May

May ran after Erik, following him towards the front doors, though he was much too fast for her to match pace with him in heels.

“Mr. Clayton!” she called after him.

He was still on the phone and seemed to be ignoring her completely, likely pretending not to hear her just so he could get out of the office again. Erik soon reached the street curb and stopped to signal for a taxi. May used this delay as an opportunity to finally catch up, and when she reached him, she grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket.

“Mr. Clayton, where are you going?” she demanded. “You can’t just keep taking off whenever you feel like it!”

He turned back to her with eyes full of annoyance and confusion. “What are you talking about? Let go!”

“Only after you tell me where you’re going and when you’ll be back.”

Erik paused with a look of utter indignation. “Who do you think you are, my mother? I don’t have to tell you anything!”

May puffed out her chest and faced the notorious playboy head on. “For the time being, I’m your business partner, Erik. So, if you’re leaving in the middle of work, the least you could do is give me a heads up or explain what’s going on.”

He scoffed and shook her hand off. Then he paused to shoot her a cruel smile. “Well, to me, you look more like a desperate lover trying to cling to a man who is on his way to take care of something more important than her.”

She gasped as a streak of red washed across her face. She immediately let go of his jacket as Erik looked away without remorse to answer his phone again. May didn’t know why, but somehow this moment of embarrassment reminded her of the day that James decided to break up with her. No matter how kind his voice sounded, nor how gently he spoke, the words she heard that day left her feeling broken and ashamed. And now, Erik Clayton, a man she had absolutely no attachment to, had managed to rekindle those long-buried emotions.

“Yeah, I’m on my way,” Erik said. “Don’t worry, everything’s going to be alright. I’ll handle the rest when I get there.”

May took a step back and watched as he tried once more to flag down a cab. She supposed it didn’t matter if he had a real emergency to take care of, or if he was lying, because she had no intention of collaborating with him anymore. Sadly, she realized she could probably kiss that triple pay offer goodbye. But she wasn’t a quitter, so she would just have to put in the work to save Mr. Clayton’s company all by herself. What Erik decided to do with the business after that wouldn’t be any of her concern.

“I know, Amanda, but you have to calm down. Just take a few deep breaths,” Erik said, speaking softly into the phone.

May looked up and saw a taxi pulling over on the other side of the street. The driver waved at Erik to come over, and he did, not even giving May a second glance as he looked both ways and prepared to walk out into the street. She likewise turned to walk away, choosing to head back inside rather than watch him as he left. But something unexpected caught May’s attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed another car coming down the street. It was dark red and going much faster than the other cars around it, even though there was a crosswalk for the employees right in front of the building.

Thankfully, everyone was finished with their lunch breaks by now, which meant there shouldn’t be anyone out at this time.

…wait!

Despite running in heels, May managed to bring herself within range of Erik within two or three seconds. Then, she launched herself off the ground, aiming her body right for his back. She hadn’t bothered to see where the car was now, but her ears could hear that it was close, perhaps even moving too fast for either of them to escape.

May crashed into Erik with everything she had, catching him completely off guard. As expected, she managed to knock him off balance and push him forward a bit. But, knowing that wouldn’t be enough, May grabbed onto his jacket with both hands, and using her momentum, she pulled him down towards the ground with her, propelling them just far enough to make it past the marker in the middle of the road.

May hadn’t stopped to think about the consequences of ramming into someone at full speed before inevitably hitting the ground. Without warning, her head smacked against the concrete right as a loud engine rode by. Intense pain washed over her, followed by numbness.

May could hear Erik’s voice in the distance, but she could hardly make out what he was saying, or what her own eyes were seeing. Heck, she couldn’t even tell if the two of them had been hit! Everything was starting to blur, and her senses felt like they were dimming. If this were a pool or a lake, she would worry that she might be drowning, but seeing as this was a two-way street in the middle of the city, May knew that she was either becoming unconscious, or dying at the hands of a reckless driver behind the wheel of a red sports car.