It didn’t escape my notice that everyone in her office was watching the interaction, likely putting pieces together, thinking that I was the man in Miranda’s life.
And, hell, maybe that was for the best.
If this was not her super or the doorman, then it was possible it was someone else she knew from work. They would all likely know where she lived and her schedule on any given day.
Perhaps if they thought she wasn’t alone anymore, then she would be safer.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m going to find this fucker,” I assured her as my hand rubbed up and down her back.
“I shouldn’t have gone on a walk alone.”
“Are you really victim-blaming yourself here, sweetheart? It was a busy street in the middle of the day with a shitton of witnesses.” Which was likely the only reason she hadn’t gotten more worked over than she had.
“I don’t understand why…” she said, sniffling hard.
Behind her back, Cam was holding up the first aid kit, and I held up a finger to him, begging for a minute. “Why just grab me, shove me into a wall, and run?”
“My best guess right now is that it’s just to scare you,” I told her.
“Who would hate me that much, though?” she asked, losing some of the sadness, replacing it with fire. “I try really hard to be fair and kind to everyone. I don’t have enemies. I try not ever to fuck anyone over, even in business moves.”
Oh, yeah, she was getting heated if she was cursing. She was usually so careful with how she spoke, never wanting to seem like she was anything other than well-bred and well-raised.
“This isn’t on you. This is on the asshole who is doing this to you,” I assured her, pulling back so I could wipe her cheeks. “You know that.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, taking one slow, deep breath.
“Okay. Sit,” I said, pushing her onto her desk as I waved Cam in. “Let me clean that up. You might have bruises tomorrow. But if that bothers you, there is some good makeup that can cover it up,” I told her as I opened the first aid kit to find the cleaning wipes and the triple antibiotics. “Cam, are you busy right now?” I asked.
“Not particularly.”
“Can you compile a list of all current and past employees of this company, but have two separate lists for me.”
“Yeah, of course. That’s easy enough. We keep very detailed records. You think it could be someone here?”
“I’m not writing off any options right now. I don’t like the timing of this attack, so I want to look for any red flags around here.”
“If you want, I can also flag some people who have just been a little… problematic,” Cam offered.
“Yeah, but give me details on how they’ve been difficult,” I said, wincing when Miranda let out a whimper as I cleaned the deeper of the cuts.
“Can do,” Cam said, jotting down notes. “I can have all of that to you by the end of day,” he said.
“Appreciate it. Okay, this shit is medicated, so the sting should stop,” I told her as I added the triple antibiotic to some gauze and blotted it to the cuts. “Do you have any important meetings?” I asked.
“No. But I’m not going home either.”
“Why not?” I asked, just barely resisting the urge to sigh at her stubbornness.
“Because if this was someone here, or around here, I don’t want them to think they scared me away, that they won. Even in a small way.”
Okay, well, I had to respect that.
It was important not to let your enemies know they’d even gotten a small victory over you.
“Alright. But stay here, okay?” I demanded. “And by here, I mean in this office. With a couple dozen eyes on you at all times.”
“I can do that,” she agreed, looking relieved to have at least the illusion of safety.