Page 20 of Newly Tied

As I helped her up and we walked together across the cavernous bathroom, Talia explained about the drink and how amaretto didn’t normally make her dizzy or sick.

Hannah seemed to be considering that. “So what’re you thinking?”

“That this is about to be a whole mess for me,” she groaned. “I love my job and don’t want to lose it, but I’m pretty sure Mr. Alcott put something in my drink, and I can’t have this happen to anyone else.”

“I think that’s awesome,” Hannah told her.

“I certainly don’t feel awesome, but in gross news, I am hungry.”

Hannah was chuckling as we stepped out into the hall.

“Mr. Alcott,” Talia said when she saw him. “You asked me to call you Quentin, so…what did you put in my drink, Quentin?”

He appeared taken aback. “I’m sorry?”

“My drink,” she repeated. “I’m not a child. I know my limit where alcohol is concerned, and one isn’t it. So I’m asking you again: what did you give me?”

“I would never do such a thing,” he snapped at her. “And it’s impertinent of you to even suggest something like that. You must have had more drinks than you remember.”

“No, sir,” Talia said, her voice hard. “You know what you did.”

“I’m going to file a complaint with HR if you persist in⁠—”

“Or not,” Hannah clipped her words before turning to Talia. “Where’s the drink you had?”

Talia pointed to the next door down. “In the game room.”

Hannah moved quickly, returning moments later with a nearly empty glass she was holding in a napkin in her right hand. In her left was her phone. Where her phone had been, I had no idea, but now she was using it to take video. “Is this it? It certainly smells sweet like amaretto.”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Great,” Hannah replied, enunciating the word, and then moved the phone from filming Talia’s answer, back to her. “So this video serves as chain of custody. This glass was on the end table where you saw me pick it up, and now it’s in my hand. And we can even see that it’s the same glass because there’s a teeny chip on the rim here—let me zoom in—and I showed you the very same chip just a moment ago.” She then smiled big and ended the video, moving back across the hall to stand beside Talia. “Okay, so we’ll get this glass tested and see precisely what’s in here besides amaretto.”

“Can you do that?” Talia asked me.

“Of course I can.”

“Thank you,” she said to me and then turned to Hannah. “And thank you.”

Hannah leaned in close and whispered to Talia, “Sadly, this won’t work for actual chain of custody, as you don’t know if Alcott roofied your drink or had the bartender do it, right?”

Talia nodded.

“But either way won’t matter where his job is concerned, only with criminal charges.”

“I appreciate you. That was smart thinking, getting the glass.”

“You would have thought of it too if whatever is in this glass didn’t make you barf.”

“There’s nothing in there,” Alcott announced, crossing the hall then and reaching for the glass.

Hannah deftly moved her arm, like she was playing keep away, then stepped around Talia and behind me.

“Listen, little girl, I don’t know who you think you are,” he said, trying to intimidate Hannah, “but those glasses belong to the catering company, and I can’t have them⁠—”

“Not a little girl,” Hannah corrected him. “And that was offensive.”

He made a move to grab her arm.