Francine
emerging from James' office about 20 minutes after
going in and flushed and a little rumpled.
Alex
hadn't thought about much else since.
She had
indeed felt the tension between her and James
since they met, but didn't feel comfortable playing
office games with him.
She would let Francine
handle that.
"Is there a particular reason," he queried, lighting
another cigarette.
Alex glanced at the ashtray and saw the pink lipstick
that Francine favored outlining the edge of one.
"Nope.
Just prefer it that way, thank you.
"Fine.
I just wanted to let you know, that I think
you're doing a fabulous job.
I haven't made that
clear and I'm sorry.
How are you doing out there?
Have enough to do?"
"Yeah, I'm fairly busy.
I found a few things
confusing, but everyone seems more than willing to
help me.
"Any questions about the machine shop?"
"Not that I can think of.
Are there any goals you
would like to see met for that area?"
"A few; would you like to discuss them over dinner,"
asked James.
Alex pressed herself further into the back of her
chair at that question.
She had seen the wedding
ring on James' hand when they met previously, now
it was removed.
Alex heard the rumors of James'
pending divorce, but with his ongoing liaisons with
Francine so fresh in her mind, she refused to give in.
"I can't.
I still have some unpacking to do and I
need to go shopping for some casual
clothes.
Francine keeps pointing out that I'm
overdressed.
James looked slightly abashed at the mention of
Francine's name.
He thought she suspected
something, if not knew all together.
It wasn't
much of a secret in the plant about Francine and
James.
That didn't help him. James couldn’t
ignore the deeper desire that caused him to feel
something for Alex.
He had ignored her mention
of a fiancée on purpose.
He still was unsure of his
emotions which were running the gamut from
devastation from Jean to love reborn in Alex.
"Can you detail it in a memo or at least a list and
leave it on my desk? I really do want to get going,"
asked Alex as she stood to leave.
"Yeah, I'll do that," James responded.
Alex
detected the note of rejection in his voice and
ignored it.
She had just walked out of his office
and back to her cube to collect her things when she
heard a noise from the reception area.
She
glanced at James' office wondering if he had heard
it, but when no movement came from his office, she
ventured into the reception area.
Francine had shut off the lights which plunged the
room in total darkness.
Alex was still shaky about
the layout of the office and stubbed her left foot on
the copier as she passed it.
"Dammit," she whispered.
Suddenly, a hand snaked out of the darkness and
grabbed Alex's right arm jerking her against a
hardened chest and belly.
Alex let out a small
scream that was stifled by a sweaty hand over her
mouth.
"Who are you," whispered a rough voice in her ear
as the hand moved inches from her mouth for her
to reply.
"Alexandra Chambers," she whimpered in a quaky
voice.
Alex tried to be calm.
She knew that
James was still in his office, because she had just
left him and not heard the door to the plant
open.
Her captor wasn't much taller that she was
and could feel the scratch from his beard or stubble
on her neck.
Alex could smell the scents of
aftershave, cigarettes, coffee, sweat and machinery
oil mingle with the smell of her own fear as her
assailants breath labored in her ear.
His left hand
clamped her mouth, holding her close to him and
his right hand roamed freely over her body, feeling
the softness of her silk blouse and cotton
skirt.
The hand continued to slide down her
curves until she felt it catch the hem of her
skirt.
As it was slowly raised, she felt the
roughness of the knuckles on her naked thigh and a
cool breeze as the skin was exposed.
Alex then
felt the callused palm of the hand caressing the skin
underneath.
The unknown man inhaled at her
softness and pulled her closer to him.
Alex felt the
growing hardness at the apex of his thighs and
prepared to give another scream when the clamped
hand finally freed her mouth again.
"Why are you here so late," he said, moving the
hand from her mouth to her right breast squeezing
it harshly.
Alex didn't hesitate and let out an ear shattering
scream.
Abruptly, she was let go and shoved to
the hard floor in the office.
James was putting on his coat to leave, when he
heard the scream.
At first, he thought it was a
piece of metal straining against one of the machines
in the shop, but then he recognized that it was
coming from the direction of the offices.
"Alex," he whispered and bolted through the door
into the reception area.
Alex was sitting on the floor on the verge of tears
when the lights came on suddenly.
James felt his
stomach clench as the worst thoughts came to
mind.
James knelt in front of her and brushed the
hair from her eyes with one hand as the other lifted
her chin up.
"What happened?
Are you okay?
Can you get
up," he asked anxiously.
Alex shook her head dumbly and allowed James to
help her up off the floor of the reception area.
He
led her to one of the chairs that sat in the room and
retrieved a glass of water from the cooler
nearby.
Alex sipped from the cup with shaking
hands and sank into the softness of the chair.
James stood by and watched her tremble from
whatever had happened.
Without touching her,
James surveyed her for physical injuries and noted
the tear in her blouse that exposed her right arm
and the grease stains on her chest.
He also caught
sight of the faint scratches on her outer right thigh.
"Alex, can you tell me what happened," James
asked anxiously
"No.
I want to go home," she said.
Alex stood up
and fought to control her balance.
James had
extended a hand to help her steady herself, but she