Smirking, he grabs his phone, switches on the screen and shows me the headline. The room spins dizzyingly around me, and I finally sit because the alternative is to risk collapsing. There’s a photo of Jase and me on the front page of a tabloid magazine. The headline suggests that he slept with me to get himself out of a tight situation. I clutch my stomach, tasting bile in the back of my throat.
“I—”
“I don’t care what you have to say for yourself.” He tucks the phone away. “The evidence is clear.” Leaning forward, he puts his palms on my desk, towering over me. My hands are trembling and I slide them beneath my thighs so he can’t see. “I thought you were better than that, Lena.”
He’s loving this. Being able to lord it over me. I can’t believe I gave him the ammunition to do it.
“It didn’t interfere with my job,” I say weakly.
“Are you really stupid enough to think that matters?” He raises a brow. “You’ve called the reputation of this firm into question.”
Oh, God. This is actually happening. I’m going to lose my job. Panic lances through me. My career is all I have. If I lose that, what will I do? Go crawling back to my parents?
Never.
“The only way you’re ever going to have a future at this firm is if you fix this within the next twenty-four hours.” He tweaks his tie, and his tone is deceptively casual. “Even then, I’m uncertain whether we’ll be able to overlook your indiscretion.”
My shoulders slump. I’ve given Adrian exactly what he wants. A way to keep me under his thumb forever, or get rid of me. Did he ever actually have any intention of letting me choose my own clients? Or would he have kept stringing me along even if I’d pulled this off without a hitch and kept my hands off Jase’s muscular body?
Leaning back in my chair, I look up at him. His plump cheeks are flushed with victory. “Did you ever plan to let me choose my own clients?”
He seems taken aback by the question. Then he shrugs. “Not really, truth be told. You’re too valuable where you are.”
His betrayal is like an icy needle to the heart. I pinch the bridge of my nose and drag in a slow, deep breath, trying to keep myself together. But you know what? Fuck that. Why shouldn’t I tell this piece of human garbage exactly what I think of him? I’ll be miserable if I stay here—which may not even be an option—and based on the tabloid he showed me, I’d say my reputation is shot to hell all over the city. Why not have a little fun burning my bridges?
I stand, and with a single motion, sweep nearly everything from my desk onto the floor, missing the laptop by a hair. A dozen tiny crashes sound in the space between us and the color blanches from Adrian’s face. Stalking around the desk, I put my painful heels to good use and look down my nose at him.
“Don’t bother firing me. I quit.” A pressure lifts from my chest. “Fuck, that feels good.” Smiling, I say it again. “I quit, Adrian. Effective immediately.” Grabbing my bag from the floor, I sling it over my shoulder. “Good luck finding a replacement.”
Then I march from the room, adding an extra sassy sway to my hips because I feel like a goddamn boss bitch. One who has no job, an apartment she can’t afford, and is about to bail her man out of jail.
“Lena, wait!” Adrian calls after me.
I don’t stop. Dimly, I’m aware of clapping as I pass through a series of cubicles, and Breanna catcalls and whistles. I don’t meet her eyes because I’m not a hundred percent sure what I’m doing, and if I stop, Adrian might catch up to me. I’m not going to let him talk me into anything. I’m done making other people look good. It’s time I do something for myself.
Look out, Las Vegas. Lena LaFontaine is a free agent, and I’m coming to take what’s mine.
* * *
With three phone calls,I find out where Jase is being held, and with another, I arrange a deal with a bail bondsman. Then I’m on my way. Clenching the steering wheel harder than needed, I try to check my panic. Only last night, Jase held me while I slept. Now he’s in a cell. This is a nightmare. He’s supposed to be training. Being arrested and detained is the last thing he needs, and he certainly doesn’t deserve it.
I find a park, hurry into the precinct and make my way to the appropriate desk. “I’m here to post bail for Jase Rawlins,” I tell the woman behind the counter.
She looks at me over the top of her glasses, and raises a brow like she doesn’t approve of what she sees. I don’t care. All I care about is getting him the hell out of here.
“And who might you be?” she asks.
“I’m his girlfriend.”
Her brows knit together. “I thought his girlfriend was the one who filed the charges.”
She’s read the papers. Go figure. “That’s hisex-girlfriend.”
“Oh, honey.” She shakes her head at me. “No amount of fame or money is worth being knocked around. Take the opportunity to get out.”
I suck in a deep breath and release it slowly, reminding myself she doesn’t have all the facts. “Can I pay the bail now?”
Pushing her glasses up her nose, she checks something on the screen. “That will be ten grand.”
