Page 92 of Forever With You

Fatigue crept back up on me Tuesday during work and stayed throughout Wednesday and into Thursday.

So when I had to haul an armload of the new desk calendars to the supply room, I wanted to take breaks. Maybe even a nap halfway there, between two empty cubicles. No one would notice.

According to all the pregnancy related stuff I’d looked at, exhaustion was fairly common, but I hadn’t thought it would bethisbad. All I wanted to do was sleep.

As I neared the supply room, an overwhelming scent smacked me in the nose. Heavy cologne. Ugh.

Rick was nearby.

I rolled my eyes as I pushed open the door to the supply room with my hip and stepped inside. What I saw—­what Iheard—­nearly knocked me flat on my rear.

“I saidstop—­”

Rick was in the room, but he wasn’t alone. His back was to me, and I could barely see who he practically had pinned against the shelf with his massive body, but I saw her small hands push at his chest. I heard him laugh like it was a joke. Skin along the back of my neck crawled.

“What in the actual fuck?” I said.

Jerking back a step, Rick whirled around, his already ruddy face turning about three shades of red. A small form darted out between him and the shelf. Jillian’s face was pale as her gaze connected with mine. She tugged on the hem of her thick sweater.

“It’s not what you think,” Rick said, swinging toward Jillian. “Tell her it’s not what—­”

I stepped forward, prepared to whack Rick over the head with the heap of calendars. I was pretty sure that what I saw and what I heard was exactly what I thought. “Jillian, go get Mr. Bowser.”

Rick looked like he was about to stroke out.

“D-­Dad said I c-­could grab some Post-­it notes,” Jillian explained, her brown eyes wide. Her lower lip trembled. “That’s all I was doing and he—­”

“Jillian, go get Mr. Bowsernow.”

“I wasn’t doing anything,” Rick said, puffing up his chest. “I was just talking to her.”

My hands tightened around the edges of the calendars as Jillian stopped beside me, her cheeks flushing pink. “You were not trying to talk to me, you asshole.”

Rick opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “Please get Mr. Bowser,” I said to her.

Jillian darted out of the room as I kept an eye on Rick. Fury rose in me, but so did another bitter, acidic emotion. I knew he was a creep of the highest order, but I hadn’t known he was this bad. I should’ve reported him to Marcus the moment he had been inappropriate with me.

“Fuck,” he grunted, moving as if he was going to come at me.

I held my ground. “You take one step toward me and I swear to God I will kick your balls so hard they’ll end up in your throat.”

He blanched.

“You are such a creep,” I said, anger lancing my words. “Such a fucking creep—­astupid, fucking creep. The boss’s daughter?” I shook my head. Andrew was going to ninja kill him.

And it appeared like Rick also realized that, because the blood drained out of his face. A second later Marcus appeared in the doorway. I turned to him as I placed the calendars against the wall. “I walked in on this asshole—­”

“Jillian told me,” Marcus interrupted, his voice scarily calm. “Stephanie, would you please leave the room. Rick and I need to speak before he gathers his belongs and gets the fuck out of this building.”

Oh. Oh wow.

I left the room with a quickness.

Jillian was waiting in the otherwise empty hallway, her eyes glassy as I approached her. Her hands were twisted together. “Thank y-­you for coming in. He followed m-­me in there and I ...” She trailed off, pressing her lips together.

I stopped in front of her, keeping my voice low. “Are you okay, Jillian? Did he hurt you?”

“No.” She gave a quick jerk of her head.

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