They Mocked The Wrong Man

0004

The morning sun cast long shadows across the Langford Technologies parking lot as Marcus stepped out of Raymond's Mercedes. The building looked different now. Smaller somehow. Less intimidating.

"Are you certain about this?" Raymond asked from the driver's seat.

"I need to get my things." Marcus's voice was steady. "My mother's locket. Some photos. They're still in my locker."

"I can send someone."

"No." Marcus met his eyes. "I need to do this myself."

Raymond nodded slowly. "The bouncer will accompany you."

"That won't be necessary."

With those words Marcus left. He wasn't ready to reveal his identity yet, at least not until he got a grasp of everything. His enemies and that of his father could still be lurking somewhere. 

Whispers followed in his wake.

"That's him."

"The guy from the video."

"He got Vince sent to the hospital."

"I heard his wife was sleeping with Mr. Langford for months."

Marcus kept his eyes forward. 

"Marcus?"

He turned. Jessica Park stood in the doorway of the medical office, her nurse's uniform crisp and clean. Her face showed concern, genuine and unguarded.

"Jessica." He managed a small smile. She was one of the few people in this building who'd treated him like a human being. When he'd cut his hand on broken glass last month, she'd bandaged it carefully and hadn't asked questions about how it happened.

"I heard what happened." She approached slowly, as if he might bolt. "With Vanessa. And Mr. Langford. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be."

"No, I am. What she did to you was horrible. No one deserves that kind of betrayal." Her eyes were troubled. "I saw them together once. Months ago. In the parking garage. I thought about telling you, but I convinced myself I was mistaken, that it wasn't my place, that maybe I'd misunderstood what I was seeing." She twisted her hands together. "I was a coward. And you deserved better than that."

Marcus felt a strange calm wash over him. A week ago, this revelation would have destroyed him further. Now, it was just another piece of a puzzle he'd already solved.

"You weren't a coward, Jessica. You were kind. That's different." He touched her shoulder briefly. "Thank you for that. For being kind when nobody else was."

Her eyes glistened. "What will you do now? Did you find another job? If you need a reference, I can..."

"That's very kind of you, but..."

"Well, well, well!" A voice sliced through the moment like a blade. "Look who crawled back!"

Marcus turned. Derek strode down the corridor, his designer suit pristine, his hair gelled to perfection. Behind him followed Mark Chen and David Liu, two junior executives who always laughed at Derek's jokes, no matter how cruel.

Derek's eyes landed on Jessica, and his smile widened. He'd been pursuing her for months, everyone knew it. She'd rejected him three times.

"Jessica, darling." Derek's voice dripped with false charm. "Why are you wasting your time talking to the trash? Didn't anyone tell you garbage day was yesterday?"

Mark and David snickered.

Jessica's face tightened. "Derek, don't..."

"Don't what? State facts?" Derek sauntered closer, clearly enjoying having an audience. "Marcus, here is yesterday's news. Washed up and finished."

Jessica's face flushed with anger. "That's disgusting, Derek. He's going through a divorce. Have some compassion."

"Compassion?" Derek's eyes gleamed. "For him? Jessica, sweetheart, I'm trying to protect you. You're a beautiful, intelligent woman. You work in healthcare. You save lives. You shouldn't be contaminating yourself by breathing the same air as this failure."

"Stop it," Jessica said firmly.

"No, no, let me educate you about Marcus Hayes." Derek began counting on his fingers. "Failed businessman, failed husband, failed man and his own wife couldn't stand being poor with him. She chose a real man. A successful man. Can you blame her?"

Marcus's jaw clenched. The bouncer shifted slightly, but Marcus raised his hand, signaling him to wait.

"Are you finished?" Marcus asked.

"Finished? I'm just getting started!" Derek was on a roll now, feeding off Mark and David's laughter, showing off for Jessica. "Since you're here, Marcus, make yourself useful." He lifted his right foot. "My shoe came untied in the parking lot. Get down on your knees and fix it."

The corridor went dead silent.

Jessica gasped. "Derek, you can't be serious."

"Isn't he the messenger?"

"Administrative!!!" She added.

"Who cares, he's trash and has been leeching on the company doing nothing. He should as well clean my shoes."

A small crowd had instantly gathered. All of them watching. All of them waited to see him humiliated one more time.

Derek sensed victory. He always could smell weakness. "I'm waiting, Marcus or I will make you get fired if you aren't already!"

Marcus batted a brow so calmly and responded in a way that caused Derek's blood to rush through his vines.

"How can you fire someone that owns this place?”