Free Only One (Ward Sisters Book 2) by Lucy Gage

said nothing.
    Fed up with the lies, Jenna planned to discuss making things public with Chad that weekend. He always arranged romantic getaways at inns and B&B's, showered her with gifts, sent flowers to work that were supposedly anonymous. A few times, after hours, he'd made love to her on his office desk. Despite it feeling naughty, it was hot.
    The afternoon before they were set to leave for their trip, Jenna went to Chad's office with a file on her latest project. They needed to determine the final budget, she had an opening in her day and his schedule said he was free. It seemed odd that his secretary, Heidi, wasn't at her desk. Odder still, Jenna thought she heard voices in Chad's office.
    She knocked briefly and then stepped into the room, only to find something no woman wants to see. There was Chad, naked at the waist, fucking Heidi on his desk just like he'd done to Jenna before. Unlike Chad, Heidi was completely naked with her ankles around their boss' neck and she was moaning in between cries of, “Yes! Fuck me harder, honey!”
    Jenna stepped toward the desk, dropped the file on it, said, “Goodbye, Chad,” then swiftly left, closing the door softly behind her. She walked as calmly to her office as she could, shut off her monitor, grabbed her bag and left. When she got to her car, she backed out of her space slowly, drove a few blocks away to the coffee shop and parked her car. She called the receptionist, asked to be signed out for the day – a personal emergency had suddenly required her attention – and then she dialed Pat.
    When her mentor answered, she couldn't speak.
    “Hi, Jenna,” Pat answered. Because she still said nothing, he asked, “Are you okay?”
    “No,” she whispered, trying desperately to hold in the tears.
    “Where are you?”
    “Cafe Italiano,” she said, her voice now trembling. Pat knew where it was because they often met there for coffee.
    “I'll be right there. Sit tight.” He hung up and Jenna sobbed.
    Half an hour later, Pat was rapping on her window. She thought she'd cried all the tears she had, but as soon as she saw his face, it started anew.
    Pat pulled her from the car and into his arms. “Hey, whatever happened, we'll deal with it. Okay?”
    Jenna nodded. “Can we go inside? I need chocolate.”
    Pat smiled and led her inside, where he had Jenna sit down at a table away from the windows while he got them coffee and pastries. He placed a mint mocha and a chocolate croissant in front of her – he always remembered her favorites better than her own father – and sat in the chair across from her.
    “Does this have anything to do with Chad?” he asked.
    Jenna hung her head in shame, but she nodded.
    “How long?”
    “A little over a year,” she whispered.
    “Let me guess, you thought you were the only one?”
    She nodded. “Apparently not.”
    “What happened?”
    “I went to his office. He was working his secretary.”
    “Working with her on what?” Pat asked. Then he realized Jenna's choice of words. “Oh.” He ran his hand through his very short hair. “I'll take care of this,” he said.
    “You don't have to do that.”
    “Yes, I do. I introduced you to him. I should've warned you. He's my friend, but he's a bastard sometimes. Both of his wives left him for cheating. He's gone through numerous assistants over the years and last summer, I dealt with his fling with Sonja.”
    “Sonja? The intern who worked on the Richmond project?”
    Pat nodded. “I wasn't sure if you and Chad had something going on then, so I asked him. He said no. I took him at his word. I should have known better.” He shook his head. “I'm sorry about all this.”
    “Don't be. I'm a grown woman. I knew it was probably a bad idea, for lots of reasons, and I did it anyway.”
    “Well, nonetheless, let me take care of it. I'll talk to him. Why don't you take a couple days away from the office.”
    “Okay. I will.”
    “We'll tell people you had a family