Hotshot by Julie Garwood Read Free Book Online Page B

could take a cattle prod, a Taser, a couple of pepper sprays, and maybe a pair of handcuffs. She doubted, however, that any airline would let her carry these weapons on board, so that left a three-hundred-pound bodyguard. Where could she find one of those in Dalton?
    He smiled his most seductive smile, and with his voice still low said, “I’m sure you’ll warm up before then.” Finished with his sexual harassment for the afternoon, he went back to his office to get his coat and strolled out the door.
    Peyton was so angry her hands shook. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but it didn’t work. She still wanted to scream. There had been a moment when his lips were actually touching her ear and his hands were pushing down on her shoulders that she had felt trapped and helpless. The feeling was so foreign it almost overwhelmed her. Almost. And only for a few seconds. Now, outrage was taking over.
    Armed with the information she had gathered from the Internet on sexual harassment Peyton went to Human Resources to lodge a complaint. The office of the director, Annette Finch, was usually guarded by Bridget, and, thankfully, she had already left for the day. The director’s door was open. Peyton knocked to get her attention.
    “May I have a moment of your time?” she asked.
    The heavyset woman with a severely short haircut pointedly looked at her watch before giving a nod. “Make it quick,” she said, her tone brisk. “What do you need?”
    “I would like the necessary forms to fill out to file a complaint against my immediate supervisor, Drew Albertson.” Peyton could have sworn she saw a hint of a sneer on Annette’s face.
    “What kind of complaint?”
    “Sexual harassment.”
    Tapping her lips with one finger, she said, “Hmmm.”
    “Excuse me?” When the woman continued to stare at her without saying anything, Peyton asked, “Would you like me to tell you what happened, or should I write it down and—”
    “No, absolutely not,” she snapped. “Do not tell me what happened.”
    Her reaction was so hostile Peyton wasn’t sure how to proceed. “May I have the forms, please?” she asked.
    “No.”
    Annette was drumming her fingers on the desk now as she stared at Peyton. Her lips were pinched together, and her eyes had narrowed. For some reason the request had infuriated her.
    “It’s your job to—” Peyton began, flabbergasted by the woman’s behavior.
    “Don’t tell me what my job is,” she said. She forced a smile then, and it was creepier than her scowl. “You took me by surprise. No one has ever wanted to complain about Drew, you see. That surprised me. You’ve only been here a couple of weeks, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “It’s a policy that you can’t file a complaint until you’ve been here three months. If you still want the forms then, I’ll give them to you.” As a dismissive gesture, she stood and reached for her coat.
    “That’s it?” Peyton struggled to keep her temper controlled. “Come back in three months?”
    “That’s our policy,” Annette insisted. “You’re new here, and once you’ve settled in you’ll calm down.” She turned her back to Peyton as she put on her coat and began to clear the credenza behind her desk.
    Now what? Peyton wondered, astounded that the head of HR refused to let her file a complaint. She didn’t know what else she could do to stop Drew’s lecherous behavior. He was such a vile person. She came up with a couple of sadistic ways to do him in, but unfortunately none of them were legal. She justified her bloodthirsty attitude by telling herself she was protecting future women who came to work for the magazine. She had never had murderous thoughts about anyone before—not even when Troy, the drunk, was slobbering all over her hand as he tried to stop her from giving his car keys to the restaurant manager—but she was certainly having those thoughts about Drew now. She could just see the sisters of Saint Michael’s shaking