AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Five
Friday wasa slow day around the office, and all of the partners and executives had filled the conference room to hear the findings from Harrison’s sexual harassment suit. They had gathered to sit and listen to the torrid details about his alleged sex life at the office, one that everyone seemed to be willing to accept as truth.
It was early afternoon, and Sera had been in the office all morning, but Harrison hadn’t gone to see her. When this meeting had shown up on his schedule yesterday just before 5 p.m., he knew he only had to wait until the end of the day to talk to her. The case would be completely over by then.
It seemed she had not taken the day off but had been out of the office and working on the harassment case. He wondered if she had done it to avoid him.
All he knew for certain was that the baby wasn’t his, which he was already certain of. But he was glad that Sera knew also. Her opinion of him was foremost in his mind this week. Or maybe it was just Sera who was foremost in his mind.
She was sitting across the table from him and down three spots. Today she was in a black blouse, which meant the skirt he couldn’t see was white. He loved that outfit of hers because her ass in white was amazing. Her tits in black were nothing but amazing also.
On the far end of the table, Kylie Nash’s chair was empty, but her lawyer was there. Both the lawyer and Sera were organizing papers and not talking to anyone else in the room. Each seemed intent on ignoring everything around them as the minutes ticked slowly to the start of the meeting.
“I think we are all here since Miss Nash is not coming,” Keith Davidson stated looking around the table. It seemed he was in charge of the proceedings, and since he had demanded the internal investigation, it seemed only right. The old man was pretty smug about the entire thing, considering he hadn’t had to face any of the women who had worked in his office over the years. The ones who lasted a month or two had fled, no questions asked.
“No, she isn’t,” Kylie’s lawyer stated quietly. She knew her client should have been there. Everyone in the room knew she should have been there.
“So, I think that we will start with Sera today. She has the answers.” Keith shot her a grin, one she didn’t return as she opened her perfectly straight blue file.
“I just want to start today by saying that this company has been lucky that these types of lawsuits are not coming at us every day.” Her words were directed at everyone in the room, but mostly toward him. “This company has a no-fraternizing clause in their employee handbook, and with so many more men than women in executive and senior levels, it is easy to see where men could easily wield power over a subordinate woman.”
“Th-this isn’t about the company, Miss Lovely,” Keith stammered.
“It should be, Keith. You are circling the wagons around a man who had power and authority over a young woman who had no recourse if he’d actually done the things she had accused him of.” Sera looked down at her folder.
“So, is he guilty?” Miles Craig, another partner, demanded.
Sera turned to him. “Of what, Miles?”
“Of having sex with a woman in this office.”
“It doesn’t matter because this company has no rules against it, but from my research, he didn’t have sex with Kylie Nash. But he has had sex in this office, but then again, so have you,” she stated coolly, without emotion. Miles blushed and turned away instantly.
Her words had exonerated him even as she included a dig at the partner’s morals, but the lie she had told about him angered him instantly. He had never had sex here, ever. He had told her that, but she had never believed it.
“This isn’t about me!” Miles huffed.
“Since the baby isn’t his, this is over, right?” Keith’s voice was quiet as he asked, not wanting to draw attention to himself.
“Yes, because he cannot have a baby. There’s no proof that he did it,” another partner stated from down the table. Harrison couldn’t be sure who it was but thought it might have been Grant Miller.
“Tests can lie, gentleman, and a lack of paternity meant nothing in this case. Low sperm count doesn’t mean you cannot father a child. Don’t use that as your defense,” Sera stated, tapping her pen.
“But is he guilty?” Miles asked from his chair.
“Miles, in reality, my investigation was never going to find Harrison guilty of any of the crimes he has been accused of. Not one of these incidents is against Rodgers and Associates’ policy at this point. As of this morning, the lawsuit has been dropped completely. Mr. Dean may or may not be guilty of crimes, but what needs to happen before this happens again is an entire overhaul of the company policy,” Sera said.
Had she just brushed over the fact that the lawsuit was dropped? Couldn’t she have called him this morning with that information? Did he have to find out with everyone else at this meeting? Did there even have to be a meeting? Couldn’t this have not even happened?
All he knew was that she didn’t believe him or trust him. Whatever she had thought about him and the events that took place were set the moment the investigation started. Her mind had never wavered.
“We are doing just fine,” Keith replied in a condescending tone.
“No, Keith, we are not. This company has left the door wide open for this kind of lawsuit. If this one hadn’t been dropped today, Harrison could have been found guilty whether he was truly guilty or not. These are he-said-she-said issues. Without the company to back the accused or the victim, we are no help to either one. If we have a policy in place and trainings on how to implement it, we will safeguard the company and its employees.” Sera closed her file. She was done with this.
“We do not have an issue!” Miles stated loudly to a few nods of agreement. A few too many nods.
“Did you want me to start with the issues, Miles? The ones from your office?” Sera shot him a look that had him shrinking back in his chair, hiding. “Starting Monday, I will begin working on getting a policy that will put in place procedures and steps to make workplace harassment something that will never happen at this company again. It will be safe for everyone from partners to paralegals, something that should have been done long ago. And if anyone doesn’t want me to do that, ask yourself why. And also, I will walk away from this company I have been at for longer than most of you, and I won’t be afraid to say why.”
