Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta Read Online Free

fault.”
    “My fault—”
    “Just wait till head office find out.”
    Anger filled her head, squeezing out her
ability to speak. She stood there, just looking at him, remembering all the
times he’d palmed his work off on her and invaded her personal space.
    A switch flipped somewhere inside her. She
didn’t need to take this any more. He was nothing more than a bully and he only
got away with it because she let him.
    Well, he was right about one thing – she
certainly hadn’t got what she wanted by being nice. That robber knew what he
was doing – he didn’t work for anything or ask nicely, he just took. So maybe
she should stop being such a goody-goody.
    She opened and closed her mouth, thinking
of all the things she could say to him.
    And then she came up with the perfect
retort.
    “If you want to make trouble at head
office, I think they’d be very interested to know where you were. And I think
they’d like to hear the recordings I’ve got of you sexually harassing me.”
    Now it was time for him to stand there in
silence.
    “You should come to the conference with me,
Loretta,” she mocked. “It would be so good for your career prospects.”
    “You didn’t record that. I don’t believe
you.”
    “Fine. You tell them how it was all my
fault and I’ll play them something they won’t forget in a hurry.”
    He spluttered, began to say something then
changed his mind.
    “I’m leaving now.” She turned her back on him
and didn’t give him another glance.
    Of course she didn’t have any recordings.
Nice girls didn’t do things like that.
    She didn’t know how she managed to walk
away when her whole body was numb, but she did it with her head held high and a
nervous grin twitching her lips. Had she really said those things? That pitiful
excuse for a boss had more than deserved it.
    With a few gallons of adrenaline pumping
through her system, going home was no longer on the agenda. She’d just lived
through a dangerous robbery and got one over on the lecherous Sean Thomas. An
afternoon working on Edna wouldn’t quite cut it after the highs and lows of the
day so far.
    There was one of those basement bars
nearby, she was sure of it. But where exactly? As she walked on, she scanned the
street for somewhere to stop. The thought crossed her mind that it was too
early for that sort of place to be open, but then she imagined men in suits at
boozy business lunches and felt more optimistic.
    She caught sight of some steps on the other
side of the road. It looked like the bar she remembered. Looking up and down
the street, she tried to find a place to cross. A gap opened up in the traffic,
but before she had the chance to take advantage of it, someone collided with
her and she ended up flat on her ass.
    “I’m so sorry.” Strong hands pulled her to
her feet. She looked up into a pair of clear blue eyes that made her heart
lurch.
    “It’s okay.” She brushed herself off and
turned to cross the road.
    “No, it’s not okay. I’m so clumsy. Let me
make it up to you.”
    She glanced back at him. “Don’t worry about
it.” What was it with her and men? They were either pointing a gun at her,
making indecent suggestions or knocking her down.
    “Wait, please.”
    But the cars had thinned out and there was
a chance to get to the bar. “Really, it’s fine.” She stepped out into the road.
    He came with her.
    “I insist. You’re on your lunch, right?”
    Breaking into a jog, she made it over to
the other side. He was quite handsome in a rugged sort of way. Lots of dark
hair and a five o’clock shadow. Tall and broad.
    But he was too pushy. What kind of man
behaved like that?
    She ignored him and walked down the steps
to the bar.
    Of course, he followed her.
    Despite walking past it countless times,
Loretta had never actually set foot in Under the Table before. The decor was a
lot better than she’d imagined – monochrome and minimalist instead of red
leather and sticky floors.
    The place was busy