On the Ropes 2: Insidious Obsession Read Online Free PDF

statement caused guilt to wash through her. He and the others had done nothing but be nice and watch out for her, and she’d repaid them by ditching them and being snarky. “I didn’t mean to worry him. I just didn’t feel like eating breakfast or socializing.”
    He stepped in front of her and stopped, forcing Amber to look up at him. “Cole is my best friend, and I don’t want to see him get his heart broken. If you don’t have feelings for him, you need to say something now.”
    “I do have feelings for him. Actually, I like him a lot, but with everything going on, especially last night, I’m just not sure a relationship is wise.”
    “None of this is your fault, Amber.”
    She let out a sigh. “I keep telling myself that, but in my head, accepting the blame is easier than accepting the truth.”
    For a moment, he widened his eyes; then Logan shook his head, stepped out of the way, and continued on his trek toward Mark’s office.
    The moment she stepped inside the room, the air changed as all eyes turned on her. She lifted her head and met Cole’s gaze. Worry and pain stared back, and for the second time that day, guilt washed through her. It was so wrong of her to have bailed on him when he’d gone out of his way for her. She’d obviously hurt him by her absence this morning. How could she possibly make him understand that the closer he got, the more confused she became?
    “Good,” Mark began. “Now that we’re all here, let’s get started.” He folded his hands on his desk. “I have some good news and some bad news. First the good news. Sean’s injuries aren’t nearly as bad as they appeared last night. So he’ll make a full recovery.”
    “That’s the good news?” Lexi grumbled.
    Mark shot her a chastising look. “Despite your personal feelings toward Sean Sable, it is in fact good news, because after speaking with him, we won’t be involving the police after all.”
    Amber let out a sigh of relief. “So does that mean Cole gets to keep his job too?”
    Mark nodded. “It does.”
    Relief flooded through Amber even as Lexi asked, “What’s the catch?” Her expression filled with suspicion. “What does Sean get in return?”
    “Nothing.” Mark grinned.
    “What do you mean nothing?” Logan questioned. “Sable is an opportunistic little weasel. He’s not going to let this go by without gaining something.”
    “Sure he will,” Mark replied. “Especially after I explained to him that we have pictures of the marks he left on Amber’s arm and video of him harassing her in the hallway.”
    For the first time during the conversation Amber looked up, wide-eyed. “You do?”
    Mark chuckled. “No, not really, but Sean doesn’t know that. I simply told him that if he let this go, then you would too. Otherwise you were filing charges against him for stalking, harassment, and assault. If he sent Cole up the river, then he was going too.”
    While she was more than a little relieved to know Cole’s job was safe, Amber was still a bit bothered by the fact that Sean was also getting away with attacking her. Still, for Cole’s sake, the best thing she could do was think positive and put it behind her.
    Logan wrapped an arm around Lexi and grinned. “Brilliant.”
    “Thank you,” Mark replied. “I try.”
    “That’s why you get paid the big bucks,” Jason added.
    “Possibly.” Mark’s smile faded. “We still have a problem, which is where the bad news comes in.”
    “What’s that?” Cole asked
    “Just as I feared, rumors are flying all over the company. Apparently some of the crew has been flapping their gums about what they saw. So in order to squash the rumors before it gets completely out of control, we’re writing this into a story line for you guys. The press will dismiss anything that they don’t believe is real, and in turn, the rest of this problem will simply fade away.”
    Amber looked from her friends to Mark and back. “So what exactly does that mean?”
    Mark