by Willow Aster
I nod and smile at Jack, trying not to grit my teeth. I’ll bide my time with Arwin a little longer. Hopefully, I’ve taught him a lesson.
Jack taps on the doorjamb twice more. “I’ll see you at the meeting later on?”
“You know I’ll be the first one there after you meet with the partners.” I grin.
“Glad I taught you to be punctual,” he says, grinning back.
I get lost in paperwork for a while and pick at a muffin. When my office door shuts firmly, I look up, startled.
Arwin stands there with his pompous, smarmy face, looking down at me. He crosses his arms and I notice the splint around not one, but two of his fingers. I can’t help but get a rush of satisfaction at that. I position myself at my desk, one foot out to the side and my chair pushed back where I can get to the door quickly if I need to.
“I left my door open for a reason,” I say.
His face turns a brighter shade of red. He leans over my desk and I stare up at him, unflinching. “I told Jack what a good job you did in court,” he says.
“I heard.”
“I can just as easily tell him that it was you who did this to my hand.”
“Go ahead. Say it now, why don’t you.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Say what exactly?”
“Say what a good job I did in court and then what I did to your hand. Use my name, please.”
He gets a sick twist out of me saying please and smirks. “You did a great job in court, Emma.” He does a fake bow and I wave my hand for him to keep going. “And then you were a very naughty girl and hurt my hand.”
I do a full body shudder again. The man is a filthy swine. “Yes, and I can tell Jack that you’ve been harassing me since I started working here with your comments and demands … and a couple of days ago, your threats.”
He sneers and I want to smack it right off his face. “It would be your word against mine. No one would believe you. The way you walk around here in those short skirts and heels,” he points at my chest, “with your tits hanging out at all hours of the day. You really think anyone would believe you over me?” He laughs and leans even closer to my face. “I’ve decided I’m tired of playing nice. I’ve changed my mind—you need to pay me back for the damage you’ve caused.” He holds up his bandaged hand. “Dinner tonight, my place. Wife’s out of town and Daddy wants to play.”
My face curls up in disgust. “Daddy wants to play? Arwin Swim, you are the most revolting man I’ve ever met.”
His eyes widen because even though I slammed his hand against my desk the other day, I didn’t tell him what a piece of shit I think he is.
He reaches out and grabs my shoulder and shakes me. I shove him back and stand up, moving toward the door and opening it wide.
“Get out of my office, Arwin. There is no way on God’s green earth that I will ever get anywhere near your tiny peen, no matter how many times you suggest it.”
He looks out the door to see if anyone has heard that and stalks toward me. He stops when he gets to the open doorway.
“This isn’t over,” he says.
“Oh, it very much is. Get. Out.”
His eyes narrow on me and maybe I should be afraid, but I’m not. Any power he’s had over me is long gone.
Still, I’m shaking when I sit back down at my desk. I pick up my phone and tap quickly before sending a text to Mya.
It’s done. I’ve set things in motion.
She texts right back. OMG. So cloak and dagger. I GD love it. You were supposed to count me in though! What have you done?
I grin and tap the top of my desk. I have a lot to do before this afternoon’s meeting. Don’t worry. Just getting started. ;) I do a little shimmy.
Remind me not to get on your bad side.
I set my phone aside and get back to work. I’ll need to play this just right.
I spend the next two hours buried in trial files. There’s a knock on my open door, and Aidan Willoughby stands there smiling. It’s impossible not to laugh every time my coworker smiles, because of Jesse’s past obsession with his teeth. The man does have a killer set of pearly whites.
“Hey, what’s up?” I ask.
He glides through the door and drops to sit in the chair across from me.
“Have you heard what’s going around the office today?”
“Ooooh, no. Do tell,” I say, and my heart starts to race as I wonder if he’s heard rumors of what I did to Arwin after he grabbed me. I wonder if people in the office are suspicious that the man came into my office today and closed the door. The way everyone is in one another’s business, I’m surprised they haven’t all noticed the way the man has harassed me over the past few months.
“Would you ever guess Arwin to be a badass?” He leans back in his chair and folds his hands behind his head.
“That’s a definite no. A sleazebag, yes. A badass? Not in a million years,” I hiss, unable to hide my disdain.
Aidan, Paige, and Heidi are all my friends, much more than just coworkers, yet I haven’t shared all of the gory details about Arwin with anyone but Mya. I don’t want to be known as the shit stirrer. As the girl who can’t handle a senior partner who hits on her.
Not yet.
“Well, prepare yourself for the shock of your life,” he says, leaning forward with a wide grin on his face.
“What?” I’m on edge. I wouldn’t put anything past Arwin, and I realize that I’ve given him too much control to twist this however he wishes. I’m not playing with a rational or honest person. This is not a level playing field and I need to act quickly.
“I know the man is highly annoying, but damn, he just came into the breakroom. Heidi, Paige, and I were grabbing some coffee. Have you seen his hand? The two broken fingers?”
“Yes. What about them?” My voice has an edge to it and I try to mask my discomfort.
“He and his wife were jumped two nights ago. That’s why he wasn’t here yesterday. He wasn’t ready to share the story with anyone until today ... until he came to grips with what happened.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. He took them both on. Protected his wife in a very Rambo-esque manner. He referenced Rambo, is the only reason I say that—I’ve never actually seen that movie. Man, I never would have guessed the dude had it in him. But he kept his wife behind him and fought them both off. He’s lucky he walked away with only two broken fingers, but he said he’s fairly certain the two guys that jumped them are both in the hospital because apparently he kicked their ass.”
I roll my eyes because I can’t help myself. “Arwin? Seriously? You’re buying this?”
“Yes. He gave a pretty detailed story. He said he didn’t know he had it in him either, but it was a fight-or-flight reaction.” Aidan is shaking his head with disbelief, and I want to tell him right now what a lying piece of crap on a cracker that son of a bitch is. But I’m not there just yet.
“Fight-or-flight my ass. That weasel would not defend anyone but himself. I’m not buying it.”
“He does have the two broken fingers,” Aidan says with a shrug.
“You’re a lawyer, for God’s sake. Can’t you see through a bullshit story when it’s right in front of you?” I hiss, and now I’m pacing around the room.
What if he sells his brand of crazy to Jack? What if he twists what he’s been doing to me in the same way?
“I don’t know, Em. The guy seemed to be traumatized by the whole thing. Hell, he didn’t come to work yesterday. He said his wife is calling him a hero.”
A hero?
What the actual hell.
Arwin … Swim your way into the pits of hell. You will not walk away a hero.
Over my dead body.
I’ll break every one of his damn fingers before he gets to spin this in his favor.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Spence
Waking up with Emma on my lips is the best fucking way to start my day. But I’m on edge, because she still didn’t tell me exactly what happe
ned with that dickhead Arwin. I’m drawn to her because of her desire to be independent, but at the same time, it scares the shit out of me. She won’t come to me for help. She’s still holding back.
There’s one person that I’m fairly certain can help me figure out what to do.
I open the door to Kingsley’s Auto Shop and Little Joe greets me.
“Big Spence. What’s up?” He high-fives me and gives me one of those half-bro hugs.
“Not much. Just wanted to talk to Sam if he’s around.”
The place is nuts. Everyone is hustling around and the garage is full with cars up on lifts, as well as on the ground. The clanking of tools hitting the floor and high-powered drills fill the air around me.
“Yeah, he’s over here.” He leads the way. “Man, is this the talk?”
“The talk?”
“Are you asking permission for something?” He pauses and looks at me with one brow raised. “You know? To marry our girl?”
I choke out a laugh that turns into a coughing fit. I pound my chest. It’s not far-fetched. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and I’d marry Emma today if I thought that’s what she wanted. But it’s funny as hell to see his face turn bright red at the mention of it.
“Nah. Not that I’d mind doing that at all. But we aren’t there yet.”
She’s not there yet.
“She’s a tough little nut, that one. Stubborn as hell. Bossy too. But there’s a sappy woman beneath all that. I’m sure you know that. She’s the absolute best person I know. But if you tell her I said that, I’ll be forced to kill you.”
“Is there a reason everyone is always threatening to kill me?” I snort.
“If you’re good to our girl, no one will have a problem with you,” he says.
“Working on it.”
“Well, if it isn’t jump the fence, Spence. What’s up, big man?” Fish slaps me on the shoulder.
“Not much. Just in the neighborhood and thought I might catch Sam for a minute.”
He studies me. “All right. I’m sure he can sneak away for a minute. How’s our girl?”
“She’s great.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” he says.
“King,” Little Joe calls out for Sam. “You’ve got a visitor.”
“Ah … it’s handyman Taylor,” Stinky Pete says, as he pulls me into a hug. I never know what they’re going to call me, and it’s entertaining as all get-out. “How you doing, brother?”
“Really well,” I say, as Sam wipes his hand on a towel and walks my way.
“Everything okay? Emma all right?” I don’t miss the panic in his voice.
“Yeah, I think so. I just wanted to see if I could talk to you for a minute.”
Fish whistles. “It sounds serious.”
Little Joe hustles them all away, and Sam leads me to the other side of the garage, opening the door to a small office. I’ve never been here, but I’m thankful that we’ll have some privacy.
“What’s going on?” he asks, before shutting the door and sitting at his desk, while I take the chair across from him.
I’m suddenly not sure this was a good idea. I don’t want to betray Emma, but I don’t want to fail her either.
It’s not an option.
“I just didn’t know who else to talk to. Emma would be pissed to know I’m here.” I fold my hands in my lap and meet his gaze.
“This can stay between us,” he says.
I nod. “There’s a guy at the office who’s been giving Em a hard time.”
He clears his throat and leans forward. His eyes harden and I don’t miss the way he clenches his jaw.
“A hard time? She told you this?”
I run a hand down my face. “This is where it gets tricky, and it’s the reason I’m here. She didn’t tell me everything, not the worst of it at least. Mya told Jesse, who told me. I couldn’t tell Emma that I knew, but I got her to open up a little. She just said she had it under control.”
“And you don’t think she does? Does Jack know this is going on?”
“No. She’s only told Mya. She’s talked about this guy before and I’ve met him—complete jackass—and she told me a little bit of it last night, but she withheld some pretty big shit. And I don’t know what to do. I’m really worried about her. He’s a senior partner.”
“Motherfucker. Why wouldn’t she go to Jack?”
“She says she doesn’t want to be known for that. She wants to show that she can handle her own shit.”
Sam moves back to sit in his chair.
“What did you find out that she didn’t tell you? How bad is it?”
I let out a long breath. I’m at a loss on how to proceed. Her dad loves her and I trust him.
“He grabbed her ass. She apparently pounded on his hand which was resting on the desk, and he ran off. But the fact that he touched her—” I pause now and move to my feet. My blood is boiling. The thought of the scumbag touching her makes me want to punch a hole through the wall.
“Jesus. And she doesn’t know that you know? She didn’t tell you that he touched her?”
“Nope. She just said he was annoying but that she had it under control. I’m fucking pissed and I don’t know what to do about it.”
He studies me, and I drop back down in the chair across from him.
“You really love her, don’t you?” he asks.
“I do.”
“She’s not easy, but I promise you she’s worth the fight. Hell, my daughter’s got more walls up than I do. She’s stubborn as hell and determined to prove she doesn’t need anyone. So, I don’t know that she’s ever going to ask for help. But if you believe she’s in danger, I think you’ve got to take matters into your own hands. She won’t like it. But I’ve pissed Emma off more times than I can count. She’ll come around.”
I nod. This is what I needed to hear. “All right. I hoped you’d say that. I need to talk to Jack. He needs to be aware of who he has working there.”
“Agreed.” He picks up his phone and types something out and hits send. “I just sent Jack a text that you need to speak to him privately, and you’re on your way.”
I push to my feet and he does the same. His phone vibrates and he looks down at the screen. “He’s got thirty minutes before a meeting, and he’s waiting for you now.”
I glance at my watch. Emma will probably be leaving for lunch in a few minutes, so I might be able to get in without her trying to stop me.
“All right. I’m on my way.”
“You’re doing the right thing. Thanks for loving my girl.” He pulls me in for a hug. It’s different from how he’s hugged me before. He claps me on the shoulder and walks me out. “Keep me posted. And Spence—” he calls out.
“Yeah?” I say, when I pull my car door open.
“If you weren’t going there, I’d be on my way there now.”
“Thanks, Sam. I appreciate your help with this.”
I drive to Emma’s office and I have an ache in the pit of my stomach. I don’t want to think about how she’ll react to me interfering. But if she isn’t going to report him, I have no choice but to get involved.
My phone vibrates as I park the car, and I see Emma’s name on the screen. Hey. I have lots to tell you tonight. Just at lunch now, but I will fill you in later.
I stop for a minute. Maybe she already talked to Jack.
Did you talk to Jack?
No. But I’m taking care of it.
The fuck she is. I tuck my phone in my pocket and take the elevator up to the top floor. When I step off, that piece of shit, Arwin is standing there waiting to step on.
“Ah, the boyfriend.” He holds his hand out to me like we’re fucking buddies, and I zone in on the two finger splints. Well, fuck me.
Atta girl.
I’ve never been more proud. She pounded the fucker, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a few injured fingers for this guy to back off. I surprise myself when I reach for his hand and squeeze so hard,
he gasps.
“Damn straight I’m the fucking boyfriend. Don’t you forget it.” I want to knock him out. Give him a good ass-kicking. But I stop myself. I don’t want to embarrass Emma, and I don’t want to give Arwin an opportunity to play victim. I want him to get what he deserves, and Jack is the only man who can make sure that happens.
“Ahhhh,” he whines when I walk away.
Jack meets me at the front desk and leads me back to his office. “Does Emma know you’re here?”
“Nope,” I say, keeping my voice even.
He shuts the door, and I don’t miss the concern when he shakes my hand and meets my gaze. “What’s going on?”
He moves to sit at his desk and I take the chair across from him.
“There’s a situation here that I think you need to be made aware of. Emma’s too stubborn and too hell-bent on handling it herself to ask for help, so I’m here on her behalf.”
He narrows his gaze, and there’s a deep wrinkle between his brows. “What type of situation are we talking about?”
I proceed to tell him everything that I know. I make him aware that there’s probably so much more that I don’t even know. But the bottom line is, a senior partner touched her inappropriately after her making it very clear that she wasn’t interested. I tell him that she pounded his hand on the desk, and I was fairly certain that’s the reason he was wearing two splints on his fingers.
“Jesus Christ.” He moves to his feet and runs a hand through his hair. “This fucking guy.”
I nod. “He’s a fucking creeper, Jack.”
He moves to the bar area in his office and grabs two water bottles out of the refrigerator and hands me one.
“I can’t believe she didn’t tell me. I know he isn’t a good husband. And terrible to women. Miranda keeps me appraised of some of this, although I don’t think she knows about all this. But to harass Emma, knowing she’s my family? He’s a sick fuck.”
“Agreed.”
“You did the right thing coming here. Why the hell didn’t she tell me?”
“She’ll be pissed I’m here. You know Emma. She wants to handle everything on her own,” I say, taking a long sip of water as I think about what I’ve done and how angry she is going to be. I’d still do it all over again. The asshole isn’t going to stop. Hell, he just greeted me at the elevator like we were old friends. He has no shame. No boundaries. And clearly no moral compass.