Page 283 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

I’m vibrating,

waiting for him to grab his phone,

to call a driver,

to say ‘Okay, Allison, let’s go.’

But he doesn’t grab his phone.

“Look, sweetheart, you know I fuckin' care about you. But I go pullin’ out six figures for rehab, people are gonna ask questions.” He cocks his head. “Do you understand how close you are? One year. That's it.” He lifts his finger. “One scandal, one allegation, one pattern of unstable judgment is all it takes to rip it all away. Now, I can hide your addiction. I can't hide rehab.”

He doesn't care about me.

All he cares about is the transition bonus. The twenty-five million waiting for him in a year, but only if the board appoints me CEO—Dad's insurance policy.

I shake my head. “Ray—” I try. “I⁠—”

He steps in close, cutting me off,

slipping a hand between my thighs,

creeping up. “But I can do this for you.”

His fingers sink into pussy,

finding my panties are already gone.

He tilts his smirk,

one finger pausing on my clit,

watching the panic dissolve on my face.

“Yeah, lemme do this for you,” he says, tracing lazy circles as he walks me backward. “Sit. Let me take the edge off, alright? I’ll take care of Hunter… You… All of it.” He guides me up on his desk.

Then he sits in his chair, rolls closer.

And my brain is screaming no,

my heart’s hysterically crying,

but my body’s opening for him

as it always does

as he folds my skirt over my hips.

“There you go.

“Layin’ back, spreadin’ your thighs.

“This is what you really came here for.”

I’m staring at the ceiling, at the expensive crown molding, still feeling the sting of Ben’s hand as Raymond grips my thighs to hold me open.

My eyes don’t leave that place,

even when his head dips down.