As he walks away, I steady myself on the wall, trying to calm my racing heart rate. He heads toward his office, and my pulse races so damn fast I’m not sure I can control it, but I have to. I need to get back to work. Otherwise, Aiden will know something is going on.
So, I straighten my shoulders, take a deep breath, then I walk with purpose back to my desk to distract myself with my work. I need to stay strong and not let Niall get into my head.
The Andersons arrive for the first meeting of the day, and I do my best to avoid eye contact with Erik. I quickly get up and walk to Aiden’s office before Erik has the chance to come over to me to let him know they have arrived. I open the door and peek inside. “Your ten o’clock is here.”
Standing, Aiden walks over and stops when he reaches me to give me a wink before continuing to his meeting.
Niall comes out of his office and smirks, but I turn away and head back to my desk. Even with just a simple look, Niall can unnerve me, but I’m trying my best not to let him get to me.
Brielle and I take in the refreshments, and I purposely avoid Erik as I hand them out. Aiden raises his chin when I hand him his coffee. Once finished, I move toward the door. I walk with my head down, passing Niall on the way out. As I walk past him, he purposely places his foot out in front of me, and I have no control over my body as I catapult face-first into the carpet, my head banging hard into the wooden door as I go down. Pain sears through my skull, and I blink a couple of times. My knees and palms scrape on the carpet giving me carpet burn instantly, and I gasp as I fall flat on my stomach. The pain shooting through my head gives me an instant headache, not to mention the overwhelming embarrassment that’s flooding my entire being right now as I lay on the floor in pain.
The whole room stands abruptly to see if I’m all right.
Aiden and Erik both rush to me as my hand moves to my aching head.
Niall’s acting surprised, but the expression in his eyes tells it all.
I can’t believe that old bastard just did that!
“Jeni, are you all right?” Aiden asks, reaching down to help me.
“I think so,” I murmur while rubbing my head.
“Jeni, do you need me to help you up?” Erik asks, taking hold of my arm.
I shake my head which sends a searing pain into my neck as he pushes Aiden out of the way to help me. I glance down at the glowing red carpet burn on my palms, and instantly feel the throbbing pain in my knees.
“Please don’t handle my staff,” Aiden grunts, physically removing Erik’ hand from my arm.
Erik stares at Aiden. “I’m not handling her, I’m helping her. Jeni, are you hurt? Do you need me to take you to the doctor?”
I glare at Aiden with that don’t-you-dare look. “No, I’m fine. Thank you, Erik.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, she doesn’t need a doctor. The girl is fine. Can we get back to our meeting?” Niall grumbles as Bree comes to help me.
Erik hesitantly takes his seat as Aiden looks at me with that are-you-really-all-right look he seems to have mastered. I nod, and he goes back to his seat watching me intently.
“Sorry, everyone.” I wave it off like I’m fine as Bree takes me back to my desk and sits me down.
“What happened? You were right behind me, and then I look back, and you’re on the floor.”
“Yeah, must have tripped on… something.”
“How’s your head?” she asks while touching the lump that’s forming at the top of my hairline.
“It hurts, and I have a killer headache,” I say truthfully.
Bree nods. She heads off to the kitchen, then comes back with some ice in a hand towel. “Do you think you have a concussion?”
“No, it’s only a little bump. I’ll be fine.”
Bree checks my knees which are slightly bleeding. “Jeez, Jeni, you did a really good job on these,” she says, grabbing a tissue to dab at the wounds. She continues to fuss over me, walks over and grabs the first-aid kit from her desk, then comes back with some bandages for my knees. I laugh as she places the oversized bandages over the grazes.
“There, that should do it.” A broad smile crosses her face. “Sorry, Jeni, you look ridiculous, but there’s nothing smaller in here.”
I laugh as I picture myself with ice on my head and oversized bandages on my knees, but even I can see the funny side of it.
The meeting finishes, and Aiden’s chatting with Mr. Anderson, but he’s watching Erik closely as he walks over to me. “Hey, are you okay?” Erik asks.