Page 62 of Between Here and There

“I can’t imagine doing all that again tomorrow,” she says.

A comfortable silence settles between us as she stretches her legs out, and I can’t help but glance down at her hands, wondering if she’d let me take over and give her a little break. I take a breath, and before I can second-guess it, I reach over and say, “You know, I’m a really good foot rub giver.”

“Really? Do you have, like, a long list of women to prove your point?” she says. Well, that backfired.

I chuckle. “Okay, fine. I’ve never done this before.”

“Oh, so I’m your first?” she teases, leaning back with a playful glint in her eyes, making my heartbeat quicken. She extends her feet over to me.

“Guess you are.” I lift her foot gently, pressing my thumbs into her arch, trying to mirror what she was doing. Her gaze softens, and as I work in silence, she lets out the softest moan, closing her eyes and relaxing a little more with each movement of my hands. This is not helping, why am I doing this?

“You’re not… terrible,” she murmurs, eyes still closed, a hint of a smile playing at her lips.

I laugh softly, hiding the nerves beneath it. “Thanks, I guess?”

“My last foot massage was months ago,” Emily says. “When I… quit my job. I thought I needed the pick-me-up.”

Emily pulls her feet away, saying she feels better now.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you quit? I’ve always been curious,” I say.

“Let’s just say Wall Street’s got its share of predators who think ‘boundaries’ are just suggestions.” She looks down, fidgeting her fingers.

A quiet anger starts to build in my chest. It shouldn’t have been like this for her. The thought of anyone making her feel unsafe—making her choose between her job and her dignity—tightens something inside me.

“That’s not fair,” I say. “You’re exceptional at what you do. A bunch of dumbasses don’t get to decide what your future should be.”

“Tell that to the guys at Titan,” she chuckles.

“Wait, did you say Titan? Titan Financial Group?” I ask, wide-eyed.

“Yeah, you’re familiar?” she asks.

“That’s where we outsource our accounting,” I say, trying to remember the last time I was in a financial report meeting. “I think the guy assigned to us is… Ben? Ben Davids?”

Emily’s eyes widen. Then tears are forming in her eyes.

“Em?” I ask as she wipes a tear off her cheek.

She shakes her head, her breath catching as she lets out a frustrated sigh. “Sorry, I—just… he’s… ugh.” She slumps back, her knees pulling up to her chest, her hands covering her face as if to hide from me, from the memory.

Without thinking, I move closer, sitting beside her on the floor, the soft fabric of the tent pressing against my back. I don’t want to crowd her, but I can’t stand seeing her like this. When she takes her hands off her face, she meets my gaze, her eyes heavy with unshed tears. “He’s a terrible person,” she says, voice breaking.

I put my hand on her knee, grounding her, my own anger simmering beneath the surface. “Do you want to talk about it?” I ask gently, my voice soft but steady.

She hesitates, looking down at her hands for a long moment. I see the conflict in her eyes, the uncertainty about whether or not to open up. I expect her to decline, to ask me to help her forget and escape, like she always does. But after what feels like an eternity, she finally nods, her voice barely above a whisper. “Yeah, I do.”

“Okay, before anything else, consider it done,” I say.

“What?”

“I won’t be working with Ben, he’s off our accounts. I can’t work with anyone who has caused you pain, Emily.”

“You’d do that for me?” She looks up with a smile.

“I honestly think that there’s nothing Iwouldn’tdo for you.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

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