Page 71 of The Naughty Elf

“One of the men took her innocent flirting the wrong way and assumed he had the right to manhandle her. Which he did not. He certainly knows that now.”

“Innocent flirting. What are you saying about my daughter?” His step closer promises violence.

“Bennett, listen to me—that’s what I’m trying to say. We wanted her to feel comfortable on the job and be herself. Theflirting is adorable, obviously put on to have fun, and we had no issues up until now. Everyone knew the boundaries.”

“Until today.”

I sigh. “Yes. Until today. He’s been fired. We filed a police report. And he will be blacklisted.”

“Oh, you bet your ass he will be. If I don’t feed him to the pigs myself.”

I open my mouth to talk him down, but the front door opens, and we all turn to Ginger.

She’s in an oversized sweatshirt—mine, in fact—and pajama pants. Her hair is wet around her shoulders, and her skin ispink from the shower. Her eyes are swollen, and her nose is red from crying.

Everything inside of me aches to go and wrap her up against me. To ensure she’s safe.

Bennett is the one to do that, stalking over to her like a bear and pulling her against his chest. She looks so small next to him. Usually, her big personality takes up so much more space.

He bends to kiss the top of her hair and whispers something for only her to hear.

A shudder runs through her, but she nods.

She finally looks at the three of us. “Come inside.”

Bennett ushers her in, and we follow, slowly, cautiously. As long as we’ve been waiting for her to let us in, it feels like we’re intruding. Once her father has her on the couch, he sits on the coffee table across from her, holding her hands. “Tell me what happened.”

She sucks in a quivering breath and shakes her head.

“Whatever it is. You are not to blame.”

“They already told you. I could hear from the other side of the door.” Ginger sunk in on herself a little more. She looked so young, and I have to remind myself that she really is.

Ashley wipes a hand down his face and covers his mouth as he takes in the scene. Sawyer makes himself useful, going to the kitchen, refilling her kettle, and heating it up on the stove.

Ginger squeezes her dad’s hands. “It’s too jumbled up in my head. And I don’t want to talk about it.”

She glances up at me, shock and sadness muting the bright blue of her eyes. I step closer, finding the arm of the couch and lowering myself onto it.

“You heard us, so that means you’ve also heard us say that Kaleb has been fired. He’s been reported. And he’ll never work in the industry again. At least not in this state.” Fuck, I want to reach for her hand, to send a reassuring touch down her arm.

Her eyes are focused on the far end of the room. “Yes.”

“Everyone at work respects you. Not one of the men there thinks the same way as that fuckwit. Okay?” I bend to catch her gaze again. It’s difficult, but I do.

She blinks at me a few times and nods.

“I’m serious. Not one of them thinks that way. Not one of them would ever disrespect you.”

Another wavering breath but no answer.

“You hear me? They all respect you.”

“I’m not coming back.” The bland blankness of her voice is a knife to my heart. And it’s punctuated by the kettle’s whistle.

Bennett frowns at me, and we both lean back when Sawyer brings her a mug of tea. She takes it slowly, bringing it higher to breathe in the steam. The softest light shines in her again as she looks at him.

“Thank you.”

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