Page 47 of Degrading Her

Once I was inside, I immediately got a text from Erica.

Are you okay?she typed.

Of course I was; why wouldn’t I be? I put down the phone without replying. Maybe a shower would refresh me, or even remind me I was Fiona Ross, not Sawyer Feldman’s plaything.

But was being his playthingthatbad? He respected me, didn’t he?

As soon as I stepped out of the shower, my phone rang: Erica.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Girl, areyouokay?” she asked.

I inhaled deeply, thinking of him. “I’m fine. It’s nothing,” I said, knowing that the last part was a lie. “He’s investigating that company, I guess.”

“And did you find anything?”

“Anything I found, he already knew.”

“Which means,” she paused for dramatic effect, “that he was doing it to get closerto you,Fi. You know that, right?”

My phone dinged. “Hold on,” I said. I checked my phone’s screen. I clicked the notification: an email from an unknown source.

We are contacting you regarding your relationship with Sawyer Feldman. This is an official warning. Do not make any more contact with him, or we will be forced to take action.

My heart raced, perspiration lacing my skin. What the hell was this?

“I’ve gotta go,” I said.

“What? Why?” Erica asked.

“Nothing.” I made up an excuse: “I’ve got a date planned with my sister. I’m running late.”

“Before you go—” Erica scrambled, “—trust me on this. If he’s creeping on you like that, he likes you. And you need to be careful around him.”

My forehead throbbed. Just when I thought I finally had a handle on Sawyer, Erica wanted to have this conversation?

“Why?” I asked, my words clipped.

“He’s rich, right? Powerful men like that are dangerous. I just—” she paused, “—I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

I rolled my eyes. This was annoying. First the email. Now, this?

But deep down, I knew there was some truth to what she was saying. He purchased multiple computers like it was nothing. An entire floor of an office building was dedicated to his business. Guards followed him around almost constantly. And he had beaten up that man at the nightclub until he was barely conscious.

The truth was I had no idea what Sawyer was capable of. And that scared me.

“I gotta go,” I said.

“Fi, wait?—”

I hung up and walked over to my bed, plopping down on the mattress. There was some dry spaghetti and a can of sauce in the pantry, but I had lost my appetite.

Do not make any more contact with him.

We will be forced to take action.

This is an official warning.

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