Fragments

Gemma shot up in bed gasping for breath. She looked down at her hands and saw the broken nails. Her once perfectly manicured nails had been casualty to the fight with Charles the afternoon before.

So it hadn't been a nightmare after all. She sighed deeply and swung her feet to the floor. She trudged to the bathroom and startled when she saw herself in the mirror. Fresh bruises circled her neck like a necklace. Her lips were swollen from his harsh kisses. And of course, she hurt down below. She wanted to sob. But her puffy eyes were testament that she'd cried enough. She squared her shoulders and clenched her teeth.

Some women would never go back to work where their boss was the one responsible. Some women would go to the police or cower at home afraid. Maybe it was because all her life she had been treated with the utmost respect. Maybe it was because she knew no matter what she did, right or wrong, that her father was her strongest backer and he held great power. Or maybe it was her fiercely stubborn personality, but whatever it was, she was not going to run from the situation.

As she vigorously scrubbed her hair in the shower she thought over how she planed to handle this. She stepped out and toweled dry. She blow dried her hair, did her makeup in her favorite style, covering her swollen lips in the brightest, reddest lipstick she owned.

At her closet, she perused her clothing. She picked out a simple, but lethal little black dress. Probably more appropriate for a nice dinner out, than a day at the office, it was just the statement she intended to make. She finished her outfit with six inch heels and a flashy statement necklace to hide the bruises.

"I'll never need to hide another bruise again!" She muttered under her breath.

She drove to work and found parking in the underground garage. She walked toward the elevator. And where Charles parked any number of his sports cars. Today he had ridden in his Aston Martin. She clenched her keys in her hand and approached. She stood beside the luxury car and looked up into the security camera aimed no doubt towards his parking spot. She smiled at the camera, raising her hand to give a wave at it, and then, using her car keys, she scratched the characters for "coward" and "bastard" into the shiny paint on the side of the door. Then she blew a kiss at the camera and headed toward the elevator.

She took it strait to the presidential executive floor where she worked, bypassing everyone else. The doors opened and she resolutely made her way toward Charles's office, walking past her own desk. She threw open the double doors of the office and marched toward his desk.

Charles looked up from his documents in shock. He had not expected her to come to work. And he certainly hadn't expected her to barge into his office first thing. His eyes widened in shock when he realized she was dressed to kill.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

She ignored him until she stood directly in front of his desk. She picked up a glass paperweight and glanced at it as though examining it. Swarovski crystals encrusted the dragon figurine.

"How much did you pay for this?" She asked as though talking about the weather.

Charles squinted at her in confusion.

"$18,000 USD, why do you ask?" He answered.

"Hmmm." She mumbled as though considering. Then seemingly out of nowhere, she slammed it to the floor.

Charles jumped to his feet, eyes blazing.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He shouted.

She said nothing, but leaned forward and swiped his desk clean. Papers flew haphazardly. Office supplies clattered to the floor. Other equally expensive objects shattered at their feet.

Charles ran around the desk and grabbed her arm.

"Have you lost your mind?!" He shouted in her face. He was so loud that his secretary across the hall rushed into the room in concern. He took in the huge mess and the two occupants with shock. That this was not good was the understatement of the century.

Before Charles had time to see it coming and react, Gemma swung her fist in a right hook and caught him completely off guard.

John Li sucked in his breath, sure he was about to be witness to a murder.

"If you think can shatter me into fragments and walk away free, you are delusional." Gemma said with terrifying calm.

The she walked out of the office leaving both men in shock. Charles stood rooted in place momentarily when he then turned to John and said, "Well! Don't just stand there! Get someone in here to clean all of this up!"

He then stormed out of the office in Gemma's direction.