Page 96 of Captivated By You

“Yes. Before he joined Kingcaid, he managed a small boutique hotel on the other side of the city. Fresh out of college, it was my first job, and a lot of my friends who’d graduated with me were struggling to find work. I considered myself hugely fortunate.

“It wasn’t long before Simon’s attention turned to me, and we began seeing each other. I thought he was it, you know, the real deal. The love of my life.”

I laughed, the tinge of bitterness impossible to hide.

“One night, his brother decided he’d quite like a piece of the action, and he made a pass at me. When I told Simon, he believed his brother over me. I ended it, and the next day, he retaliated by firing me without cause.”

“Oh my God. That’s awful.”

“It took me three years to find another position at Kingcaid. They offered me an internship at their Seattle property, and I moved there a few months ago. I had no idea Simon worked for the company until I returned here with the CEO to visit the Chicago hotel, where he ended up firing Simon for poor performance, which, I won’t lie, delighted me.”

No need to tell her the entire story, or about my relationship with Ash.Cliffs Notesworked just as well.

“I thought that was the end of it, that I’d never see him again, but it seems Simon has upped his game in relation to retaliating against those he thinks have wronged him.”

I swallowed, the rawness of his vindictiveness clawing at my chest.

“Simon had filmed us having sex without my knowledge, and as payback for losing his job, which he blamed me for, he uploaded the video to the internet and then sent the link to everyone dear to me.”

Jessica’s chin almost hit the floor. Whatever she’d been expecting, that wasn’t it. I watched her closely. The way her eyes flitted about, the skin bunched at the edges. The cookie she’d turned into crumbs. The pained expression and clenched fists. The beads of sweat dotting her brow.

“Jessica.”

I waited until her manic gaze met mine.

“Why did you leave the hotel?”

She disintegrated right before my eyes, just like the cookie. Her body folded inward, and she curled her arms around her middle as if she was afraid her guts were going to spill out.

I stood, shifted my chair around to her side of the table, and put my arm around her thin, shaking shoulders. She sank into me, her entire body trembling. It took several minutes before she gathered herself, and by then, I already knew what had happened. Or I could make a pretty accurate guess, at least.

“He fired me, too.” She ran both palms over her blotched face. “After he got bored with me, he broke things off, then fired me. I told him I was going to report him to HR. That was when he… when he…”

“When he threatened to release a video of you, right?”

Her strangled sob tore at my heartstrings. She was only a few years younger than me, yet she seemed like a terrified little kid.

“I’m going to the police.”

She licked her lips. “When?”

“Now. Today. What he did to me is a felony, and I won’t let him get away with it. I doubt we’re the only ones, but I don’t know how to contact the other women. I found out you’d left the hotel during the visit with the CEO I mentioned. One of the waiters told me he thought you and Simon had been in a relationship. After Simon released the video of us, I hazarded a guess that you might be in the same position, and I didn’t want you blindsided by the police. Not if I had the power to warn you first. That’s why I asked Johannes to find out who you were and contact you on my behalf.”

“What do you think will happen?”

“I’m no expert in law enforcement, but I would expect they’ll arrest him and question him, search his apartment, maybe. Confiscate his laptop, phone, that kind of thing. And I know this is going to be awful. Strangers, even if they are police officers, looking at those recordings.” My throat closed up at the thought of it. “But I refuse to allow that man to do to someone else, someone like you, what he’s done to me.”

Jessica paused for a few seconds, then rose to her feet. My heart stuttered.She’s leaving.And then she dashed away her tears, straightened her shoulders, and reached out to grasp my hand.

“Let’s go get him, Kiana.”

“You’re coming with me?” The idea of this timid young woman standing with me in solidarity wasn’t something I’d expected. Nor would I have ever asked her to accompany me. But her offer caused hot tears to sting the backs of my eyes. Ever since I’d decided to report Simon’s crime against me, I’d dreaded going alone yet had been determined not to lean on my family, or Ash, for support. Oh, they’d give it, willingly, but this was something I had to do by myself.

Jessica, though, was a different prospect. She was a potential victim, too, and that somehow contrasted, in my head at least. Sisterhood sticking together and standing up to Simon’s heinous acts, rather than weakling female relying on her family, her friends, or her man to prop her up.

I blinked away my tears before they had a chance to fall and smiled. “Then let’s go.”

Chapter28

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