“Hey,” he said, finally.
“Hey.”
My chest felt heavy, and a hundred emotions rose to the surface at once: anger, grief, relief, longing—and I did my best to swallow them down with the lump in my throat.
“I didn’t know if Brittany—” I started.
“She’s on her way,” he said quickly. “She texted me. She’s parking.”
Silence spread between us again. He shifted his weight, and I crossed my arms, then uncrossed them, then let them fall uselessly at my sides.
“I’m glad you came,” he said softly.
I nodded. “Me too. I think.”
He opened his mouth to speak again, but then footsteps echoed down the hallway.
“Sorry, I’m late!” Brittany said, rounding the corner, her voice cutting cleanly through the tension. “The road was worse than I thought.”
The spell broke instantly.
I turned toward her, relieved to have another person as a buffer.
She smiled at me and extended her hand. She looked around Jay’s age. She had blonde hair cropped short around her face and deep brown eyes. Her smile was kind and gentle. I immediately liked her.
“You must be Hope,” she said, and I nodded, accepting her hand.
“Yes. Nice to meet you, Brittany.”
“Thanks for coming,” she said.
“Of course,” I replied.
The three of us stood there in the conference room, surrounded by boxes and dental supplies.
Jay gestured toward the little table with three chairs in the center of the room.
“Should we get started?”
CHAPTER 56
“After Brittany submits her complaint, I think an interview should be called shortly after,” Jay said. “I’ve already reached out to a friend on the board. He said he could expedite it if the rest of the board agrees that the evidence is solid, which he thinks they will, especially since there are two of you with the same complaint. So I think it’s best if you both stick around until they call.”
“And after the interviews?” Brittany asked, her brow furrowed.
The whole time we’d been talking, she’d looked wary. And I had to admit, the entire situation was intimidating. What if they didn’t take us seriously and dismissed the complaints? What if they claimed there wasn’t enough evidence? It all felt impossible. Jay clearly had more connections and more knowledge about how something like this worked. And despite not wanting him here, I was relieved he was.
“If they determine he’s guilty of abuse in the workplace,” Jay said, “then it would be escalated to a trial.”
“Okay,” Brittany said slowly. “So I’ll submit my complaint tonight, and then we wait to hear back about when we’ll be interviewed?”
Jay nodded. “Yes, that’s correct.” He flipped through the papers in front of him. “I’m also going to reach out to an attorney friend of mine to see if he has any advice on how to approach the interviews.”
“Thank you, Jay,” Brittany said, letting out a breath. “This is all so much for my brain to handle. I’m really glad you’re here to help us.”
I nodded, my jaw clenching.
He had so many connections. It was frustrating that I couldn’t do this on my own, and that we needed him. It stirred up too many old feelings, reminders of my lack of independence with my father. I tried to tell myself Jay wasn’t trying to control the situation, that he was only helping, but it still sucked. I couldn’t afford my own attorney. I couldn’t tug on strings or make things happen myself. I couldn’t put Pike away on my own.
