“YOU’RE ONE HUNDRED percent sure about this?” Treat asked.
Josh tucked the package he’d just purchased into his pocket as he and Treat climbed into the waiting car.
“Definitely.” Josh hadn’t ever felt more certain of anything in his life. “You assured me that this desire to hammer anyone who hurts Riley is normal. All I can do is believe you. You have more experience with that than I do. But if I land in jail, you’ve got to bail me out.”
“I’ll bail you out, and then our other brothers and I will stand by your side while Rex pummels the bastard again.”
Josh laughed. “Then he’ll end up in jail.”
“Family honor. Sometimes it’s a vicious cycle,” Treat said with a nod.
“Let’s get this over with. I want to get back to Riley. I’ve wasted enough time on this garbage.”
“Did you get ahold of Savannah?” Treat asked.
“Yeah, she knows just what to do. By the way, Savannah apparently told Riley that if she hurts me, she’ll kill her. Did she do that to Max?”
“Savannah’s pretty protective. I’m sure she said it to Max, to Jade, and whoever the women are who Dane and Hugh fall for will be in for the same threat.”
JOSH’S HEART SLAMMED against his chest. He and Treat had just come from his attorney’s office after finally taking care of filing a formal sexual harassment suit against Claudia—one he should have filed long ago. Thankfully, his attorney was well connected and had expedited the process. He should have taken the appropriate measures long ago, but he couldn’t change the past. All he could do was concentrate on doing all the right things to ensure his and Riley’s future, and filing that suit made him feel a thousand times better. He had a flash of worry about what doing this would do to his relationship with Peter, but he bit back the worry. He’d deal with that later. He was taking strides in the right direction, and he had to maintain his focus. As he climbed the narrow apartment stairs, the nerves across his shoulders pulled tight once again. He looked over his shoulder at Treat, stealing confidence from his brother’s determination. He needed a witness. He needed his brother.
Josh threw his shoulders back, straightened his perfectly pressed, white dress shirt, lifted his chin, and knocked on the door of apartment 213. He’d never been in this particular Greenwich Village apartment building, and he hoped he’d never have cause to go there again. He lifted his hand to knock again as the door swung open.
Claudia stood before him in a red silk kimono. He recognized his own design and cringed. She ran her index finger down the open cleavage of the short robe.
“You’ve finally come to your senses?” The right corner of Claudia’s lips lifted. “I was just relaxing. Come in, please.” She stepped to the side, making way for Josh to pass.
Treat stepped behind Josh. The three inches he had on Josh allowed him to look over his head and meet Claudia’s eyes with a harsh glare.
“Oh, you brought Treat.” She smirked. “Long time no see. I didn’t know you were into threesomes.”
Josh fisted his left hand, clenching an envelope in his right, and bit back the inflammatory words that vied for release. Instead he let loose the speech he’d practiced for months and had never found the courage to say.
“Claudia, you have come onto me one too many times. You’ve been rude and manipulative toward other employees and made JBD a tension-filled environment. As of this moment, you are no longer an employee of JBD. Details of your termination are in this letter.” He handed her the letter and stepped to the side as she whipped it from his hands.
“You can’t fire me. My attorney will have a field day with this. I’ll file charges against you and Riley Banks,” she spat.
Treat handed her another envelope, and with a calm, measured voice, he said, “You aren’t going to do any such thing, because Josh’s investigator has proof of you stealing the designs. You were clever to cut off the security cameras, but, Claudia, did you forget that those were just the company’s security cameras?”
Claudia’s jaw dropped.
“That’s right, my dear,” Treat continued. “The building has its own cameras, and what Josh’s PI found will put you away for years to come. You might want to read this before calling your attorney.”
She took the envelope with shaking hands.
“You’ve been served,” Treat said with a wide grin. He turned and grabbed Josh by the upper arm, guiding him toward the stairs.
Josh moved robotically beside his brother. As soon as their feet hit the pavement, he pulled from Treat’s grip. “What the…? None of that is true.”
Treat opened the door to the waiting car and shoved Josh in, then slid in beside him. “You sure you don’t want to make a quick stop at Reggie’s before we take off? He might have the answers you need,” Treat offered.
“No way. I just want to get home.” And into Riley’s arms. “Reggie will call when he knows something. Mia’s given him access to the building and anything else he needs.”
Treat leaned forward. “Jay, Teterboro Airport, please.” He turned to Josh. “I chartered a flight to avoid any further media hassles. Listen. We don’t know if what I said is true or not, but when you reach Reggie, you can find out. None of that matters, though. She’s been fired. She’s been served, and if you’re sure Riley is innocent, then I’m one-hundred-percent sure that between the sexual harassment suit and what I told her, she’s not stupid enough to take her to court.”
“What a mess,” Josh said. “And what a relief.” Laughter bubbled out of him. He threw his head back and scrubbed his face with his hands. “I always knew it would feel good to be rid of her, but never did I imagine it would feel this good.”
“You’re not rid of her yet. As your attorney said, filing the sexual harassment charges against her will probably keep her from taking any of this public, and the security tapes from your office will validate the harassment claims, but she still needs to save face with her accusations about Riley. There’ll be something that comes back at you. This isn’t anywhere near the end of it.” Treat narrowed his eyes, grabbing Josh by the shoulders. “Even though you’re confident about all of this, there’s still the chance that Riley is in the wrong. You still have no proof.”
Josh couldn’t ease the smile on his lips. The freedom that releasing Claudia from JBD brought felt like a noose had been removed from around his neck, and if he’d learned one thing from the past few days, it was that his father had been right. After feeling what he’d felt for Riley, his life would never mean anything if his heart wasn’t full.
Josh nodded. “I have all the proof I need.” He covered his heart with his hand.
Josh and Treat pulled their cell phones from their pockets at the same time.
“Who are you calling?” Treat asked.
“Texting Savannah. I need another favor.” He texted her, then began typing another message.
“Who else?” Treat asked, reading the response from Max.
“Riley.”
“Why? I thought you weren’t going to tell her yet.”
Josh smiled. “Because I miss her.”