“Again, my attorneys are better and more expensive.”
I sat up further, suspicious that what she was about to tell me would piss me off.
Rubbing her wrist, she said, “He made a pass at me.” A slash of anger turned my vision crimson. “We were working late, which wasn’t abnormal, but I’d never given it much thought. We’d been working closely for years. He came behind me and put his hands on my hips and tried to push me onto the desk, saying I’d been flirting with him for years and he was ready to take me up on the invitation.” She shivered, but the fire raging through me had me heated.
“I broke away, smacked him, and ran from the office. I hid in the lobby, shaking until I had no choice but to return since I’d left everything in my office. Security took me up and let me back onto the floor. He was gone by that time.” She pushed a strand of hair back. “I gave my notice the next morning, and he slapped me with the NDA, saying he would smear my name and never give me a recommendation if I didn’t sign it.”
And his recommendation had been glowing. No wonder he’d stopped by my office. He was checking on her to make sure she hadn’t broken the agreement. My teeth ground as I thought of what I wanted to do to the man. I wasn’t violent, but the thoughts were enough to let me know I could be.
“What did he do to your wrist?” I asked, taking her hand and gently caressing the soft skin around her wrist.
“He grabbed it when I broke free. I had bruises for a week. Only when I smacked him did he let go.”
I let my head fall against the seat. Power and money made men expect they could get away with anything. I’d seen it too often, and many of the companies I’d bought up had been owned by assholes like Bradman.
“You can’t do anything, Gabe. Besides, it brought us back together.” That truth still didn’t make what he’d done acceptable. “Forget about it.”
I turned her to me. “You can’t forget about it, so I won’t. He’ll pay. Trust me. I’ll find a way to make him pay.”
Cerulean blue set against the night sky had my anger calming. Her fingers draped over my jaw, soothing the tension. “It’s late. We should get back.”
Nodding, I helped her stand, taking her hand and drawing her in for another kiss. Hesitation turned to hunger, but recognizing it made me keep the kiss short. Until there was no hesitation, no question, I would take it slow. Because the day it faded, there would be no holding me back.
Quiet encompassed the ride home. Tori fell asleep within minutes, and I used the drive to think through the Bradman dilemma until I had a plan. With my mind calming, I looked over at Tori, the corroded chambers of my heart healing with every minute more she was in my presence. She stirred, her hand slipping, and I spied the engagement ring on her right finger. While not on the correct hand, it was a ray of hope that I might remove it one day and place it where it needed to be. I’d heldonto it, keeping it and the flower with me as a reminder of what I’d lost. And now I had her back. A tightness took over my chest, and I looked out at the road, unsure of what the future held but confident Tori would be in it.
“Tori,” I nudged her awake as I pulled into my spot in the garage.
Dusty eyes peeked open before she rubbed them.
“We’re back,” I told her, climbing out of the car and opening her door for her.
“That was fast,” she said with a yawn.
Laughing, I kissed her on the head, saying, “Maybe for you, sleepyhead.”
“Did I sleep the entire ride?”
“Yeah. It was cute. Especially the line of drool I wiped from your chin.”
Her jaw went slack before she gave me a mock hit. “You did not.”
I drew her into me, feeling more like myself than I had in years. Relaxed again, unburdened, happy. “No, I didn’t, but you were still cute.”
Grasping my face, she dragged my mouth to hers. Her smile continued through the kiss and remained when I tipped my head back.
“Ready to see if my sister lost our son?” I asked, loving the way it felt to say he was ours.
“Yeah.”
I took her hand, closing the door for her and leading her to the elevators.
“She isn’t really that bad, is she?”
Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t know that Liv has a maternal bone in her body. She hates kids, but he is her nephew, so there’s a higher probability he’s still safe.”
An elbow in my side accompanied the opening of the elevator doors. We found Liv sound asleep on the couch, with the television still running in the background. I left her there while Tori checked on Reid.
“She looks too comfortable to wake,” Tori said. “Leave her there. I’ll wake her in the morning.”
