Page 34 of Serenading Reagan
Chase knew that he needed to vent his anger to someone before he saw Reagan again. So, when he walked up to the bar and saw Jake sitting there looking at something on his phone, he didn’t waste time with any pleasantries.
“Hey, Jake. Did you know Reagan is being harassed at work?”
Jake looked up with a frown, then shook his head in resignation. “Yeah, man, I think it’s been going on for a while. Callie hasn’t told me much about it. I think Reagan is trying to deal with it alone.”
Chase closed his eyes to try and control his emotions before he replied, “Well she isn’t having much success with that. I saw the fucker touching her ass today. Then he had the balls to give me attitude. I can’t lie, it was all I could do not to knock him out.”
Jake growled with outrage. It eased some of Chase’s anger to know his friend was just as disgusted as he was.
“She needs to quit that job; I just don’t know how to get her to see that. The last thing I want to do is make her feel like I’m telling her what to do, but I hate the idea of her still working there.” Chase let his honest emotion bleed into his words. If Jake was going to help him, he needed to know the truth. “I love her, she is everything to me and it’s fucking killing me that this is what she’s been putting up with every day and I had no goddamn idea.”
Jake didn’t say anything right away and when he did, his voice was low and thoughtful.
“If you love her, you have to let go of the anger. You can’t be mad at her for not telling you about it. From what I know of Reagan, she is a strong woman, who probably felt embarrassed about what was happening.” Jake held up his hand to stop Chase from saying anything. “Not that she had anything to be embarrassed about. The only person who did anything wrong is the idiot at her office.”
Chase knew Jake was right. He had to let go of his anger about what was happening and show Reagan that he could stand by her side no matter what her decision was. He just prayed she could see her own strength and worth, and not let herself be trapped in that situation any longer.
“I can’t let it go until I know she’s not going to be harassed anymore. I just can’t. But you’re right there’s nothing for me to be mad at Reagan about.” Chase paused thoughtfully. “Honestly, I don’t think I ever was mad at her. Disappointed that I didn’t know and couldn’t stop it? Sure. Mad? No. I just want her to see that she does not have to put up with that kind of shit from anyone. She deserves better.”
Jake nodded in agreement. “She does, and hopefully she’ll realize that soon.”
Their conversation was interrupted when Reagan and Callie arrived. Jake kissed Callie hello, gave Reagan a quick hug, then went around behind the bar to pour them all a drink. The pub was quiet, being a Monday evening, which Chase was thankful for.
He stood up and pulled Reagan into his arms, breathing in the scent of her and letting the peace of her embrace infuse his soul.
“Hey, Red. How was the rest of your afternoon?”
Reagan nuzzled her head into his arms with a soft sigh of contentment. “It was fine, Chase. Nothing happened.”
Callie had been watching them with a smile, Chase could see over Reagan’s head. But when she heard Reagan’s words she frowned. “What do you mean nothing happened, Reags?”
Reagan pulled away from Chase and turned to face her friend. “Chase came to take me to lunch and saw Harris bugging me.”
“Bugging you? Babe, he was grabbing your ass. That’s more than bugging that’s fucking sexual harassment.” Chase could not keep the anger out of his voice at how Reagan downplayed what had happened.
Callie gasped and Chase worried he had gone too far spilling the news like that. But Reagan surprised him with her reply.
“You’re right, Chase. It is. And that’s why, tomorrow, Lucy and I are going to meet with the head of human resources and report him.” She turned to Callie with relief evident in her voice. “Lucy works at the office and Harris has been bothering her as well. She caught him on camera touching me. So now we have proof of what a creep he is.”
Callie leaned forward and hugged Reagan. “I’m so glad, babe. Are you going to try and get him fired? Or quit? Or both?” Each question came out of Callie’s mouth sounding a little more excited than the last and Chase had to admit he also felt his eagerness growing as he waited for Reagan’s reply. Even Jake had stopped what he was doing behind the bar and was looking at Reagan expectantly.
She looked up at all of them, and a wide smile stretched across her face.
“I’m going to quit. And, thanks to some money from my parents, I’m going to start my brownie business.”
As the three of them cheered at Reagan’s news, took turns hugging her and each other, Chase realized something. This moment was the first time since the earlier, happier days of Black Star, that he felt included in a group of friends. He belonged here, with these people. And it had taken one stunning redhead to make him feel that.
Fast on the heels of that feeling came a familiar, insidious thought.Will they still want you as a friend when they know what you used to be like… who you used to be…?Chase shifted uncomfortably in his seat, even as his friends chatted happily around him about Reagan’s plans. Would everyone still want him around? Could they trust him once they knew the truth about his past? Would they be angry that he never told them the truth? Would they look at him differently knowing he used to be famous? And what about his brushes against the law and his history with drugs. Would those stupid actions as a younger man come back to haunt him and ruin the new life he had built? Chase knew he would have to spill his secrets eventually, especially to Reagan. Love could not thrive without honesty. That didn’t stop him from being terrified about telling her. Terrified that he would lose her.
Chapter 16
When Reagan arrived at work the next day, she settled into her cubicle, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. She and Lucy had been texting each other since their conversation the day before and had a meeting with human resources planned for that morning. Reagan just hoped she could avoid Harris until then.
As she checked her e-mails and prepared for the morning, Reagan’s phone vibrated with an incoming message.
Chase: Hey, beautiful, just wanted to tell you I am so proud of you. You are incredibly brave and so fucking amazing. I can’t wait to celebrate your new beginning tonight and show you just how much I love you.
Reagan felt the prick of tears behind her eyes. Chase’s message was exactly what she needed to see. They hadn’t spent last night together, as she felt she needed some time alone to mentally prepare for today. Chase hadn’t liked that at first but respected her decision. She was glad she had that space to think about her decision, but missed seeing him this morning before facing her day. Before she put her phone away, Reagan tapped out a quick reply.
