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Alistair nods, and my stomach drops. “Yes. And our IT consultant has traced the last revision to your laptop.”
Victoria scoffs, her arms crossed over her chest. “Incompetent. This is why the Hibernian account should never have been with you in the first place. You’ll be fired for this.”
Alistair glares at her and holds up a hand to stop whatever might come out of her mouth next. “Enough, Victoria.” He turns to me, his eyes pleading. “Jocelin, do you have an explanation? Anything to tell us that might shed some light on this?”
Dazed, I shake my head, still unable to wrap my mind around what he’s said. “Alistair, I promise you, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. The contract I wrote is airtight and contains exactly the language that would protect both Hansley Publishing and Trumble, Santori, and Knobb.” It is, isn’t it? I didn’t forget anything, did I?
“The language is airtight. However, it’s not in our favor. There are a number of key clauses where the word ‘not’ is missing from the statements, giving them the opposite meaning and making the contract read as though we will expressly take on actions that are unacceptable. There are several instances in the reverse as well. ‘Not’ is a small but incredibly powerful word, especially in contracts. Had I not gone over the document carefully, the errors might not have been caught.”
I shake my head. “No. That’s not possible. I double-checked it myself this morning.”
“So you deny it?” Victoria rockets out of her chair and points at me with one red talon. “You’re lying. We have the proof.”
Alistair shoves off the table and crowds into her space, looming over her. “Victoria, if you say one more word, I will physically throw you out of my office and take great pleasure in doing so. Do I make myself clear?” She straightens and moves back a few steps, huffing disgustedly, but stays quiet.
Alistair turns back to me. “Areyou denying it?” His voice is calm, like he’s asking me if I want sugar with my coffee. “I have to ask.”
Without hesitation, I nod. “Yes. If you’re asking whether I sent you a flawed document, exposing our company and our client to harm in any way, then I am absolutely denying it.”
I glance at Victoria and weigh my options. It’s not lost on me that she wants me off the Hibernian account, and Victor just… Can I say he threatened me? He didn’t. Not really. Though it certainly felt ominous. Is that enough to share with Alistair and Nando?
A pained look crosses Alistair’s face. “Okay. We’ll put that in the record.” The record? There’s a record? “I’m sorry, but we have to put you on leave until we can sort this out. You can’t be in the office while the investigation is ongoing.” I feel like I’ve been kicked in the gut, and my lunch threatens to reappear. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Jocelin. I promise you that.”
Victoria mutters something under her breath that sounds like agreement but not the kind where I’ll be proven innocent. Alistair puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “We’ll need you to leave your laptop. Nando will escort you to the elevator. Is there anything you need from your desk? We can have someone retrieve it for you.”
“No.” I shake my head, trying desperately to wrap my mind around this. “Wait.” Alistair pauses and looks at me encouragingly. I pointedly ignore Victoria, take a breath, and look Alistair in the eyes. “I’m not making any accusations, but there are a few facts I’d like to emphasize which might be important.”
“We don’t need anything—”
Alistair glares at Victoria and points at the door. “Out. Get out of my office now.”
She stands and leans over the table. “I am one-third owner of this company. You can’t tell me what to do. You don’t have the authority.”
Nando pushes up from his chair and clears his throat, his voice level and calm. “Victoria, it would probably be best if you gave us a moment. Thank you for your input, but we have it from here.”
She glares at both of them and whirls on her very high heels, storming out of Alistair’s office. I jump as she slams the door behind her. Alistair pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a moment, then meets my eyes. “I apologize for the unprofessional manner in which we’ve conducted the second part of this meeting. I shouldn’t have yelled, and Victoria…” His voice trails off, and I nod. There really is nothing else to say about that. “What did you want to tell us?”
I clear my throat and square my shoulders. “As you know, Victoria has been actively working to remove me from the Hibernian Press account so Victor can have it. She all but threatened my job. I mentioned the first part to you in a prior meeting, but I didn’t bother you with her insinuation. I didn’t think it would actually come to anything. Until now.” Alistair and Nando exchange a look. “Also, Victor has been harassing me almost since he got here.”
That gets me their undivided attention. Nando leans over the table. “Please explain.”
“He has repeatedly asked me out. As I said, it’s been going on almost since the day he started. I’ve politely declined each time, until today, when I was very clear and told him I would never say yes. Full stop.” Would he actually sabotage my career over that?
Alistair sits on the edge of the table. “How did he react when you said that?”
“Not well. He was angry and and reminded me his aunt is a partner here. Then he said, ‘That’s that.’ I have no idea what he meant, but the way he said it shook me up.”
Again, Nando and Alistair exchange a look, then Alistair turns to me. “Alright. Thank you for letting us know.”
Nando comes around the table and squeezes my shoulder. “We will investigate.”
“Am I being fired?”
“Not at all.” Alistair pats my arm reassuringly. “It’s a leave of absence, only. Paid, of course. And I’ll be in touch. Soon, I hope.”
“Thank you.” I follow Nando out of Alistair’s office. As we walk to the elevators, I can feel dozens of eyes on me, and it’s humiliating. I want to scan the room to see if Victor is watching because my gut tells me this is at least partly due to him. Nando pushes the call button, and we stand in awkward silence until the doors open. In my anger, I barely register the ride down to the lobby or exiting the building. I must have hailed a cab and given the driver my address because I don’t remember walking home. The next thing I know, I’m in my loft.
I toss my coat on the chair and head for the stairs, taking them two at a time, undressing as I go. The need to get out of this suit, to shed the taint of that humiliating meeting, is overwhelming. I spare a thought for how appalled my father would be to see my expensive suit in a heap on the stairs. Fuck. I probably need to call them and let them know what’s going on. And Astrid. She’ll never forgive me if I don’t tell her right away.
