Page 2 of Tempt My Heart

“Right. Well, why don’t you take off early? We can discuss this on Monday. It’s not urgent.”

Her shoulders slumped as a relieved breath escaped her and she shook herself free of her thoughts. “Really?” It shouldn’t have been surprising, he was a good boss. Attentive. Caring. He’d never once raised his voice at her—even when she’d accidentally spilled coffee over his undoubtedly expensive white shirt before an important meeting.

“Really.” He smiled and she couldn’t help but return it. “We’ve been working overtime this past week on the Clarence deal. You deserve a break.”

How was she supposed to betray the trust and confidence of a guy that nice? Maybe if he was an asshole she’d be okay with screwing him over to save herself, but Christopher just wasn’t that kind of person. She stood and smoothed her skirt again. “I appreciate it.”

“Well, I appreciate you.”

Heat flooded her cheeks but she pretended not to notice it, even as the slow smile on Christopher’s face made her toes curl. She knew he was just being nice, supportive, despite her ridiculous fantasies. That’s what made her stupid crush on him that much harder—knowing that Christopher was a genuinely good guy. Probably too good for her.

Her phone vibrated in her hand and she felt the blood drain out of her face. Was it Jared again? She darted a quick glance at it and let out a deep sigh when she saw it was only a message from her mom.

“You okay?”

She jumped, having forgotten she was standing frozen next to the chair in her boss’ office. “Yeah, sorry. I’ll see you Monday.”

“Saturday,” he corrected gently and she winced slightly before nodding—how could she have forgotten? He’d literallyjustmentioned the Clarence deal that the team would be celebrating on Saturday evening. It had been in the works for a long time and, as one of NYC’s biggest office blocks and a prestigious brand to boot, it was a big deal that they’d landed this client. “Have a good afternoon, Ali.”

“You too,” she murmured softly as he moved past her to hold open his door, and she tried not to inhale the smooth scent of his aftershave. It turned out she had bigger problems than inappropriate feelings for her boss. Her ex, Jared, had made sure of that.

Her desk looked exactly as she’d left it. Organized to the point of being anal, the plant she’d been gifted by her mother on her first day two years ago was half dead, and her purse was tucked neatly under her dark office chair. She’d been Christopher’s assistant the whole time she’d worked atHorizonsand she loved her job. She was good at it. She wasn’t about to let Jared take that away without a fight, but she wasn’t really sure what her options were. Had she really not known him at all? Would he actually release the video of them having sex like he’d threatened? She just couldn’t picture him doing something like this. Maybe it wasn’t him at all, the texts had come from a blocked number.

Ali:How do I know this is real?

He hadn’t sent her the video, just the threat, and she’d hate to do something rash for a threat that wasn’t even credible. Surely if Jared had recorded them she would have noticed. Ali bit her lip as she tidied some errant papers.

Her desk was almost like an office—an open cubicle with filing cabinets under the side behind her and various in-trays on the section that sat to her right. The cut-off was three PM, but someone had obviously snuck in a few extra memos past the deadline while she’d been in Christopher’s office. She rolled her eyes, but decided to let it slide this time as she sidestepped some crumpled paper and further into the space she’d carved out for herself.

Quickly tidying the notes on her desk and powering down her laptop, Ali froze when her phone buzzed again. He’d replied. The sound was amplified thanks to the hardwood it sat on and she felt as if it might make her teeth chatter. Dread pooled low in her stomach and she ignored the shaking of her hand as she picked up her cell and opened the message.

Fuck.

She shut the phone quickly, hand shaking as she closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath.

When she felt like she wasn’t going to pass out, she stood and tried to appear calm as she waved goodbye to Christopher.

Jared:Meet me outside.

Ali fumbled for her purse and snatched up her suit jacket, slipping it on quickly. She put one foot in front of the other, giving her boss one last measured nod through the glass walls of his office as she focused on getting the hell out of there, anxious to see if Jared really was the one who’d sent her the photo of herself or if someone had accessed his phone somehow.

The chatter in the office drifted around her as she made her way to the elevator and then out through the security barriers.

There. Standing off to the side and waving his phone in the air at her like this was all a joke and they were about to go out for coffee. Jared.

Her footsteps were a sharp march as she hurried over to him. What was she even supposed to say? Luckily, possibly anyway, he seemed ready to do most of the talking.

“Alison,” he smiled at her and the chip she’d always found cute in his bottom tooth seemed to mock her. “I know this is probably coming as quite a shock.”

Her throat was dry but she managed to squeeze the words out of her throat anyway. “A shock? What the hell kind of game are you playing? There’s no way that video exists.”

His hand wrapped around her arm and tugged so she would walk next to him down the sidewalk. “Oh Ali.” He sighed, and for some reason the note of disappointment in his voice coupled with the sheer size of the hand gripping her made a chill skitter down her spine. But it was a ridiculous reaction. This wasJared. He wouldn’t hurt her. “You’re a smart girl. Let’s not do this.”

She bristled.Smart girl.She hadn’t been agirlin quite a long time. She was nearly thirty and he was being a condescending asshole—one of his less redeeming qualities, honestly. “Do what, exactly?”

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he said and despite everything, she wanted to roll her eyes at the flatness of his voice. “But you can do something for me, something I need.”

“I really can’t,” she said, annoyed. “And I think we’re done here.” She tried to tug her arm free and gasped when he pulled her closer, tightening his grip around her bicep. “Jared, you’re hurting me.”

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