Chapter 4

Ginger held the coffee pot aloft, the dark liquid sloshing inside. The smell of burnt coffee filled the small room.

"You want to make an impression on Damon?" she said, her voice a low, taunting whisper. "Let' s make you memorable."

She tilted the pot.

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the burn.

The hot, bitter liquid splashed across my chest and shoulder. It wasn' t boiling, but it was hot enough to be a shock of intense heat, soaking through my thin dress instantly. I cried out, a sharp gasp of pain and surprise. The fabric clung to me, scalding my skin.

Ginger laughed, a chilling, unhinged sound. She threw the empty pot into the trash can, where it landed with a clatter on top of the shreds of Alia' s future.

"Now you look as messy as you are," she said, looking down at the dark stain spreading across my dress.

Her two subordinates stood by the door, their eyes wide. One of them, the younger one, looked pale.

"Ginger... maybe that' s enough," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Her dress is ruined."

Ginger whirled on her. "Enough? Do you think this is enough? Do you know how many women like her I have to deal with? They circle this building like vultures. If you don' t make an example of one, they' ll never stop."

She turned back to me. Her eyes raked over my body, now stained and disheveled.

"The dress isn' t the problem," Ginger said, a new, more sinister idea dawning in her eyes. "It' s the fact that she' s clothed at all. These creatures use their bodies as bait. The best way to disarm them is to humiliate them."

She looked at her two assistants. "Take her jacket off."

They hesitated.

"Now!" Ginger barked.

The two women exchanged a nervous glance, then moved toward me. I tried to scramble away, to curl into a ball, but they were quick. They each grabbed an arm, pulling me to my feet.

"No, stop!" I struggled, but I was weak and they were strong. They tore my cheap cardigan from my shoulders.

"Let' s see what you' re hiding under there," Ginger taunted.

Another woman from the hallway, drawn by the commotion, poked her head in. She was older, with kind eyes. When she saw what was happening, her face filled with horror.

"Ginger, for God' s sake, what are you doing?" she demanded, stepping into the room. "You can' t do this. This is assault. You could be fired. You could go to jail!"

Ginger just smiled her cold, confident smile. "I' m handling a security threat, Martha. Something our incompetent front desk staff failed to do. I have Mr. Moran' s full confidence. He trusts my judgment implicitly."

She turned her gaze on the older woman, her eyes narrowing. "Whose side are you on, Martha? Hers?" She gestured at me with contempt. "Or the side of the man who signs your paycheck?"

Martha' s face paled. She looked from Ginger' s ruthless expression to my terrified one. She took a half-step back. She was afraid. Afraid of losing her job.

She fell silent. In that moment, any hope of rescue vanished. No one was coming to save me. I was completely, utterly alone, surrounded by wolves.

Ginger' s attention returned to me. Her victory over Martha had emboldened her.

"Now, where were we?" she mused, her eyes glinting. She reached out and grabbed the collar of my dress. "Ah, yes. Disarming the threat."

With a sudden, violent yank, she ripped the fabric.

I heard the sound of a tear, loud in the tense silence of the room. A long, gaping hole appeared from my neckline down to my waist. The coffee-soaked fabric fell away, exposing my skin, my simple bra.

The cold air hit my damp skin. The shame was a fire that burned hotter than the coffee. I stood there, exposed, violated, while these women stared at me.

Ginger' s hands were like claws. She grabbed my shoulders and slammed me back against the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and my head hit the wall again, hard. My vision swam with black spots.

"You think you can get to him?" she shrieked, her face contorted with a jealous rage that was terrifying to behold. "I will kill any woman who tries to take him from me!"

She shoved me again, and I crumpled to the floor, landing hard on my side. A searing pain shot through my ribs. I curled into a ball, trying to protect myself, trying to breathe.