Life was good.
Even if this was a little blip on the radar.
I’d finally earned my MBA, and Devlin had accepted that he could take a step back without the company floundering—that meant he only worked sixty hours a week now and not eighty.
I considered it a major win.
On top of that, Devlin had decided that the only way Astley Publishing was going to sit up and evolve from this was—and I still couldn’t quite get over it—for me to sue them.
That case I’d won, and my bank account now bulged but it wouldn’t for long. I’d already donated five million to foundations that gave back to people who were exactly like me—waiting on a justice system that would always fail them.
As a result of the civil suit which I’d won eighteen months ago, Astley Publishing had gone through a major revamp, with the executives being fired, and the HR department being made to go through training to ensure what had happened with Rhode and Robert Llewelyn could never, and would never, go down again. On top of that, more staff had been hired to offset the too-long working hours that made each day a struggle, and encouraged antagonistic behavior between employees.
All those changes were because of me.
He’d worked hard for me.
But we’d lost this, and I knew it would hit him worse than it would me, simply because he cared so much.
“We knew it was a possibility,” I told him softly.
His face screwed up with his disgust. “Goddamn jury tampering, evidence fixing—and we were the ones accused of falsifying that video footage! I swear, I’ll sue the state. This isn’t the end of it.”
“Her rep is like mud. No one will hire her,” I tried to comfort him.
But there was little comfort to be found because today’s ‘Not Guilty’ saw a sexual predator roaming the streets once more. Nothing about that was right or just.
“Like she’s short on cash. Her family just bought this case for her,” he snarled, shoving his hands through his hair like he could tug it out at the roots.
A movement in the doorway caught my attention, but I quickly shooed my hands at her as Clarice popped her head around the door to see what was happening.
She pulled a face, but retreated quickly—who could blame her? Devlin in a temper was a ferocious thing to behold. Sexy too. Well, it was if you weren’t related to him.
Clarice and Harold had been staying with us while he underwent some radical therapy. I wasn’t certain if Harold was holding on simply to make sure he’d live long enough for us to get a surrogate, or if he was just as stubborn as Devlin promised all Astleys were.
Either way, his temper was already volatile as a result of their staying with us. It didn’t matter that they had one end of our home in the Hamptons and we had the other—Devlin required a city between them.
I wasn’t even sure if that was enough, because while we’d taken to staying at the Park Avenue apartment to stop him from strangling his father, the threat of madness still lingered in his eyes when Harold stayed here with us on his treatment days and spoke about his favorite subject—heirs and spares.
It was getting to be a bit like a terrible song on repeat, but for whatever reason, I could tune it out where Devlin just couldn’t.
“Devlin?” I asked softly, touched that he was so angry, loving him for his bitterness on my behalf.
He scowled at me. “It isn’t fucking fair. I knew I should have bribed the judge. She clearly did.”
“We’ll work something out.”
“What? Tell me how we can make this better.
“Poor Lizzie, Robert’s poor family. Christ. How they’re going to deal with this is beyond me. Their settlement was more blood money. Not the justice I promised them.” Yes, he’d instigated a suit on the Llewelyn family’s behalf too. Not just for me.
How couldn’t I love this man when it was so fucking easy?
He rubbed his brow, his shoulders wriggling in that way I knew meant a migraine was incoming, and spying that, I got to my feet so I could go and rub them for him.
Grabbing his hand, I dragged him over to the desk chair that he’d nearly hurled across the room when he’d gotten the call about the jury’s verdict. I’d chosen not to be in court today, because I’d had a feeling it would go this way and it wouldn’t have done my mental health any good to see that smug smile I still endured in my nightmares.
Even though he could have gone without me, and I wouldn’t have stopped him, he’d chosen to be with me instead. I knew I loved him more for that too.
As he plunked himself down in his chair, I shoved him over the office floor until he was back at his desk, then I started to rub his shoulders.
Pressing a kiss to his head, I murmured, “She’ll slip up. Someone else will get hurt. And we’ll make sure that when that happens, we’re backing their case.”
“We shouldn’t have to do that. The fucking law and order in this country is a joke.”
“You and I both know how hard it is for sexual assault victims to find justice,” I soothed, well aware that I should be the one raging and he should be the one calming me down.
But that was his love for me.
He took my pain, owned it, and in that mix, it trebled in size until it was larger than Rhode Island.
His hands tightened into balled fists. “I hate it.”
Leaning down, I rested my chin on his head. “I hate it too. We should hate it.”
“It isn’t fair,” he raged again.
“No, it isn’t.” I sighed. “Devlin?”
“What?” he snarled.
“Will you marry me?”
He froze, then twisted his head up to look at me. “You’re asking me now?” he spluttered. “After this?”
My lips twitched as he whirled around fast enough to almost collide with me but I jumped back in the nick of time.
“I love you,” I said with a shrug.
“So? You loved me yesterday,” he grumbled. “Couldn’t you have thought of a better time to ask me to marry you? I mean, the answer’s yes, but timing, Micah. Timing. For God’s sake, didn’t they teach you anything in that MBA?”
I grinned at him. “They taught me plenty.”
And he knew that, because though it was from the ground up, I was back at Astley Publishing, just in the PR department this time.
People could have hated me for suing the company, but mostly they were just grateful to have more staff around. And, I thought, a lot of the staff were very happy to see Rhode get fired. She’d made a lot of enemies along the way—and here was me hoping she’d make a lot more that would keep her busy and out of our path.
“But marriage proposals are supposed to be spontaneous,” I informed him. “This is spontaneous.”
“Not after a jury’s verdict comes in,” he retorted with a huff, and he looked so cute, all growly and pissed that I leaned over and kissed him.
Like usual, the kiss worked wonders.
And not for the first time since his parents had come to stay, I resented that open office door...
Afterword
Roofagra is as much of a ‘thing’ as Roofies are.
I hate, hate, hate that these drugs exist, and I hate that what Micah goes through is something so many people have to go through on a daily basis. To add insult to injury, so often, like Micah and Robert, sexual assault survivors find no justice.
To those who have endured, my love to you.
And to those of you like Micah, whose parents reject them:
WE love YOU and are so PROUD of you for being true to yourself. May you find your Devlin. <3
To fans who recognized a certain Kurt Jenner and a Sawyer Bennett, well… I hope you enjoyed the Easter egg! :D
If you don’t know who they are, they’re characters from the Quintessence collection. :) It’s a complete trilogy that starts here: www.books2read.com/TheQuintessenceCollection
And finally, forgive me the hubris of being one of Micah’s favorite authors. LOL. My mum suggested it, and I couldn�
�t resist. :P
Much love to you all, and thank you for your support. If you enjoyed THE INTERN, would you please consider leaving an honest review on Amazon? It would mean the world to me.
Thank you. <3
Serena
xoxo
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Secrets & Lies is now free!
Meg’s love life was missing a spark until she discovered her need to be dominated. When her fiancé shared the same kink, she thought all her birthdays had come at once, and then she came to learn their relationship was one big fat lie.
Gabe has loved Meg for years, watching her from afar, and always wishing he’d been the one to date her first and not his brother. When he has the chance to have Meg in his bed—even better, tied to it—it’s an opportunity he can’t refuse.
With disastrous consequences.
Can Gabe make Meg realize she’s the one woman he’s always wanted? But once secrets and lies have wormed their way into a relationship, is it impossible to establish the firm base of trust needed between lovers, and more importantly, between sub and Sir…?
This story features orgasm control in a BDSM setting.
Secrets & Lies is now free!
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About the Author
I'm a romance novelaholic and I won't touch a book unless I know there's a happy ending. This addiction is what made me craft stories that suit my voracious need for raunchy romance. I love twists and unexpected turns, and my novels all contain sexy guys, dark humor, and hot AF love scenes.
I write MF, menage, and reverse harem (also known as why choose romance,) in both contemporary and paranormal. Some of my stories are darker than others, but I can promise you one thing, you will always get the happy ending your heart needs!
The Intern: An MM Office Romance Page 26