“Roger! What are you doing in here?” I spun around, my back pressed up against the sink. The office had been empty, except for a couple of assistants who had been eating at their desks. Where had he come from?
“I saw you run in here upset and wanted to make sure you were alright.” He took a step closer, and my heart lurched in my chest.
“I’m fine, just had an upset stomach.”
He took one more step, bringing us within inches of one another. “You’ve been crying. You don’t have to hide from me if you’re upset. Let me help you.” He reached out and pulled me into his arms. My body went rigid against his unwelcome touch.
“Roger, please don’t,” I said as I tried to push my way out of his hold.
“No one else is here—you don’t have to pretend.”
Pretend? What the hell was he talking about?“I’m not pretending anything.” A flood of liquid fear rocketed through my veins as Roger maneuvered me against the cold tile wall. “Get away from me,” I hissed as I tried to free my hands from between us.
“I see the way you’re constantly flaunting yourself, trying to get my attention. You can’t tease me forever.” He thrust his erection against my belly and fumbled to lift my skirt to my hips. He wasn’t a large man, but he had still managed to overpower me.
I sucked in a breath to scream for help, but his sweaty palm clamped over my mouth before I could get a sound out. I tried to shake my head, to deny his claims, to deny this could be happening right there in my own office, but it didn’t help. Roger spun me around so that my stomach and the side of my face were plastered against the wall, hisbody pressed against mine, one hand still heavy over my mouth.
“You want me to have some of this, don’t you?” his whispered close to my ear, making me wrench my head as far away as I could move it. “Yeah, you can pretend to play hard to get, but I know what you want.” His hand snaked around between my stomach and the wall before inching down to cup my sex, his bony finger pressing against my opening through the thin barrier of my panties.
Rage leaked from my eyes in the form of helpless tears. Regret sat bitter on my tongue as I faced the fact I had allowed this to happen by not filing a complaint or telling my father. Fear shook my entire body, stealing the air from my lungs and making me weaker than I was already.
I grew up in this building, visiting my dad at his office. This was supposed to be a safe place. This was my other home. Now it was ruined, violated by this man who was about to do the same to me. My head swam from lack of oxygen, and I wondered if it might be better to pass out and not remember what was about to happen.
CHAPTER 16
LUCA
“Get your fucking hands off her.”The words were a savage growl, ripped from me as fury colored my vision.
I’d gone to Alessia’s office, upset about her little attempt to walk away from me, planning to put her in her place. Her office had been empty, but her purse and phone were still there at her desk. She had to be nearby, so I prowled from room to room in search of her. When I peeked inside the bathroom, I never expected to find Alessia being assaulted by some dickhead in a cheap suit.
I thought I’d been mad when I arrived—that hadbeen nothing.
Seeing his hands on her, the black tears streaking down her face, I rocketed past mad and went straight to blinding rage. I was doused in boiling anger so blistering, I was two seconds from going feral.
The only reason I didn’t immediately launch myself onto the piece of shit and beat him to a bloody pulp was because Alessia ran into my arms the second he released her. It had given me pause just long enough to remember one of the fundamental lessons I’d learned long ago—never dish out payback when the insult was still fresh. It sounded lofty but had nothing to do with making rash decisions and everything to do with not getting caught. No threats, no evidence at the scene—then I would be free to do what I wanted later when the time was right.
Alessia needed me. I would get her out of there and deal with the asshole later, even though my head pounded with the need to rain down vengeance. The best I could do at the moment was glare at him with a promise of retribution. He seemed to get my meaning. The fucker looked about ready to piss himself.
I ushered Alessia out of the bathroom. “Let’s get your things—we’re leaving.” My words were clipped, too much anger pulsing through my system to give her gentle and soothing like she deserved. Fortunately, she didn’t argue, simply gathering her things and allowing me to lead her to my car outside.
Neither of us spoke for most of the ride. I tested the V10 engine, swerving in and out of traffic with the grace of a hummingbird weaving from one flower to the next. I was driving like a lunatic, but I didn’t care. I needed the rush to help rid me of the excess adrenaline lighting my skin on fire.
“Luca, you’re scaring me,” Alessia said softly.
Exhaling the stale air trapped deep in my lungs, I made an effort to slow down. “That was your boss, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.” She bit down on her bottom lip and peered at me anxiously.
“He didn’t just say something to upset you the other day, did he? When you wandered off and ended up under the overpass. He’s been harassing you, hasn’t he?”
“He didn’t touch me—it was just something he said—but, yes, he made a sexual comment that upset me.” Her voice was so small, I wanted to scoop her into my lap and never let her go.
“How long?”
“How long what?”
“How long has it been going on?” I bit out.
