Lana prided herself on being a professional. She always arrived early and stayed late. She did what was asked of her and beyond that of her duties. But that morning, everything went wrong. Her sleep wasn't much better, but she was a bit more rested when the alarm went off an hour later than she normally got up. When she arrived for work. Payut had her run around for inane things that angered her.
Lana was in the break room preparing Payut's coffee when Arthit came in.
"Hi," Lana said warily. She should have heeded to Payut's warning, but there was nothing between her and Arthit.
"Hi," Arthit replied. There were bags under his eyes from his drunken night. "Coffee?" he said looking behind her to the counter where the coffee maker sat.
"Still brewing," she replied. She looked away shyly.
"How are you feeling today?" he said.
"Better," she replied. "You? You don't look well."
"A restless night." He looked at her with longing. A few moment of awkward silence passed before he spoke again. "Why Payut and not me?" He didn't mean to blurt it out, but he wanted to know.
Lana looked down. "It's complicated."
"Did he force you to do something you didn't?" When she didn't respond, he went on. "I know my brother. He's doing this to make me miserable." He went over and took her hand. "Don't let him come between us if he's not the one you want."
Just when Lana removed her hand from Arthit's grasp, Payut showed up. The room filled with tension.
*********
Payut knew that he wasn't being fair to Lana, but being mean was what he knew best. He was punishing her for his encounter with his brother the previous night.
He felt somewhat guilty for punishing her unreasonably and so he planned to take her to lunch. When he couldn't find her at her desk, he checked in the break room. He remembered that he asked for coffee.
He walked into the break room just as Lana pulled her hand away. He saw red. His jaw clenched as he stared at the two.
Lana backed away, she blushed at being caught with Arthit.
Arthit turned to see who Lana was looking at.
"In my office Lana," he said.
Arthit noticed the harshness in his tone and wanted to protect Lana from his brother. "Look we were just talking."
Payut didn't respond to Arthit. He waited for Lana to proceed him from the room.
Payut had wanted to punch his brother, but followed Lana instead. He ignored the stares of the employees, too angry to care. Once they were in the privacy of his office, he shut the door and locked it.
Lana turned to look at him. Before she could get one word out, Payut had covered her lips with his. He had her up against the wall, struggling to break away from him. His body pressed up against hers, locking them in an intimate position.
Images of the night he took her flashed in her mind. She struggled even harder, but to no avail.
When Payut finally pulled away, Lana was feeling a panic attack come on. "Your mine."
"Your the nightmare that won't go away," she said.
He smiled at her. "It would do you some good to always remember that." He grabbed her chin. "Don't you ever let him touch you again." He grip tightened, hurting her. "If I see the two of you together again, I'd be more than happy to send you both to hell."
Lana knew he was serious and it scared her. She was a strong independent person with ambition, but he managed to break her.