Page 65 of Playing Flirty

“By whom?” Her eyes were so wide that she looked more afraid than I was.

“Jeffrey Markham.” I said his name as clearly as possible, but it came out sounding more like a squeak.

Louisa stared at me for what felt like a lifetime—so long I wasn’t even sure she’d heard me. Then an expression of dread poured over her face, and I knew she had.

“Can you tell me what happened?” she asked.

I told her everything, and the more I spoke, the sillier I felt. He hadn’t done anything. Patrick had warned me not to go to HR, yet here I sat with a mouthful ofhe called me pretty.

“Thank you, Rose. I know that was hard.” She pursed her lips together, her eyes joyless. “We’ll investigate the matter.”

“What happens now?” I brought my thumb to my lips and bit at the cuticle.

“I’ll talk to Mr. Markham, and I’ll probably need to talk to you again. It’s best if the two of you avoid each other as much as possible.”

The reality of her words washed over me. My mind and heart raced, and my entire body clenched.

“So…” My voice heightened in panic. “I still have to deal with him? Here? Every day until you, or whoever, believes me?”

Fresh tears pricked behind my eyelids, this time fueled with fury.

“May I suggest you take a few days off?”

I shook my head. “I have so much work. I can’t afford to.”

The sympathy in her eyes incited new waves of anger, and I needed to get out of there. I stood and left before she could say anything else.

When I reached our cubicle, Shaun glanced at me.

“I don’t feel well,” I mumbled. “I think I’ll take a sick day.”

He scratched his head, concern covering his features. “You never take sick days.”

“I never get sick. But I am now,” I said, and with the swirling emotions in my body, it didn’t feel like a lie. I was sick with frustration. I started packing up my things. “Can you cover forme? I need you to attend one meeting. I’ll take my laptop with me for all the others.”

As luck would have it, Mr. Markham zoomed down the corridor, avoiding my gaze. My stomach roiled like I might see my breakfast again.

“Let me take you.” Shaun stood, his hand going to his pocket for his keys.

“You have to attend my meeting in five minutes.” I leaned forward and squeezed his arm. “I’m okay. You don’t have to be nice to me all the time.”

“Oh, you think I’m doing this for you? No, my fiancée will kill me if she knows you took the bus,” he teased, pulling out his phone.

I turned around and shoved my laptop into my backpack while he mumbled into his phone.

“Hey, could you come and get Rose and take her home? Straight home. Yeah, at work. Now. Right now.” He hung up and turned to me. “William will be here in a minute.”

“William? I thought you called Neema.”

“Neema didn’t answer, and Lincoln’s stuck on site in the middle of nowhere. That leaves William.” He studied me. “That okay?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

Shaun scrutinized my expression, and I left, wanting to escape this building with no destination in mind.

The hum of a familiar car pulled up next to me, and an even more familiar voice carried through the open window.

“Did you decide to make a run for it instead of letting me give you a ride?” William leaned across and opened the passenger door from inside.

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