Page 24 of The Boss
“Fucking bitch! Get your bitching hands offa me.” He struggled, but despite our height difference, his body wasn’t in any shape to defend itself. “Dammit! Do you know who I am?! Fucking Zed Hipwood! Unraveling! That’s me!”
I’d reacted instinctively to his unwanted touch, but now that I had him off me, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do next. The scenarios my self-defense classes had gone through had been about attackers in parking lots, alleys, on the streets, in bars or clubs. Places where the answer was simply getting away as soon as possible. Nothing in those classes had prepared me for what to do when a powerful guest at a fancy party grabbed my ass.
“Let me go! Mother fucking son of a bitch whore…”
“Come now, Zed. You’re just stringing a bunch of curses together, and that’s not going to get you anywhere.” Nate’s voice was mild as he entered the alcove. “Can someone tell me what’s going on here?”
“Tell the bitch to let me go!”
Shit. I released him and moved back a few steps. I didn’t think Nate would let Zed hit me, but I wasn’t eager to find out.
“What happened?” Nate asked again. His gaze landed on me and held.
“That little cunt messed up my arm, that’s what happened?” Zed cradled his wrist like I’d caused permanent damage.
I could’ve done just that. I knew how. I’d purposefully held back though. I didn’t doubt for a minute that if I’d truly hurt him, I wouldn’t get into trouble.
“That’s not really the best way to speak to a lady, Zed,” Nate said evenly.
If I hadn’t seen the hard glint in his eyes or the way the muscles in his jaw clenched, I might’ve thought he was entertained by this whole thing.
“I came back here to take a piss and this bit…thisgirlwas all over me. Wanted me to do her in the bathroom. I turned her down, and she got all fema-Nazi on me.”
What the actual fuck?
Was I seriously being blamedagainfor something I hadn’t done? Did I havescapegoatwritten on my forehead and no one told me?
Last time, I’d defended my own lack of participation but hadn’t blamed anyone else. While I hadn’t been suspended, I’d still ended up here and had rumors circulating about me, no matter the measures Nate had been trying to put into place. No way in hell was I going to let Zed Hipwood make things worse. And definitely not about this. I considered myself a level-headed person, not easily angered, but my good nature had been worn down to practically nothing this week.
“That’s no–”
“I need to speak with Miss Webb alone.” Nate grabbed my hand and practically dragged me past the bathrooms and into a small room that looked like it might be a place where employee interviews were held. “Sit.”
I sat, more to take the pressure off my aching feet than wanting to obey him. If he was going to fire me, at least I’d be able to go home. Considering how awful my week had been, I was half-tempted to ask him to let me go just so I didn’t have to deal with it anymore. When he shut the door behind him, I knew that was it. I was done.
Sixteen
Nate
It had takenevery ounce of self-control I had not to explode right there in the hallway.
After I’d finally managed to get Roma to leave me alone, I’d headed in the direction I’d seen Ashlee walking. She needed to know that I hadn’t gone off with Roma. When I was with a woman, I didn’t leave her to have sex with someone else, not unless the two of us had an arrangement regarding additional partners. Ashlee and I didn’t have anything like that because we weren’t a couple, but I still wanted her to know that I’d come with her and I’d leave with her.
And then I’d seen Ashlee standing behind Zed, twisting the musician’s arm behind his back, a look of fury on her face. Something inside me had snapped.
Now, she was sitting across from me, turquoise eyes flashing, face flushed. She was still angry, but she was trying to reign it in. Such control.
It made me wonder just how far I could push, how long it would take me to break that control and see what was underneath. Or would this be enough to break her?
“Tell me what happened,” I demanded. I loomed over her, doing my best to intimidate her into telling the truth. “Don’t lie. I’ll know if you do.”
She looked up at me, emotions playing across her face too fast for me to identify any of them, but I hoped fear was in the mix.
As soon as I thought it, I regretted it, and that disturbed me. I never cared if anyone was afraid of me. I’d never hit anyone who didn’t deserve it, but being able to intimidate people was a handy skill. I needed her to tell me the truth, and if she was scared I’d fire her, she’d be honest, which was what I wanted. I just hoped she wouldn’t cry. I only knew one way to handle non-sex related tears, and that was to kick the woman out. That wasn’t exactly an option here.
Except she didn’t cry.
Her voice was flat and matter-of-fact as she spoke, “I came out of the restroom and Zed was there. I greeted him, told him I worked in the A&R department. I could tell he was drunk and probably high, so I ignored his calling me ‘sugar.’”
