“You mean with Henry?”
She nodded once. “Yeah. It worries me that he hasn’t gotten the hint to back off yet. Make sure you’re… I don’t know… on your guard.”
My mouth dried out at her concern. It was one thing to tell myself these things, but hearing them from a trusted friend escalated all of my wariness. “Thanks, Em. I appreciate you looking out for me.”
She waved me off. “You’d do the same for me.”
“Hey, that’s what friends are for.”
“It’s true,” she smiled again. “We drink together, we survive boring meetings together, but most of all we save each other from perverted bosses that try to feel us up next to the copier.
I couldn’t even force a laugh, it was too close to the truth to be funny. “Gross.”
“Text me later,” she hollered at my back.
“Will do!”
Even though I took the long way around the office, I still made it to Henry’s office in no time. He sat at his computer, staring thoughtfully at paperwork. My nose wrinkled with disgust automatically. I would rather be so many other places than his office right now. Like getting a root canal. Or a Brazilian wax. Or renewing my license at the DMV. Anything would be better than stepping into this office alone with this man.
I plastered on a professional, but blank expression and knocked on the half-opened door. “You wanted to see me?”
He looked up at me and smiled, his gaze traveling down the length of me before settling on my boobs. “Come in, Molly. Have a seat.”
With one last helpless glance around as my coworkers filtered out for the night, I finally gave up on escaping and did as he asked. He watched me sit down and cross my legs before he stood up and joined me in the chair usually reserved for Ethan.
Turning to me, he leaned forward and plucked the pen I’d been nervously clicking out of my hands. “That’s annoying,” he said casually.
“Sorry.” I cleared my throat, hating that I apologized so reflexively. “Nervous habit.”
“What is there to be nervous about?” he asked. “I’m not scary.”
You’re terrifying. “I don’t even notice I’m doing it.”
“Well, relax. It’s all good things today.”
“About the Black Soul account?” I asked, mostly as a way to keep him on task. “Have you heard back about the new mock-ups?”
His smile stretched. “Yes, I have. Molly, they’re very impressed with your work. They wanted me to pass on the word that everything is coming along perfectly.”
It should have felt amazing to receive praise from a high-profile client. This was what I’d set out to do. I’d wanted this account for the sole purpose of impressing them. And yet… it fell flat.
I’d given up every one of my original designs and interesting ideas to cater to their style and lackluster vision. They were the client, so of course it made sense. But realizing all of the concessions I had made to please them lessened any pride I felt in the project.
I wasn’t really the mastermind behind a widely successful social media account—they were. I was the grunt that simply did their bidding.
That was obviously my job. They were paying me to bring their vision to life, not my own. My entire profession revolved around pleasing business owners and giving them what they wanted.
But for some reason, at this level, I had been expecting more. More freedom. More creative control. More room to be innovative, and take risks, and try new things. The reality was that I had less of everything. I had more of a leash than ever.
I was more dissatisfied than ever.
To Henry, I managed a weak smile. “That’s great.”
“It is,” he agreed, missing my lack of enthusiasm completely. “I took a risk on you, sweetheart. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to know it paid off.” His hand patted my knee and then stayed there.
I crossed my legs the other way, knocking his hand free. My shoulders pushed back and I sat up straighter, instantly on the defensive. “Glad to know it paid off for you.”
“I could have gone with anyone,” he added. “But I knew there was something special about you. Something I just couldn’t resist.”
My tongue was like a stone in my mouth, heavy and gritty, unwilling to show him gratitude. “Did you have more to say about the account, Henry?”
He looked over my shoulder at the now empty office. “You know, the client isn’t the only one impressed by what you did. I really enjoyed working with you. I think we made a great team.”
“Ethan helped,” I added slightly hysterical. I hated how he kept grouping us together, as if he could take credit for my job well done or worse, as if it meant something more than what it did. “Ethan is the reason either of us could do our job well.”
He ignored me, choosing instead to move his appreciative gaze over my fully clothed body as if I were sitting there buck naked. His hand landed on my thigh this time—flat, wide, and grossly heavy. “There are a lot of pretty girls out there, Molly. But I have to tell you, you are definitely one of the sexiest in this office.”
My goodwill dried up immediately. That wasn’t a nice thing to say. At best, it was a backhanded compliment. In reality, it was offensively out of line, and unwelcome. But the little Tucker had his head too far up his own ass to realize that. “Henry, if you don’t have anything else to say about the account, I’m going to leave.”
His eyelids hooded and his smile softened to only mildly condescending. “We make a good team, honey. I think we should try out our talents in other areas.”
Jumping to my feet, I moved as far away from Henry as possible. Unfortunately, I ended up cornering myself against the wall furthest from the door. My heart raced and my blood rushed with adrenaline. This was not happening. “I’m not comfortable with you talking to me like that,” I said firmly, sounding braver than I was.
He stood up too, pushing my chair to the side so he could walk straight to me. “Come on now, Molly. I gave you the biggest opportunity you’ve had yet. I went to bat for you. I included you on a project with a big fat commission. Don’t you think you should return the favor?”
My sense of professional pride took a serious hit. “I’m good at what I do,” I argued for some stupid reason. “You picked me because I was best suited for the job.”