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I re-read it twice.
As a corporation, it is imperative that we accept full responsibility for the fire, not withstanding the accident report. Our position is clear. Allied Insurance is instructed to not dispute the company’s liability in any proceeding, in any jurisdiction. Our official position is that the accident is due to management’s failure to ensure a safe working environment—in particular the CEO’s waiver of rules meant to forestall accidents of this nature and prevent outcomes such as these.
It was what I’d hoped to find months ago, but it was a gut punch today. Dennis and his company were responsible, and I had the evidence I’d promised Mom I would find.
I’d been sleeping with the enemy. Regardless of his intentions, Dennis was directly responsible, and I’d slept with the man. My stomach rioted.
My dash to the bathroom was almost not quick enough. I retched my breakfast into the sink. The woman already in the room practically ran out as I did. The waves came again and again.
After several dry heaves, they finally stopped. Looking up into the mirror, all I saw was a girl withtraitorstamped on her forehead. Rinsing the disgusting taste of my own bile from my mouth didn’t improve the picture in the mirror. I’d betrayed Mom and Dad. I was a failure for allowing attraction to cloud my judgment.
Cindy entered, probably alerted by the fleeing woman that I was ruining the place. “Are you okay?”
I managed a half-smile. “I shouldn’t have had leftovers for breakfast.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“No. Just give me a minute.”
She departed, and I was alone again with my guilt.
After washing my face, I made it back to my office and closed the door. There were two more documents to finish reading to complete my promise to Mom. The whole truth regarding my stepfather is what I’d committed to.
The next document had an odd passage.
We are committed to the welfare of our employees and their families. I allowed our employee to work afterhours on a personal project. The accident report notwithstanding, I take full responsibility for the incident, and that is our final position.
The note was intended for the insurance company again and signed by Dennis. Another nail in his coffin.
The third document, the accident report Mom had said they’d refused to provide her, wasn’t as legible, so I struggled reading it.
I stopped to reread the most important section.
The fire was triggered by Mr. Davis’s failure to follow well-known safety protocols. Namely, the video clearly shows Mr. Davis cleaning the bicycle frame with acetone, placing the open acetone can on the welding table, and starting to weld the bicycle frame in close proximity to the open can of solvent in clear violation of prohibitions against any flammable liquids being outside their respective fireproof cabinets while welding is performed.
I swallowed hard and continued.
It is therefore the conclusion of this committee that the accident was caused by Mr. Davis’s failure to follow safety protocols well known to him. A contributing factor was management’s waiver allowing Mr. Davis to weld without a second employee in the room. This waiver, although it did not contribute to the fatality, allowed the fire to cause more damage to the facility than would otherwise have been the case.
Closing the documents, I dumped the folder in my drawer. I sat back and closed my eyes. This changed everything all over again. Dad had been at fault, not Dennis. Mom had been wrong. “The fire was triggered by Mr. Davis’s failure to follow well-known safety protocols.” The words stung.
After gathering my purse, I locked my office. I needed time alone to think.
“Going home?” Cindy asked as I passed her desk.
“Yeah.”
“That’s a good idea.”
She had no idea why I felt so terrible.
Mom had been dead wrong about Dad’s accident. If she’d known the truth, would she have drunk less and be alive today? There was no way to know, but the possibility haunted me.
As I punched the button for the garage level, I almost upchucked again, thinking of the damage I’d caused Dennis and the company.
* * *
Dennis’s callcame an hour after I got home.
