Chapter 11 #2
“You think you can stop me? If you don’t accept this, I’ll have no choice but to suspend you while we investigate.
And I can promise you the findings will lead to your termination.
You can’t afford to lose your job, Fiona.
I know you care for your brother and grandfather.
You will do as I say. And there will be no more call-offs.
If you do want a day off, you have to request it ninety days in advance, and I’ll see if I can grant it. ”
Daniel was oozing with satisfaction and high on his perceived power. It was time that he felt the heat. I’d already put the pieces in place. All I had to do was put them in motion.
“Are those your final words?” I asked.
“It is.”
“Fine. I have a question, Daniel. I’ve been curious.”
“What?” he asked.
“Does your wife know that you let Wanda perform oral sex on you in your office almost daily, or that you also have full-on sex with her?”
The silence was deafening. He turned white, then red.
“How dare you accuse me of this!? I’ll sue you for defamation of character and have you fired!” he shouted.
“Why? It’s true. Everyone knows what goes on behind locked doors. There’s no business reason for her to be here for thirty minutes to an hour almost daily. And she comes out smiling and smoothing her hair with her lipstick gone.”
“Try to prove it, bitch. Go ahead and spread that rumor. I’ll tell my wife you’re delusional. She believes every lie I tell her. You’ll only hurt yourself if you tell anyone,” he threatened.
“Thank you,” I said, as I stood up.
“Thank you?” he repeated, puzzled.
I took out my phone, tapped for a couple of moments, then smiled.
“Yes, for saying all that. Your wife and the department will now have proof of your handling of me and, of course, how you give Wanda ‘special’ treatment. I’d expect to hear from HR and your boss today. I’ll head back to work.”
As astonishment morphed into horror, I walked out of his office. His screams for me to come back followed me. People in the hall stopped and stared as they heard him. There was a crashing sound, as if things had been knocked off a desk. I wondered if he’d come after me or stay hidden.
Entering the lab, I went back to my desk.
I had a report to finish on my findings from a test I’d completed before Wanda interrupted me.
I felt Wanda staring at me. I was acting as if I didn’t have a care in the world.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her take out her phone and type on it.
Then she waited and waited. When there was no answer, she tried again.
After three attempts, she marched out of the lab.
I wished I could be there to see her face when he told her what happened.
After I finished the report, I rose to begin my next task.
Wanda didn’t return. Then, an hour after she left, the lab’s director, Mr. Collins, marched into the lab.
Everyone stopped what they were doing. Mr. Collins rarely came in here.
If he did, it was for an important reason.
He surveyed the room. His gaze stopped on me.
He came toward my station. No one said a word. I waited.
“Ms. Katz, I’d like to speak to you. Would you be so kind as to accompany me to my office? That is, if you can leave at this moment.” He glanced down at what I was working on.
“I can leave. This task isn’t time sensitive,” I assured him.
Giving me a nod, he swung around to face the door. As he walked out, I followed. The whispers began. It was a longer trek to his office. He had one on the floor above us. The elevator ride was tense. Neither of us spoke.
While I didn’t regret what I did, I wondered if I was about to be fired.
The prospect wasn’t as scary as it would’ve been a week ago.
I’d already embraced the fact that my time here was almost over.
I could easily land a job at a nearby lab.
However, after talking more to Keir last night after we were alone again, I had a new thought.
Becoming Keir’s mate would require me to move to be with him.
His job with the Sentinels was too important for him to be the one to relocate.
When I brought up the move and my worries about a job and supporting my family, he assured me everything would work out.
He didn’t say how, but his words had made my anxiety decrease, which was what made me so confident this morning with the whole Daniel incident.
The truth was, I was tired of being used and of the favoritism shown to some but not to all.
We swept by Mr. Collins’s assistant without a word, then into his office. He shut the door. He gestured to a small seating area to one side of his desk. I’d never been inside here.
“Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything?” he asked.
I sat, but refused his offer. “No, thank you.”
He took the seat across from me. He studied me, but remained silent.
“Mr. Collins, what was it you wanted to discuss?” I asked.
“We’ll speak about that in a moment. How has your day been?”
Confused by his small talk, I nonetheless answered. “It’s been moderately busy. Unusual for a Monday. They’re typically crammed.”
Before more could be said, there was a brief knock, then his door opened, and two others walked in. The woman I recognized as the head of HR. The man I didn’t know. A shaft of anxiety hit me, but I kept my expression calm and my body relaxed.
“Good, you made it. Have a seat. This is Fiona Katz from the lab. Ms. Katz, this is Mrs. Sampson, the head of HR, and Mr. Benson, our lawyer.”
The lawyer's introduction made my heart race, but I was prepared if they took it that far. I gave them both a nod and a smile.
“Hello,” I said.
They both nodded as they sat. Mr. Collins offered them a drink as well, which they both declined. With that out of the way, he launched into the reason we were here, as if I couldn’t guess.
“Ms. Katz, Mrs. Sampson and I received a disturbing email earlier today with a recording attached. In the email, you detailed what you say are problems in the lab and with the current supervisor. And the recording, well, it contained some unsettling things.”
When Mr. Collins paused, Mrs. Sampson took over. “If there is a complaint from an employee, there are steps that should be followed. Recording someone clearly without their knowledge isn’t acceptable.”
“Your actions could be seen as defamation of the PD and your supervisor. I doubt you want those consequences,” Mr. Benson added.
Ah, they were circling the wagons, protecting the department’s reputation rather than addressing the problems. This was meant to be the scare tactic for me.
However, last night, Keir and I had discussed this and more.
I was prepared for this move. Without saying a word, I took out my phone and opened my texting app.
“What are you doing? You can’t record this conversation,” Benson snapped.
“As a matter of fact, I can. This is a one-party consent state when it comes to recording. I would think, as a lawyer, you’d know that. But that’s not what I’m doing,” I informed him sweetly.
I’d already typed the message beforehand. All I had to do was hit send. When it was done, I lowered my phone and waited.
“Then what was that?” Collins asked.
“Just me ensuring I’m represented fairly. Hold off on saying more. I’m waiting for someone.”
“Waiting? For whom?” Benson asked.
“You’ll see,” I answered.
“We don’t have all day to sit here and play games. We’re here to talk about your future with the Phoenix PD and the consequences for spreading unfounded accusations about your supervisor and a coworker,” Collins snapped.
I remained silent. Their discomfort and, in the men’s cases, anger grew. Five minutes passed. Collins was opening his mouth when there was a knock at his door.
“Who is it?” he snapped.
His assistant tentatively opened it. She was almost cowering. “M-Mr. Collins, there’s a gentleman here to see you. He says he’s with Ms. Katz,” she said softly.
As she finished speaking, a man passed her, smiled at her, and then walked farther into the office.
The power he exuded hit me. It wasn’t because I sensed he was a shifter.
It was him in general. Even the humans tensed.
He was dressed in an expensive suit. His proud, chiseled, aristocratic face drew attention to him even more.
He came straight to the table. He stopped next to me. His smile warmed me.
“Sorry, I’m late, Fiona. I had a bit of trouble getting directions to this office. I hope you haven’t started without me.” He sat in the empty chair beside me.
“Who are you? How dare you interrupt a private meeting?” Collins blustered.
My companion’s eyes bored into Collins. “How dare I? How dare you have one and bring your lawyer without allowing Ms. Katz to get her own representation. She thought you might react this way, so she made sure I was on standby. She’s a very smart woman.
Let me introduce myself, since you don’t seem to have the manners to do the same.
My name is Banner Branson. I’m Fiona Katz’s lawyer.
Here’s my card. Now, kindly introduce yourselves. ” His last words were icy.
The looks of disbelief were comical. I had to work not to laugh.
“I-I’m Mr. Collins. I’m the director of the lab here at the police department.”
“I’m Mrs. Sampson, the head of HR,” was the second introduction. She appeared shaken.
“I’m Mr. Benson, legal counsel for the Phoenix Police Department,” Benson replied, with a condescending tone.
“I need your cards,” Banner replied.
They were slow to remove them from their jacket pockets and from the binder Mrs. Sampson carried. Once the Sentinel had them, he nodded.
“Fiona, tell me what they said before I got here. I know they spoke, or you wouldn’t have texted me that you require my assistance.”
I concisely recounted what was said. When I was done, he stared at them, one by one.