Thirty eight

EVE'S POV 

When Morgan’s finger tugged on the towel and it became a little loose, I snapped out of the trance he had distracted me into. 

My face flushed fresh, and as my mind rattled back into work-mode, I realised how precarious my situation was. I had let this go too far.

Pushing Morgan's hand away, I ducked under his arm and reached for my door. This time, he didn't stop me as I twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

 I slammed it closed behind me, as if to further emphasise that I was not up for whatever he had in mind.

Rushing to my mirror, I pressed my hands to my face and took deep breaths. I had no idea who I was more pissed at, him for teasing me in my state of undress, or myself for giving him any sign that I liked it.

It seemed that I was getting too comfortable with him and forgetting that not only was he my pretend husband, but that I was also deceiving him about my identity. 

Nothing could happen between us, as long as I was living a lie.

MORGAN'S POV 

Outside the door, I cursed and raked my hand through my hair. 

Had I been too pushy?

The last thing I wanted was to scare her away or make her vigilant aroundme. 

Our relationship had come a long way from when we were newlyweds wary of each other, or, to be honest, I being wary of her. And I didn't want things to go back to that.

With a last longing look at her door, I walked to the kitchen for a cold drink to help me cool down.

**********************

EVE'S POV 

As I walked into the company building the next morning, a sense of foreboding loomed over me and refused to let go.

 I clutched my bag tightly in amy hand to keep my hands from trembling, and ended up digging my nails into my palms.

Trying to calm myself down was impossible. Even while I tried to not fall apart on the outside, my heart was thudding in my chest, and I was certain that was why I was feeling light-headed.

It got even worse as I got in the elevator and headed to my office floor. In less than a minute, I wasgoing to walk into my department, where Mr Gray was probably waiting to make me pay for the previous night's incident.

Morgan's assurances had almost convinced me that I didn't have to worry, but none of that confidence he had instilled in me remained. 

I was walking into the lion's den alone, and heaven only, knew whether I would walk out with my job.

The morning began without any incident, and I almost believed that Mr Gray had no intention of hunting me down for revenge. But that belief was crushed when a short while, after ten o'clock, he walked out of his office and came straight to my desk.

"Ms Luciano, you're fired”, he said, loud enough for me and whoever else was in the vicinity to hear.

I opened my mouth to say something, but his sudden announcement had shocked me into speechlessness.

When he saw that I wasn't saying anything, he proceeded, 

"Clear out your desk as fast as possible, you're no longer a part of this company”,

It was when he turned away to leave that I shot to my feet, finding my voice. 

"Why?", I asked.

Of course I knew why, but he couldn't give that as a reason for firing me, could he?.

I wanted to know what excuse he was using to get his revenge.

Mr Gray turned around and gave me a hateful glare. 

"Because you are not suitable for the position", he replied.

Not good enough for the position? 

That was what the was going with? After the gruesome interviewing process I had gone through and aced?

 "How am I not suitable?", I demanded.

A murmur rose among my coworkers.

"Her design got selected for the autumn winter series exhibition," someone said. 

"I'm pretty sure she's suitable",

Mr Gray threw a glare towards the person who said that.

 "I'm the department director, I'm sure I know better than you, who's suitable for this job”,

"But we heard that she passed all her interviews exceedingly" another person added.

 "Personally I think she is quite talented”,

As more people agreed with that sentiment, Mr Gray got angrier, and I got braver. 

Even if he wanted to assert his seniority as the director, he was dreaming if he thought I was going to let him have his way without taking this further. As far as I was concerned, he was abusing his position, and thankfully, he wasn't at the top of the ladder. There were people he was answerable to, and I would make sure to present my grievance to them before packing up just because he said so.

"If you do not do as I say", he told me, stepping towards me threateningly, 

"Everybody here will find out exactly what kind of woman you are”,

His cold tone caused a chill to run down my spine, and I swallowed. 

What did he mean by that?.

Getting close to me, he told me in a low volume so that nobody else heard.

 "As the department director, I refuse to work with someone who tries to seduce me to get favours at work",

I gaped. That?. He would say that if I reported him, he would twist the story around to place the blame on me. 

It would also be easy to pin it on me in this situation if he was pressed to provide a viable reason for firing her.

The look he gave me as he stepped back told me that he had every intention of making that claim right away.

I closed my trembling hands into fists, unable to think of a way around. Unless I could get proof that he was lying, everybody would believe his story. My only option was to leave silently.

Mr Gray turned away to go back into his office, but stopped a second later when a voice called his name from the entrance. 

I turned to find Mr Dickson , the vice president, coming forward. But he was not alone, he was accompanied by three police officers, and the entire office turned their attention to the new spectacle.

Mr Gray turned around and met the group halfway. 

"Is anything the matter, sir?" he asked the vice president.

One of the police officers stepped forward and faced Mr Gray. 

"We have received a video showing that you're a suspect in the attempted rape of Ms Eve Luciano. We'd like you to come down to the station with us”,

"What?" Mr Gray demanded. 

"What's this nonsense?", he added.

"The video clearly shows you dragging Ms Luciano into a room", the officer provided. 

"Come with us and we'll talk about it at the station”,

Mr Gray's eyes found mine, and he took a threatening step towards me. 

"You bitch…"

l took a step backwards quickly, but one of the officers grabbed his arm to keep him from getting to me.

As the officer steered Mr Gray towards the exit, he turned to the vice president, shaking his head. 

"There has been a mistake. It's all a lie. I would never do that!",

The vice president simply asked him to cooperate with the police and to not make a scene.

 As the group left, the entire office watched, surprise etched on all of their faces.

I was astonished too and couldn't believe it

"That must be why he was attempting to fire you”, one of my colleagues said. 

"What a jerk!",

"Thank God he was captured on camera," Someone else said.

 "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, Eve",

"Don't worry, Mr Dickson will make sure he never sets foot here again”, someone else comforted her.

I sure hoped so. But, who had filed the report against Mr Gray?.