Free The Only Shark In The Sea (The Date Shark Series Book 3) by DelSheree Gladden

proposed the idea, he was clearly upset after the meeting, but seemed to accept the decision to hold off. I thought it was over.”
    Tensing, Vance had to take a minute to calm his voice and restrain the anxiety and concern he was feeling. “It wasn’t?”
    Natalie shook her head, her arms tightening around her slender frame. She looked as if she were trying to shrink into nothing. Her breathing picked up noticeably. “No.” That was all she could manage to say.
    Fearing her control was slipping, Vance put aside his own worries and spoke firmly. “Natalie, I need you to breathe. In for five, out for five. Keeping breathing until I tell you to stop.”
    She listened, though it was obviously difficult for her to concentrate on his instructions. Five full minutes later, Vance finally felt she was calm enough to resume. He knew bringing the subject back up might send her into a panic again, but he couldn’t back down from this. Natalie felt threatened by everyone, but this instance could very well be dangerous, and he had no doubt that Natalie would fail to take it seriously enough if she thought she was overreacting or felt someone else would think her childish for drawing attention to it.
    “Natalie, what happened this morning with the man from the meeting?”
    Immediately, Natalie’s eyes pinched shut. Her head started shaking, but she said, “I got an email late last night saying the project had been put on hold long-term. Samuel got the same email. He was waiting by my office when I got to work. He grabbed my arm when I tried to turn around. He scared me so badly, I tried to pull my arm away, but he pulled back and I hit the wall. That was it. I started crying and he let go, then I ran away and hid in the restroom for almost an hour.”
    “He grabbed your arm and pushed you into the wall?” Vance asked. The steel in his voice snapped Natalie’s eyes open. He could see from her expression that she thought he was angry with her. Vance was angry, but not with her. “Natalie, he had no right to do that. No matter what grievance he had against you, there is no excuse for him touching you without your permission or using force against you. This needs to be reported.”
    Natalie’s eyes doubled in size. “What?”
    Her strangled voice matched the expression on her face, but Vance wouldn’t back down. Not only had this guy crossed a line, Vance feared that if Natalie didn’t do something about it right away, he would do it again. Natalie was a perfect target for that kind of behavior. No doubt every bully in the office knew it too.
    “I can’t,” Natalie said. “It will only make him angrier.”
    “Not reporting it will tell him you’re okay with him treating you like this. He may try to do it again,” Vance said.
    That got her attention. The hyperventilating hit so fast there was no hope of Vance talking her down from her panic in time. Luckily, Natalie seemed to be familiar enough with this routine that she fumbled to get both hands loosely over her mouth and nose to capture the carbon dioxide she was exhaling too rapidly to compensate for the large amount of oxygen she was breathing in. People not familiar with panic attacks and hyperventilation might try finding a paper bag for her to breathe into. Natalie was clearly well acquainted with the most current recommendations, and soon her breathing began to calm, even if her fears were still in full swing.
    “I can’t file a report.” She said it as a statement, but her voice was pleading.
    “Yes, you can. Right now. I’ll stay until it’s taken care of.”
    Shaking her head, Natalie said, “But, you have patients to get back to.”
    “Not for a while,” Vance reassured her. “I had my receptionist reschedule my next two patients when you mentioned that you’d had a difficult morning. I suspected you might need me to stay for longer than usual.”
    Stunned, Natalie stared at him for several seconds before managing to respond. “You really did that?