Chapter 23

I sat at my desk, my head in my hands. I hadn’t slept at all the night before. I could not believe I was about to lose this position that I had just gotten. I couldn’t bear the thought of it. It was the only good thing I had going in my life.

And Logan! I felt sick at the thought of betraying him in the way Peter wanted me to. It could ruin his reputation…maybe his entire life.

I unlocked my phone and opened my messages with Maria. “Meet me in the bathroom?” I messaged her.

“Be right there!” She sent back.

I stood up and peeked into Logan’s office. He was staring hard at a piece of paper on his desk. I hoped he wouldn’t notice how long I was about to be in the bathroom.

I grabbed my purse and walked briskly towards the ladies room. I pushed open the door and found Maria standing inside.

“Hey!” She smiled at me. “How’s it…”

I brushed past her. “Are we alone?” I looked under the stall doors, checking for feet.

“Oh,” her voice grew serious. “This is not a happy meeting. What’s going on?”

“No, it’s not. You know how Peter pulled me aside after the announcement to talk?”

“Yeah…?”

I leaned against one of the sinks and sighed. I told her everything Peter had said, from his request to how he claimed to supposedly have evidence to his threat to expose me.

“Hazel, no one here would believe that you made sexual advances to move up in the company,” Maria said, moving closer to me. She placed her hand on my shoulder.

“You didn’t see the email they made up. Or the video.”

“Video? What video?” Maria asked.

I froze. I hadn’t told Maria about the steamy locker room with Logan. I was kind of embarrassed by the whole encounter, especially since I’ve been denying to her and everyone that I am maybe a little more than slightly attracted to him. She would have teased me endlessly.

“Ah…” I could already feel my face growing hot. “Um. After the welcome party we had for Logan, I was staying in the rest area and when I walked from there to my desk to grab something, Logan came out into the hall from the locker room in just a towel…”

Maria’s mouth gaped. I could tell she was fighting a smile. She covered it with her hand. “Oh my god.”

“He had just…um…sustained a minor injury, and he asked me if I could help him put some ointment on it, because he couldn’t reach it. So I followed him into the locker room, and…”

Maria was hitting my arm now. “And? And!?”

“Oh my god, stop it. Nothing happened. I put ointment on his back, then we left the locker room,” I said, shaking my head. “But the video only shows us going in and walking out together, it looks pretty bad.”

“Mm, that’s the dream, isn’t it? The hot CEO and his sexy secretary getting it on at work?” Maria winked at me. “Okay. This is very important. I need you to describe in detail what every inch of his body looks like.”

I smiled despite myself. “Stoppp.” I hit her lightly on the arm. “Please. I’m the last person Logan would want to do anything with.”

“Oh come on, I’ve seen the way he admires you. He doesn’t look at other women here like that,” she said.

My heart leapt in my chest. “Really?” I shook my head. “We’re getting way off track. I need your help coming up with a plan. I can’t figure a way out of this, that evidence looks really, really bad.”

“Hey, we’ll figure it out,” she pulled me into a hug. “Let me think on it, okay? I’ll call you with some ideas when I have them.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

We left the bathroom and I walked back to my desk. I snuck a peek over towards Peter’s office as I walked. He was pacing and talking on the phone. When he saw me he stopped pacing and stared, his eyes narrowing. I put my head down and quickened my pace.

Logan was leaning against my desk when I returned. “Where have you been?” He asked.

“I was in the restroom,” I said. “I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to apologize, maybe because I knew I hadn’t been in there for restroom things.

“No need to apologize,” Logan gave me a questioning look. “Can you set up a lunch reservation for Dylan and myself at Queso Fresca?”

“Yes, right away sir,” I set my purse down and sat in my chair. Logan walked back into his office slowly, still giving me that same questioning look. I must’ve had guilty written all over my face. I never hide my emotions well, they show up on my face no matter how hard I fight it.

I found the number for the restaurant and dialed it. As it was ringing, I got a text on my cell.

“This Peter thing is tough. I got nothing :/“ Maria had sent.

I sighed. I also had nothing. I could see no way out except to give in to Peter’s demands.

---

Chance pulled over in front of Sunset Studios. Natalie opened the door to the SUV and started to get out.

“Don’t move from this spot. I’ll be back soon,” she barked at him.

“But this is a no parking…” Chance started. Natalie shot daggers at him. “I’ll be right here waiting, my love.”

“That’s what I thought,” Natalie slammed the door. She walked into the studio’s front doors.

“Ms. Whitaker!” The secretary said, startled. “You’re not called today, did you not get the message?”

“I know, I’m not here to work, calm down,” Natalie said.

The secretary breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank God. After last time, I just…”

“I need to know the name of the man that came to visit me recently,” Natalie cut her off.

The secretary began typing furiously, eager to get rid of Natalie as soon as possible. “Looks like his name is Andrew. He did not give a last name.”

“Did he say why he wanted to visit me?”

“No, but it was his assistant that made the call. It sounded like the two of you were dating?”

“You didn’t ask?” Natalie snapped.

The secretary paled. “Well, no, I…I…”

“Give me the number the assistant called from,” Natalie interrupted. She didn’t care for excuses, she just wanted information on the mystery man.

The secretary wrote the phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to her. Natalie snatched it without a word, then walked back out the front door of the studio. She dialed the number. After two rings, an automated voice answered:

“You have reached Hatfield Supply. If you know your party’s extension, please enter it now. Otherwise, stay on the line to hear the menu options…”

Natalie ended the call. Hatfield Supply? Why did that name sound so familiar?

She got back into the SUV. She buckled her seatbelt then turned to Chance. “Do you know what Hatfield Supply is?”

Chance looked confused. “Yeah…that’s where your sister works.”