Page 50 of Power

Dakota shook her head in pride. “Thorough.”

“Oh, I’m not done.” I leaned forward. “I’m requesting interviews with every other candidate who applied for the promotion. Give them a safe space to come forward, you know? Because if he did this to me …”

“You think there are others here?”

“I think we’re about to find out.” I tried to ignore the knot in my stomach.

“And if the company doesn’t fire him?”

“Then I walk.” The words came out firmly, despite the way my heart clenched. “I can’t work somewhere that treats sexual harassment as a corporate perk. The higher up you are, the more responsibility you have to set an example. If they let this slide …” I shook my head. “That’s not a culture I want any part of.”

Dakota stared at my list. “You’ve really thought this through.”

“Hence the cheat sheet.” I waved the digital list. “My memory tends to get spotty when I’m fantasizing about throat-punching someone.”

“You’re doing the right thing, you know.”

“Yeah, well …” My phone buzzed, and I froze mid-sentence, staring at the company-wide announcement. The blood drained from my face as I pieced it together.

That merger everyone had been whispering about? Turned out, several new hires were actually from our parent company, Lockwood Holdings.

Including one particular handsy executive who’d gotten way too familiar with my personal space.

“What?” Dakota leaned forward. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

I let out a sigh that sounded more like a wheeze. “Guess who’s actually a Lockwood Holdings executive?”

“No.” Dakota’s eyes went wide. “Mr. Grabby Hands works for?—”

“The company that literally owns us now? Yep.” I stared at my meticulously crafted bullet-point list. All those perfectly planned words suddenly felt like a loaded gun pointed at my own head.

“But Jace wouldn’t let?—”

“Jace?” I barked out another hollow laugh, leaning in to whisper, “Dakota, all I really know about Jace is that he gives spectacular orgasms. A company that size? He’s not running it alone. There’s a board, probably armies of lawyers who specialize in making problems disappear.”

“You’re not a problem,” Dakota hissed.

“No? Because from where I’m sitting, I’m about to accuse a high-ranking executive of sexual harassment right in the middle of a bazillion-dollar acquisition.” My hands started to shake. “You know what corporations call people like that? Liability. Risk. Threat. The corporate equivalent of finding a cockroach in your fancy restaurant meal.”

I slumped back in my chair, the weight of reality crushing down.

“And now the timing looks suspicious as hell. They’ll say I’m trying to sabotage the merger, or extort money, or, God, I don’t even know what they’ll say. But guess which story’s easier to believe: the lying opportunist trying to cause trouble or the poor, misunderstood executive who’s just trying to smooth the transition of power?”

Dakota reached across the desk and grabbed my trembling hands. “So, what are you going to do?”

I looked down at my list again. The right thing to do was so clear an hour ago. Now? The list might as well have been titled The Complete Guide to Career Suicide: A Memoir.

“I don’t know.” My voice came out unsteadily. “But I have a feeling I’m about to find out exactly how deep this rabbit hole goes. And whether I’m Alice or the sacrificial rabbit.”

The fact that she couldn’t come up with something to try and reassure me was quite telling. She absolutely thought I was screwed. If not from Grabby Hands, then from Jace himself. Speaking of which …

I glanced at the time.

“Crap,” I said. “I have to head up to his office. Maybe I should stop by the bathroom first and practice myI’ve seen you naked, but now I’m totally professionalface.”

Dakota swallowed, trying to pretend she wasn’t nervous for me.

“Good luck,” she managed.