Flicking through the file, she saw that he’d been given Carl’s latest clients.
“How come you have Carl’s case?” she asked.
“Richmond is a friend of Frank’s, and his current wife is trying to take him to the cleaners. Carl’s having a string of bad luck, and Richmond doesn’t want to lose any more of his fortune. His first ex-wife has a chunk of it. This is his third, and if Carl’s not careful, it could see most of the fortune go,” Rex said.
“How?”
“Richmond has a problem with keeping it in his pants. Whenever a new wife comes along, he makes a pre-nup to say how he’s going to remain faithful, blah blah. He cheats, and then has to try and get out of the contract. So far, it has left a huge dent in his finances. It’s our job to keep that from happening.”
“Or he should keep it in his pants.” She shrugged.
He smiled. “We’ve told him that, but the moment a pretty girl walks past, you know the drill.”
She didn’t but nodded because she had seen it more than one time. “I’ll look through this stuff.”
“If you can find anything on the wife as well, that would be great.”
“Will do.” She stood ready to leave.
“Wait,” he said, holding his hand up in front of her.
She wrapped her arms around the folder, keeping it close to her chest, and forced herself to look at Rex, waiting for whatever he was about to say. “What is it?” she asked.
“About last week, and about everything else. I’ve been a complete asshole to you.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not, and I’m sorry. I want you to know that, and I won’t continue to be an asshole.”
She nodded, not really believing him. This man turned lying into a fine art form. “Is that everything?”
He paused, and she tensed up as he kept on staring at her. “Yeah, I want to ask you a question, and I want you to be honest with me.”
“Okay.”
“Did you want to work for me?”
Nora stared at her boss, and she saw he was being serious. Rex never joked about anything, especially not with her.
“No, I didn’t. I was happy where I was. I just got put with you after the last woman threatened to sue you, and for quite a steep price. She had evidence as well. Really explicit evidence. Before I knew what had happened, I came into work, and Frank told me I was now your PA, and I had to keep you in line.” She licked her dry lips. “I’ve not been comfortable in this position for a long time.” She stood up, and took a deep breath. There was no point in lying. She went to move past him, but Rex reached out and caught her arm. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
Rex looked at where he was touching her, and then up at her face. She didn’t know what he saw, but he pulled away. “I’m sorry. I just, thank you for coming in today.”
“It’s fine.” She wanted to get her work done so that she could think about her future. Rex always made her nervous. He didn’t release her for several seconds, and he even started to stroke her flesh with his thumb. “I’ve got to go.”
“Right, right.”
He let her go, and Nora was more than happy to rush back to her space.
Should she leave or should she stay? Frank was amazing. He was like a father to her, and she didn’t want to let him down. He didn’t have to hire her, and yet he had done so. Dropping her head into her hands, she sighed. She had to get to work now and think about everything else when she finally got home.
****
Rex stood in his doorway, watching as Nora dropped her head into her hands looking so tired. He had never seen her like that before, vulnerable. Every time he was angry, or he had said something awful, she took it, and never fought back, not once. He had to wonder if she even listened to him. Now he knew without a doubt that she did.
Stepping away from the door, he made his way toward his desk, and took a seat. This was the first time he had ever felt guilt. He had thought Nora wanted to work with him. Most women did, but finding out that she felt stuck with him, it was kind of a surprise. Frank had just given him a good assistant who he thought wouldn’t come back to complain about sexual harassment.