Jason sighed in despair, and then suppressed an almost overwhelming desire to leave as he watched the man plant his fists on the long conference table, leaning forwards to mouth off at some poor guy sitting at the other end who was clearly under attack and looked as if he would quite like to crawl under the table. He wasn’t sure how he stayed put when, after walking around the table, his hands laced behind his back like a sergeant major, Robert paused behind a young female employee who was now addressing the meeting. It was apparent from where Jason was sitting, directly opposite them, that the man was paying more attention to how she looked than what she was saying.

What he did next was unbelievable – or totally believable, depending on how well you knew the man. Staggered, Jason watched as Fenton leaned over her, placing an arm around her shoulders, ostensibly to peer down at her figures. Yeah, right. It wasn’t her numerical figures he was studying, that was for sure. Did people like him really still get away with that sort of shit?

Disgusted, Jason debated whether to walk away from the whole thing now. His own marketing manager, Rachel, would probably clock the bastard one, and with Jason’s blessing. She wouldn’t want to be within a million miles of someone like Fenton, let alone involved in business with him.

‘Still as charming as ever, isn’t he?’ Abbie commented.

Jason shook his head contemptuously. ‘Delightful,’ he said. ‘Why does she put up with it?’ He had to ask, though he guessed it was because she didn’t have a lot of choice.

Abbie glanced nervously towards the meeting room and then back to him. ‘Because she’ll be “let go” if she complains,’ she supplied. ‘She’s a single mum with two children. She’s looking for alternative employment, but she’ll need a decent reference, so…’

And therein lay the problem. Jason wondered at the workings of a world that allowed men like Robert Fenton to thrive. If anyone deserved to be put out of business, it was a misogynist and bully like him. But then, money talked, didn’t it, as his father-in-law was fond of telling him. And with non-disclosure agreements no doubt signed as part of their contracts, his employees couldn’t say a word. Did he ever consider that his daughter worked in an office environment? Or wonder how Karla would feel at the hands of some chauvinistic, sexist prick like him? Jason laughed scornfully. Even if he did consider it, he probably wouldn’t give a damn, imagining it was part of what women got paid for. Jason’s jaw tightened. If he had any hint that Karla was subjected to anything like this, he doubted he would be able to stop himself fighting that battle for her, whether she wanted him to or not.