The freezing morning air of Manhattan hit Cierra like a wall of ice.
She stumbled out of the revolving doors of Carlisle's building, her bare feet slapping against the freezing concrete pavement.
Her white blouse and black skirt were plastered to her skin, dripping wet. The wind cut right through the soaked fabric, chilling her straight to the bone.
Pedestrians in heavy wool coats stopped and stared. Whispers broke out. A businessman in a suit gave her a look of utter disgust, clearly assuming she was a drunken mess walking home from a wild night out.
Cierra wrapped her arms tightly around her chest, her teeth chattering so violently her jaw ached.
She dragged herself to the corner of the intersection and leaned against a cold brick wall. Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely unzip her wet clutch.
She pulled out her phone. The screen was smeared with water droplets.
She tried to open the Uber app, but her numb fingers wouldn't register on the glass.
Suddenly, the screen lit up with an incoming call.
Julian.
Cierra hit the green button and lifted the phone to her ear.
"Cierra?" Julian's voice came through the speaker, sounding cheerful. "Did you crush the meeting?"
Cierra opened her mouth, but a violent, broken sob tore out of her throat instead.
"Cierra?" Julian's tone instantly dropped, shifting into sharp panic. "Where are you? What happened?"
"I'm... I'm at the corner of 5th and 58th," Cierra choked out, sliding down the brick wall until she was crouching on the freezing sidewalk. "Please. Just come get me."
"I'm five minutes away. Don't move."
Exactly four minutes later, the screech of tires echoed down the avenue.
A silver Porsche 911 violently pulled up to the curb, the hazard lights flashing.
Julian threw his door open and sprinted around the hood. When he saw Cierra shivering on the ground, soaked to the bone and barefoot, his face turned pale with shock.
"Jesus Christ," Julian muttered.
He ripped off his heavy cashmere overcoat and wrapped it tightly around Cierra's trembling shoulders. He scooped her up by her waist and practically carried her to the passenger side, shoving her into the leather seat.
Julian slammed the door, ran to the driver's side, and got in. He immediately cranked the car's heater to the maximum setting.
Hot air blasted Cierra's frozen face. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
Julian pulled the Porsche into the flow of traffic. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard the leather creaked.
"Did he touch you?" Julian asked, his voice deadly quiet. "Did Carlisle do this to you?"
Cierra shook her head frantically. "No. I slipped. I fell into the pool."
She grabbed a fistful of the cashmere coat. "He hated my pitch, Julian. He said it was cheap. He said I belonged in the red-light district."
Julian let out a vicious curse. "He's a sadistic bastard. He's just torturing you because of what happened in college."
Julian reached over and squeezed her knee. "Listen to me. I'll pay the penalty fee. I'll wire you the million dollars today. You are going to terminate that contract and never look at that man again."
Cierra stared blankly at the dashboard. Julian's money could save her. But taking it meant she was exactly what Carlisle thought she was-a parasite who relied on rich men to survive.
Before she could answer, her phone buzzed loudly against the center console.
Cierra picked it up.
It was an email from K.C. The subject line was flagged with a bright red exclamation mark: [URGENT: OFFICIAL WARNING].
Cierra's stomach plummeted. She tapped the screen.
The email was formal, cold, and stamped with the Lumina legal department logo.
Ms. Holcomb,
This serves as an official corporate warning regarding your highly unprofessional conduct and inappropriate sexual harassment toward the CEO during this morning's meeting.
Cierra stopped breathing. Sexual harassment?
She forced her eyes to keep reading.
Mr. McLean has graciously decided to give you one final opportunity. You will present a revised, data-driven marketing pitch at the Lumina Executive Dinner tomorrow night. He expects you to publicly demonstrate your 'capabilities' in front of the entire board of directors-an open execution to prove exactly what you are.
If you fail to attend, or if you present another inappropriate document, Lumina will formally press charges for sexual harassment and initiate an industry-wide blacklist.
Cierra stared at the words until they blurred.
Sexual harassment. Inappropriate document.
Julian glanced at the screen. "What does it say?"
Cierra slowly lowered the phone. The blood roared in her ears.
Carlisle wasn't just insulting her. He was building a legal case to destroy her life. And she still had absolutely no idea why he thought she had sexually harassed him.
"Take me home, Julian," Cierra whispered, her voice completely hollow. "Just take me home."
