What made this situation even worse was the phone call from my parents. I tried to tame it down as best as I could, but with the media being cruel to Max, it was impossible to hide anything. All I could do was reassure them that Max was innocent and that this would be over soon. I hoped I was right.

I jerked my head in the direction of the sound I just heard. Max had angrily thrown the newspaper across the room with a deep, frustrated growl. I wasn’t sure what to do or say to help him through this. Though I was a victim too, Max and his company were at stake. The best thing I thought I could do was stay out of the way and pretend everything was fine.

“Sorry, babe.” He looked apologetic. After dragging both of his hands through his hair in frustration, he sat next to me and looked at my computer screen. “What are you working on?”

“I’m getting a head start on our February issue. February is one of my favorite months.”

“Because of Valentine’s Day?”

“No. Well, maybe it will be this time around, since I have you, but it’s the month of the London Fashion Show.”

Max’s eyes were tender, as he began stroking my cheek. “Would you like to go?”

My eyes grew wide with excitement. “Yes, I would love to.”

“I’ll take you there with the company, but we won’t be working,” he winked. “And we don’t have to go to the after party if you don’t want to.”

“Do we have to decide now?”

“No. We still have time.” Max fell into a daze and looked at me with a smile. “I haven’t seen your finger in your mouth. You know how I love to take it out and suck it.”

“Shall I do it for you now?” I flirted.

“I would love to see,” he said in a playful tone. Just as he finished speaking, his cell phone rang. He looked to see who it was. “Give me a sec. It’s my lawyer.” Max stood up and headed toward the window.

It was a clear, sunny day. Looking out, you could see the beauty of the city. When you looked at the whole scene, everything was perfect, so peaceful, in contrast to what was going on in Max’s head. His expression said it all. Looking concerned, he turned to me after the conversation ended. “Babe, I need to meet with my lawyer in his office right now.”

“Okay,” I nodded, trying to stay calm.

“He wants you to come with me.”

I don’t know why lawyers frightened me, just as I don’t know why I worry when I see a cop’s car beside mine when I’m driving. I was a worrier by nature and though I told myself I would remain strong, the fact that the lawyer wanted to see me made me uneasy.

“THOMAS,” I SHOOK HIS hand. He wore a dark gray suit, white dress shirt and a floral tie; lavender mixed with black. “Thomas, this is Jenna. Jenna Mefferd. Jenna, this is Thomas Shaw”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Shaw,” Jenna said, taking his hand.

“Please, have a seat.”

Thomas went around the large wooden table while I pulled out a chair for Jenna. She always smiled with appreciation with every small gesture from me. Crossing her legs, she leaned toward me and almost placed her head on my shoulder, but stopped, knowing this was not the right time. I wanted to give her a quick kiss to reassure her that everything was fine, but I refrained. Instead, I held her hand and rested it on my thigh.

Thomas opened a file and placed his elbows on the table. He took a glance at Jenna before he started to speak. “I’m going to cut to the chase. We have a good case against her, but things are going to leak out. She is accusing you of sexual harassment, which you already know, but she actually goes into more details.” Thomas cleared his throat, glancing at Jenna again. “A LOT of details.”

Jenna shifted her body, but still kept her hand in mine. Suddenly, I felt acid rise up in my throat. I wanted to know what the “details” were, but I didn’t want Jenna to hear.

“Babe, why don’t you wait in the waiting room? I need a minute with Thomas.”

Jenna nodded and stood up, but stopped when Thomas spoke. “Are you sure you wouldn’t want her to hear it from you, instead of from the outside source? That way you can explain…I mean…tell her what information is true or false. This is going to get out one way or another and it might be best if you two talked it out.”

Jenna turned to me and gave me a questioning look. I didn’t want her to hear what Thomas had to say. I knew it was going to change the way she looked at me, possibly our whole relationship, but I had no choice. He was right. It was better she knew now so she wouldn’t be surprised, like she was when she found out about the lawsuit from Crystal. That was a freakin’ nightmare. “Jenna, have a seat,” I said reluctantly.

After she nodded, she sat back down, but I could see the worried expression behind her faint smile. Instead of leaning into me like before, her back was straight against the chair. Holding her hand again, I prepared myself for what Thomas was about to expose and prayed to God it wouldn’t be as bad as I thought it would be.

Thomas gave me that look that said ‘prepare yourself’ and started speaking. “Crystal is suing you and your company for two million dollars.”

I sank into my chair and tried not to make a sound or any movement to show Jenna how upset I was. What I really wanted to do was throw a chair out the window. Jenna, on the other hand, made a tiny gasping sound.

“She is accusing you of forcing her into sexual activities at work and at home. If she refused, she was told her job was in jeopardy.”