I sighed deeply and looked at her before saying, “He found me.”
“Joe?” she whispered. “He found you?”
“He attacked me last night when I was leaving the office,” I whispered, shuddering at the memory. “I barely managed to escape in time. If Gale hadn’t reached me that moment—”
“Gale? Your boss?” Erica asked, sitting down next to me.
“I ran out into the road to get away from Joe, and Gale nearly ran me over. It’s where I got the head bump from.”
I moved my bangs, revealed the grazed skin, and she gasped.
“Gale helped me and took me back to his place,” I said. “If he hadn’t been there, Erica, Joe would have me right now. I would be in his clutches.”
A shiver ran through me, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I thought about it. The reality of how close a call it had truly been started to sink in, and I felt my body heaving. I burst out crying as memories flashed through me. After all, I had been through, after managing to escape him – I couldn’t go back to him. I would rather die.
“Do you think he might track us here?” Erica whispered.
“He tracked down where I work,” I said. “How much longer before he finds our apartment?”
“I will see what I can do,” Erica said. “I will look for another job. I will do odd jobs, we will get the money—”
“Gale offered me a secure apartment,” I said. “He said he will deduct the money from my salary.”
“Oh, Hillary…” Erica said softly.
“We will move in there,” I said. “The rent will probably be nearly all of my salary, but that’s fine. Anything to escape him. And Gale has offered me a company car to make sure I don’t have to walk alone from work. But you—”
“I will make sure I don’t walk alone,” Erica said. “I’ll ask one of my friends to accompany me. I’ll be careful. And I will help with the rent. I might not be able to do much, but I will contribute however I can.”
I smiled at my friend and took her hand in mine.
“I am blessed to have such good friends,” I said.
“Good? I’m your best friend, honey,” she said with a smirk. “Don’t you ever forget that! Now, why do I have a feeling that you are hiding something from me?”
I groaned as I remembered once again the predicament I had gotten myself into. The things I had said to my boss. I couldn’t tell her that. She would never let it go. I would be the butt of her jokes for the rest of our lives.
“Nothing,” I said. “I’m going to be late for work.”
“Oh yeah, better go,” she said. “Don’t want your stuck up boss to have a reason to fire you. Even though he might not be as bad as we think. He did save you, and he is helping you. Maybe he’s a good person after all?”
I shook my head. It didn’t matter if he was a good person. It didn’t matter if his heart was as pure as the north cap ice. I couldn’t fall for him. Falling in love was too much hurt and too much pain. I couldn’t put myself through it all again.
Maybe this was a good idea. A nice, casual relationship. Just some harmless fun, and once we grew bored, we could move on. It might be unethical of me to sleep with the boss, but I wouldn’t ask for any special treatment.
Just fun. Right?
Chapter 12
All forFun
Gale Fears
“Why are the case files not on my desk?” I barked. “I told you I need everything ready for my meeting! Where is my coffee?”
“I’m on it, Mr. Fears!” she panted, running around my office.
“And why are you late?” I shouted after her.
