Page 72 of Unbossly Manners

twenty-seven

Derrick set up an interrogation in the Thinktank on Monday to investigate what had happened at the party and to discover who had drugged me.

I had almost no recollection of anything after the beer I had with Derrick, but I tried my best. The room was filled with the executive team, all of them gathered around one side of the long table. I was on the other side with Selena. I asked her to come for support.

Jackson had wanted to sit by me and help me through it, but Derrick refused. He wanted to keep me separated from the other employees, including Jackson, for the interrogation, in case they influenced me unduly.

The faces across the table—Jackson, Derrick, Prathi, Analise, Isaac—were grave. Selena was tense beside me, ready to pounce on anyone who even looked like they were going to turn this into an attack on me.

Selena leaned in and whispered, “Remember. It could be someone in this room. Don’t trust anyone.”

“Not Jackson,” I said.

“Probably not. But it could be Derrick. He gave you the beer.”

I wrinkled my brow, doubt circling my gut. It didn’t make sense that the man who’d made his life about protecting women would drug me. But even he’d say I had to look at the evidence. Which is why we were there.

Derrick was on a mission to find the culprit. Isaac was furious, but that was more about how this could ruin the company’s chance at being acquired by NOW. Analise was protective. Prathi was practical and wanted as much information to resolve the issue. Jackson… He was out for blood.

“When did you arrive at the party?” Prathi asked, poised over her laptop.

“I met Derrick in his lobby at around four pm.”

Prathi glanced at Derrick and he nodded his head in confirmation. She typed rapidly, writing down the information.

“Had you had any other beverages that day, and if so, what and when?” Prathi asked.

I explained I’d had coffee at breakfast, a Diet Coke at lunch, and water throughout the day. Those all came from my apartment—Kat’s apartment.

“Did you go straight to the party?” Prathi asked.

“I took the subway and went directly to the building.” I relaxed back in my chair.

Yes, someone had drugged me, but nothing bad happened. All I recalled was having fun at the party before things went hazy. I remembered tripping and hurting my knee, being in a car, laying in Jackson’s bed. The next clear memory was waking up in his apartment with Selena there, checking my forehead. Jackson had texted her when she’d returned to the city that morning, and she’d come straight there.

I’d spent the next day in bed, drinking water and electrolytes, and texting with Jackson, who gave me a rundown of everything that had happened the previous night.

The faces around the table eyed me like I was a helpless victim. It was all a bit much. I wasn’t hurt or traumatized, but I understood they needed to do their investigation. This was serious stuff. It happened at their work function, with a handful of NOW employees in attendance.

On top of the criminal implications, the company might lose the acquisition.

“You didn’t go to Derrick’s apartment first?” Jackson leaned forward.

Derrick narrowed his gaze, but he nodded as if he approved. Derrick was the detective in the room and understood that this interview needed to be thorough.

I shook my head.

“I met her in the lobby,” Derrick clarified. “We took the elevator to the top floor, and went straight to the roof deck.”

“When did you have your first drink at the party?”

I thought back to that evening. Memory was a funny thing, and I didn’t completely trust mine. There hadn’t been anything significant that occurred when I arrived at the party. It all blended.

“I think it was soon after I arrived. Derrick had gone to take a call or something. And I took a beer off a passing tray.”

“Do you recall if a waiter was holding the tray? What he or she looked like?” Derrick asked.

“I only remember a figure with a tray. There were several drinks on it—white wine, beer, champagne—I took the beer. It was a glass bottle and the top was off.”

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