“No, I don’t think so.”
“Go on, Emmaline. Have another drink.” His mustache twitched when he grinned. “I’ll catch up to you soon.”
“I’ll think about it when I finish this one.”
“Ah, come on girl, live a little.”
I had never interacted with Dr. Stone outside of work. He seemed so stiff and formal at the clinic. The phrase “professional distance” was an understatement when it came to him. He barely interacted with anyone if it wasn’t necessary. This side of him, encouraging me to drink, seemed like a totally different person.
“I’m good for now, thank you,” I said with my politest smile. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
His smile dropped as if disappointed. “Okay, then. Straight to business it is.” Joey placed his martini in front of him, and after a sip of his drink, Dr. Stone gave me a solemn look. “Look, Emmaline. You’re a more-than-capable vet. You’ve busted your ass, and the clinic has thrived since you’ve started. Anyone can see how passionate and hardworking you are.”
“Um, thank you.” I shifted nervously in my seat. All of that sounded like high praise to me. So he was either softening me up before firing me, or he really was about to give me good news.
“I’ve spoken with the board and they’ve agreed that we need more vets on staff. So I talked them into rearranging the budget for us to employ another resident.”
My heart drummed wildly, and I could hardly breathe. This was better news than I ever imagined. “Are you serious?”
Dr. Stone smiled, something gleaming in his eyes. “You’re our top candidate, naturally. But seeing as the hiring is up to me, I have some...conditions.”
I nodded, swallowing nervously. Here was where he was going to lay into me about releasing the wolf, on top of refusing to sedate said wolf. I’d take whatever consequences there were—reduced pay, anything. Considering forging a signature was illegal and he was offering me a job instead of filing a police report, I was thanking all my lucky stars right then.
That was until Dr. Stone placed his hand on my knee.
And kept it there.
“We’ll have to be discreet.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, leaning entirely too close to me. “No one at the office can know. But give me this,” he gave my knee a small squeeze and bile rose up in my throat, “and all the trouble you’ve caused in the past week will disappear. Plus, you’ll be in charge of the clinic when I’m not there.”
I was struck dumb by what was happening, what I was hearing. He was so close to me, I could feel his breath on my cheek. And he would not let go of my fucking leg.
“What about your wife?” I managed to stammer.
The other Dr. Stone, this pervert’s wife, was considered a hero in the vet community. Technically, both husband and wife owned the clinic, but she was always traveling with different nonprofit groups that did huge animal rescue operations. Last I heard, she was overseas somewhere helping dogs that were saved from a meat farm.
Meanwhile, her husband scoffed dismissively before taking another drink. “You know how it is. She’s never around. It gets lonely sometimes.”
Up until now, I was disbelieving almost to the point of disassociation. But reality hit me then, as solid as this disgusting man’s hand on my leg.
“Dr. Stone.” I forced my voice to not shake and tried to inject all of my will into my words. “I am not sleeping with you. Not for a job or any reason.”
“Oh, come on.” He huffed like I was the one being ridiculous. “Stacey’s had affairs, I’ve had my fair share of ‘em. It’s not a big deal.”
“Get your hand off me.” I shoved his hand away and swung my legs to the side as I slid out of the barstool.
Just then, I felt a huge looming presence at my back, and Dr. Stone’s eyes went wide. His gaze traveled up, way over my head.
Behind me, Tryn growled. “She told you no. So get the fuck out of here before you don’t have hands to touch anyone with.”
Chapter 6
Emmaline
Dr. Stone scowled at the threat, but Tryn didn’t back down. If anything, he loomed closer. He didn’t touch me, but I felt the bank of heat from his body against my back.
If I were him, I wouldn’t be threatened by Dr. Stone’s look either. It was like a terrier staring down a wolf.
“You must not be from around here,” my boss blustered. “If you were, you’d know better than to threaten me. Do you know who I am?”