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There was a long pause before Kayleigh replied. “Something’s occurred here that, because of my personal connection, needs to be handed off.”
Hudson’s stomach twisted at her words. “What’s happened?”
“Stephanie came to me today to let me know that Liz had told her that one of her employees had made a sexual harassment accusation against another employee at the resort.”
Hudson frowned as her words sank in. “And you’re personally involved?”
Kayleigh sighed. “The accusation was against Wilder.”
“What?” Hudson shook his head. “I find that hard to believe.”
“So do I,” she said. “So, of course, I’m going to take Wilder’s side because he’s my brother, and I don’t believe that he’d ever do something like that.”
“He’s notmybrother, but I, too, don’t believe he’d sexually harass someone.”
“Before Stephanie had told me he was the one who’d been accused, I’d told her that we needed to get a list of the times and places the harassment had taken place so that we could look at the cameras to validate what the woman has reported. To back up her claims. Now that I know who she’s accusing, I still want that information so the cameras can prove her wrong. However, I need to step back and not be involved anymore.”
“I’m not sure I should be involved either,” Hudson said, trying to get in the mindset of his position in the company. “So I’m going to contact someone at headquarters who deals with stuff like this and have her fly in.”
“I just want this to be handled appropriately, so that when Wilder is cleared, people can’t say it’s because of my involvement.”
“That’s the best way to handle it, for sure. Which is why I need to step back, too.”
“Do you trust this person from headquarters?” Kayleigh asked, her tone hesitant. “Is she fair?”
“She’s very fair,” Hudson said. “She’ll gather all the information before making a decision.”
“Wilder doesn’t know yet. Or if he does, he didn’t hear it from me.”
“So you haven’t spoken to anyone about it?” The fact that Hudson was already highly skeptical about the accusations just reinforced the obvious, that he, like Kayleigh, wasn’t unbiased enough to handle the accusation.
“Just Stephanie. She came to tell me, and once I realized who was being accused, I told her that I couldn’t handle it. That I’d have to turn it over to you. I assured her the only person I’d talk to about it was you.”
Hudson saw the airport come into view, and he knew he’d have to either end the call or switch to something he could use with the wi-fi on the plane. “How are you doing with all of this?”
He heard Kayleigh take a shaky breath, and his heart went out to her. Hudson appreciated that she was trying to keep things professional, even though he was sure that it was the hardest thing for her to do.
“I’m… okay, though I’m struggling to get out of my head. My worry over this is really high because I love Wilder, and I know that being accused of something like this will hurt him a lot.”
“I don’t know your brother as well as you do, of course, but I really doubt he’d do something to jeopardize his job at the resort. He seems to enjoy working there.”
“He does,” Kayleigh agreed. “But even more than that, he needs this job to support his traveling for the rest of the year. He wouldn’t do anything that would mess that up.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Hudson assured Kayleigh, needing her to know that she wasn’t alone in dealing with the situation. “Wilder will be treated fairly, and he’ll be given a chance to defend himself.”
“Thank you. I know that it would be easier to just fire Wilder, so I’m very grateful that you’re giving him the benefit of the doubt.”
“Alexander has always insisted that claims like these be thoroughly investigated. He doesn’t like knee-jerk reactions to situations, especially controversial ones.”
Of course, Hudson wasn’t going to share that he thought Alexander did that because some of his own behavior might have been a little questionable in the past.
“I’m on my way back,” Hudson said. “I’m just getting ready to board the plane. I should be back in Serenity in about six hours.”
“That’s going to be late for you.”
“Yes. But I didn’t want to hang around here now that my part in all of this is done.”
“Already? So was Alexander’s gut right?”
