Page 18 of Hooked on Marshall (Hooked #9)

She visibly pales. When she shakes her head, she sways on her feet.

I reach out to steady her but end up catching her when her legs give out.

Yet again, I lift her into my arms and carry her into the office.

Even with the lights off, I’m able to settle her on the loveseat.

Then I flip on the light on the desk so I can keep a hand on her.

When turn my attention back to her, she’s curled into herself and turned her body away from me.

“Lana,” I say gently. “Talk to me.”

She shakes her head. I sit on the edge of the loveseat and rub her shoulder. She’s shivering.

“Lana, please ,” I beg. “I don’t like seeing you like this. You don’t deserve it. Let me-”

“I do deserve it,” she chokes out. “We knew the rules. And we broke them. I thought we…I thought he was…”

She breaks down crying at this point. So, I pull her up into my chest so I can hold her and give her some kind of support.

No, I don’t like what I just heard. But judging what I know of her character, she wouldn’t have engaged in such an affair without some type of coercion.

Which is all the more reason for me to make sure Jonas Freeman doesn’t get to her again.

“Just take a deep breath,” I tell her. “We’ll figure things out, okay? Whatever you need, I’m here for you. Please believe that.”

She nods against my chest. Still sobbing quietly. I caress her back and rock her slightly until she settles. Then I offer her an outlet that I think she needs.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I…it’s so embarrassing,” she whispers.

“We all make mistakes, Lana,” I say gently. “All we can do is learn from them.”

“I’m trying ,” she moans. “That’s why I’m so scared to…”

“To what?”

“To be with you,” she chokes out.

“Tell me why,” I offer. “So, I can understand. No judgement.”

She inhales a sharp breath and shudders. So, I say that magical word.

“Please.”

She inhales another deep breath. Then she sits up, just barely putting some distance between us. I wait, and she finally starts talking.

“I was hired by Mass Marketing straight out of college,” she says.

“It was an entry level position that required more grunt work than marketing, but I knew I’d have to start somewhere.

I worked hard and managed to snag every promotion that became available.

Just after the new year, I was made a team leader.

One of many who reported directly to Jonas. ”

She takes a shaky breath before continuing. She won’t look at me, but at least she’s talking.

“Jonas has one of those giant personalities that draws you in from the moment you meet him,” she mutters.

“And it just so happens that his uncle owns the company.

At first, I thought the flirting was all harmless because he seemed to behave that way with the other females underneath him as well. Plus, we all knew he was married.

“Even so, there were still rumblings about him having trysts with several woman not under his direct supervision. Apparently, that wasn’t against company policy.

So, I just kept with the playfulness and did everything I could to keep advancing my position.

Three months ago, one of the senior team leaders retired.

And despite my short time with the company, I decided to go after the promotion.

“I had forged a great relationship with several of my co-workers at this point and many of them supported me in my quest. When Jonas caught wind of it, he offered to give me some pointers for my presentation. Since the other three team leaders who were after the promotion were under someone else’s supervision, there was no conflict of interest.”

She shivers again. Then she pulls back some more and finally meets my eyes. Her emotions are like a neon sign reflected in her gorgeous hazel eyes. As I watch them harden, my anger toward Jonas multiplies.

“More than once, we stayed late so he could help me. He was very much all business at first. But one Friday afternoon, he seemed distracted. Finally, I gave up on our task and asked him what was wrong. He told me it was something personal and he didn’t feel comfortable telling me.

I took that as face value but still offered an ear if he needed it.

He broke down then. I didn’t hesitate to offer him some physical comfort.

I wrapped him in my arms and just held him.

When he finally regained himself, he lifted his head and thanked me. Then he kissed me.

“The next thing I knew, I was sprawled across his worktable. He kissed me with such passion I didn’t realize what he was doing until he was inside me.

But…my emotions were in overdrive at that point, so I let him take what he needed from me.

I figured it would be a one and done thing.

I figured after the weekend, we’d forget it ever happened.

Until it kept happening. Until his uncle caught wind of it and came within minutes of catching us in the act. ”

She barely chokes out those last words and lowers her head once again.

“His uncle was ready to fire me on the spot, but Jonas demanded that he allow me to resign so I could continue my career elsewhere. His uncle agreed but only if he could keep all the work I had done with the company. So…that’s what I did. And I came back home.”

At this point, my anger has reached its boiling point. And all of my rage is directed at Jonas and his uncle. Because it's obvious that Jonas received no type of disciplinary action for breaking the rules. Nepotism at its finest.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I spit out. “Why didn’t you go after them?”

“What?” she gasps as she looks up at me again.

Her face reflecting both fear and confusion.

“You weren’t the only one who made that mistake,” I snap. “Jonas’ uncle protected him and used you as a scapegoat. No doubt to squelch any kind of scandal that might hurt the company. Plus, they robbed you of all your work. I have no doubt that some or all of that is illegal.”

“But…”

“I’m a businessman, Lana,” I snap. “And I know all about business ethics. What they did to you was shameful and dirty. And just plain wrong. You didn’t deserve what happened to you, and if you want to go after them, then by God, I’ll help you.”