Chapter 1

"Did you think you could humiliate me in front of everyone and then simply walk away?" Mr. Carter moved around the desk with a fluid, predatory speed that sent me stumbling backward. 

"I didn't humiliate you," I managed, though my voice emerged thinner than I intended. "I corrected a prescription that could have harmed a patient."

The air in the office grew heavy, smelling of old paper and the cloying scent of Carter's cologne. 

"You always have to be right, don't you?" he said, closing the distance between us until I could feel the warmth radiating from him. 

"You're trying to make me look incompetent."he said, moving closer until my back hit the wall with a dull thud. 

"Mr. Carter, please move..."

He didn't. 

Before I could sidestep him, he planted one palm flat against the wall beside my head, caging me in. His other hand caught my shoulder, fingers digging in just enough to hurt. 

The shift was so sudden, so disorienting, that for a heartbeat my mind refused to process what was happening. 

"What are you doing?" I demanded, my hands coming up to push against his chest.

He ignored the question, his touch sliding down my side to rest on my hip, a proprietary gesture that made my skin crawl, then his other hand left the wall, moving to my breast, his thumb pressing hard against the peak of my nipple through the thin fabric of my scrubs. 

The invasive, deliberate touch sent a jolt of pure revulsion through me and a scream ripped from my throat, raw and terrified.

His hand was over my mouth in an instant, the leather of his watch strap scraping my cheek and panic flooded my veins, cold and sharp. 

I thrashed against him, fingers scrabbling at his wrist, nails biting into his skin as I tried to pry his hand away but he was stronger than he looked, his grip unyielding, his other hand still kneading my breast with a proprietary entitlement that made bile rise in my throat. 

The world narrowed to the wall at my back, the pressure of his body, and the suffocating heat of his palm over my face.

Then, there was a knock. 

We both froze, the sound echoing in the sudden silence like rifle shots. "Mr. Carter?" His secretary's voice, muffled by the heavy wood door. "Mrs. Kane is here for her consultation." Carter released me so abruptly that I staggered, the wall the only thing keeping me upright.

He took a step back and adjusted his jacket, his breathing barely disturbed. The transformation was so quick that it made my stomach twist. One second, he had been holding me against the wall; the next, he looked like an ordinary senior pharmacist preparing to receive an important visitor.

“Come in,” he called, his voice perfectly composed.

The door opened, and an elegant woman stepped into the office.

She was dressed simply but expensively, with her dark hair pulled neatly away from her face and a leather handbag resting against her arm. Her eyes moved first to Carter, then to me, and I watched a faint crease appear between her brows.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Carter.”

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Kane.” Carter smiled as though nothing unusual had happened. “Please, have a seat.”

I couldn't move.

My heart was still pounding violently, my cheek still tingling where his watch had scraped it, and every instinct in me screamed to get away from that office.

The woman glanced at me again.

“Is everything all right?”

I opened my mouth, but my throat tightened and Carter answered before I could.

“Of course, we were just discussing a workplace matter.”

His calm voice made something inside me burn.

A workplace matter, as if he hadn't just put his hands on me and I hadn't been struggling to breathe beneath his palm.

The woman didn't immediately respond. Her gaze lingered on me for another moment, and I could tell she had noticed something was wrong, even if she didn't know what.

“You look pale,” she said gently.

“I...” My voice cracked, and I swallowed before forcing the words out. “I'm fine.”

It was a lie, and we both knew it.

Carter cleared his throat.

“She's had a stressful morning.”

I looked at him, unable to believe how easily the words came.

The woman studied him briefly before turning her attention back to me.

“You should sit down.”

“Thank you, but I'd rather go back to work.”

My voice sounded steadier this time, and I pushed myself away from the wall.

Carter's eyes followed me, and for a brief second, something warning flashed across his face but I ignored it. I just couldn't stay in that room another second.

“Excuse me,” I murmured, keeping my eyes on the floor as I moved toward the door.