Page 74 of Catalyst

With a nod, Adam heads into his office while I turn into Matthew’s office. I’m practically bouncing on my toes as Matthew’s attention lands on me. “I think we found our snitch.”

Matthew bolts out of his chair and strides across the room. “Are you sure?”

“Not exactly. All I know is the IT guy found something. Adam is in his office already.”

Matthew nods and walks out, and I head back to my office, where Travis is waiting. “Let’s go, Travis. And what you’ve found better be good.” I lead him through the connecting door and toward the conference table. Adam sits at the head, looking powerful in his charcoal gray suit. Matthew sits at his right, the total opposite of Adam in his light pink button-down.

“Travis, right?” Adam stands and holds out his hand. Travis shakes it and nods his head as we all sit down at the table. “What have you found?”

Travis clears his throat. “Right. So, I believe Linda has been talking to someone about the company. I’ve found several emails from her to an outside email address, agreeing to meet. She uses some very colorful language in these emails, but I haven’t been able to find specific proof that she is the source.”

“Are these the emails?” Matthew asks, pointing to the papers in front of Travis.

“Oh, right. Yes, they are.” Travis passes the sheets of paper to all three of us, and his description of colorful language wasn’t an understatement.

“This is enough to warrant a conversation,” Adam says. He pushes the pages away from him, his expression dark. “Thank you, Travis, for your hard work on this. If you don’t mind continuing to search for any other information on either Linda or anyone else who could be behind this smear campaign, I would appreciate it.”

Travis agrees and then leaves Adam’s office.

“This is going to sound sexist, but should we ask her husband to come to the meeting, as well?” Matthew cringes.

“It would probably be for the best. None of this behavior matches the Linda I’ve known for the last six years. I want to know if her husband has any idea about what’s going on, and if not, maybe he can step in and figure out why she’s doing this.”

“I agree. Normally, it would be strange to have a family member in this type of meeting, but I think it would help with keeping all tempers in check and allow us to get to the bottom of this situation,” I say.

“Can you arrange the meeting? I’d like to make it sound as if we want to talk about her old job. I believe it’s the only way we’ll be able to get her to come to a meeting. We’ll also need our lawyers there to keep everything legal.”

“Understood. I’ll arrange the details and let you know when I’ve got everything set up.”

* * *

It took the attorneys a week to draft the cease and desist letter as well as a formal agreement between Linda, Adam, and Sidelines to end this attack without any further recourse from Adam. Meaning, if Linda stops all contact with the media, then Adam will not take her to court. It also gave Adam time to confirm our suspicions that Linda was the magazine’s source. The person she was emailing is listed as a reporter onCelebrity Weekly’s website and is also the author of the articles.

Linda agreed to meet with us this afternoon, and I was also able to get in contact with her husband and ask him to attend with her. He was understandably confused, but I informed him that it would be best to discuss the meeting topic in person.

My stomach has been in knots all day today. If this doesn’t go the way we need it to, it’s going to be a long few months of legal battles that none of us wants to deal with. I’m trying to stay positive. I truly believe this will all be resolved today, but you never know. Linda doesn’t seem to be thinking in her right mind, and who knows how she’ll react when we make it obvious that she isn’t getting her job back.

In an effort to distract myself, I make sure all of the legal documents are prepped and ready, even though I’ve already checked them over twice.

The door to my office opens, and Matthew strides in with his hands in his pockets. He starts to stroll around the small space, seemingly nonchalant. Given how tight his shoulders are, I’d say he’s anything but.

“Everything ready to go?” he asks.

“Yep, I’ve triple-checked everything.”

“Good… That’s good.”

“Is it weird to be nervous?” My question makes him spin around to look at me.

His shoulders droop as if he’s exhausted. “No, I’m fucking dying here. I haven’t gotten a single thing done all day.”

I chuckle, relieved to know I’m not the only one. Then Adam walks through the connecting door of our offices, looking poised and professional. “Everything all set?”

“Mm-hmm. We’re ready.” I nod.

“Great. Matthew, you good?”

“No, man. I’m about to come out of my skin. The burrito I had for lunch can’t decide which direction it wants to be expelled from my body, and I’m legit vibrating right now.” He holds out his hand to show us his trembling fingers.

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