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“Well, I’ve told you the course of action we’re going to take, and that doesn’t change, just because you’ve told me it’s Wilder. What is going to change is who deals with it. Obviously, I am biased, so I’m going to step back and ask Hudson St. James to take over.”
Stephanie’s eyes widened. “You want the guy from headquarters to take charge of the situation?”
“Yes.”
There was no way that Wilder had done what he was being accused of. Kayleigh would bet herlifeon it.
“You can’t say anything to Wilder about this,” Stephanie said.
“You’re going to let him continue to work?” Kayleigh asked.
Stephanie sighed. “I know we probably shouldn’t, but we’re going to have a lot of upset guests if we pull him off the slopes. We’ll just tell the employee to steer clear of him for the time being.”
“That’s for the best.” Kayleigh paused for a moment. “I want all the conversations between you and the woman making the accusations documented. Plus, I don’t want this to drag out. Get as much information regarding the where and when of the incidents as soon as possible.”
“Okay,” Stephanie said.
“If there’s any chance that these allegationsaren’ttrue, I don’t want the accuser figuring out that she needs to make sure the times and places she gives happened out of sight of cameras and witnesses.”
“She might have figured that out already,” Stephanie said.
“That’s true, but I still don’t want you giving her a head’s up. Let this play out as honestly as possible. If she gives times and places of things that happened, but it doesn’t match up to the camera footage, then we’ll address that. If the footage backs it up, then that will support her claim.”
“I’m really sorry about this,” Stephanie told her. “I was shocked when I found out.”
“Not as shocked as I am,” Kayleigh murmured.
“It’s probably good for us to turn this over to someone else. We’re all too close to the situation, and to Wilder.”
Kayleigh’s heart hurt at the very idea of telling Wilder about the accusations. They were going to crush him. Maybe it would be better if it came from Hunter.
Would he feel betrayed if she wasn’t the one to address the situation with him?
“Do you have any other thoughts on the situation?” Stephanie asked.
Kayleigh met her gaze and shook her head. “I just want all of this to be done with as much transparency as possible.”
“Even if it means Wilder is guilty?”
“It’s because I know he didn’t do this that I want everything investigated with transparency. I don’t want anyone to accuse me of favoritism in this. When he’s cleared, I want it to be without question or doubt.”
Stephanie regarded her for a moment, then nodded. “I agree.”
After Stephanie left, Kayleigh stayed at the table, cupping her hands around her now lukewarm cup of coffee.
The whole situation left her with a pit in her stomach, and she felt like she could throw up. The very idea that one of her brothers could be accused of something so heinous made her feel sick.
As she sat there, she mulled over exactlywhysomeone would accuse Wilder of sexual harassment. It just didn’t make sense.
Though she wanted to call her parents and tell them what was going on, first, she had to call Hudson. She had no idea if he was on his way back or if he was still needed in Baton Rouge. If it was necessary for him to remain there, this might drag out longer than any of them would want.
Even after she felt ready to make the call, Kayleigh took a few extra minutes. Her biggest fear was that she’d start crying as soon as she heard Hudson’s voice. That would be the worst thing because she wanted to continue to be professional, even as she dealt with a situation that involved her brother.
She got up from the table, emptied her mug in the small sink, then returned to her desk. After gathering her thoughts, she took several deep breaths, then placed the call to Hudson.
It was almost anti-climactic when she got his voicemail. She listened to the message, then said, “Hi, Hudson. I need to speak with you when you have a moment. If you could call me at your earliest convenience, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.”
She had no idea how long it might take for him to answer, so she turned her attention back to her computer. The distraction of work would have been nice if it had actually redirected her thoughts.
