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“Yeah. He’s a good lad, and he’s not stupid, but honestly, the education these schools are giving them… He seemed puzzled as to how it happened, then told me he used the withdrawal method.”
They all snort.
“And then when I bought him the pregnancy test, he asked whether he had to pee on the stick or whether she did.”
That makes them all laugh. It’s good to see Juliette smiling.
“What’s he going to do?” she asks.
“Dunno yet. I’ll go and see him later.”
“Okay, I don’t have anything else,” Alex says, and the others shake their heads.
“The party starts at one,” Juliette states. “You’re all expected to be there.”
“Yeah, yeah.” James gathers his stuff and heads out.
Tyson watches him go, then says, amused, “What happened with him and Aroha last night?”
“Don’t know,” Alex replies. “He won’t talk about it.”
Tyson chuckles, closes his laptop, and leaves the room.
Juliette and I stand, but Alex says, “Henry, a moment, please?”
Juliette picks up her laptop and, without saying anything else, follows Tyson out. The doors slide closed behind her.
I look at Alex. He’s leaning back in his chair, turning his pen in his fingers.
“Are you still on to play Santa at the party?” he asks.
I sigh. “Yeah.”
“Okay.”
I look at my laptop screen for a moment. He doesn’t say anything, just continues to watch me. Eventually, I lean back and meet his eyes.
“What happened last night?” he asks.
“It’s none of your business.”
“It is if it affects Kia Kaha.” He gives me a direct look. “You know the company’s policy on relationships at work. We have to set an example to the staff, and it doesn’t look great if we’re having one-night stands or getting sued for sexual harassment.”
“Jesus Christ. Juliette’s not going to sue me.”
“I’m just saying we need to be careful.”
I get up and close my laptop. “I’m Head of HR. If I need to report anything, I’ll have a meeting with myself.”
He points his pen at me. “Stop with the sarcasm and sit down. This conversation isn’t over.”
The senior management team are all on equal footing at Kia Kaha. It’s true that it’s kind of unspoken that Alex is in charge, but we’ve never discussed it, and we’ve certainly never voted him as our leader.
I’m older than him, too, even if it’s only by a few months, and I bristle. “Don’t fucking tell me to sit down like a five-year-old.”
“Stop acting like a five-year-old and I won’t treat you like one.”
“You really want to do this? I’m two inches taller than you and about twenty pounds heavier.”
