A Heart to Trust, A.L. Brooks [speed reading book TXT] 📗

to give him sexual favors so she can get the job? Did she seduce him so that she can get the job? Any of those things are possible. But that’s what your HR department should be looking at, because whichever way this relationship came about, it is breaking company policy. That much is clear.” Nia had looked at her then, her dark-brown eyes softening. “You don’t have to go through with this. I’ve just told you how you can. But if it was me, in the position you’re in, I would do it. I don’t think you can trust Derek’s judgment isn’t impaired in this decision-making process.”

They’d parted shortly after, with Nia making Jenny promise to update her on what happened. “And if you get any blowback from this and need a lawyer, call me.” She’d held Jenny’s gaze until she nodded her agreement.

So here Jenny was, about to—potentially—turn everything in the production team on its head. She was nervous about the consequences, but at the same time, a low-burning anger still simmered in her stomach.

Chrissy had suckered her in. She knew that much. Chrissy had pretended to be Jenny’s friend and ally against Olivia while secretly doing all she could to ensure that one of them, or Maxwell, got dropped. It had dawned on Jenny the night before, after she’d got home and called Tamara to talk through all Nia had said, Olivia had probably also been correct when she said Chrissy was scheming against them all along.

Just when I thought I had found a good work friend, it turns out I shouldn’t have trusted her at all. She felt like an idiot. Always far too trusting, as Tamara had pointed out not so long ago. Well, lesson learned. She was pretty sure she’d never let anyone con her this way again.

She reached her desk and placed her bag on her chair while she unpacked it. No one else was in yet; she’d come in very early to get up to HR before she changed her mind. She pulled out her laptop and her notes, then sipped at her water bottle while she worked on calming her breathing.

Okay, let’s do this.

“Thanks again for coming to talk to me.” Zoey, the senior HR manager, gave Jenny a warm smile. She was a woman in her late forties, Jenny would guess, and had an air of motherliness to her that was kind of soothing. “I know this can’t have been easy for you.”

Jenny let out an explosive breath. The meeting had, as far as she could tell, gone well.

Zoey’s eyebrows had almost lifted off her face when Jenny presented the photo at the end of her carefully rehearsed spiel. She seemed genuinely shocked and had taken copious notes on what Jenny had told her.

“It wasn’t, no.”

“Well, leave it with me. I will be pursuing this with utmost urgency, given the situation. And trust me, no decisions on jobs will be made while this is ongoing, so rest assured about that, okay?”

“Great. Thanks.” Jenny’s palms were damp and sweat trickled down her back. This had been beyond stressful, and all she wanted now was to get outside, get some air, be anywhere except in the C&V offices.

“Can I suggest you take a break now, if you’re able? Do you have anywhere to be right now?”

“No. I’m working uptown this afternoon but no meetings or anything this morning.”

“Then I think you should grab your stuff and take off for a couple of hours. Go have a coffee, read a book, whatever you need to be able to give yourself a little breathing space. I’ll inform Derek you are absent this morning, but I will not tell him why, okay?”

“Thanks, Zoey. That’s…that’s great.” Could she trust Zoey? Would she investigate Derek and Chrissy? Or was this another moment of Jenny being stupidly gullible?

Zoey leaned across the table. “I promise, I am taking this seriously, okay? I can understand why you might have doubts, but those policies are there for precisely this reason. You can trust me on this one.”

She sounds like she means it, right? God, I have no idea. Jenny wondered if her ability to judge anyone’s real intentions had been completely lost. “Okay, thanks,” she said, because what else could she say?

Zoey showed her out of the room, and Jenny walked to the stairwell, her heart rate still high but gradually slowing. Had she done the right thing? Would it backfire on her? She walked down the stairs, her notes and laptop clutched tightly against her chest.

Well, I guess I’ll soon know.

Olivia looked over at Jenny’s empty desk for the umpteenth time, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip.

The email from Derek had been a tad vague.

Jenny is taking some time off this morning for personal reasons. She’ll be back in the office tomorrow.

Should she message Jenny? I mean, I can’t encourage this, whatever it is, between us. But a concerned colleague would check in with her, wouldn’t she? But what if she misconstrues that and…

Olivia slumped in her seat. God, what a mess. Now she couldn’t even send one text without analyzing the hell out of it in advance.

Fuck it.

She pulled out her phone, tapped her message, and hit send before she overthought it. Then she spent the next hour wondering why she’d had no reply and regretted sending the damn thing in the first place.

“Are you okay, Olivia?” Maxwell asked from close by.

She leaped out of her skin and turned to see he’d wheeled his chair over to her desk. “I’m fine.” She glanced around; no one in earshot. “I’m worried about Jenny.”

“Me too.” He looked meaningfully at Chrissy’s empty desk. “You don’t think…”

Olivia startled. God, that hadn’t even occurred to her. Had Chrissy somehow got Jenny in trouble? Was she going after Jenny now as well as Olivia? Jesus, this was some awful soap opera storyline. “I honestly have no idea.” Olivia tapped her fingers on her desk. “But I hope not. I’m with you,