Page 4 of The Mastermind

I walked past the copy room, and Lawrence emerged like a coyote waiting for me.

He sent me a sordid smile and licked his lips, making me want to slap him. “Looking good, sexy.”

“Pleaseaddressme asAudri.”

“I’dundressyou any day.” He winked.

Asshole.

In my mind, I stabbed my pen into his smiling eyes and watched as blood streamed down his face, marking his white shirt. Then I stabbed him in his crotch, taking my time while his screams for me to stop became a cheerful song to my ears. I didn’t think I was a violent person until he entered my life.

Anger stirred.Focus on the task, Audri. Do not fall for this taunt. Ignore him as much as you want to slap him.

I pressed my lips tightly together so I wouldn’t say anything that could ruin my case.

“I love the shape of your ass in that red skirt.” He emphasized a squeezing motion with his hands.

Keep talking, jerk.

“You’re out of line, Lawrence. You’re rude, and I want you to stop harassing me.”

“I love how you say my name.” A sleazy smile crept onto his face. “You’re lucky you’re Audri Wu. If you were anyone else, I’d take you so easily.” He raked a creepy gaze down my body, then slid back to my glaring eyes. “Let me remind you, this ismycompany. I own everyone working here, including you.”

If I retaliated in public, I knew he’d twist the truth so it would harm me instead of him. Like he said, it washiscompany, and I was playing on his turf. I had to be smart, even if every fiber of my being wanted to kick his balls and dig my sharp heels into them.

God!See? I’d turned into a diabolical woman with vicious thoughts.

I gritted my teeth, shoved the coiling anger down, and pasted a fake smile on my face.

“You need a reality check, jerk.”

With that, I hurried off. I could feel his eyes blazing into my back, which made me walk even faster.

I arrived at the HR conference room, blew out a breath, and rapped my knuckles on the door. In my mind, I wished I had rapped a fist into Lawrence’s face.

“Come in,” called Tracy Coleman’s voice, the Human Resources Manager.

I entered and faced Vice President Susan Lafayette. Tracy sat next to her. I hadn’t expected Susan’s presence, but I supposed she’d want to hear what I had to say about her spoiled brat.

“Afternoon, Audri.” Tracy gestured for me to take a seat across from them at the rectangular table with a fake orchid plant, an abstract angel paperweight, and a tray of office supplies.

“Good afternoon to you both.” I pulled out the chair and folded myself into it, then placed my journal in front of me and interlaced my fingers, ready to fight for my career.

On any other day, blonde-haired Tracy looked like an elegant woman, wearing the latest fashion trends, but today, she looked uncomfortable. Nervous eyes, tight crimson lips, a deep crease between her eyebrows, and a stiff posture made me want to shake her up.

If I didn’t know better, I would have thought Tracy was the one on trial. Maybe she was. Who knew what kind of conversation had stained this room prior to my entrance?

This certainly felt like a court hearing I couldn’t win, but it would bedocumented. I made sure of that. I didn’t trust them. I should’vebeen more nervous, knowing I’d walked into a den full of hungry wolves, but frustration, exhaustion, and my utter refusal to let anyone shove me around gave me newfound courage.

Maybe my sense of courage—or stupidity, as I might find out later—came from a hidden superpower known as fuck-this-shit. There came a point where you needed to shove back, or you’d break apart. I swore there was a Newton’s law of physics regarding tension force that would describe my situation perfectly, but my crammed brain could only focus on remaining calm.

“I’m aware you have complaints about my son.” Susan looked at me with keen eyes under pencil-thin drawn-in eyebrows and fake lashes that looked like unattractive awnings. She was in her sixties, but plastic surgery had a way of making people appear a lot younger than they truly were.

“I do.”

“Audri, we take this complaint seriously,” Tracy began. “Do you have any solid proof to show that he said and did these things to you?”She sounded as though she were reciting a statement written by the legal team.

“What kind of proof do you need?” I tapped my black journal. “I have everything documented in here: the dates, the times, the exact words he said to me. The exactthinghe did to me. I wrote down how they made me feel. What he did affected my mental state, and my stressful state of mind interfered with my daily performance. I’m here to ask you to stop it. As my employer, you have a duty to protect me from these illegal actions, and I need your helpnow.” I swallowed and added, “Please.”

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