Harper's POV:

Connor was standing right there in front of me and the shock on his face would have been funny if I wasn't so angry I could barely see straight.

"Harper, wait." He blinked like he thought I was some kind of ghost that shouldn't be here. "You moved to LA? Of all places? I thought you'd crawl back to your village."

He was blocking my path and I wanted to just walk past him, pretend he didn't exist, but he kept standing there with that stupid look on his face like he had any right to talk to me.

"Since you couldn't answer my question, why did you think I'll answer yours?" I pushed him out of my way and I don't know where the strength came from but I loved that I could do it, loved that he stumbled back a little. "Get out of my way Connor."

"Feisty, I love it." He laughed but it wasn't a nice laugh, it was the kind that made fun of you. "Harper you're now showing your true color huh? I knew you were always pretending to be the good one, see? It's not even up to a week, your true self is showing."

I should have kept walking the moment I pushed him but what he was saying made something hot burn in my chest because I'd done nothing, absolutely nothing but love this man, and he was still calling me names like I was the one who did something wrong.

I turned back and my fingers were already curled into fists beside me and before I could think about it my hand was moving and the sound when it hit his face echoed loud enough that people walking past us stopped to stare.

"Never in your life call me names anymore Connor." My voice came out shaking but not because I was scared, because I was so angry I could taste it. "I've put up with your foolish self for too long. Yes I went through a lot, of course when you met me I was in a bad shape, but did you know how I helped Blake Industries become what it is today? And do you think the stupid president position James promoted you to, I didn't beg your father to do that?"

I almost called him Dad but I couldn't anymore, nobody in that family deserved to be called anything good and I was done pretending they did.

"I begged him Connor. I told him you were ready when he said you weren't. I fought for you and this is how you repay me? By sleeping with my best friend in our bed?"

"You slapped me Harper?" His hand went to his face and he was looking at me like he didn't recognize me. "You touched me?"

The shock on his face made something in my chest feel good, made me want to do it again but I was starting to calm down a little and even though he deserved it, I couldn't make myself do it twice.

"If you don't leave me alone and stop stalking me, you'll get worse than that you fool." I turned away from him and started walking and my hands were still shaking. "What was he even doing in LA anyways? And in front of Novare Group?"

The thought made my stomach twist because I'd just been up in that building, just walked away from a job that could have changed everything, and now Connor was here like some kind of bad omen following me around.

Should I have taken the job? The question kept playing in my head and I hated it, hated that I was doubting myself. You're a fool for rejecting that kind of offer, the voice in my head whispered. You could get all you want with that man, he's hot, wants you, makes you feel good, and you're saying no because why? Being a righteous girl won't bring food to your table.

I shook my head trying to make the thoughts stop. "I'll get another job," I said it out loud like that would make it true.

That's when someone grabbed me from behind and I spun around to see Jenny running toward me with her face all twisted up in anger.

"What a hoe that you are Harper." She was practically spitting the words at me. "Slapping my fiance and thinking you'll go scot free?"

Her hand was already coming up toward my face and I grabbed her wrist before she could touch me.

"You'd better stop there." I held her arm tight and she looked shocked that I was fighting back, like she expected me to just stand there and let her hit me. "It's your confidence for me. You want to slap me?"

I pushed her back and I couldn't help but notice what she was wearing, the tight dress that showed everything, the same kind Connor used to tell me I couldn't wear because I'd be selling myself to other men, but here was Jenny wearing exactly that and he didn't care at all.

"Harper do you want to kill me?" Jenny's whole face changed in a second and she was holding her cheek like I'd hit her even though I'd barely touched her. "Connor didn't want you again, is that why you slapped me? I only came to apologize and let us be friends again but you slapped me?"

Then she started crying, real tears running down her face, and I just stood there staring because how had I missed this in all the years I'd known her? How had I not seen that she could cry on command like this?

People were stopping to look now, pulling out their phones, and Jenny was on the ground holding onto my legs like I was hurting her.

"Jenny why are you doing this?" I tried to pull my feet away but she was holding on so tight. "What do you have to gain from this?"

Connor was running toward us and behind him I could see people with big cameras, real photographers, and they were all pointing at us and I tried to hide my face because this looked bad, this looked like I was the one attacking her when I hadn't done anything.

"Who the hell do you think you're treating my fiancée this way?" Connor reached out to push me but before his hand could touch me someone grabbed his wrist and twisted it.

"Leave her alone, and both of you should get off my property." The voice came from behind me and it was deep and dangerous and I knew who it was before I even turned around.

Harper's POV:

His hand was on mine before I could process what was happening, pulling me away from Connor and Jenny and all those cameras pointed at us like we were some kind of show they paid to watch.

"Your property?" Connor's voice came from somewhere behind us but Hardin didn't stop moving, his other hand came up to shield my face from the photographers that were multiplying by the second, their flashes going off so fast it made spots dance in my vision.

"Harper wait, you need to hear me out," Connor was running after us now and I could hear more footsteps following him, more voices shouting questions I couldn't make out over the blood rushing in my ears.

I looked back just once and saw Jenny still on the ground with tears running down her face and something twisted in my chest because what if she was telling the truth? What if she was sorry? My mind went back to the days when we'd stayed up late talking about our dreams, when she'd brought me coffee every morning without me asking, when I'd thought she was the sister I never had.

"Those were good days," I thought, and the ache of missing them hit me so hard I almost stumbled.

Then the elevator doors opened and Hardin pulled me inside and suddenly I was pressed against the wall with his body blocking mine from view and the doors slid shut on Connor's face.

The elevator started moving and that's when I noticed how close Hardin was standing, how his chest was almost touching mine, how I could smell that clean expensive scent that made my stomach do things it shouldn't be doing right now.

"What was that?" His voice came out low and rough. "You haven't even started working for me and you're already causing trouble?"

I tried to focus on what he was saying but my eyes kept dropping to his mouth, watching the way his lips moved when he talked, and God why was his voice so deep? Why did it make my skin feel too hot?

"Helloooo." He was waving his hand in front of my face now and I blinked hard trying to pull myself together.

"Oh my God, yeah what were you saying?" I felt my face burning because here I was getting dragged out of a confrontation that would probably be all over social media in an hour and instead of worrying about that I was staring at this man's lips like some kind of desperate idiot.

Something changed in his expression when he looked at me, his eyes going darker, and he leaned in closer until I could feel the heat coming off his body.

"Do you want me that much?" His mouth curved up at the corner like he was enjoying this, like he knew exactly what he was doing to me.

I slapped my own forehead trying to snap myself out of it because I'm not this person, I don't lose control like this, I'm the one who always has it together no matter what's happening around me.

"What were you saying?" I ducked under his arm and moved to the other side of the elevator putting some space between us because I couldn't think straight when he was that close. "And wait, why am I even going back to your office?"

"Because we need to talk about what just happened out there." He turned to face me and ran his hand through his hair and the movement made his shirt pull tight across his chest and I forced myself to look at the elevator buttons instead. "Who were those people Harper?"

"My ex-husband and my ex-best friend." The words tasted bitter in my mouth. "They got engaged right after our divorce. Posted it all over social media like they were so happy to finally be together."

"The ones who cheated on you." It wasn't a question, he was just stating it like he already knew, and I remembered I'd told him that night at the club when I was drunk and stupid and looking for someone to make me forget.

"Why are they in LA?" he asked.

"I don't know, I didn't even know they were here until Connor showed up outside your building like some kind of stalker." I pulled out my phone and opened social media even though I knew it was a bad idea, knew I shouldn't look but I couldn't help myself.

The first post that came up made my stomach drop.

It was a photo of Connor and Jenny at some fancy bridal boutique here in LA, both of them smiling at the camera, and the caption said they were shopping for wedding dresses. The comments underneath were worse than the photo itself.

"Harper Lane is so pathetic. She can't let go of her ex, so embarrassing." "Did you see the video? She attacked Jenny for no reason. Connor dodged a bullet, she's crazy." "Jenny is so good for Connor anyway, Harper was always boring."

My hands started shaking and I almost dropped the phone but Hardin took it from me before I could, his eyes scanning the screen and his jaw getting tighter with every word he read.

"This is bullshit," he said and locked my phone, putting it in his pocket. "You're not reading any more of that."

"They think I'm the bad person." My voice came out smaller than I wanted it to. "Everyone thinks I attacked her when all I did was defend myself."

"I know what happened Harper, I saw the whole thing." He moved closer again and this time I didn't back away because something about the way he was looking at me made me feel less alone. "That woman staged the entire scene to make you look bad."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened to his floor but neither of us moved for a second, we just stood there looking at each other while my heart beat too fast in my chest.

"Come on." He held out his hand and after a moment I took it, letting him lead me down the hallway to his office.

Inside he locked the door behind us and gestured to the couch but I was too restless to sit so I just stood there with my arms wrapped around myself.

"The job offer is still available," he said, leaning against his desk with his arms crossed. "Actually it's more available now than before."

"Why would you still want me after what just happened?" I asked. "I'm going to be all over the news tomorrow as the crazy ex-wife who can't move on."

"Let them talk." His voice was firm, no doubt in it at all. "I don't care what they say about you Harper, I care about what you can do for my company, and from what I saw in your portfolio you're exactly what I need."

I wanted to believe him but my mind kept going back to Connor's words earlier, kept hearing him say I only got where I was by manipulating people and making them feel sorry for me.

"What if he's right?" The words came out before I could stop them. "What if I did manipulate everyone into thinking I was good when I wasn't?"

"Do you think you did?" Hardin asked, watching me carefully.

"I don't know anymore." My throat was getting tight and I hated how weak my voice sounded. "I thought I was just being myself but maybe I was using my past to make people like me without even knowing it."

"Harper look at me." He waited until I met his eyes. "You didn't manipulate anyone, you survived. There's a difference between sharing your story and using it as a weapon, and from everything I've seen you're not the type to weaponize your pain."

Something about the way he said it made the knot in my chest loosen just a little bit.

"Take the job," he said quietly. "Work for me. Let me help you show them all who you are."

"And who am I?" I asked.

He pushed off the desk and walked over to me slowly, stopping close enough that I had to tilt my head back to look at him.

"You're the woman who walked away from me earlier even though you needed the job because you have principles." His hand came up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "You're the woman who slapped her ex-husband in the middle of the street for calling you names. You're strong Harper, even if you don't feel like it right now."

My breath caught in my throat because he was so close I could see the gold flecks in his dark eyes, could count every individual eyelash if I wanted to, and suddenly all I could think about was how good he'd felt inside me that night, how his hands had touched me like I was something precious.

"I want to kiss you," I whispered before I could stop myself.

His eyes dropped to my mouth and his jaw tensed like he was fighting something.

"That's not a good idea," he said but his voice was rough and his hand was still in my hair.

"I know." I moved closer anyway, close enough that our bodies were almost touching. "But I still want to."

"Harper." My name came out like a warning but he wasn't moving away, wasn't letting go of me, and I could feel the heat between us building until the air felt too thick to breathe.

"Just once," I said. "Just to see if it was as good as I remember."

His control snapped and suddenly his mouth was on mine and he was kissing me hard, desperate, like he'd been holding back for days and couldn't do it anymore. His hands went to my waist and pulled me against him and I could feel how hard he was through his pants and it made me moan into his mouth.

He walked me backwards until my back hit the wall and his body pressed against mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him closer, wanting more, needing more.

His phone started ringing in his pocket, loud and insistent, and he ignored it at first but then it rang again and again and he pulled back with a curse, his breathing still rough.

"I need to take this," he said, and pulled out his phone, his jaw tightening as he looked at whoever was calling.

He answered and put it on speaker without saying anything to me first.

"Hardin, have you seen the news?" A man's voice came through, urgent and stressed. "Blake Industries just released a statement."

My stomach dropped and Hardin's eyes locked on mine as the voice continued.

"They're suing Harper Lane for assault and defamation. Connor Blake is holding a press conference right now."

Harper's POV:

The phone was still on speaker when Hardin's assistant kept talking about the press conference and the lawsuit and Connor's face plastered everywhere, but I wasn't listening anymore because my hands were shaking and I pressed them flat against my thighs to make them stop.

"Turn it off," I said.

Hardin looked at me and his thumb hovered over the screen.

"Harper, we need to..."

"I said turn it off."

He ended the call and the silence felt too loud, like the room was holding its breath waiting for me to break down or scream or do something that proved Connor still had power over me.

I wasn't going to give him that.

"Your ex-husband is a fucking idiot," Hardin said and his voice was rough with anger. "Suing you for assault when that bitch staged the whole thing?"

"Let him." The words came out steadier than I expected and I stood up because sitting made me feel small and I was done being small. "Let them draw all the attention they want, that's what people like them live for anyway."

Something shifted in his face, something that looked almost like pride.

"You're not scared?"

"I'm terrified." My laugh came out bitter. "But being scared hasn't stopped anything bad from happening to me so far, so what's the point?"

He moved around his desk and came closer and I should have stepped back but I didn't because some part of me wanted him close even though it was stupid and reckless.

"I can make this go away," he said and his hand lifted like he wanted to touch me but stopped himself. "One phone call and I can bury him so deep he'll never..."

"No."

"Harper..."

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me." My chest was tight. "I've been taking care of myself since I was sixteen and I don't need some man swooping in to save me just because we slept together."

His jaw tensed and for a second I thought he was going to argue but then his mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile.

"Some man?" He took another step closer and the air between us got thicker. "Is that what I am to you?"

My heart was beating too fast and I could smell him again, that clean expensive scent that made my stomach flip.

"I don't know what you are," I said and it came out quieter than I wanted. "But I can't keep letting people rescue me because every time someone does, they use it against me later."

His fingers brushed my jaw so gently it made my breath catch.

"I'm not Connor."

"I know." My voice broke on the words. "But I don't know if I can trust that yet."

His thumb traced my cheekbone and my eyes closed without permission because his touch felt too good and I was so tired of fighting everything all the time.

"Then let me prove it to you," he said and his voice dropped lower, rougher. "Take the job, Harper. Work with me."

I opened my eyes and he was so close I could see the gold flecks in his dark eyes.

"If I take this job," I said slowly, "we can't do this anymore." I gestured between us even though my hand was shaking. "We can't keep almost kissing in your office or looking at each other like we want to tear each other's clothes off."

"Why not?"

The question caught me off guard.

"Because it's unprofessional and I need this job to work and I can't afford to mess it up by sleeping with my boss."

"You already slept with me before I was your boss." His hand slid into my hair and my knees went weak. "So the damage is already done."

"Hardin..."

"I want you." He said it like it was simple, like wanting someone wasn't complicated and messy and dangerous. "I've wanted you since you walked into that club and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since you left my bed."

My breathing got faster and every nerve ending in my skin was screaming at me to close the distance, to let him kiss me again.

"This is a bad idea," I whispered.

"Probably." His forehead touched mine and his breath was warm against my lips. "But I don't care."

"I need this job."

"You'll have it either way." His mouth brushed the corner of mine. "The job is yours, Harper. I don't use things against people to get what I want."

"Then what do you want?"

His hand tightened in my hair and his eyes went darker.

"You. Just you."

I kissed him before I could talk myself out of it and his response was immediate, his mouth opening against mine and his tongue sliding between my lips like he'd been waiting for permission. My hands went to his chest and I could feel his heart racing under my palms.

He walked me backwards until my back hit the wall and his body pressed against mine and I could feel how hard he was through his pants and it made me moan into his mouth.

"Tell me to stop," he said against my lips and his hand slid down to my waist. "Tell me this is crossing a line and I'll stop right now."

"Don't stop." I pulled him closer and my leg wrapped around his. "Don't you dare stop."

His mouth moved to my neck and he sucked hard enough to leave a mark and my head fell back against the wall. His hand slid under my dress and his fingers traced the edge of my underwear and I was so wet I could feel it soaking through the fabric.

"You're killing me," he said and his voice was wrecked.

"Good." My fingers went to his belt and started unbuckling it.

He grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head with one hand and his other hand slid between my legs, his fingers pushing my underwear aside and stroking me and I cried out because it felt too good.

"Not yet," he said and his thumb circled my clit while two fingers pushed inside me. "I want to feel you come on my fingers first."

I couldn't form words anymore because his fingers were moving faster and his thumb was pressing harder and the pleasure was building so fast I couldn't think.

"Let go for me, Harper."

The orgasm hit me so hard my vision went white and I would have fallen if he wasn't holding me up, his fingers still moving inside me until I was shaking and gasping and clinging to him.

When I could breathe again his fingers slid out and he brought them to his mouth and sucked them clean while looking straight at me.

"Best thing I've ever tasted," he said.

Someone knocked on the door.

We both froze and his hand was still between my legs and my dress was pushed up around my waist and the knock came again, louder this time.

"Mr. Wolfe?" A woman's voice came through. "There's someone here to see Ms. Lane. He says he's a lawyer and he needs to serve her papers immediately."

My blood went cold and Hardin's hand slid away from me.

A lawyer.

Papers.

"Give us a minute," Hardin called out and his voice was tight with barely controlled anger.

He stepped back and helped me fix my dress and his hands were gentle but his face had gone hard, all the softness from seconds ago replaced with something that looked dangerous.

"I'll handle this," he said.

"No." I smoothed down my hair with shaking hands. "You won't, this is my mess and I'm going to deal with it myself."

"Harper..."

"I mean it, Hardin." I looked at him. "If I let you fight this for me then I'm no different from who I was with Connor."

His jaw worked like he was biting back words and finally he nodded once, sharp and frustrated.

"Fine, but I'm staying in the room."

I walked to the door and opened it.

The woman from earlier was standing there with a man in a gray suit holding a manila envelope and when he saw me his expression didn't change at all.

"Harper Lane?" he asked.

"That's me."

He held out the envelope and I took it and the paper felt too heavy in my hands.

"You've been served." He turned and walked away and I stood there staring down at my name written across the front in neat black letters.

Ms. Harper Lane.

I ripped it open and pulled out the papers inside and the first thing I saw was the amount they were suing me for and my vision went blurry around the edges.

Five million dollars for assault and defamation.

Five million dollars I didn't have and would never have and they knew that, Connor knew that, this wasn't about money at all it was about destroying me completely.