Page 50 of Snowed In with the Bosses

Robbie sat across from me, her sketchpad in her lap. “Sure you’re okay? You went super pale, and your hands are shaking.”

“Fine.” I locked my hands together in my lap and prayed for my stomach to settle. “Tell me more about this project.”

Robbie launched into an in-depth tale of what the client wanted and how she was struggling to make it all come together. For her to be struggling after all I’d seen her accomplish, there must be more to the story. She set her elbow on my desk and leaned over her sketchpad. “I don’t like this guy, Clara. He gives me the creeps. I keep trying to avoid spending time with him.”

“Tell someone.” I met her eyes, hoping to give her courage. “Do you want me to mention it for you?”

“Would you?” She picked at the edge of the paper. “I can’t keep putting off the real design, but he’s already said, demanded really, that we meet in person to go over the details.”

“Give me until the end of the day. I’ll get something done.” No way in hell I’d let anyone take advantage of their position. Robbie was a hard nut to crack. If she was uncomfortable dealing with this guy, he must be a real sleazeball. “Donotmeet with him. I don’t care what he says.”

Relief released the crease in her forehead. “Thanks.”

“Hey. We’re a team. You can always come to me with this stuff.” I cast a quick look around. “And you should tell Mr. Thorne about this guy. If he’s making female employees uncomfortable, he needs to know.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Robbie shot a look over my shoulder. “They’ve been real good about keeping the creeps out of this place.”

Allan. She had to be talking about Allan. I understood her frustration. Allan was a menace, but because no one could prove he’d done anything wrong and he had a long work history with the company, he kept getting away with his stupid remarks and unnecessary touching.

Robbie’s desk phone rang. She made a face and stood. “That’s probably him.”

“Remember what I said.” I held up a warning finger. “Under no circumstances should you be alone with him.”

Her grateful smile slipped away as her steps carried her back to her desk, where she sank into her chair and slumped toward the phone. Pencils scratched on paper and keys clacked. All around me, people went about their day, either not knowing or not caring what others were going through. I’d always tried to be present for others, to make sure they felt heard the way I needed. I’d thought they heard me—Alexander, Ethan, and Liam—but it seemed they were more concerned with progress than employee safety.

Maybe I was being too hard on them, but my emotions and feelings were valid. They deserved to be heard and actions taken.

My phone dinged with a text message. I swept the phone up and tapped the screen.

You can’t hide what you did.

Cold chills slithered down my spine, my veins turning to ice. I leaped to my feet and bolted to the women's bathroom in the hallway.

My stomach emptied, but my head swam with the full extent of the threat. Did I show Ethan the text? He’d ignored the last one and shunted aside my worries about Allan. What assurance did I have that he’d pay attention this time? Once my stomach stopped churning, I cleaned up and returned to my desk.

All I wanted was to lay my head down and sleep. Instead, I picked up my stylus and focused on the drawing pad where my designs came to life. My vision swam, and I thumbed the edges of my eyes until they cleared.

“Are you okay?” Allan rolled his chair over, bumping up against my side.

I angled my elbow so I remained out of reach and doodled on the blank page. “Ever had food poisoning?”

“Once.” He almost sounded sympathetic. Almost. There was a coldness in him that pricked my skin and made me want to run from the room. “It was rough.” He set his elbow on my arm rest, his hand coming to rest on my shoulder. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Back the fuck off before I puke on you.” I knocked his hand away. “Stop touching me. I won’t warn you again.” I locked eyes with him, a shudder threatening at the gleam in his eyes. “Next time you put any part of you close to me, I’ll break it off. Understand?”

His cutting laugh spread through the room, oozing like oil and coating everything it touched. The sound said he didn’t believe me. That there was nothing I could do to stop him.

23

ALEXANDER

Whatever was bothering Clara turned me inside out. I’d tried talking to her several times at work, but she always brushed me off, all of us. Even Liam, with his quick wit and laughter, struggled to get a smile from Clara. I’d never seen her sullen or repressed, but she’d been both in the last two weeks.

Ever since her bout of food poisoning, things had changed. I paced back and forth across my office. It smelled like her after our latest meeting. She’d sat in her chair, poised and completely in control.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was avoiding us. Hell, maybe I didn’t know better and shewasavoiding us. Nothing else made sense. The room closed in around me. I stopped pacing and grabbed her chair, sinking my fingers into the fabric where her body heat remained. Heat swept up my hands, and I dug my fingers in deeper.

“What the hell was that?” Ethan stalked into the office, his hair mussed from running his hands through it, and his tie hung crooked.

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