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‘I should go back to work,’ she said dismissively. But as she went to step past him he took her arm.
‘You’ve got the rest of the day off. Phil’s already lined up a replacement. And you’re not going anywhere until I know what happened.’ His brows lowered. ‘You looked as if you were about to pass out.’
She pulled her arm free, not sure she could cope with being interrogated right now. ‘I was in shock.’ That much was true. ‘You should have told me you owned this place as soon as you knew I worked here.’
The frown deepened. ‘Why would I? It wasn’t relevant.’
‘It was to me,’ she said.
‘Why?’
There was that probing look again. ‘I don’t have to answer
that.’
He cupped her cheek as she tried to turn away. ‘Did some guy hurt you? Someone who was employing you?’
His jaw clenched as he asked the question and she realised this was more than curiosity.
‘No.’ She shook off his hand. ‘It’s nothing like that. It’s …’ She hesitated. Ducked her head. She couldn’t talk about this. Not to him. She barely knew him. But where was the familiar nausea to bolster her resolve? ‘It’s nothing. It was a long time ago and it doesn’t matter any more.’
‘Maddy, it matters.’
‘Why?’
‘Because, if we don’t sort it out … whatever it is … I’ll have to fire you.’
She gave a strangled gasp. ‘You’ll what?’ Had he lost his marbles? But he didn’t look insane. He looked determined. ‘Why would you do that? I work really hard; I …’
‘This has nothing to do with your work ethic and you know it.’
He touched her cheek. She slapped his hand away.
‘Well, what does it have to do with?’ Temper rose to strengthen her resolve instead. She couldn’t afford to lose this job. And she didn’t deserve to, just because she’d slept with him and then made a spectacle of herself.
‘Sacking you is the only option,’ he began in that reasonable tone he only employed when saying something outrageous, ‘if you won’t sleep with me because I’m your boss. We’ll have to find another way.’
Her jaw dropped. Literally. If she hadn’t known it was physically impossible, she would have sworn it hit the floor.
As she stood, trying to get her mind to engage, to say something coherent, the elderly customer she had served earlier barged through the bathroom’s double doors.
‘Oh, hello; are you all right, dear?’ The lady adjusted the glasses on her nose and peered at Maddy. ‘You look a little peaky, love.’
‘I’m …’
Rye cleared his throat and the old dear noticed him too.
‘Well, really, I don’t think this is the place for you, young man.’ She straightened like a schoolmarm telling off a particularly unruly pupil, the top of her head barely reaching Rye’s chest. ‘This is the Ladies, you know.’
‘Is it, really?’ Rye didn’t even have the decency to blush.
‘If you want to talk to your young lady,’ she added, ‘you should do it elsewhere.’
‘I’m not his young …’ Maddy yelped as Rye’s fingers wrapped firmly round her upper arm.
‘You’re absolutely right,’ he said as he shoved the door open with one arm and hauled Maddy through with the other. ‘I’ll take my young lady somewhere more private.’
‘Let go of me,’ she spat, struggling against his grip as he set off down the corridor, those long fingers tightening on her arm like a vice.
