Page 100 of Unbossly Manners

I nodded and I knew it was her way of saying sorry for what had happened between my father and her. I’d never blamed her for that. Once I was old enough to understand, I knew she had been completely honest about who she was to my father and he was the one who couldn’t accept it.

But I’m not my mother. Once I love someone, that’s it. I’ll love them forever.

thirty-seven

It was Monday morning and all the employees of Dreamary had been summoned to the Thinktank.

I’d been on calls all night with Analise and the team, sorting out the plan for today. We’d moved fast, so none of the key players could change their minds.

I chewed gum nervously, my knee bouncing under the table. All twelve full-time employees plus both interns—Brody and Keisha—were present.

Jackson stood at the front of the room next to Derrick and Isaac.

“Good morning, everyone. You’re probably wondering why you’re here.” Derrick grabbed everyone’s attention with his booming baritone. I called it his detective voice. “As you’ve heard by now there was an incident at the company party. Someone spiked a drink with Rohypnol.”

A few heads turned my way, but I kept my eyes forward, and placed my hand on my knee to stop the bouncing.

“We believe it was meant for Derrick to cause chaos in front of the representatives from NOW that were present at the party.”

There was an audible intake of gasps and murmurs arose around the room.

“As you all know, I worked in law enforcement for most of my career and still have connections, which I have used to investigate this disturbing incident.” He waited, letting it sink in. “We’ve confiscated the footage of the rooftop from that day and we’ll be studying it directly after this meeting to discover who the culprit is.”

I glanced at Brody. He stood against the wall near the door. His expression was calm, but his fingers were fidgeting with his phone and his cheeks were flushed.

“When we discover who it is, we’ll bring the full force of the law to his or her feet. It’s anywhere from one year to life in prison for this offense.”

This was a scare tactic. The company—and I—had no intention of pressing charges. And even if we did, it was likely the case would be dismissed since nothing criminal occurred after I was drugged.

But Brody didn’t know this.

“There is a way out of this for the guilty party,” Isaac took over. “Confess now. If you own up to it before we look at the footage, we won’t press charges. There will be consequences, but no arrests.”

The air buzzed with anticipation, everyone glancing around, waiting to see who, if anyone, stepped forward.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a movement—Brody was snaking toward the door. But before he could make it out, a woman stepped into the room. It was Manjari Kazi.

She was tall, maybe five-ten without heels but with her four-inch stilettos she towered over the room. Her presence took up the entire space. Brody shuffled back to his position, his eyes darting around, either panicking or assessing an escape plan.

“Manjari, I’m so glad you could make it.” Derrick escorted her to the front of the room. Isaac circled the room and blocked the door.

“I’d like to introduce Manjari Kazi. She’s the president and creator of FireVision Media.”

Employees shifted in their chairs and exchanged glances across the table.

“Yes, the company that is competing against us,” Isaac continued. “When we discovered there was a gatecrasher among us, we reached out to Manjari, and—well, why don’t I let you finish.”

Manjari scanned the room, making sure she had all eyes on her before she continued, her hazel gaze steely. I wasn’t the one who’d wronged her and even I was shaking.

“When I was first told an employee from my company had been hired at Dreamary under false pretenses to sabotage the possible acquisition, I had my doubts. But after overwhelming evidence, including the employee’s identity, I realized the egregiousness of the situation.”

By this point, Brody knew he’d been discovered, but he stood tall, unwavering.

“I want to assure everyone that I had no knowledge of this. It was cooked up by a handful of junior employees. As of this morning, they’ve all been fired. We are still deciding if we will pursue legal action.”

She cut a menacing look at Brody. His jaw was tight, exuding anger, but he had no power and he knew it.

“Come up here,” she commanded.

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