Page 15 of Lost Little Boy
“We were talking about Richard’s advancement potential, Wex. Rory Flannery gave me notice yesterday that she’ll be leaving in June, so Richard and I are exploring the possibilities of restructuring the division to make the most of this new opportunity. Why did you call Victoria? I’m not ready to enlist HR at this point. I still need to discuss my thoughts with Junior.”
That was a surprise. “Oh, Richard didn’t tell you what happened last night when he showed up an hour late to pick up his twins?”
Mention kids, and my sister was a pit bull. “What’s Wex talking about?” Nancy’s glare shifted to Richard.
I walked over to the phone and called the switchboard. “Grassley Industries. How may I direct your call?”
It was Pearl Lack, the company receptionist. She’d been around since my grandfather was running the company.
“Hi, Pearl. It’s Wex. Can you connect me with Daphne Cruz in the daycare, please.”
“Sure, Wex. Hold on.” A moment later, the phone was ringing. I could feel both of their eyes on me.
“Nancy, it was just a misunderstanding. I owe Miss Daphne an apology, which I was planning to give her tonight. My kids are with my mother-in-law today, which is something else I need to talk to Daphne about.”
“Well, how about we do that now, and I’ll get Perry Castle here so you can apologize to him as well.” I was fuming at the asshole’s attitude as though he’d done nothing wrong. There was a knock on the door, so I said, “Come in.” Victoria Wintz stepped inside with her tablet.
I pointed to the chair next to Richard as the call was connected. “Arlington Children’s Center, Daphne speaking.”
“Hi, Miss Daphne. Can you come up to Nancy Grassley-Williams’ office. It’s about the incident last night with the Jenkins twins.”
“On my way. Should I bring Perry?”
I’d wanted to get him and try to talk to him after the awkward way our evening had ended, but maybe it would be best if Daphne brought him with her since my issues with him were separate from the situation at hand. “Yes, please,” I said.
Iwalked over to stand next to Nancy’s desk. “Miss Daphne is on her way up. She’s bringing Mr. Castle with her.”
Jenkins’ face flashed red, and I couldn’t hold the smile.There, motherfucker.
He quickly schooled his expression. “Why do you care about thejanitor?”
I wanted to fire back that Perry Castle was a million times the better human than Jenkins, but Victoria said it far more eloquently than I could. “Grassley Industries cares about every employee, regardless of their job title. We all work by the same rules, Richard. What happened last night?”
The door opened and Daphne walked in with Perry behind her in a set of denim coveralls with the company logo on the left front pocket. Even in smudged coveralls, he still had my blood racing south.
I pointed to Daphne to answer Victoria. “I phoned Perry Castle last night about five o’clock to see if he’d mind helping me out in the daycare center.”
Daphne closed the door after Perry was inside and continued. “I had a phone interview to fill an open teacher’s aide spot, and Perry and I are friends. He agreed to drop by and watch Mr. Jenkins’ twins so I could take the call, and when Mr. Jenkins finally arrived an hour later, I smelledalcohol on his breath. He accused Mr. Castle of doing something untoward to his sons when all the three were doing was making clay flowers. He made a derogatory inference and called Mr. Castle a hateful name.”
I glanced at Perry, whose face was crimson as he stood near the door, his gaze studying the large area rug on the floor. I walked to him and leaned close. “I’m sorry to drag you into this, but Nancy was about to promote him, and I wasn’t letting that happen.” I stepped back and put my hand on his shoulder, hoping my touch could comfort him.
Nancy stared at Jenkins for a moment as though she couldn’t believe what we were saying. My sister was like our mother in that she always tried to see the good in people—even someone as hateful and pompous as Richard Jenkins.
Nancy, unlike our mother, had a knack for eventually seeing people for who they were, and she wasn’t a fan of letting things go with a bullshit apology. Once someone was on her bad side, they didn’t get a second chance.
“Mr. Jenkins, is there any truth to Miss Cruz’s statements? You do understand that the use of the Arlington Children’s Center is a privilege Grassley Industries offers its employees. It’s not a right that your children can use the daycare. We offer the facility to the employees whomay not get to spend time with their children due to their demanding work schedules. It’s not meant to be abused so employees can go out for happy hours and pick up their children when they want. I’m afraid we’ll need to revoke your privileges for three months.”
Victoria tapped something into her tablet before she turned to Perry. “Do you want to file harassment charges against Mr. Jenkins?”
“Yes!” Maybe I was too exuberant when I answered for him, but no way was fucking Jenkins going to intimidate Perry from taking the appropriate action against him. The guy was a dick and deserved to be called out for his behavior.
“No. If you’ll apologize, I won’t go any further with any sort of personnel actions.” I stepped in front of Perry and saw tears in his eyes.
“Excuse us.” I led him into Nancy’s bathroom, closing the door. I pulled a few tissues from the box on the counter and bent my knees so I could dry his eyes. My heart broke for him.
“Sweet boy, you are owed a hell of a lot more than an apology. If his accusations get out, it could damage your reputation. I don’t want to see that happen.” I pulled him into my arms and rested my chin on the top of his head. “Perry, you can’t let people take advantage of you.”
He sniffed and stepped back, taking the tissue from my fingers. “Sir, you’re a nice person, but I think if I pursue any action against Richard Jenkins, word will get out about his accusation even faster. It’s best if I accept his apology and move on with my life.
