Keagan's Punishment

"…Elijah's a victim. He couldn't be caught doing anything like that." Keagan rubbed her arm. Even if Elijah got disgusted with her, there was no way he would send her to hell like that. Moreover, Elijah would never sleep with some woman for merits. That man was too arrogant and wanted to be labeled self-made more than anything. Tactics like those would make him vomit.

Wren only nodded and reached out to hook some of Keagan's hair behind her ear. "Don't worry. I have yet to forward this to our HR department. Everyone involved would be duly monitored and investigated. If he didn't do anything, he wouldn't be fired. You should go home now.

"Here." Wren received a box of the glazed donuts from the bakery and handed it to Keagan. "This is yours. Go home and rest now."

"…thank you, Madam." Keagan made a shy smile as she received the box. She would even hug it if it was not easy to crush. She then bowed once and waved at the madam. That should be enough gestures to make Wren leave her to her own company.

Wren only watched and nodded. With the clear message, she moved away to get into the car where Otto was waiting. The car soon rolled out of the parking lot, Keagan waving her hand as long as she could see the madam's car. Her smile wouldn't even drop as if there were a few things to smile about.

Then, the waving hand slowed down to a stop. Keagan took a deep breath and looked down at the donuts in her arms. She now had dinner and breakfast for tomorrow. She just needed a place to stay for the night. Renting a room was out of the question. Should she look for the homeless center? With the nice clothes lent to her by the Chastain household, she wouldn't fit in that place for sure.

"…is it cheaper to rent a karaoke booth than a motel?" Keagan wondered. Maybe she could just find a place where she could feign her sleep.

"Keagan!"

The woman flinched as she was suddenly faced with Elijah. He ran from the corner and grabbed her shoulders. With an angry gaze, he looked over her as if checking up on her state. She didn't seem to be hurt or dirty.

He then darted his eyes at her face. "Where were you last night?"

Keagan looked away. "I… I got into an accident, so I spent the night in the hospital. Don't worry, I wasn't really hurt. The person who ran into me paid for everything, too, so—"

"You didn't just throw up on her dress—you even jumped in front of her car? What are you doing?" Elijah would shake her if she was not holding onto something warm. When Elijah noticed the box of donuts, he looked up at her again. "What's that?"

"This? It's a box of donuts." Keagan held onto the box tightly. "I received it from, uh, people distributing bread to the homeless. I asked for some because I… I don't have anywhere to go…"

Elijah pursed his lips and raked his hand through his hair. "…homeless? You even look like you have a mansion. Don't lie to me. I saw you talking to—forget it. Let's go. It's getting dark."

Keagan saw how Elijah grabbed her hand and pulled her into his car parked at the corner. The woman would feel excited about it, but she still felt strange about returning. This man was probably just looking for her because he couldn't handle rumors of his girlfriend walking along the streets like a real homeless person. He only kept her as a trophy. Now that she was tarnished again…

Then, she remembered something before they got into his car. "Wait, Elijah, have you spoken to your friends again? The ones that came with the party?"

"What about them?"

"I…" Keagan wanted to tell him about the drug, but she had no proof. Moreover, the truth might backfire against her again. She just murmured as she made an excuse. "We left the party too early. We didn't get to say goodbye to them. Did they get mad?"

Elijah only glanced at her before pulling on the car door. "They laughed it off. You caused so much of a show that it's all they were talking about in the office. Get inside. We're going home."

Keagan only nodded and got inside. At least, Elijah didn't push her inside or use his leg to do it. She settled in the passenger seat and watched the scenery pass as Elijah drove to his house. Her hand on the handle only continued to tighten, but she ended up looking down at the donuts on her lap.

Right, she had the power to start over. She didn't have to sit through Elijah's excuse of a relationship.

…

The next day, Elijah decided to take Keagan to work. She figured he wanted her to apologize to his friends about what happened that night. Then again, she learned something from Wren. Perhaps, she would prod on them a little more. After all, she could run to the CEO's office to find Wren if the wolves shed their sheep's clothing.

Keagan was suited in her usual style of a chic light-green dress and simple clutch bag. She sat in Elijah's car without a sound, the man not speaking to her as well. The atmosphere inside their car was suffocating, but none of them failed to resist it.

As if warning her, Keagan felt how the whole building felt so different to her that morning. This was not the first time she would be staying here with Elijah, but this was the first time she would be sitting outside his office. Even if his office was just separated by walls, she still felt wary.

"Someone has left for a maternity leave, so one of the desks is vacant. You can stay there for now. I'll check up on you after my morning meeting," Elijah said as they got on the elevator with just the two of them. "Don't be surprised if they decide to make you work on some tasks. Normally, they will just ask you to make coffee or calls to delivery services."

"I'm being punished…" Keagan whispered. 

Elijah didn't even say anything to dismiss her worry. In fact, he even confirmed it. "Everyone made fun of me and the entire office because of what you did. It's only right for them to express their frustration. Then again, this is a respected company in the state. They won't go overboard with it. Let me know if they asked you to do office work."

Keagan glanced at him, but the elevator doors already opened. They just walked out to get to the office. When Keagan saw the men who gave her the drink last night, she couldn't help but find a malicious glint in their eyes. Her eyes then darted to the closed door of the office pantry.