Page 30

“It won’t hold,” I say dismissively, tossing the papers down. “He doesn’t have a case. The judge will toss it. And if he doesn’t, we’ll destroy him in court.”
“Of course we will,” Elijah replies. “But that’s not the point. Do you have any idea how bad the optics are of something like this? The press will hear of it eventually. I’ve got our PR team onit, so we’ll probably be able to contain the fire. But internally, the rumors are already spreading.”
“What rumor is there to spread?” I snap. “Guy got out of line at the party last week and attacked someone. I handled it. That’s all there is to say.”
Elijah raises a brow.
“An attack? The lawsuit doesn’t mention that.”
“Of course it doesn’t,” I say. “Why would Welch want to volunteer that information?”
“Can you prove this?” Elijah asks.
I shrug.
“Sure,” I say. “Rebecca can give a witness statement, and I’ve got a security camera in my office.”
“It was Rebecca?” Emmett growls. “Fuck.”
“She’s okay,” I say. “She was shaken up but…”
I stop there. I don’t want to tell my brothers more about that night. That she was drunk, mixed with medicine, and completely passed out by the end of the night.
My brothers respect the hell out of Rebecca, as they should, and I’m not about to share anything that they could interpret the wrong way. It was an accident, as Rebecca said, and sometimes things like this don’t need to be talked about.
“I can’t believe that fuck-head touched Rebecca,” Emmett says, visibly tense. “I’ll kill him. I’ll rip his fucking head off.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Elijah says, flipping through the papers in front of him. “According to this document, our little brother has already done that. Along with a slew of other injuries. A little overkill, don’t you think? I don’t know how we’re going to swing self-defense with this one. Might be better to settle out of court.”
“We’re not giving that fucker any money,” I snap.
“Damn right,” Emmett says, looking at Elijah. “Settle out of court? He’s lucky if he doesn’t get jail time. When we’re done with him, he’ll -”
“Don’t you have a ten o’clock meeting?” Elijah interjects, looking at his watch. “Better get going.”
Emmett looks at his own watch and relents.
“Fine,” he says, pointing a finger at us. “But this isn’t over. Don’t settle out of court, don’t cooperate with his lawyers. We’re going to mop the floor with this guy. Nobody touches our employees. Especially Rebecca. Of all the people, he attacks the sweetest girl at this damn company? Fuck no. Absolutely fucking not.”
I feel a twinge of appreciation for my brother now. Emmett is the hothead of the three of us. Usually, I don’t find his temper helpful. But it’s validating, listening to Emmett talking about Welch like he’d like to beat the shit out of him, mirroring my own sentiment. He sounds as furious as I felt that night when I walked in on that scene. Sounds as furious as I still feel even now, thinking about how I allowed him to walk away that night with his legs still in working order.
If I’d had more time…if she hadn’t been waiting for me back upstairs…if the security team hadn’t come when they heard Welch wailing in pain on the ground…
Well. I don’t know what the fuck I would have done to that guy. Maybe something that even our fancy lawyers wouldn’t be able to get me out of.
Emmett exits. Elijah turns to me.
“If you’re sleeping with Rebecca, we’ll need you both to sign some paperwork with HR.”
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“If you’re sleeping with Rebecca,” he says calmly. “And I’m being generous by saying ‘if’. As though there’s any doubt, which there’s not. Last week at lunch, you disappeared for 20minutes. At first, I thought you were just pissed off and ditching us, or something. But then I go looking for you and spot you sitting next to her. You looked cozy, Eric. More cozy than boss and subordinate who just happened to bump into each other at lunch.”
I say nothing.
“You’re not contradicting me, so I’m going to take that as confirmation of my suspicions,” he says. “Look, it’s not a big deal. I’ve already been through this once with Emmett and Charlotte. It would be nice if my brothers would stop dating their employees…but since that doesn’t seem to be possible, I’ve become well-versed in the paperwork involved. You’ll both need to sign it.”
“I’m not signing anything,” I reply. “We’re not dating.”