Page 38 of Falling for Them

The Christmas party? I tried to remember that night, but it was a bit of a blur, mainly because I’d gotten into yet another argument with my father over what a fuck-up I was.

“I don’t remember, but I don’t fuck men… and I would never fuck you.” What I left unsaid was that the one time I did fuck a man, it ended up biting me in the ass—no pun intended.

He rolled his eyes. “Jesus, you really are a piece of shit, aren’t you? Did you forget that you fucked Ryker’s sister last night?”

The way he chose to refer to Libby immediately put me on guard, and I pushed away from my desk. “You wouldn’t.”

He shrugged. “If I feel like my best friend is being taken advantage of, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”

Why was this man so damn infuriating? “I’m not taking advantage of her; I can guarantee you that.”

“Yet you let her go out to lunch with another man who was flirting with her at lunch last weekend?” He shook his head. “Not caring shows exactly how you felt about last night.”

“You need to leave before I make you leave.” I adjusted my tie. “Now.”

The asshole threw his head back and laughed.

It triggered a flash of a memory buried somewhere in my mind. One of him laughing the same way as I sat next to him at the hotel bar, shot glasses spread out in front of us like we’d been drinking water and not tequila.

I tried to imagine it—me and him stumbling up to the hotel room I always had on standby—but it was hard to picture given how he had been treating me.

“This is the last time I’ll tell you to keep your hands and your dick away from her.” He turned to leave and ran right into Libby.

Chapter 14

Crossing the Line

Libby

What in the world had I walked in on? I’d been looking forward to getting back to the office but had stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Ethan’s tall frame filling Leo’s doorway.

Why was my best friend threatening my boss?

A boss that I now knew he was very aware that I had slept with.

My stomach twisted, and I found myself angry instead of upset. How dare Ethan shut me out and ignore me all night and morning and then march into my place of work to threaten Leo.

Ethan turned to leave, his eyes widening in surprise. “Uh, hi.”

I didn’t have any words for him, so I did what any mature twenty-six-year-old would do and went to my office. There was a time and place for personal discussions, and in the middle of the office on my first day was not it.

“Libby! Wait!” Ethan was right on my heels, and he didn’t let me shut the door on him. “He’s taking advantage of you, and I can’t let-”

I wheeled around, pointing my finger at him. “You have no right to barge into my sex life! Especially at work!”

He looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry. I snapped and… don’t be angry with me. I was trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting.” I sat down heavily in my chair, opening my laptop even though I knew it was going to be a while before I calmed down enough to focus. “I have work to do, so if you could shut my door on your way out, that would be great.”

“Libby-”

“Leave!” My voice cracked and tears welled in my eyes. “Please, just leave, Ethan,” I whispered.

He stood there for another few seconds before sighing and shutting the door softly behind him. The words on my laptop screen blurred as my tears threatened to spill over. What the hell was happening to my life?

He’s in love with you.

A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat, but I swallowed it down. This wasn’t funny; it was a disaster.

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