Read HUNT (The Billionaire's Rules, Book 13) for Free Online Page B

few of us go to every week.”
    “That sounds amazing,” Lanie replied,
feeling her cheeks flush.
    “Of course, you’ll need to sing or play
an instrument,” Frida told her, growing serious.   “We expect you to perform.”
    “Really?”   Lanie asked, nervous now.   “I don’t really…I mean, I could try…”
    Frida laughed, clapping her hands.   “I’m totally messing with you.   Oh my God, you’re the best, Lanie.   I’m so glad you’re here.”   She laughed, shaking her head
again.   “Seriously though,
tomorrow—open mike.   You don’t
have to perform, I swear.”
    “I’ll be there!” Lanie said.
    And then she was alone in the restroom,
wondering what had just happened.
    Maybe
I made a friend , she
thought.   Will wonders never cease?

 
    ***

 
    She returned home from work feeling both
exhilarated and wiped out.
    The rest of the day had been a blur of
sorts.
    Brayden had left the office for the rest
of the afternoon and her HR rep had found her and gone through a whole other
round of discussion of workplace policies, including the company’s harassment
policy, which she had to sign.
    It felt strange in a way.   Not that Lanie felt harassed at all by
Brayden, because she didn’t.
    But she also had a feeling that Virgil Spencer
might not see things that way.
    She doubted the co-founder and President
of the company would be happy if he’d known what had gone on in Brayden’s
office just minutes before Virgil had entered to apologize for lecturing his
CEO about ethics.
    And now that she was home in her new
apartment, Lanie wasn’t sure how she felt about everything that had transpired.
    On the one hand, she couldn’t stop
thinking about Brayden Forman.   She
was even searching for images of him to look at, despite the fact that she’d
just been with the man in person.
    Beyond that, she’d now been up close and
very personal with the man.
    Yet, she couldn’t seem to stop thinking
about him.
    The way he’d touched her, the way she’d
touched him.
    The taste of him.
    He wasn’t someone she could ever hope to
have a long-term relationship with, however.  
    Lanie knew that she needed to be careful
not to fall for the man.   He was
dangerous, a womanizing bad boy who had no intention of changing his ways.
    Someday soon he would likely tire of her
and move on to new and more exciting options.
    Lanie needed to protect herself against
the heartbreak that might ensue if she started to believe he actually had any
feelings for her.
    It’s just sex.
    It’s just experience with a very hot, very sexy guy and nothing more.
    At least, that’s what she was telling
herself as she sat watching TV and nibbling on a snack bar later that night.
    She almost was feeling at home in her new
life.
    And that’s when it happened.
    That’s when the power suddenly went out,
inexplicably leaving her in the pitch black.
    Lanie gave a tiny, strangled shriek.  
    She was in the dark.   It hadn’t even been raining or storming
outside.
    Why was the power out?
    What had happened?
    Her heart pounded through her chest as
she struggled to find her bearings.
    Lanie hated the dark more than
anything.   Ever since childhood,
she’d had this fear.  
    Sometimes, she even had nightmares about
being locked in closets or in dark basements where something horrible lurked.
    And now she struggled not to panic.   A minute or two went by and still the
lights weren’t coming back on.
    You
idiot.   You never got candles or so
much as a flashlight.   What were you
thinking?
    She
hadn’t been thinking about flashlights or candles.   She’d only been thinking about him.   About her new boss.
    But she did have the light from her cell
phone, which she took out and shined around in the pitch black.
    Tears were threatening.  
    I
can’t be alone in the dark all night.
    The thought of that was terrifying.   She felt exposed to all manner of
horrors, even though intellectually Lanie knew nothing was really