I jumped up as Brandon stopped talking and he grabbed my arm as I made to leave the table. “Where are you going?” His eyes were dark as his fingers pinched into my skin.

“I’m leaving.” I pulled my arm away from him. “I’m not going to let you treat me like this.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” He shook his head. “Not until I say you are.”

“You can’t stop me.” I turned around and walked out of the room quickly. I could hear my heart beating like drums at a rock concert as I hurried out. People in the room were whispering and watching me, and I knew they were all wondering what was going on.

“Excuse Katie, everyone. She just got an important call. She’ll be back in a moment.” Brandon spoke up and I looked back at him with a glare. He faked a sympathetic smile and nodded at me. “Take your time, Katie. We’ll be here when you get back.”

“I’m not coming back.” I shot back as I glared at him. I didn’t care who heard me. I was done. He had no right to treat me this way. Let him explain my abrupt departure. I half expected him to follow me out of the room, and I was disappointed when I realized he wasn’t coming. I walked into the elevator and waited for him to rush out of the room and run into the elevator to stop me. Only he didn’t. The doors closed slowly and the ride down seemed to take forever. I pulled my phone out as soon as I walked out to call Meg. I needed to talk to her. I needed someone to remind me what a jerk he was so I wouldn’t burst out crying.

“Hello?” Her voice was breathless, and my heart stopped beating.

“Meg, what’s wrong?”

“I was fired.” She burst into tears. “The law firm laid me off yesterday with no severance. They said that they couldn’t afford to keep me.”

“Oh, that’s horrible.” I leaned against the wall next to the elevator with my heart beating fast. “Can they do that?”

“Yes, I had no contract. I was an employee-at-will.” Her voice broke. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She burst into tears again.

“You can just get another job, right?”

“They told me that they won't give me a reference.” She sobbed hysterically. “I’m done, Katie.”

“Oh, Meg.” My heart broke for her, as I knew how happy she had been when she had gotten her law job.

“Thank God you have this position.” She sobbed. “You don’t mind covering the next few months’ rent, do you? I’ll pay you back as soon as I have a new job.”

“Sure.” My heart dropped at her words. How could I quit now? “You don’t even have to ask. You know I will always be here for you.”

“How is everything with you, by the way?” She sighed. “Sorry, I completely forgot to ask if you’d seen Brandon. My mind was caught up in my own issues.”

“It’s fine.” I lied. “I saw him, but for, like, a minute. I don’t even think he recognized me.”

“That’s good, right?” I could hear her blowing her nose. “Hopefully you won’t see him again. Then you can just come back home and forget about him again.”

“Yeah.” My voice was weak as I spoke into the phone. “Everything is going according to plan,” I lied again. Nothing was going according to plan. Nothing at all. I closed my eyes for a moment as I thought about everything that I had been through, everything I had put into action, and my heart broke again. I’d made a big mistake, and once again I was getting burned.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow night, right?” Meg’s voice sounded a bit happier. “I’ll cook pasta and you can help me look for jobs.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I cleared my throat. “But I better go now, I think we’re starting up again.”

“Okay, great. Thanks for cheering me up, I miss you already.”

“You need to get a boyfriend.” I laughed, shaking my head at her words. “You won’t have time to miss me then.”

“I’m working on it.” She giggled. “Bye, Katie.”

“Bye, Meg.” I put the phone back into my pocket and pressed the elevator button again. I walked into the elevator feeling defeated, deflated and devalued. I couldn’t believe that I had to go back to that room and sit next to him. I never wanted to see him again. He had made me feel like a cheap slut once again and I hated him for it. I hated the man he now was. How could he have a fiancée and sleep with me?

The elevator stopped and I walked out, deep in thought. I had only taken two steps when I heard his voice against my ear as he pushed me up against the wall.

“What are you doing?” I struggled against him, trying to stop my racing heart from being so excited at being close to him again.

“I told you, you don’t leave until I say.” His eyes were dark as he looked down at me. His fingers traced the lines of my trembling lips. “Don’t ever walk out on me again.”

“Or what?” I squared my shoulders and looked back at him with fire in my eyes. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

Chapter 2

“So I’m looking for us to make a profit by quarter three.” Brandon’s voice was passionate as he talked about his plans for the company. “That means we’re all going to have a lot of late nights.” He looked around the room, and his eyes fell on me for a brief second before moving on. “Does anyone have any questions?”