Once Dormant. Блейк Пирс

looked up from petting Marbles.

      He smiled weakly and said in a rather pathetic voice …

      “A kitten and a dog! Wow, all this is new!”

      With a gasp of annoyance, April snatched Marbles out of Ryan’s lap.

      Ryan looked hurt, of course. But again, Riley understood well how April felt.

      As April and Jilly both headed toward the stairs, Riley said …

      “Hold on, girls. Don’t you have something to say to Blaine and Crystal?”

      Looking a little ashamed at their lapse of manners, April and Jilly thanked Blaine and Crystal for the great time they had.

      Crystal gave each of the other girls a hug. “Call you tomorrow,” she said to April.

      “Now take your stuff up with you,” Riley told them.

      April and Jilly obediently grabbed their bags. Jilly picked up most of their other things, since April was still holding Marbles in one hand. Then they both headed up the stairs, and Darby scampered after them. Seconds later came two banging sounds as they shut their bedroom doors behind them.

      Gabriela looked at Ryan with dismay and headed away to her own apartment.

      Ryan looked at Blaine and said timidly, “Hi, Blaine. Hope you all had a good vacation.”

      Riley’s mouth dropped open with surprise.

      He’s trying to be polite, she thought.

      Now she knew that something must be terribly wrong.

      Blaine gave Ryan a small wave and said, “It was great, Ryan. How have you been?”

      Ryan shrugged and said nothing.

      Riley was determined not to let Ryan limit her behavior.

      She kissed Blaine gently on the lips and said, “Thanks for the wonderful time.”

      Blaine blushed, obviously embarrassed by the situation.

      “Thank you—and your girls,” he said.

      Crystal shook Riley’s hand and thanked her.

      Blaine mouthed silently to Riley, “Call me later.”

      Riley nodded yes, and Blaine and his daughter headed on out to his SUV.

      Riley took a deep breath and turned to face the only other person left in the living room. Her ex-husband stared silently at her with pleading eyes.

      What does he want? she wondered yet again.

      Usually when Ryan came around, she’d be aware right away that he was still a handsome man—somewhat taller, older, and more athletic than Blaine, and always perfectly groomed and dressed. But this time was somehow different. He looked rumpled and sad and broken. She’d never seen him look this way.

      Riley was about to ask him what was wrong when he said …

      “Could we maybe have a drink?”

      Riley looked at his face for a moment. It was drawn and sallow. She wondered …

      Has he been drinking lately?

      Did he have a few drinks before coming here?

      She briefly considered denying his request, but then headed out to the kitchen and poured bourbon on ice for both of them. She brought the drinks out into the living room and sat down in a chair facing him, waiting for him to say something.

      Finally, with his shoulders hunched, he said in a hushed voice …

      “Riley—I’m ruined.”

      Riley’s mouth dropped open.

      What does he mean? she wondered.

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      As Riley sat there staring at him, Ryan said the words again …

      “I’m ruined. My whole life is ruined.”

      Riley was stunned. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d spoken in such a despondent tone. Arrogance and self-confidence were more his style.

      “What do you mean?” she asked.

      He heaved a long, miserable sigh and said, “Paul and Barrett—they’re forcing me out of the firm.”

      Riley could hardly believe her ears.

      Paul Vernasco and Barrett Gaynor had been Ryan’s law partners ever since the three of them had founded the firm together. More than that, they’d been Ryan’s most supportive friends.

      She asked, “What on earth happened?”

      Ryan shrugged and said in a reticent voice, “Something to do with my being a liability to the firm … I don’t know.”

      But Riley could tell by his caginess that he knew exactly why he was being forced out.

      And it only took a moment for her to guess the reason.

      “Sexual harassment,” she said.

      Ryan winced at the words.

      “Look, it was all a misunderstanding,” he said.

      Riley almost had to bite her tongue to keep from saying …

      “Yeah, I’ll bet it was.”

      Avoiding Riley’s eyes, Ryan continued, “Her name is Kyanne, and she’s an associate, and she’s young …”

      As his voice trailed off for a moment, Riley thought …

      Of course she’s young.

      They’re always young.

      Ryan said, “And I thought everything was mutual. I really did. It started off with some flirtation—on both of our parts, believe me. Then it escalated from there until … well, she went to Paul and Barrett complaining about a toxic work environment. They tried to handle it with a nondisclosure agreement, but she wouldn’t settle. Nothing would do, I guess, except for me to go.”

      He fell quiet again, and Riley tried to grasp all that he was leaving unsaid. It wasn’t hard to put together a possible scenario. Ryan had gotten enthralled with a pretty and vivacious associate, maybe an ambitious young woman with her eye on an eventual partnership.

      How far did Ryan go? she wondered.

      She doubted that he would have held a promotion over her head in exchange for sexual favors …

      He’s not that kind of a creep, she thought.

      And maybe Ryan was also telling the truth about the attraction being mutual, at least at the start. Maybe they’d even had a consensual affair. But at some point things had soured, and the woman, Kyanne, hadn’t liked what was happening between them.

      Probably with good reason, Riley figured.

      How could Kyanne have helped thinking that her future with the firm was somehow linked to her relationship with Ryan? He was a full partner, after all. He wielded the power in their relationship.

      Still, something didn’t add up for Riley …

      She said, “So Paul and Barrett are forcing you out? That’s their solution?”

      Ryan nodded, and Riley shook her head with disbelief.

      Paul and Barrett weren’t exactly Boy Scouts themselves, and Riley had overheard some pretty salacious talk among all three of the partners over the years. She was sure that their behavior had been no better than Ryan’s—possibly considerably worse.

      She said, “Ryan, you said she wouldn’t sign an NDA.”

      Ryan nodded and took a sip of his drink.

      Very cautiously she asked, “How many sexual harassment NDAs have you worked out over the years?”

      Ryan winced again, and Riley knew she’d hit upon the truth.

      She added, “And Paul and Barrett—how many NDAs have they had