28

Light was determined to make a great first impression, so he went to work early that day, and dressed as smartly as he could. He was not very familiar with the partner that Teru told him, but he had seen him once or twice while he was filing important documents. The man said that he was looking for something about this particular case and it just so happened that Light remembered filing it two days ago. This must have left a good impression on him as he specifically asked for Light to be his personal assistant.

To be honest, he wasn't really familiar with what personal assistants do, but it shouldn't be that hard, and even if it was, he was determined to do his best.

He waited for two hours until the partner came, and Light was a bit nervous in seeing him.

"Good morning, Mr. Richards", he greeted him with a polite smile. "I'm Lucas, your new personal assistant."

"Oh, you can just call me Ryan" he smiled. "I've heard a lot of good things about you from Teru"

Light smiled back. He couldn't really put a pin in it, but there was something unsettling about his smile.

"We are going on a meeting shortly" he said. "Can you prepare the meeting room and take notes?"

"Sure!" Light said enthusiastically as he went to the meeting room. He booked the room in, and checked if the guests were already waiting. As soon as they arrived, he offered them coffee and biscuits as he led them to the meeting room, and called Ryan as soon as they were settled in. The old lawyer came in and handed Light the documents to be handed out to the guests, and when they started the meeting Light sat in the corner and took down notes.

It was a busy first day as an assistant, as he performed a couple of errands for Ryan, and answered his calls, made sure that nothing in his calendar was overbooked. It was more physically demanding than being an errand boy, for sure. But at least it paid well. Not too mention, that Ryan kept praising him for his good job in note taking, in everything he did.

"If you keep this up, you might be a good lawyer someday" he encouraged.

Light was happy every time he got praised, but sometimes it felt a bit uncomfortable. Especially when Ryan would give him a pat on the back, or rub his shoulders for an awkwardly long time, or 'accidentally' touch his hand while he was giving out some documents for him to read. Sometimes Light would wish he can get away from him as soon as possible, but he had to remind himself that he was his boss, and maybe he was just overthinking it.

"Do you want to eat lunch with me, Lucas?", he offered. "I made sandwiches for you"

That sounded innocent enough, so he agreed. But then the old partner would grab his hand and lick it, when he tried taking a sandwich.

"You've got a bit of sauce over here" he smiled.

Light finally knew what was going on. This was sexual harassment. It was not like this was his first time he found someone making the moves on him, but during those times he knew what to do. Even while working with L, he had never felt as uncomfortable as this.

Immediately he felt like he needed to report this to human resources, but what would be the consequences for that? It was not so easy being in his situation, as he was a male working with another male in a workplace that consists of lawyers, who can easily find a way out of those charges. Then what would happen? He would lose a job and this man could retaliate. He couldn't afford to lose his job now, not when he was nearing his due date. He doesn't have any savings yet, and he really doesn't want to burden Teru anymore. come to think of it, Teru was the one who got him the job. Will he be affected if things get awry?

He really didn't want to be in this situation, however if he acted hastily things would get worse that where he is now. Suddenly, he remembered L.

He didn't want to admit it, but he missed him. What would he do in this kind of situation?

As the days went by, Ryan became more aggressive with his harassment. Light didn't want to confront him about it, but it seems like he creates a situation for Light that would force him to do overtime.

There was a deadline coming up and he needed to transcribe some of the sworn statements recorded by witnesses, so he had to stay in the office to do it while he asks him inappropriate questions that Light didn't really want to remember.

Another time he forced Light to pull an all-nighter with him, and he got so exhausted that he didn't have enough strength to fight off his advances. It didn't get to something more serious than touching inappropriately, fortunately. Still, Light felt so dirty that he locked himself in the bathroom, crying as Ryan kept banging the door for him to come back. He fell asleep there and opened the door when he was sure that there were already people in the office.

The last straw happened a few days after that incident. Ryan was still pissed at him for doing that stunt in the bathroom but he wasn't reported for it. Light made all effort to do his job while avoiding his boss, which for normal people could be impossible but surprisingly, he made it work. However, his boss cornered him when he was about to leave for the day, and he blocked his way out of his office.

"Please, let me go", he pleaded. "Or I'll report you to HR"

Ryan merely chuckled.

"Did you think people before you didn't try that? You will just be wasting your time" he told him. "However, if you want, I can do all sorts of things for you. Maybe even make you a lawyer in this firm…"

"I-I don't want to…please…stop…"

He grabbed Light's arms and pulled, locking him in his arms as he started kissing his shoulder. Light desperately tried to push him away, but he was overpowered easily.

"Aaahhh.." he suddenly moaned, which only encouraged his attacker, as his hands moved further south, all the while forcing a kiss on him.

Light felt a mixture of sweat and tears involuntary fall in his face. He couldn't do anything, even if he wanted to.

Fortunately, at that moment, someone opened the door. His boss was so engrossed in molesting him that he forgot to lock the door and was about to undress Light.

It was Teru. Initially he was just looking to see if he can ask Light to go home with him, as he was always busy lately with all the overtime. He was planning to take him to dinner so that he can have a much deserved break, but he was shocked at what he saw.

Immediately blood rushed in his face and he punched the assailant straight in the face. The man didn't know what hit him. That weakened his grip and freed Light, and Teru saw just how scared the boy was, full of tears and shame. Something in him snapped. He grabbed his boss, and punched him again and again, harder and harder.

"Teru, stop!" Light shouted, his voice still a bit shaky.

That was the only time he stopped, as he looked at Light, who was crying.

"You might kill him"

"I intend to do that, Lucas"

"Please…", he grabbed Teru's arm. "I don't want you to get into trouble…"

That struck a cord on the older man, and he hugged Light reassuringly. He was still crying, as he felt like it was his fault somehow, and he wanted to die.

"Lucas…it's okay. I've got you" he said. "I'm sorry for not saving you sooner"

"It's my fault…I should have told you…"

"Shh…" Teru soothed him. "It's absolutely not your fault. That man is scum"

They called the police after that, and they were immediately brought to the hospital. Teru was questioned by the police and he gave his statement. The attacker's face was unrecognizable from the aftermath, and was also taken to the hospital and remained unconscious. It took hours for the police to settle the issue, with Teru being held in custody and occasionally being asked for a few questions. But eventually, he was let go as long as he left his contact details with them.

"We completely understand you for acting like that, unfortunately, Mr. Richards might press charges against you as well for assault"

"I understand officer" Teru said politely.

"Still, it is fucked up, what he did. I mean, it's not something we haven't encountered before but it is still disgusting" the police officer admitted. "I usually keep my opinions to myself but to molest a teenage boy like that…"

Teru could feel his blood boiling again.

"You take care of your friend, okay? He is clearly shocked, but he has to keep it together for the sake of his baby."

"I'm sorry?" Teru was confused.

"Oh, you didn't know? Your friend is pregnant, and he is halfway along. To think that scumbag made a move on a pregnant teenager…that is very low"

Teru was surprised at this revelation. Suddenly it all made sense. He just thought that the boy was gaining weight from the stressful work condition and didn't want to be rude and point it out. But then, if that was true, he genuinely felt sorry for him. He remembered the first time they met. He was clearly scared. Was he escaping from someone? From something? He must have been pregnant by that time. Teru felt angry with himself. He was a fool.

He was infatuated with this person, and was only interested in staying with him, that he didn't notice that what he was going through. It was very selfish of him. He should have been there to protect him.

And now, he got himself into this trouble. Knowing that guy, he could be deported back to Japan, and what would happen then? Lucas will be all alone.

Light was sleeping when Teru went to his ward, but he woke up immediately, still wary of his surroundings. Guilt filled the older man. If he came there sooner, he wouldn't have been subject to this trauma.

"I'm sorry, Lucas" he said. "I might have to go back to Japan, because that scum has all the power to destroy my career here."

"I'm sorry too. I should have told you sooner. I wouldn't have been in this mess if I didn't hesitate" Light said, and with a bit of uncertainty, he continued. "So you know my secret now, huh?"

He nodded.

"You must think I'm dirty, getting impregnated like this, and then getting molested by my boss."

"I don't think of such a thing! It is not your fault, Lucas! Rather, it's their fault for taking advantage of you…" Teru said, but hesitated halfway through. "I may have also done the same without thinking about it…"

"It's alright. You didn't take advantage, rather you helped me in a lot of tough situations"

"Lucas…"

Light hesitated for a moment.

"Can you do me a favour and call me by my real name?"

Teru was surprised again, but quickly hid it. It wasn't that strange for him to choose a fake name, considering that he escaped to this country to get a better future.

"What should I call you?" he asked.

"Light"