Her eyes automatically scanned the documents.
Shock made her rock back on her heels when she saw a familiar name in the subject line of a letter: Hannigan.
She shot up from her crouching position, her eyes darting farther down the document.
“Oh my god!” she murmured to herself. She continued reading, reaching the third page when the sound of the bathroom door opening made her snap her head and stare at Daniel as he emerged from it.
Sabrina held up the papers. “You assaulted Hannigan?”
Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise and his jaw line tightened. “He deserved it. He sexually harassed you.”
Anger churned up from her gut. “Yes, and now he’s suing you! For five million dollars! Was it worth that?”
With a defiant glare in his eyes, Daniel approached. “It was worth every red cent. I’d do it again, given the same circumstances. Nobody is allowed to hurt you and get away with it.”
She sighed and shook her head. “No man has ever gotten into a physical fight for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered. It’s sweet that you defended me. But it wasn’t a very smart thing to do.” She pointed to the letter. “Especially not in front of witnesses.”
He shrugged. “What’s done is done. Don’t worry about it. My lawyer is handling it.”
She waved the letter in the air. “Yes, about that. When were you gonna tell me about this lawsuit?”
“I wasn’t.”
She shook her head and pointed to a paragraph. “Your lawyer wants to depose me, but according to this, you told him that it’s not an option. You didn’t even ask me, Daniel! Of course, I’ll testify.”
Daniel stepped closer and took the letter from her hand. “No, you won’t. I can handle this without you. There’s no need for you to get dragged into this. It’s only going to upset you.”
“Upset me? Daniel, I’m upset because you didn’t tell me about this. You should have come to me immediately and told me what was going on. We’re a team.”
“Hannigan has put you through enough. I don’t want you to have to relive it.”
She sighed. “I appreciate your concern. I do. But you shouldn’t have kept this from me. This relationship isn’t going to work if you keep secrets from me.”
“I’m not keeping secrets from you. I’m just trying to protect you from this nasty jerk.”
“I don’t need to be protected. I’m not some weak, naïve, helpless woman who needs a man to protect her. I can handle this. I can help you with this if only you would let me. I know Hannigan better than you do. I know his weak points.”
“I know you’re not weak or naïve or helpless. Nevertheless, please stay out of this, Sabrina. I got myself into this mess and I’ll dig myself out of it again.” He brought his hand to her cheek and caressed it. “Please.”
Sabrina searched his eyes and found only determination there. “I wish you’d let me help you, Daniel. Isn’t that what a relationship is about? That we’re there for one another? That we help each other? It doesn’t work when you shut me out from a part of your life.”
Daniel dropped his lids. “I’m sorry, I should have listened to Tim. As usual he was right.”
“Tim? What was he right about?”
“He said if I don’t tell you about it, it’ll come back to bite me in the ass.”
“You should listen to him more often. That guy has a smart head on his shoulders.” Sabrina smirked.
“Yep, he does.” He kissed her softly on the cheek.
“Daniel, promise me something.”
He met her gaze. “Yes?”
“Promise never to keep anything from me ever again Whatever it is, I can handle it. I’m stronger than you think.”
He nodded, then dropped his forehead to hers. “I know that. I promise you. Are we good now?”
“Yes, we’re good.”
Daniel smiled. “Good. What do you say we head home? Maybe you’d like to punish me for hiding this from you and sexually harass me again.” He winked.
“Sexually harass you? That’s what you think I did tonight?” She laughed out loud.
Then she stopped herself. She suddenly knew how to get Hannigan to withdraw his lawsuit. It was almost too easy, like taking milk from a baby.
17
It had been three days since Sabrina had shown up at his office half-naked. Daniel swore he could still smell her scent lingering in his office, reminding him of their lovemaking.