4. Playing Dirty I

ARDEN

The entire cafeteria went silent.

Sarah's fork stopped halfway to her mouth. She stared at me with wide eyes, then looked past me at Rita standing in the doorway.

"What? I never said that!" Sarah put down her fork and stood up. "Where did you even hear…" She stopped, her eyes narrowing at Rita. "Did she tell you I said that?"

"She did," I said calmly.

Sarah's face turned red with anger. "I never said any of those things about you, Arden. Ever."

Rita rushed forward, tears already forming in her eyes. God, she was fast with the waterworks.

"I—I must have misunderstood!" Rita's voice cracked perfectly. "Sarah, I'm so sorry! I thought I heard you say something in the break room yesterday, but maybe I was confused. I was just trying to protect Arden from…"

"Protect her?" Sarah crossed her arms. "By starting drama? I wasn't even in the break room yesterday. I was out sick."

Rita's tears kept falling. "I'm so sorry. I just... I care so much about my sister and I thought…" She covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking.

A few people at nearby tables looked sympathetic. Rita was good. I had to give her that.

But Sarah wasn't buying it. Neither was I.

"Whatever," Sarah muttered, sitting back down. She looked at me. "Arden, I don't know what's going on between you two, but I never said anything like that. We're cool, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for clearing that up."

I turned and walked past Rita without looking at her. I could feel her eyes burning into my back, but I didn't care.

My phone buzzed. A text from Derek.

(My office. NOW)

I smiled and pulled out my phone, making sure the voice recorder app was on. Then I slipped it into my blazer pocket with the microphone facing out.

Derek's was standing by the window when I walked in, his back to me.

"Close the door," he said.

I did, but I didn't sit down.

He turned around and I could see the anger in his face. His jaw was tight and his eyes we're hard.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" he asked.

"I did my job," I said simply.

"Your job?" He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Your job is to do what I tell you to do. Not embarrass me in front of clients. Not make Rita look incompetent. And definitely not pull stunts like that coffee bullshit."

"Mr. Windsor seemed to appreciate it."

Derek's face turned red. He took a step toward me. "You think you're so smart, don't you? Walking in there like some kind of hero, answering all his questions, making me and Rita look like idiots."

"I wasn't trying to make anyone look like anything," I said. "I was just doing the work I was hired to do."

"The work you were LATE for," he shot back. He took another step closer. Too close. "You know what your problem is, Arden? You don't know your place."

My heart started beating faster, but I kept my voice steady. "And what's my place, Derek?"

"Wherever I tell you it is." He was right in front of me now, close enough that I could smell his cologne. "You work for ME. That means when I give your projects to Rita, you smile and say thank you. When I tell you to stay late, you stay late. When I ask you out for drinks, you say yes like a good little employee."

"I've said no to drinks five times," I said quietly. "The answer isn't going to change."

His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist

"Maybe it should change," he said, his voice low and threatening. "You want that Windsor account? You want to keep your job? Then maybe you should start being nicer to me."

In my past life, I'd frozen when he did this. I pulled away and ran out of his office, too scared to report him because I knew HR wouldn't believe me.

Not this time.

"Let go of my wrist, Derek," I said clearly, making sure my phone was recording every word.

"Or what?" He leaned in closer. "You'll report me again? We both know how well that worked out last time."

"I'm giving you one more chance to let go."

He laughed and his other hand came up to touch my shoulder. "You know, if you just relaxed a little, we could have a really good working relationship. I could give you better projects, better hours. All you have to do is…"

I jerked back and his hand fell away from my shoulder, but he still had my wrist.

"That's sexual harassment," I said loudly. "You're touching me without permission, you're threatening my job unless I go out with you, and you're creating a hostile work environment."

"Who's going to believe you?" He smirked. "It's your word against mine. And I've been here for eight years. You're just a junior employee with an attitude problem."

I smiled. "Actually, it's not just my word."

His smirk faded. "What?"

I pulled my phone out of my pocket with my free hand and held it up. The voice recording app was still running, the timer showing twelve minutes and counting.

"It's my word, plus a recording of you admitting you retaliated against me for rejecting you. Plus a recording of you grabbing me without consent. Plus a recording of you trying to extort me for sexual favors in exchange for job security."

Derek's face went white. He dropped my wrist like it was on fire.

"You're... you're recording me?"

"I was," I said, stopping the recording. "Now I'm done."

"Delete that." His voice shook. "Delete that right now or I'll…"

"You'll what?" I interrupted. "Fire me? Go ahead. I'll send this straight to HR, the company director, and your wife. I looked her u p on Faceplace. Linda Hayes, right? She seems nice. I wonder what she'll think when she hears this."