I was lucky that it wasn’t a busy day at work since I wasn’t very productive. My mind kept wandering to what I should pack to bring to Leo’s house tonight. I’d known him for ten days and had spent the last seven nights at his place. Most of my favorite outfits were already there. I could’ve just agreed to his suggestion of doing laundry, but I liked how I felt when I added something of mine to one of the drawers Leo had cleared out for me. I also liked it when he added a bunch of hangers to the closet so I’d have a place for my work clothes. And when he put my makeup and brushes in a drawer in the bathroom, plus my bath stuff in the shower.

It was crazy how fast things were moving between us, but I liked all of what Leo had given me so far. His time. His attention. Affection. Space in his home. More orgasms than I imagined were possible. Mind-blowing orgasms at that.

I liked it so much that I’d convinced myself to pack an entire suitcase full of my stuff tonight. As long as he was going to keep giving me space to put my stuff without complaining, I was going to keep on filling it. Even if it meant I was basically moved in before he realized it.

I laughed softly to myself at the thought, but it died in my throat when I heard three hard raps against my office door. “Come in,” I called out.

I didn’t recognize either of the people who walked in to my office. Both of them were blonde, but they didn’t look like they were related. The woman had blue eyes; the man had green. She was a couple of inches taller than me, and he only had a few inches on her.

I was startled when they shut the door with a bang behind them. As I rose to my feet, I was thankful that I’d left my cell on the corner of my desk because I was able to power it up with a punch of a button and a quick swipe of my finger. Knowing I’d be able to make a call out if needed gave me a little bit of comfort.

“Can I help you?” I directed my question at the guy, but it was the woman who answered.

“Yeah, you can help me,” she spat, stalking towards me. I slid my phone into my hand and dropped it towards my leg so it was hidden from her view by my desk. With a quick glance down, I opened the phone app and then returned my attention to the woman when she slapped her hands down on the top of my desk. “You can stay the fuck away from Leo and Lynn.”

“Pardon?”

“You heard what I said!”

“Jenna,” the guy hissed, moving further into the room to stand behind the woman. “Say what needs to be said, but keep it down so nobody calls the cops.”

“Jenna?” I echoed. “Lynn’s mom, Jenna?”

She leaned towards me, her blue eyes burning with what I could only call hatred. “Damn straight I’m Lynn’s mom. As her mom, I’m the person who decides who gets to spend time with my daughter. And you sure as shit aren’t anyone I want hanging out with her. Doing her hair in fancy braids. Bribing her with hair bows and baking lessons.”

“I didn’t—”

Her hand whipped up, palm facing me. “I don’t even want to hear it. I picked Lynn up from school today, and she didn’t tell me she missed me. She barely even gave me a kiss before she started in on how fucking awesome you are. How you work for the place that made her favorite purple hair bow; the one you gave her last weekend. And then there were the questions about why I never bake anything with her. Why we’ve never done build-your-own pizza night, whatever the fuck that even is. Why, why, why!”

“Where is Lynn now?” I glanced out the window, worried that this crazy woman had left her alone in a car while she came up here to yell at me.

“It’s none of your damn business where my daughter is!” she screamed.

“Jenna,” the guy snapped.

“You know as well as I do that this needs to be done, so shut the hell up and watch the door,” she hissed over her shoulder at him.

The guy grumbled to himself as he walked over to the window next to the door and peered through the blinds into the hallway. “Not even sure the money’s worth putting up with this shit.”

“Money?” I parroted in confusion.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know exactly what he’s talking about,” Jenna spat. “There’s only one reason a woman like you”—she eyed my blouse and skirt with a sneer—“jumps into a relationship with a man like Leo as quickly as you have. Money. Lots and lots of money.”

Leo’s house was nice and his truck was newer than my car, but I’d figured it was because he didn’t have a lot of expenses beyond himself and Lynn. “Leo’s not rich. He’s a cop.” And there were a lot of reasons why a woman like me—heck, pretty much any woman—would fall head over heels for Leo and none of them had anything to do with money.

“You aren’t just a bitch; you’re a dumb bitch.” Jenna’s laugh wasn’t humorous, it was scathing. “So I’ll spell this out for you in terms you can easily follow. Lynn is my daughter. Leo is my ex. Unless you want a serious problem with me, you’re gonna back off your relationship with him and stay away from my daughter. You got me?”

“No.” My denial slipped out before I knew I was going to say it, but I meant it all the same.

“You’re gonna want to rethink that decision,” she hissed. “Or else my man is gonna help convince you.”

What the heck? Was my boyfriend’s ex threatening to have her boyfriend beat me up if I didn’t break up with him? I was half-tempted to check the ceiling for cameras because this situation would make for an excellent episode of a prank television show, but I knew this wasn’t pretend. This was really happening. “Why? Why do you care if Leo has a woman in his life? I mean, I would kind of understand if he’d been the one to break your heart, but you threw him away when you cheated on him! You can’t possibly want him for yourself.” I shook my head. “And why would your man be willing to help you get me out of Leo’s life? Wouldn’t he want your ex to be taken so you’re not tempted to cheat on him with a guy from your past like you did with Leo?”

“I don’t have to fucking worry about her going back to Leo.” Her boyfriend stalked towards us. “She doesn’t wanna fuck him. She never did. Not really.”

“Jesus, Danny! Shut the fuck up.”

“No!” he growled. “I don’t care who the hell she is. I don’t like her thinking you’d cheat on me with that dumb bastard who fell for your shit back then.”

“We’ve got a good thing going here, don’t fuck it up,” she warned, shoving him towards the door and yanking it open.

“Wait!” I rounded my desk and followed after them. “Where’s Lynn? You never did say.”

Jenna whirled around and shoved me back into my office. “I already told you, it’s none of your business where my daughter is. Stay away from her, and stay away from Leo. Or else.”

“Or else what?”

“Or else I’m going to make sure you regret it,” she threatened.

Several of my co-workers had left their offices and were openly staring at us. Lynn’s boyfriend tugged on her arm. “C’mon, we better get outta here.”

Lynn got up in my face one last time. “And don’t tell Leo we were here.”

I sputtered in shock as she and her boyfriend moved towards the elevators. My co-workers circled me as I watched the two people who’d just accosted me step inside the car as soon as the doors opened. I lied and told everyone I was fine before hurrying back to my office. My phone was still in my hand, and I lifted it up to stab at a number in my recent call history. Two weeks ago, my dad would’ve been the first guy I thought to call in an emergency. But things had changed since then, and it was Leo I dialed instead.