Bluegrass State of Mind (12 page)

"Bummer. Hey, when you are ready to
leave, do you think you can take me back to the office so I can
pick up my car?" Danielle asked.

Kenna nodded yes in response and
picked up her third martini.

Two hours later she was ready to go.
She signaled Danielle and the two of them linked arms as they went
outside to wait for the valet. She turned to Danielle, "I think I
am going to break it off with Chad." She knew she caught Danielle
unaware by the way her head snapped around.

"Dude, what? You were just gushing
over him at the office this evening. What happened?"

"I think our schedules are too crazy.
Besides, he texted me eight times in the last hour. Apparently the
first text came when I was dancing and I didn't answer back. So I
got three more texts wanting to know why I wasn't responding and
what was I doing. Then they just got a little weird, saying things
like I was punishing him for going away. It wasn't that at all, I
was just having a good time with you and my friends. I didn't want
to text him the whole time he was on the train. I just think he's
insecure and clingy at times. Maybe I am rushing the break-up and
maybe it's the three martini's speaking, but I just feel like I
want my life to go off in a new direction."

Kenna pulled into the parking garage
beneath the building and heard Danielle cursing under her breath.
"Such ugly words from such a pretty girl," Kenna said to Danielle
in the snootiest voice she could manage.

"I must have left my car keys in my
desk, because I can't find them in my purse. I will just come up
with you and look for them. They have to be up there somewhere,"
Danielle said as they both got out of the car. Kenna and Danielle
rode the elevator to the ninth floor, amusing each others with
stories from the club. When the doors opened, Kenna noticed that
the lights were still on.

"I guess I forgot to hit the switch
when I left," Danielle murmured.

"I will get that file from my office
while you look for your keys and I will meet you back at the
elevator in a couple of minutes," she said to Danielle as she
walked across the marble entrance way. She turned to her right and
made the short dogleg to her office.

She unlocked her door and sat at her
desk searching for the file buried under stacks of messages and
notes that were piled around. Finding the file, she turned off her
lamp and picked up her keys. As she was locking her door she cocked
her head. She could have sworn she heard a scream coming from the
back conference room. She shook her head. Deciding she was hearing
things, she locked her door. Before she could turn back to the
lobby, she heard it again. This time, she was sure it was coming
from the conference room. She went further down the hall, her
Manolos not making a sound on the thick Persian carpet as she
passed cubicles on the right and the other junior partners’ offices
on her left.

The steady thump of dance music
assaulted her ears as she approached the conference room. It was a
glass enclosed room that ran the length of the building. It hosted
the company meetings where all hundred plus attorneys tried to
squeeze in for meetings. Not knowing what to find, she slowed her
steps as she approached the last cubicle. Once she got to that
point, she'd be able to look into the conference room. Knowing it
must have to do with the equity partners’ guy night, she didn't
want to be seen, so she ducked into the cubicle and slowly raised
her head over the top. Her heart was pounding and her palms were
starting to sweat. Her breathing seemed to be so loud she thought
they'd be able to hear her. Bob made it clear to everyone that
these nights were privileged. If you weren't invited, then you
better not be seen there.

When she looked in to the conference
room, she saw a professional clothes removal expert up on the table
with Bob and about 15 other men leering at her while they were
watching her dance. "Ah, poker night," she mumbled as she let out a
breath. Nothing too serious besides the dents the stripper was
leaving on the table. She marched her way up and down the table
like a runway. Kenna was about to turn around and duck out of the
cubicle to head home when the girl on the table screamed again.
Kenna popped her head back up and saw the stripper backing away,
shaking her head as if saying "No." The sea of men parted and Chad
approached the dancer.

"What the hell?" she said under her
breath. She stopped herself from going in and cussing him out when
she saw him reach up to grab the dancer's legs. He jerked them
toward him, making the girl fall onto her back. The table shook and
the air was knocked out of the girl. She lay still on the table,
her blonde hair fanned out on the dark mahogany wood. Her legs were
spread and dangling off the table. Chad's hands still on each calf
where he had pulled them out from under her. The conference room
erupted. Not in outrage like she thought, but in whistles, hoots,
and cheers. Chad ran his hands slowly up her legs and stopped at
the waistband of her black g-string. The dancer was struggling to
breathe again, and then she started to thrash her arms and legs
trying to shake Chad off of her.

This was not right. Waves of panic
came upon Kenna as she realized what was going to happen to the
girl. The worst part was the smile she saw on Chad's face. His fake
tan making his bleached white teeth look animalistic. With one
hand, he ripped the g-string off and tossed it into the crowd of
men. She recognized some of the partners, a couple of sitting
judges from the appeals court, and even one from the Supreme Court.
She was also pretty sure that one of the men was a U.S. Senator.
Chad used one hand to cup the stripper's bare mound and his other
hand went to her breast where he squeezed it so tight that it
elicited another scream from the girl. He ripped off the silver
sequined bikini top and used both hands to squeeze her breasts so
hard that even Kenna cringed. The dancer screamed again and started
to struggle.

She couldn't help it anymore. She had
to do something. She looked around the cubicle and found the phone.
Hoping no one would notice the line light appear on the conference
room phone, she picked it up and dialed 9-1-1. When the operator
came on, Kenna gave the address and the location of the conference
room in a whispered voice. She told the operator she was witnessing
a rape. When the operator asked her name, she gave it. The operator
asked her what was going on. So she raised her head again and
looked into the room. Chad had one of his big hands around the
girl's pale throat. She was kicking and trying to hit him with her
arms and legs, but a couple of the men had moved up to pin her
flailing arms down. Kenna looked around the room for some help.
They all stood still, smiles coming onto their faces as they
started talking excitedly amongst themselves. Chad slapped the
girl's breasts until they were bright red. The girl, sobbing and
begging to be let go, tried to fight one last time. Chad pulled his
hand back and slapped her so hard the girl became dazed. With one
hand pumping hard and fast into her, Chad's other hand went to his
zipper. His voice rose above the music as if making an
announcement, "Okay boys, I won the pot tonight. I get to go first,
but it's up to you all on who goes next."

Kenna's face went white. They weren't
going to rape her just once, they were going to gang rape her. Fear
mixed with anger and overcame all thought. Kenna placed the phone
face up so the operator could keep recording. She knew it was a
long shot that any of the talking would be picked up over the
music, but she knew the screams of the girl had a chance to reach
the receiver. She rose and ran from the cubicle with a stapler in
her hand. She ran to the door and pushed it open so forcefully it
slammed into the wall. The occupants of the room froze. Chad raised
his head from where he was biting the girl's breast as he raped
her. With that same twisted grin on his face, he looked her right
in the eye. "Sweetie, what are you doing here?"

The girl looked up to her, with
pleading eyes, "Help me," she whispered.

Chad raised his hand and backhanded
her across the face. "I told you not to speak."

That was enough of a distraction for
Kenna and she lunged for the table, trying to grab the girl's arms
that were being pinned down. The men holding the girl down just
shoved her away. Chad looked up from where he had slapped the girl,
"Kenna, would you care to join us? You could go next." His voice
was so even and calm that it sent shivers down her spine. Her grasp
tightened on the stapler and she threw it as hard as she could,
hitting Chad in the head. Chad staggered back, his erection
protruding from his pants. Instead of getting mad, his smile
widened. Kenna started to shake as she realized his eyes were clear
and she was staring into the heart of evil.

"Chad, take care of this little
problem. We'll see to the girl," Bob said as he glared at Kenna and
moved over to yank the dancer up by her hair.

"Let her go!" Kenna was amazed the
words came out at all, and even more amazed they were clear and
that her voice didn't shake.

"Oh sweetie, she likes it. Just like I
know you will. She is a special hire for rough... entertainment."
Chad started to walk around the table towards her. He reminded her
of a predator stalking his next kill and she didn't want that to be
her. She started to back out toward the door when he spoke again,
"Now, now. Don't run from me, Kenna. Running only makes things
worse. We just need to talk. You and me."

"You were supposed to be in D.C.," she
stupidly mumbled as she pushed the door open and backed out of the
conference room.

"Yes, well, change of plans. Just got
invited for a little guys’ night out."

Kenna bumped into the cubicle where
the phone was still off the hook. Her back was pressed against the
rough material and she instinctively tried to grasp the material
for safety. She felt around trying to find something to defend
herself with. She looked both ways and tried to take a quick step
around him so that she could run back to the hall. But Chad was
quicker. He grabbed her right arm hard enough to leave bruises and
shoved her back against the cubicle. His arms moved to pin her
against the cubicle while his body loomed over her. He pushed his
erection suggestively against her. She looked over his left
shoulder, back into the conference room where Bob was dragging the
dancer out of the room through the second doorway at the far end of
the conference room. Her toes were dragging the floor and tears
were streaking down her face. The other men had already scattered
like the cockroaches they were. No evidence of anyone being there
except the silver sequined bikini top lying on the floor of the
conference room.

Kenna turned and spat in Chad's face
as she started to struggle for all her worth. Chad's grip tightened
and it seemed his erection grew more as he started rubbing it
against her skirt. He used his hips to pin hers against the
cubicle. She let out a sob and he just laughed, "If I had known
you'd be so much fun, I would have fucked you like this two months
ago. Imagine all the fun we could have had. I guess I will just
settle for fucking you now. I think you'll like it. I can train you
to like it." Pulling her arms behind her so that they felt like
they would pop out of their sockets at any moment, he pinned her
wrists together so that he was holding them both in the same hand.
His other hand ripped open her suit coat as he reached up to the
top of her silk blouse and tore it down, exposing her ivory lace
bra.

"I think it's time to have a talk
about what a girlfriend's responsibilities are to her
boyfriend."

Kenna knew she couldn't back down. She
hoped the police were on their way and if she could just prevent
being raped a little longer, maybe Chad would be scared away by the
sirens. “Well, maybe you can have that talk with your bitch in
jail, because I think it's pretty safe to say I am no longer your
girlfriend. But then again, when I put you in jail, maybe you'll
like being the bitch." She said with anger boiling up to the
surface. She had taken self defense. She was a confident woman and
she could protect herself. She balled her hands into fists and
tested the movement of her legs. Unfortunately, her skirt was too
tight to allow her to kick him. Before she could test her range
further, Chad slammed her against the cubicle, lifting her feet off
the ground so that her Manolos fell off. Her head snapped backwards
as he repeatedly slammed her back.

"No one speaks to me like that, you
little bitch. I will just have to teach you a lesson." Chad lowered
her so her feet could once again touch the ground, and still
gripping his right arm, pulled back with his free hand and slapped
her hard across the face. Kenna's ears rang and she tasted blood in
her mouth. Now was not the time to lose it, she thought. She felt
his hand at the hem of her skirt, shoving it up around her
thighs.

She felt the head of his erection
probing for entrance when all of the sudden she heard, "Kenna,
where are you? You ready to leave yet?" Danielle was calling for
her. From the sound of her voice, she was moving down the hall
toward them.

Chad pressed his mouth to Kenna’s ear
and whispered, "I always wanted a threesome. Now I get to have you
both."

Kenna didn't think it was possible,
but she overcame the fear and flew straight into adrenalin fuelled
anger. When Chad shoved up her skirt, he had freed her legs. She
swung her leg back as far as she could and used momentum to
increase the power of her knee as it swung up to hit him in the
balls. He bent at the waist and lost his breath. She took full
advantage and threw another knee straight up. She heard the
satisfying sound of his nose breaking. He let go of her, so she
pulled her right hand back and swung with all she had downward to
land a punch on the left side of Chad's face.