Chapter 2 - The Man Waiting Outside
Three days later, David Miller appeared in the lobby.
Khloe saw him before Gabriel did.
She was standing beside the reception desk with a stack of documents when the elevator doors opened.
David stepped out wearing an expensive suit he could no longer comfortably afford.
His smile looked friendly.
His eyes did not.
“Khloe.”
She froze.
The receptionist glanced between them.
“I need to speak with you.”
Khloe lowered her voice.
“David, this is my workplace.”
“I know.”
He stepped closer.
She instinctively moved backward.
Gabriel watched from across the lobby.
He had just returned from a meeting.
Jackson stood beside him.
David noticed Gabriel.
His expression changed.
He had seen Gabriel’s face in financial magazines.
Everyone had.
But David did not know what Gabriel really was.
David nodded.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Gabriel looked at him for several seconds.
“Do I know you?”
“No, sir.”
“Then why are you bothering my employee?”
David smiled.
“I’m her boyfriend.”
Gabriel looked at Khloe.
She said nothing.
That silence was enough.
“You can talk outside,” Gabriel said.
David laughed nervously.
“This is personal.”
“Then keep it personal.”
David’s jaw tightened.
“She needs to come home.”
Khloe’s fingers curled around the documents.
“I have work.”
“Khloe.”
One word.
But she flinched.
Gabriel noticed.
So did Jackson.
Gabriel stepped forward.
“You have ten seconds to leave my building.”
David stared.
“Mr. Mercer, I don't think you understand—”
“Nine.”
David stopped.
“Eight.”
The receptionist suddenly became very interested in her computer.
“Seven.”
David raised his hands.
“Fine.”
He looked at Khloe.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“You won’t.”
Gabriel’s voice was cold.
David left.
Khloe remained frozen.
Gabriel waited until the lobby doors closed behind him.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“Did he hurt you today?”
Her eyes snapped toward him.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Gabriel did not push.
“Go upstairs.”
She nodded.
As they entered the private elevator, Khloe stared at the numbers instead of him.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“He shouldn’t have come here.”
“That is not your fault.”
She swallowed.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
She shook her head.
The elevator doors opened.
She walked out.
Gabriel remained inside.
Jackson joined him.
“Do you want surveillance around her apartment?”
“Yes.”
“Without her knowing?”
Gabriel considered it.
“No.”
Jackson looked surprised.
Gabriel had changed tactics.
“We protect her without turning her into a prisoner.”
That evening, Khloe received a message from David.
Come home now.
She did not answer.
Another arrived.
You know what happens when you ignore me.
Her hands trembled.
She deleted the messages.
Then she stared at the dark reflection in her apartment window.
The apartment had once felt like home.
Now it felt like a locked room.
She opened a drawer and found a small envelope.
Inside were copies of the police reports from three years ago.
They belonged to David’s former girlfriend.
Khloe had discovered them months earlier.
She should have recognized the pattern.
Instead, she had convinced herself that David was different with her.
That was the lie people told themselves when they were afraid to admit they had made a mistake.
The front door opened.
Khloe stiffened.
David entered.
“You ignored me.”
“I was working.”
“You’re always working.”
He put his keys down.
“You embarrassed me today.”
Khloe looked at him.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You made me look weak.”
There it was.
The real reason.
Not love.
Not concern.
Control.
David stepped closer.
Khloe moved back.
“Don’t.”
He laughed.
“Don’t what?”
“Come closer.”
He stopped.
For a moment, she thought he might listen.
Then he looked toward her purse.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.”
He grabbed it.
Khloe held on.
“David, stop.”
He pulled harder.
The purse fell.
Its contents scattered across the floor.
A second phone slid beneath the couch.
David stared.
“What is that?”
Khloe’s face went white.
She did not answer.
He reached down.
Before he could pick it up, a knock came at the door.
David froze.
Three slow knocks.
Then a voice.
“Khloe?”
It was Gabriel.
She stared at the door.
David stared at her.
“How does he know where you live?”
Khloe could not breathe.
The answer was suddenly clear.
Gabriel had followed the situation.
He knew.
David’s face changed.
He whispered, “What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.”
Another knock.
“Khloe, open the door.”
David grabbed her wrist.
The pain shot up her arm.
“Tell him to leave.”
She looked at him.
For the first time, something inside her broke.
Not from fear.
From exhaustion.
She slowly shook her head.
“No.”
David’s grip tightened.
“Khloe.”
She pulled away.
“No.”
The word sounded unfamiliar coming from her.
But it felt powerful.
The door opened.
Gabriel was standing there.
Jackson stood behind him.
Gabriel saw David’s hand around Khloe’s wrist.
Everything inside him went cold.
“Take your hand off her.”
David released her.
Gabriel entered.
“Who are you to come into my home?”
Gabriel looked at Khloe.
“Khloe, get behind me.”
She hesitated.
Then she did.
David laughed.
“This is insane.”
“No,” Gabriel said. “This is over.”
David looked around.
“You think you can scare me?”
Gabriel almost smiled.
“I don't need to.”
He pulled a folder from inside his coat.
“You have three unpaid loans, an embezzlement investigation waiting at your employer, and a pending lawsuit you don't know about yet.”
David’s face drained.
“You did this.”
“I told you to stay away from my employee.”
“She belongs with me.”
Gabriel’s eyes darkened.
“She belongs to herself.”
David looked at Khloe.
Something cruel flashed across his expression.
“You think he wants you? He’s playing hero.”
Khloe looked down.
Gabriel did not react.
David continued.
“Men like him don't love women like you.”
Gabriel’s voice was quiet.
“You're right about one thing.”
David smiled.
Then Gabriel continued.
“I am not a hero.”
He looked directly into David’s eyes.
“But unlike you, I know the difference between love and ownership.”
David was removed from the apartment.
Not beaten.
Not killed.
Simply escorted out while every legal and financial consequence he had earned came crashing down around him.
When the door closed, Khloe slid down the wall.
Gabriel crouched several feet away.
“I’m not going to touch you.”
She covered her face.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don't have to apologize.”
“I should have left months ago.”
“You left tonight.”
Her eyes lifted.
Gabriel looked at her carefully.
“That matters.”
For the first time, Khloe cried in front of him.
Gabriel sat on the floor across from her.
He stayed there until her breathing slowed.
Neither of them knew that David had secretly copied something from Khloe’s laptop before leaving the apartment.
May you like
Something that could expose Gabriel Mercer’s entire empire.
And David planned to use it.
