Read Online Hooked By Love by Cate Lockhart - Free Book Online Page B

of what Josh and his company decide, we know that we did everything …’ My words caught in my throat, ‘Everything in our power to keep going. We busted our balls to stay alive. To us.’
    ‘To us!’ Their voices resounded as one, apart from Kat’s, who improvised with, ‘And our balls.’
    Harry and I chuckled, but Kat didn’t even crack a smile.
    ‘I’m late for my session with Lydia,’ she hummed in her monotone apathy and made her way to the office down the hall.
    ‘Beam of sunshine, that one,’ Christina mentioned before slurping up her juice.
    ‘He’s here,’ Jennifer said from the door. A bolt of lightning shot through me. The moment of truth had arrived.
    As gracefully as I could, I descended the steps to the reception. In the entrance stood an overweight forty-something businessman, who took off his sunglasses as I reached out my hand.
    ‘Amber Cross, manager of Young Minds.’
    ‘If you say so, sweetheart,’ he replied and started up the stairs.
    ‘And you are Mr. O’Neil?’ I asked, taken aback by his lack of propriety.
    ‘Yup, that’s me. Craig O’Neil,’ he said without looking at me. ‘Now show me the place so I can decide if we should bother to keep it open.’
    Where the hell is Josh? Withholding my rising need to throw his fat arse out of my charity, I persisted with my sales pitch. I watched the darting glances of my colleagues, who went about their business but kept checking on my status with the landlord. Their attention made me feel even more pressured.
    ‘Can I get you something to drink, Mr. O’Neil?’ I asked, wondering where his charming brother was, the one I’d seen on TV.
    ‘Whisky,’ he said, checking out Jennifer’s form when she bent over to fumble with her computer tower.
    ‘Um, we don’t serve alcohol, Mr. O’Neil.’ I giggled to keep things mellow. ‘As you of course understand, we deal with teenagers—’
    ‘Then I don’t want anything to drink. I’m not a teenager, am I?’ he scoffed, looking at my cleavage without even trying to conceal it.
    ‘No, you’re not,’ I recovered. ‘Let me introduce you to our staff and explain what their roles are.’
    I went about the office, introducing one colleague after the other, from our volunteers to our full-time counsellors, our administration side and the tiny call centre that took care of people in duress who did not want to come in to the centre.
    ‘And we also have workshops every month for parents who need advice and support when they feel they’re unable to connect with their children.’
    I gestured for him to follow me to our back office.
    ‘Gay and lesbian teenagers pretty much come to us for anything they might feel overwhelmed by. Most come to talk about how to find acceptance or about the hostility they may encounter from their families,’ I recited in my most professional manner, wondering if anything was getting through to him.
    ‘How about a session right now?’ Craig asked.
    ‘Oh, our sessions are usually by appointment only,’ I explained.
    ‘No, doll, you and me. Horizontal tango. Right here on this nice big table.’ The corners of his mouth turned upwards in a sneer.
    My hand itched to wallop him across the face, but I refrained for the sake of the centre and its staff.
    ‘Not today, Mr. O’Neil.’ I laughed, trying not to sound awkward about the vile proposal. ‘I have a schedule.’
    He sniggered at my reply, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. ‘Do you offer sex workshops?’
    I knew what he was steering at, but I had to maintain my professionalism and give him the information.
    ‘We do offer sex therapy …’
    ‘Do you? I’m sure you’re well qualified in that, hey Amber?’ He grinned like an imp.
    I felt like a seven-year-old girl trapped in a locked room with a sex offender.
    ‘Shall we move on?’ I said cheerfully and quickly walked out of the empty boardroom. I could feel him fucking me with his eyes and it sickened me.
    ‘I tell you what,