He kissed her … again?

Puzzled, she looked at him, who closed his eyes and kept

pushing his tongue further, wanting more.

She frowned slightly, leaned backward, and pressed her hands

against his chest, stopping him from getting closer.

They were getting a divorce. This wasn’t right.

Sensing her resistance, he sped the back of her head with his

right hand and pulled her back toward him.

The kisssted for a while before he slid his hand down to

caress her neck and gently pushed her blouse away.

The warm light made the atmosphere even more intimate.

Her breathing grew heavy.

As his lips traced the outline of her cheek, her neck, and her ear,

she closed her eyes tightly, tilted her face away, and held her

breath.

When he lifted her slightly with his arms around her waist, she

braced her hands against his chest again and stared at him

intently, gently asking, “Did Patsy say something to you? She pressured you, didn’t she? I’ll go talk to her. That should take

the pressure off you.”

She had just told Patsy about the divorce, and now, Ellsworth

was doing intimate things with her.

Her gut told her Patsy had threatened him with Kelsey.

She sighed inwardly, deciding to talk to Patsy personally.

Amused, Ellsworth said, “What could she possibly do to

pressure me?”

He wasn’t pressured at all. No one could force him to do

anything he didn’t want to.

Truth be told, Harriet acting all polite and bashful intrigued

him. He wanted to see her beg him in bed through tears.

That should be pretty exciting.

Harriet, however, didn’t buy it.

Over the past three years, she had witnessed the pressure his

family had put him under.

She removed his hands from her waist, looked away,

straightened up, and held the mouse. “I’m done with work. You

can have your desk back.”

But Ellsworth didn’t get up. He pinched her chin, forcing her to

look at him.

Just then, her phone on the desk rang.

It was such a relief. As Johnathan’s name flickered on the

screen, she picked the phone up and said to Ellsworth, “It’s

Johnathan.”

Then she quickly stood up and strode toward the floor-to-

ceiling window, almost fleeing away from him.

As she answered, Johnathan’s voice came through. “Hara, are

you free tomorrow night? Wanna grab dinner together?”

Gazing at the night view outside the window, she said,

“Another time, maybe. You guys have fun.”

Though Ellsworth had always given her the cold shoulder,

Johnathan and Darrick were nice to her, always inviting her

out.

They’d also create chances for her and Ellsworth to meet.

She went to their parties a few times. Every time, Ellsworth

would treat her with icy indifference, pretending not to know her at all. On top of that, he’d act all intimate with other women,ughing, flirting, and even crossing lines. The sight

broke her heart, so eventually, she just stopped going.

There was no reason for her to tag along this time either.

Johnathan smiled, “Come on, Hara. It’s my birthday tomorrow,

and it’s gonna be a total sausage fest. Can youe with Kat?

Or the guys are so gonnaugh at me.”

She knew what he was implying-she was safe from

embarrassment.

But he worried too much. She’d no longer feel embarrassed or

sad.

Since it was his birthday, she found it rude to say no to him. So,

she said, “Alright. I’ll go with Kat tomorrow.

“Happy birthday, Johnathan.”

After some small talk, she hung up and turned around.

Ellsworth had already cleared the desk for her and was

walking toward her. Their intimate moment came flooding back to her, and her ears burned again.

Not wanting him to notice her embarrassment, she held her

phone and told him, masking her panic, “Johnathan said it’s his

birthday tomorrow.”

Ellsworth nodded.