Free His To Own by Elena Black

should know. His mouth pinched into a tight line and he stormed into Price's office without knocking, his secretary's indignant squawks of protest following him inside.
    "What is the meaning of this?" Michael asked, glaring at Price's smug face. The other man was leaning against his desk, his arms folded.
    "I told you to get rid of her," Price said. "I know you were enjoying the… view, but she didn't fit in. She's not the type of girl to get you into the corner office."
    "And what type of girl is that?" Michael asked through gritted teeth.
    "One who can walk and chew gum at the same time," Price snapped. "I don't know what you're so upset about. The agency is sending over another temp this afternoon. I'm sure this one will give your dick the same single minded attention as the last little harlot."
    Michael didn't think. He was blinded by rage. His arm swung back and popped Price right in the nose. The other man howled with agony.
    "Consider this my notice," Michael growled. "I won't work with people who go behind my back."
    "I'll sue you," Price screamed.
    "Go ahead," Michael ground out. "I'll slap this place with a wrongful termination suit in Laney's name and go to the media with every dirty little secret I know."
    "You'll go to jail," Price muttered. "You've got a confidentiality clause."
    "But you'll be ruined," Michael insisted. "Fair trade. Or, you buy me out and we all walk away with what we want."
    "That's not what I want." Price said bitterly, still clutching his likely broken nose.
    "But it's all I'm offering," Michael said. "Let me know what you decide."
    He stormed out, leaving Price's matronly secretary to fuss over his injuries. Michael was heading straight to Laney's - except, he realized with a mental growl, he didn't actually know where she lived. Because he'd never bothered to ask. She would have had to fill out paperwork when she was hired - paperwork that was automatically sent to the records room.
    Flirting with the file clerk got him inside and his clearance hadn't been revoked yet. It took him five minutes to glean Laney's personal address and another five to get to his car. He patted his pocket, reminded of the mystery bag and strange note it contained. His poor Laney. She must have been so hurt and confused - well, never again, he thought as he pushed the accelerator pedal a little harder. Michael was going to make damn sure she knew exactly where she belonged.
    ##
    Laney was a mess. She'd fallen asleep crying the night before, then woke up angry at herself for letting the situation get to her that much. The agency had already left her a message assuring her that she wasn't being held responsible for the dismissal and that they'd had difficulty placing people there in the past. They were impressed Laney had managed to last as long as she did.
    The fact that she'd get a new job soon was of little comfort to Laney. It wasn't the loss of the job that had broken her heart, after all. Part of her wanted to march down there and insist Michael see her, insist that he tell her face to face that he wanted nothing more to do with her. A much bigger part of her, however, was terrified of the look in his eyes when he did; terrified that he wouldn't care, that she'd start crying again and he'd feel nothing but pity for her. That wasn't how she wanted to remember him.
    "Get up," she ordered herself, and after another five minutes of wallowing in self-pity, she did. After a hot shower Laney felt better, physically at least, and she put on her favorite pair of fuzzy pink pajamas. She had nowhere to be, so she might as well be comfortable. She was staring into her freezer, debating the pros and cons of frozen waffles versus frozen pancakes when her doorbell rang.
    Puzzled, Laney went to answer it, glancing into the peephole before she opened the door. She gasped when she saw Michael on the other side, ducking down as if he could see her, which was ridiculous.
    "I know you're in there," he said after a minute of