Page 47 of Hard Hitter
She rapped lightly on the office door.
“Come in!”
When she slid the door aside, her heart sank. There sat Patrick, a grim look on his face, beside Hugh Major. “You wanted to see me?”
“Sit down, Ariana. We have a bit of a situation.”
Shit!As she slid into the booth on the opposite side of the table from the men, her palms began to sweat. Sheknewit had been a mistake to sleep with Patrick. She just hadn’t known how huge.
But when she was seated, Hugh said something completely different than she’d expected. “Ariana, it seems you have a stalker. O’Doul brought it to my attention, but I do need you to know that you can always ask the organization for help with any security issues you’re facing.”
Ari opened her mouth and then closed it again. What the hell?
Hugh opened a file folder on the table in front of him and slid a photograph toward her. She felt nauseated as soon as she realized what she was looking at. A perfect shot ofPatrick’s goodnight kiss. The resolution of the photograph was crystal clear. It demonstrated in all too much detail everything she’d felt about that kiss, and everything she’d never wanted the GM of the team to see.
“Turn it over,” Patrick said softly.
She flipped the photo onto the desk and saw a hasty scrawl in black marker on the back.
YOU STUPID FUCK.
Her mouth was as dry as the desert. Ari pushed the photo across to Hugh, afraid to look up. But when she did, there was nothing but worry in his eyes. “Where did it come from?”
Patrick laced his hands together and squeezed so hard his knuckles were white. “It was delivered to the Bruisers offices this morning in an unmarked envelope. But it’s not hard to guess who sent it.”
No, it wasn’t. “My ex,” she said, the word almost choking her. Before now she’d never felttoxic—like everything she touched became tainted with scandal. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Ari,” Hugh said. “Don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault. But we’re really good at security around here. You can tell us if there’s a problem. I’m going to ask our security team to make you a panic button.” He held up his thumb and index fingers, about an inch apart. “It’s a little device this big. You can wear it around your neck. If you push the button, Kattenberger Technologies routes the emergency to law enforcement and our private team, too.”
Yikes. “That’s really not necessary,” she said. Knowing her luck, she’d push it by accident while stretching in child’s pose and summon a battalion to her door.
Hugh chewed his lip. “I think it is. I hear you have an order of protection against this asshole?”
“I got one,” she cleared her throat, hating that her personal troubles were now being aired at work. “But it hasn’t been served to him yet. The process server I hired can’t find him.”
There was a deep silence while the GM probably questioned her judgment for getting involved with a jerk like Vince. “I want you to keep me apprised of the situation, okay? This guy involved my organization when he sent the photo to O’Doul.”
Ari flinched.So this is what complete mortification feels like.
“The reason we employ such an excellent security staff is that our athletes draw all kinds of unwanted attention. That’s not your fault,” Hugh said again. “The moment you joined our organization, your security needs changed. There will always be assholes who want to try to use your access to the team for their own ends. That’s why we’re equipped to handle situations like this.”
“I understand,” she said, if only to hurry the discussion along.
Hugh made a note on his legal pad. “Would you mind providing my security team with a copy of your order of protection?”
“Sure,” she said.Anything. Let’s just stop talking about it.
“Thank you. I’m turning this over to the security team when we land. But I’ll need you to report the photo to the police who opened the file after your break-in. I’ll email you a scan of the front and back. If they want the original, they can have that in two days.”
“I’ll send it to them,” she promised.
Hugh reached across and squeezed her hand. “Hang in there. Nobody’s gonna let him near you.”
“Thank you.” She slid out of the booth to make as fast a getaway as possible.
“Ariana, I’m sorry,” Patrick said quietly as she reached for the door.
She couldn’t look him in the eye.You should be. Why thehellhad he shown the photo to Hugh before discussing it with her in private?
