Page 64 of I Hate You More

“If you dare to comment on my appearance again, so help me, I’ll report you for sexual harassment before I go,” she said with a hard set of her jaw. “And abuse of power and emotional badgering and—”

“General unpleasantness,” Spencer supplied.

Before she realized what was happening, Spencer rose to his feet and placed himself at her back. Even though no part of him touched her, she could feel every muscle in his body—the latent strength and warm, solid mass of him. She wasn’t sure if it was the physical proximity that was making her heart pick up like that or if it was the fact that he was standing up for her—literally—but there was no denying the uptick in her blood flow.

He knew the truth. He knew the truth and he was still here.

“I don’t know who you are or why you’ve come, but you should know that Ruby saved this animal’s life today,” Spencer said and in a voice that skipped the leather to go straight for steel. “I’ve never seen anyone deal with an asshole the way she has.”

Ruby choked back a laugh as the full weight of Spencer’s double entendre hit home. From the look on Harry’s face, equal parts outraged and insulted, it was clear he understood what Spencer was getting at.

“You could say that I’ve been dealing with assholes my whole life,” Ruby said sweetly.

“You can’t lodge a complaint about general unpleasantness,” Harry muttered, though he was already stepping backward toward the door. “And I never sexually harassed you, Ruby, not once. I’ll swear to that under oath. You’re not my type.”

He meant the words as an insult, but Ruby couldn’t think of a better compliment to give a woman.

“Icouldlodge a complaint about all the prescription drugs that have gone missing around here, so don’t even start,” she countered. “And sexual harassment isn’t just hitting on a woman, you nitwit. You’ve been making snide comments about my appearance since the moment I started working here. You and management both.”

Harry’s face grew red, then purple, then white. “You can’t prove anything.”

He was right. She had no proof that he’d been stealing from the clients, and any claims she made about him making the workplace an uncomfortable environment would be a case of he-said, she-said—and management had already shown whose side they’d be more likely to take.

Not that there was any way in hell she was letting him know that.

“You’d better hope so,” she said, still in that sweet voice. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish up here before I gather the things from my locker. You’ll pass my resignation along to the proper channels?”

She didn’t wait for an answer, turning instead to address Spencer, who was still standing like a suit of armor at her back—not protective but prepared should the situation require. His intensity was so unsettling that she forgot herself and scratched at her wrist, an action that only made the rest of her body flare up and make similar demands.

It was a lot like returning to the stage—to life—after ten years of stasis. For a full decade, Ruby had managed to quell every natural impulse and desire she had, to keep her head down and her sights low, to accept the bare minimum and be grateful for it. Doing so had helped her to leave the past behind, but at the cost of her future.

Not anymore. She might be uncomfortable and uncertain and unemployed, but at least she was those things on her own terms.

“Shut the door behind you when you go, please,” she called as a parting shot. “Wheezy needs to rest, and it’s best if he has some peace and quiet while he does it.”

The bathroom door slammed shut. The vibrations shook the room, but the dog slumbering in the bathtub didn’t even blink. Poor Wheezy was done in. Ruby was tempted to climb in and join him for a weary and well-earned nap, but Spencer cleared his throat before she could give in to the impulse.

She braced herself for what came next.

“I don’t think I like that man very much,” he said.

Ruby was startled into a shaky laugh. That wasn’t how she’d expected Spencer to start the conversation, but it was just like him to cut straight to the heart of the matter.

“IknowI don’t like that man very much,” she countered. “I never have.”

“Does he really steal drugs?”

She nodded. “I’ve never caught him at it, but yes. It’s not that uncommon, unfortunately. A lot of people work in places like this so they can take advantage of the residents.”

“You don’t.” He didn’t phrase it as a question.

“My mother has high hopes that I’ll rope some sweet old man with an amazing life insurance policy into marriage, but no, I don’t.” Unlike Harry, Ruby didn’t waver under the power of Spencer’s stare. It was his intense stare, the one that fired her blood in every possible way. “I’m also not a doctor, in case that wasn’t obvious. I’m a nursing assistant—or, rather, I was until about five minutes ago.”

“A nursing assistant,” he echoed.

“Who makes fourteen dollars an hour and barely qualified for her CNA exam and has been passed over for every single promotion she’s applied for.” She paused, allowing him a moment to react, but he didn’t move—not even to blink. The moment of truth had come at last. “This is where I should also admit that my bank account has exactly forty-three dollars in it. I also graduated from high school by the skin of my teeth and have no real skills except the ability to walk elegantly across a stage. When it comes to my life, it’s a case of what you see is what you get. Literally. A pretty package, and that’s about it.”

She waited again, her breath caught in her lungs. She didn’t want to exhale for fear that it would disturb the balance of the room. Its quiet expectancy carried a feeling that she stood on a precipice. The slightest brush, the softest whisper, and she’d be pushed over the edge.