Page 96 of Devious Temptation
No wonder you didn’t want me getting my claws into him. You’d already sunk yours in. Seriously, though, what happened is fucked. I’m sorry. :(
I don’t reply to anyone, but I listen to the voicemail from HQ requesting a call with them tomorrow to discuss the situation. They sound apologetic and assure me the video has been removed from the company server.
But I know they can’t guarantee no one downloaded it to their personal devices beforehand.
With that last thought, I roll over and curl into the fetal position, hugging my elephant pillow to my chest. I run my fingers over the lace on my duvet. The scratchy, worn material is comforting in this time of distress.
I wish I could go back in time and say no to Lawson filming us.
“Some fucking fantasy.”
“We completely understandwhy you would be hesitant to return, but we want you to know we are on your side. Mr. Morgan has been terminated, and if you’re not comfortable returning to the Chicago office, we are willing to pay to relocate you wherever you’d like to go.”
I stare at my phone, plucking the beads on my elephant pillow as a random HR lady tells me the very thing I feared—that Lawson would lose his job over this.
“It wasn’t his fault.” My voice is small, unsure.
I hate it. It’s not me. But it’s what this gross invasion of privacy has done. Ifeelsmall, like the HR lady is probably just saying all of this because the company wants to cover their bases, not because they genuinely care about the life of an assistant.
“Mr. Morgan took full responsibility. He said he’s been in contact with your family, but if you’d like, we can certainly step in and help handle any legal action you wish to take.”
So he didn’t tell them it was Rhys.
Why does that hurt so much?
Sighing, I flop back on my bed. “Thank you, but I do not wish to take legal action at this time. I also don’t want to remain with the company. Please consider the verbal resignation I gave yesterday as my official statement. And please add to it that I would like Lawson reinstated. He doesn’t deserve to lose his job.”
“Miss Bradee?—”
“Thank you for your call. Have a nice day,” I tell her curtly before hanging up.
A soft knock sounds at my door, and I know it’s my mom before she even peeks her head in. Knowing her, she was probably outside listening in on the conversation.
“Can I come in?”
I don’t say anything but nod my head, rolling to my side. She sits in the space next to me, running her hands through my hair like she’s done since I was a little girl. We sit in silence for a while before she releases a long breath.
“When I envisioned your future, this is not what I wanted for you, Lucy.”
“He’s good to me, Mom. He cares about me. Isn’tthatwhat you want for me? Someone who will take care of me and still encourage me to do all the things I love?”
“Yes, sweetheart. I do want those things for you. But what I’m seeing right now is a broken woman who has had a very horrific thing happen to her, and that man is nowhere to be found.” I can hear the tears in her voice and, in turn, my own swell.
I’ve cried so much over the last two days that I figured I’d run out by now.
“You ran himoff with talk of jail time, Mom. What did you expect?”
“For him to fight for you.” Her statement jars me. I turn to see her staring across my room at a random spot on the wall. “I think I’ve always known there was something there. Call it a mother’s intuition. When you were younger, I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to assume that this nice man was a predator, and I told myself I wouldn’t say or do anything until he gave me a reason to or until I noticed a significant change in you that would signify any sort of assault.”
Hearing her speak about Lawson like this gives me goosebumps. Never has he ever given off those types of vibes, so I wonder what exactly it was about our interactions that made her feel that way.
“Neither of those things ever came. So I chalked it up to being overprotective.” She looks down at my unbound locks and smiles. “But then I did see a change. As soon as Lawson returned, I watched you light up like the Rockefeller Christmas tree. And seeing you two on the Fourth of July… you were glowing, Lucy. And I told myself maybe it wouldn’t besobad if something were to happen. But I figured you would at least be honest about it, that he would have the decency to come to your father and me and talk about it. I did not, in a million years, think that something like this would happen and that when things got tough, he would leave you to take care of the mess on your own.”
“That isn’t what he’s doing! I’m sure this is excruciating for him. Rhys and he have always had a rocky relationship, Mom.” I sit up, wiping the dried tears from my cheeks. “This is probably the biggest decision he’s ever had to makein his life. He loves me. I know he does. But Rhys is hisson.”
“And sometimes you have to let your kids fall on their swords for them to learn a lesson!”
“That is so unfair. How many times have you bailed Liam out? How many times have you put him in rehab—expensive rehab—and then when he fucks up again, you just tell him it will be okay, and you’ll find another program?” As much as I love my brother, I need my mother to hear how ridiculous she’s being.
