42. Harlan #5
“I don’t remember.”
Convenient.
I slide the copy recovered from Visaro across the table.
She looks at it, and genuine panic breaks through her expression.
“This document was found as part of Visaro’s internal investigation,” I say. “It is identical to a document created and annotated exclusively by Cassidy.”
Gemma looks at Harlan instead of me, clearly recognising which alpha in the room carries the most authority.
“She gave it to them,” the bitch lies.
A growl tears from his chest. I lift one hand without looking his way.
He goes silent. Barely.
Fuck me, he’s going to get himself in trouble with HR if he keeps this up.
Gemma points at the document. “It’s her work. Her handwriting. Why am I the one sitting here being questioned when it’s clearly got nothing to do with me?”
“Because Cassidy never printed this copy,” I say calmly. “You did.”
Her mouth opens, but nothing comes out. She can’t think of a response this quickly.
Not when she’s lying.
I hold her stare, letting the silence stretch until she can feel the full weight of it.
“Would you like to explain yourself?” I ask. “Or are we just going to sit here and wait for you to lie?”
Gemma swallows hard, her gaze darting around the room as though someone else might answer for her.
Nobody does.
“I…” She clears her throat. “I don’t know what you expect me to say.”
“The truth would be a refreshing start,” Hallie says dryly.
Gemma shoots her a glare before looking back to me.
She’s actually trying to work her charms on us.
As if I would dare look at her when my mate is the perfect goddess.
“I printed some documents, as is my job.” She looks at the one in front of her and shrugs. “This might’ve been part of it, I don’t know. I just do as I’m told.”
“Did Cassidy ask you to print hers?”
“No.”
“Did Harlan?”
“No.”
“So, nobody who had ownership of those documents asked you to involve yourself?” I ask.
She pauses before slowly shaking her head. “No.”
Cordelia makes a note without looking up, the scratch of her pen suddenly loud in the quiet room. Gemma notices, her scent flaring with panic again.
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” she insists. “They were just copies.”
“They were confidential material,” Cordelia replies evenly.
“I didn’t know that.”
“Then, why did you repeatedly attempt to access the campaign folder despite being blocked more than once?”
The confidence Gemma walked in with begins to crack, and she flinches beneath the weight of our stares, her scent turning increasingly frantic.
“I was curious.”
“Curious enough to use somebody else’s work?”
Gemma scoffs. “Oh, please.”
There’s the bitterness she can’t hide.
Fucking fool.
“I wasn’t the one everyone was obsessed with.” She laughs once, humourlessly. “Everything was ‘Cassidy this, Cassidy that.’ The precious omega who can’t do her fucking job without spreading her—”
“That is enough,” Harlan snarls, slamming his hand down onto the desk. “You have no right to insult anyone after the shit you’ve pulled.”
Gemma’s lip curls. “You all act like she’s some kind of saint.”
“No,” I say calmly. “We act like she’s worthy of respect.”
Her face twists. “Respect? She’s an omega who bats her eyelashes, and suddenly, everyone wants to save her.”
Hallie’s expression hardens. “I see. Unfortunately, Miss Powter, we’re not here to work through your issues with omegas. We’re here because of your illegal handling of company property.”
“Illegal?” Gemma snarls. “I did nothing of the sort. If I happened to have said documents, and someone saw them, that is not my fault.”
I stare at the beta.
Is she actually this stupid, or is she pretending?
Cordelia closes the file. “I’ve heard sufficient evidence.”
Gemma jerks towards her. “So, I can go back to work?”
She’s fucking delusional.
“No, Miss Powter, you cannot. Based on the evidence presented, your employment with Opus is terminated with immediate effect for gross misconduct.”
Gemma stares at her before laughing. It’s short and brittle, but full of malice.
“You’ll regret this.”
“No,” I reply. “I don’t think we will.”
Kingsley steps away from the wall. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to get your things.”
For a second, I wonder whether she’ll argue. Whether she’ll shout, try one last lie or cause a scene to get out of this.
Instead, she snatches her handbag from beside the chair and storms towards the door, Kingsley hot on her heels.
The door shuts behind her, leaving the room almost deafeningly silent except for the faint hum of the air-conditioning. Then Hallie lets out a long breath.
“Well,” she mutters, “that was exhausting.”
A quiet laugh ripples around the room, the tension finally beginning to break.
I lean back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my jaw.
It’s over.
The leak.
The accusations.
Everything that bitch caused.
Cassidy’s no longer at risk, and once we find out who Gemma was leaking shit to at Visaro, it’ll be handled, too.
Tonight, I’m going home to my mate.
And I’m finally going to tell her something she should’ve heard a long time ago.
None of this was ever your fault.