Chapter 109

Miles couldn’t stop looking at Esther wearing his t-shirt. God, she was so gorgeous and she didn’t even know it. On top of that, seeing her in his clothes scratched some possessive itch inside of him that he didn’t even know he had.

Unfortunately, after the phone call with Cynthia, there is not enough time to claim her again before they both had things to do. Whoever designed the workweek didn’t have a hot woman in his bed, or every morning would start much later.

With regret, Miles and Esther drink their coffee, then dress and start to head their separate ways. Miles called a car to have it take Esther wherever she needs to go while hers is being fitted with new tires – something he is handling and paying for himself.

They kiss each other at the door, then Esther exits, heading toward the car waiting for her on the street. Miles goes to his own car.

Once he’s inside, he pulls out his phone and scrolls to a text thread he started this morning before he headed downstairs to find Esther in his kitchen.

He’d done his best to reassure Esther that Amber wouldn’t actually act out against them, but the truth is much messier. Amber now is not like the girl Miles knew in his youth. She’s become someone much more selfish, foolish, and narcissistic. She doesn’t care who she hurt as long as she got what she wants.

What she wants in this case is Miles.

“Not going to happen,” he grumbles as he reads the message.

Early this morning, he texted a location and a time to Amber. Reading now, he sees that she has responded.

Fine.

Miles looks in his rear view and sees members of his security team waiting in the car behind his. They’re certain to be furious when they find out who he’s meeting.

It can’t be helped, though. To protect Esther, he’ll do whatever he has to do.

So Miles drives to the breakfast place that he agreed to. He parks out front. The car of security officers parks beside his. One of the officers goes ahead to check the restaurant. Miles sighs as he undoes his seatbelt and starts to head inside.

A different security officer stops Miles before he can go through the door. “We must insist you dine elsewhere this morning, Representative Hamilton. We have a potential security risk here.”

“Amber?” Miles says. “I know. I invited her.”

That startles the officer. “Sir?”

“We have some things to talk about. It’s fine.”

The officer seems uncertain but I’m determined.

“Excuse me,” I say. Stepping around him, I head inside. Amber is seated at one of the tables. My security officer stands at the host station, watching her. He doesn’t see me until I’ve already walked by him.

“Sir!”

I don’t stop. I walk right to Amber’s table and sit across from her.

“You need to back off, Amber,” Miles says. He glares at her, leaving no room for nonsense or misunderstanding.

“I won’t,” she says.

“I’ve seen that picture,” Miles continues undeterred. “Delete it.”

She smirks. “It won’t matter if I do.”

Miles doesn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean?”

She looks at him like she’s won something. He doesn’t like that look.

“It’s already too late,” she says.

Miles wants to believe she’s full of shit, but his nerves prickle with alarm. He doesn’t think she’s bluffing.

So he accuses, “What have you done?”

I realize far too late that I should have worn a scarf this morning. When the car took me home, I changed in a rush and then hurried off to work.

As I walk into the main building, I catch my reflection in the shining glass double doors.

My entire neck is covered in hickeys. Oh, no. I make a total 180 back out toward the street, just in time to watch the car that drove me here continue on, leaving me behind.

Great.

I don’t really have a choice, now.

Well. I guess it’s not against the law to be having an active sex life. No one really needs to know the details of who I’ve been seeing, right?

I try to convince myself to be confident, with varying levels of success. I’ll be sure for a moment and not as sure the next. Still, I force my feet forward and find my way to the office.

Maybe it’s just me being self-conscious, but I swear I feel the curious gazes of my co-workers staring at me and at my exposed neck.

What I would pay to have a scarf right now.

I make my way to my cubicle and immediately sit. With the walls of the cubicle protecting me from view of most of the room, I release a heavy sigh. Looks like I’m not leaving my desk for the rest of the day.

That’s my plan anyway – until Kimberly throws a wrench in it by sending me an in-work instant message telling me to meet her in her office.

I swallow down my nervousness, straighten my outfit as best I can, and walk into her office.

“Close the door,” Kimberly says from where she’s sitting behind her desk. She’s looking at me, her hands folded neatly together on her desktop.

Turning, I close the door behind me.

“Sit.” She nods her head to one of the empty chairs on the opposite side of the desk.

I sit.

She looks me over, her gaze catching on the love bites on my neck. She sighs. “Esther, you’ve once again put this company in quite the predicament.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, afraid that I already know the answer. Instinctively, I reach up and cover the marks on my neck with my hands. I know it’s too late to hide them, but some primal part of me still wants to try.

“I’m going to show you something that was delivered to me this morning,” Kimberly says. “Your reaction and your honesty are going to entirely determine the outcome of this exchange.”

“Okay,” I say, glad my voice sounds stronger than I feel inside.

Kimberly leans back in her chair and opens the top drawer of her desk. From inside, she pulls out a manilla envelope with metal fasteners. Undoing the fasteners, she withdraws an 8x10 photo from within the envelope.

For a moment, she looks at it. Then she drops it on the desk top and slides it over to me.

My heart jumps straight up into my throat, even as my stomach drops to the ground.

I’m in this photo. With Miles holding me up against the bathroom wall, his face buried in my neck.

This is the photo Amber threatened me with. The one she said she would make public if we didn’t give her what she wanted.

For Kimberly to have this photo means that Amber actually went through with her threats.

And if Kimberly has it – who else does? Did Amber send this to every news organization in town?

“I know that’s you, Esther,” Kimberly says.

I lick my lips. “It’s not a crime to… to… be intimate…”

“We’re not talking about crimes here, are we? I’m not the police,” Kimberly says, frowning. “What I need you to tell me is if this…” She taps my partner in the photo. “…is Miles Hamilton.”