It's Monday and Dimitri's in a meeting. I sigh and lean back in my chair. The Red Line was especially busy last night.

I'm on the phone with one of Dimitri's clients. "Mr. Dimitri can see you at one thirty," I say.

"I have to pick up my kid from school and the day-"

"If it's easier, you can bring your kid here. It's very important that you meet with Mr. Dimitri.

"Oh," she sighs with relief. "Thank you."

I end the call and write some things down in his planner.

"Michael?" a nasal voice calls.

"Jesus," I mutter. It's Stephanie. I stand up and turn around. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She's wearing a trench coat. Oh, God.

"I'm Dimitri's assistant. What are you doing here?" I ask. She scowls.

"I don't need a fucking reason to visit my fiancee!" she says. I raise my eyebrows.

"You and Dimitri are engaged?" I ask right as Dimitri walks in.

"What?" he asks. He looks at me.

"Stephanie said that you two were engaged." He's shaking his head and I smile. "Congratulations."

"Uh, no," he says. He looks at Stephanie. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to uh," she says in throaty voice while playing with the front of her coat, "talk to you."

I roll my eyes. "Dimitri, you have a meeting with Sienna Miller at one-thirty," I tell him. He nods. Stephanie walks to where I am and knocks my planner off the table.

"Pick that up, will you?" she asks. I roll my eyes and bend over. I hear Dimitri cough behind me. I frown and then realize I'm a small skirt and lacy panties.

"Great," I mutter.

"Why don't you leave and come back in two hours?" Stephanie says. I look at Dimitri who keeps his eyes on the floor.

"Dimitri?" I ask. He looks up and kind of nods. I grab my things and shut the door behind me. I shake my head as I walk to the elevator.

Why is he with Stephanie? It's really none of my business. But Stephanie doesn't have one redeeming quality. She's pretty, but far from beautiful.

And Dimitri...

I shake my head as I keep walking. I sit down at a table and keep writing things in the planner.

"Hey, uh, Kincaid, right?" a voice asks. I look up. It's Noah, the kid with freckles.

"Yeah. You're Noah, right?" I ask. He nods.

"Can I sit?" he asks. I nod. "So, you're Dimitri's assistant?"

"Yeah," I say. "You're not his bitch anymore?"

Noah laughs. "You're funny," he says. I smile. "How's your case going? It's the Thorne one?"

"Yeah," I say. "My case...it doesn't matter to me."

"Why?" Noah asks. I shrug.

"I guess...I'll be the same person if I go to jail, nothing will change." Noah frowns.

"Except, you won't have any freedom," he says. "You'll be in jail for the rest of your life."

"Maybe I'm not free now." I write something in the planner.

"I can see why Dimitri's interested in you," Noah says. He leans back in his chair. "Why are you here and not in his office?"

"Stephanie," I say. His lips curl down. "Not her fan, huh?"

"Stephanie is a narcissistic bitch," Noah tells me.

"Do you know why Dimitri's with her?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I wish I knew," Noah says. "Let me guess, she came in and was all like, 'Well, I just wanted to like...talk.'"

He makes his voice nasal and flips his imaginary hair over his shoulder. I start laughing. "Exactly," I say. "Except, she played with her trench coat."

He rolls his eyes. "It's like: if you're gonna be a whore, at least try to be original."

"Right!" I say, smiling. "I just don't know how she um...gets him you know, excited."

Noah laughs. "I'd be inverted." He frowns. "But then again, I'm bi-sexual...so."

His phone rings. "You should take that," I say.

"Nice talk. I'll see you around," Noah says.

I smile as I work for the next hour. I grab my stuff and walk back to Dimitri's office. I look at my watch. It's been two hours.

"Uh, Dimitri?" I knock on the door softly.

"Go away!" I hear Stephanie yell, followed by loud moans.

"Jesus," I mutter. I stand outside the door. Damn, why is Stephanie so loud? I swear she's trying to be a porn star.

I stiffen as Braxton's smell hits me. It's Paul Carter. He knocks on Dimitri's door.

"Um, Dimitri's busy," I say. He turns around, his eyes raking my figure in a bad way.

"I didn't see you there," he says.

"Um...what did you need from Dimitri?" I ask.

"Come to my office." I look at the door. "I need to schedule a consult with Dimitri."

I sigh and follow Paul Carter, even though I'm on edge. He gestures for me to sit down on a couch and then he sits next to me. I scoot away.

"So, what day would you like to schedule a consult?" I ask.

"Friday," he says.

"How long will it take?" I ask. Dimitri's pretty busy on Friday.

"Half an hour," Paul Carter says.

"Okay. Uh, you're good for eleven," I say. "Is there anything else?"

His hand touches my leg.

I smiled as I walked through my office. I had been working at Rose & Bone Publishing for a month and I loved it. I couldn't wait to meet Braxton Thorne, the man behind it all.

I was so happy that it was ridiculous. I jumped out of bed every morning because I loved going to work. I was just an intern at this point, but it didn't matter. I was going to be a publisher.

"Hey, uh, I'm here to see Mr. Thorne," I said to his receptionist. She nodded.

"You can go in," she said. I smoothed down my skirt as I walked in.

"Mr. Thorne?" I said. He turned around. "I'm Adelaide Marks, one of the interns."

"Let's skip the formalities. You can call me Braxton," he said. He gestured for me to sit down.

"Your company is very impressive," I said. He smiled.

"I'm glad you think so," he told me. His touched my leg. I frowned and shifted away, thinking he accidentally touched my leg. "Here's the thing, Adelaide, I can make or break your career."

"What are you talking about?" I asked as his hand moved higher on my leg.

"You're very promising, Adelaide," he told me. "It would be a shame to see all your talent go to waste."

"I'm sorry...I don't..." Braxton's hand moved even higher on my leg and I realized what he meant. "Oh."

"Good girl, Adelaide," he said. "You'll do well at Rose & Bone."

I blink a few times. Paul Carter says something that I don't hear. I can't let this happen to me again. I can't be a victim. I can't have another Braxton...

"Stop," I say.

"Come on baby, we're just having a good time," he says.

"I said stop," I say. I jump up and so does he.

"Where are you going?" he asks angrily.

"Don't ever touch me again," I say. "You heard how Braxton Thorne ended up? That'll be you."

"Bitch," he says. "You're just a stupid whore."

I press my hand over my mouth as I walk away. Oh, God.

"You're okay, Ade," I murmur to myself. "You're okay."

I knock on Dimitri's door. "Go away!" Stephanie yells.

I shake my head as I walk away. I can't stay here. My phone and bag are in Dimitri's office, but it doesn't matter.

"Damn it, Ade," I mutter. "Why do you always run away?"