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“I’m sorry about this. Why didn’t he contact Charge sooner?”
“Apparently he was looking for others you terminated. Are you familiar with a man named Thomas Pelter?”
I pursed my lips. “Unfortunately, I am. I fired him when I worked at Tailwind Studios.”
“Dirk is trying to establish a pattern of wrongfully terminating male employees by you. He’s stated off the record that you hate men.”
I clenched my fist. “That’s preposterous.”
“It might be, but it’s part of his attorney’s case.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to lay low, and if you have any issues with an employee, make sure that you have someone with you.”
“So you’re tying my hands?”
Charles shook his head. “No. That’s not what I’m saying. You do your job, but if the need arises to reprimand an employee, you should have witnesses.”
“This is a real headache, and I don’t need this right now.”
“You’re taking a vacation next month, correct?”
“Yes, the Maldives. I could certainly use it.”
“Hopefully we’ll have some of this sorted out by the time you return. If what you say is true, then Dirk’s lawsuit is baseless. His contract clearly states that if he engages in any type of harassment, he can be terminated.”
“How much is he suing us for?”
“Twenty-five million. He claims we ruined his reputation in the industry making him virtually unhireable. He’s still unemployed.”
“He did that all by himself and attacking me wasn’t very smart.”
I gulped my wine as the waiter brought our meal. I no longer felt like eating, not that I did before. I just wanted this week to be over.
Chapter 17
When I got home a few hours later, I was totally drained. Austin was lying on the couch when I walked through the door. I studied his features. He seemed to have aged almost overnight. Fine lines etched around his mouth and eyes. I had the strong urge to run my fingers through his thick hair, but I held back.
I slipped off my shoes so he wouldn’t be awakened by the clacking of my shoes on the wood. He needed to sleep because, like me, he hadn’t been getting much. As I carried my heels down the hall, he called out to me.
“Just getting home?”
I turned to him. “Yeah, what a fucked-up day.”
He sat up on his elbows. “What happened?”
I walked to the couch. “The chairman of the board told me that we have a lawsuit stemming from my cleaning house at Charge.”
Austin stroked his chin. “What did you do?”
“This asshole, Dirk Benson, attacked me and I kneed him in the balls. He claims I attacked him without provocation and violated his contract by terminating him. It’s a whole mess and came at the worst time.”
“Fucker. Did he hurt you?”
“No. Jay taught me well.”
“I wish I was there.”
