42. Harlan #4
“I’ve got skills people haven’t even bothered to notice,” she continues. “I know Cassidy’s had a lot of attention because of everything with Mercer, but apparently, some people are just better at making themselves be noticed.”
I glance at her, but she doesn’t notice the warning in my expression. She’s too busy smiling at me. My hands curl into fists at my sides.
Cassidy didn’t fucking ask to be noticed.
She tried to make herself invisible for months, apologising every time someone looked her way for too long.
Everything she’s earned has been dragged out of her by people who saw her talent despite how determined she was to hide it.
Gemma doesn’t know the first fucking thing about her, no matter what bullshit she tries to spin.
We reach the lift, and I press the call button. Gemma steps beside me, checking her reflection in the mirrored doors.
“Is Evander joining us?”
“No.”
Her smile falters for a fraction of a second. “Oh. Who else will be there?”
“You’ll find out once we’re there,” I say as the lift doors close.
She stands far too fucking close to me. The doors open, and I gesture for her to exit first.
The corridor is quiet since everyone is downstairs at the makeshift party, and it’s a fucking relief.
However, the farther we walk, the more obvious it becomes that the fool has realised we’re heading towards a meeting room rather than the offices.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
“Meeting Room Eleven.”
She slows, looking at me with confusion. “I don’t understand. That’s one of the larger ones. What do we need all that space for?”
“Oh, trust me, we’ll use every inch of it,” I say darkly.
Her smile widens, and she stays quiet.
I reach the meeting room and place my hand on the door handle, opening the door without hesitation.
I step to the side and gesture for her to go in first.
She does, coming to a sudden stop beneath the harsh ceiling lights when she realises how full this room is. The long conference table stretches almost the entire length of it, every chair on the far side occupied.
Silas sits at one end of the table, perfectly composed. Harlan is beside him, anger rolling from him even beneath the neutraliser.
Orion and Hallie sit along the opposite side, Orion’s broad shoulders filling the chair despite his deceptively relaxed posture, while an alpha from HR has a folder open in front of her.
Kingsley Rhodes, one of our security officers, stands near the wall.
Oh, I can’t wait for her to be escorted out.
Every trace of excitement disappears from her face, and she turns to me, betrayal in her scent. “What is this?”
I smile. “Your final minutes.”
SILAS
The door closes behind Gemma, and I’ve got to hand it to Isaac, he really knows how to put on a show.
Gemma looks slowly around the polished table, taking in every face, her eyes widening as she recognises each person and their position in the company. Her handbag strap creaks beneath the grip of her fingers.
Her scent shifts from confusion to fear so quickly it would make me smile if I wasn’t forced to keep this professional.
“Sit down, Gemma,” I say, gesturing to the empty chair at the opposite end of the table.
She hesitates, looking around the room again.
She’s calculating. Trying to decide whether obedience makes her look guilty or whether refusal gives her control.
Eventually, she takes the empty chair.
“What is this?” she asks again. Her voice is sharper now, her scent less controlled.
Cordelia, an alpha from HR, folds her hands over the open file, leaning forward to take point. Nothing about her expression gives Gemma even the smallest hint of sympathy.
“This is a formal disciplinary meeting relating to allegations of gross misconduct, the mishandling of confidential information, and the unauthorised distribution of company property.”
Gemma’s face pales. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then this should be relatively straightforward,” I tell her.
Harlan shifts beside me, his chair giving a quiet scrape against the floor. His forearms are braced against the table, hands clasped so tightly his knuckles have gone pale.
His anger is a physical presence in the room, darkening his scent despite the neutraliser I made him use before coming down here.
It wouldn’t do for her to scent how murderous one of the alphas firing her is.
Fat lot of good it’s done when he hasn’t looked away from Gemma once.
I understand the impulse. Every time I look at her, I think of Cassidy downstairs and how her life could’ve been ruined if this conniving bitch had her way.
Gemma did not merely breach company policy. She found the softest person in this building and decided she’d be the easiest to sacrifice.
Unfortunately for her, Cassidy is no longer alone.
She’s mine now.
Ours.
Cordelia hands her a pile of papers. “These records show repeated attempts to access restricted Aurelion campaign files using your credentials.”
Gemma glances down, then immediately pushes them away.
“That proves nothing. People leave computers logged in all the time.”
“Do you?” I ask.
Her eyes snap to mine. “No.”
“Then how would someone use your credentials to look up something like that?”
Her lips tighten. Hallie leans back in her chair, watching Gemma with open dislike. Orion is quieter, his expression grim.
Cordelia places another document on top of the first. “These logs also show that documents scanned by Cassidy Hargrove were repeatedly reprinted using your credentials.”
Gemma’s scent turns sour. “I’ve printed lots of things for multiple reasons. I’m an intern, that’s part of my job role.”
“Immediately after Cassidy scanned them?” I ask.