Page 14 of Protected By Him

I nodded, even though I knew Leo wouldn't believe me.

"You sounded pretty upset on the phone earlier."

"I was fired, Leo." I’d blurted that out so quickly that I’d nearly interrupted him. It still felt surreal, the whole conversation with Harvey, the threats.

"I'm sorry. Why? What happened?" he asked, and just then, the bartender ambled over with a glass of sparkling water.

I eyed the cup with mild surprise.

Leo looked a little sheepish. "I have to pick up Ella later tonight," he explained as he brought the glass to his lips and took a sip.

I nodded, and he motioned for me to go ahead.

"Do you remember me telling you about what I overheard?"

"Yes, and I also remember telling you to stay out of it."

"This isn't a time for ‘I told you so,’ Leo," I said out of frustration.

"Okay, you are right. I am sorry. Please, go head."

"Mr. Harvey, whose conversation I'd overheard, fired me."

Leo furrowed his brows in a way I should not have considered cute. "Did he figure out you’d overheard him or did he get wind of your snooping?"

"I'm guessing he got wind of it. He wouldn't have fired me if I had simply kept my mouth shut."

Leo chuckled. "You're a reporter. Why would anyone expect you to ignore a possible headline story?"

"He is up to something fishy. He wouldn’t have fired me unless he was worried I was close to finding something."

"Did he say all this?" Leo asked. I could tell he was trying to make sense of everything.

"Not in so many words.” I looked down at my glass. "He told me he hoped I learned my lesson about sticking my nose where it didn’t belong."

"Did you record it?" Leo asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "No, I was caught off guard. I am rarely called into his office and was so nervous, I didn't even think about it. But he was so threatening. Now more than ever, I have to find out what is going on."

"It would have been pretty solid to have him on tape," Leo acknowledged as he took another sip of water.

"I know that now, dipwhit!" I said, using the moniker I’d so often used for Leo when we’d been kids. It had been my juvenile way of flirting with him. I didn't think he’d ever caught on to that, though.

Leo smiled. "I'll show you dipwhit,” he said as he tried to tickle my side playfully.

He stopped after a few tickles and turned my barstool to face him. "I do not know what to do, Leo," I confessed in a defeated voice. "I feel like he swept the rug out from under me, and I am toppling, just trying not to fall."

"We will figure this out. You are an amazing journalist, and I have never known anything to stop you before," Leo said in a reassuring voice.

I pressed my lips closed and thought long and hard. "Please don't tell Brandon any of this. I don't want him to worry."

I wasn't sure whether or not to be vulnerable with Leo. The way he’d acted toward me a few days ago and the things he’d said had me so confused. He still hadn't mentioned anything about that night. But this was Leo, and the only man I would have trusted more was Brandon.

"There's a lot going on at the moment," I vaguely answered. "Losing my job came at the worst time."

There was a pause, and I wasn't sure I could look at him. The last thing I wanted was to be pitied, especially by him.

I looked up to find Leo studying me with a thoughtful expression.

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