Cooper jammed his hands in his pockets so they wouldn’t see the fists they formed. This was it.
“And that’s why we’d like you to sit,” Mr. Arman interjected calmly. “We’d like to take a statement from you about your exact conversation with Mr. Schone to be used in case we’re sued for terminating his employment, which we will be doing as soon as we have the additional evidence we need to support that decision.”
“What?” If Cooper didn’t sit then he was going to crash onto the floor like a felled redwood tree. He drew out a sleek leather chair and sank into it, his legs turned to mush.
Mr. King grinned. “He’s saying that Marty is a dirty, manipulative piece of shit and we know it. Based on what he told us, we’re pretty sure he violated your privacy, displayed an egregious lack of discretion, and insulted your life choices. At worst—”
“He tried to blackmail me with his silence if I’d let him have sex with my girlfriend,” Cooper interjected.
“And there it is.” Mr. Arman nodded, his face grim.
Mr. King cursed under his breath.
Mr. Westbrook, however, showed only a stony mask. The one Cooper knew he kept in place when he needed to do things by the book to ensure victory. Only right now, he wasn’t taking aim at Cooper—as Cooper had thought only moments earlier—but instead at Marty.
What the actual fuck?
Cooper gripped the edge of the table, afraid he might crack a molar if he didn’t give his energy some physical outlet right then.
“Does that sound familiar, Kari?” Mr. Arman asked their administrative assistant quietly. Only then did Cooper realize the woman was brushing a tear from the corner of her eye.
She nodded. “He told me he’d keep quiet about what we’d done at the company Christmas party if I didn’t raise a fuss.”
Cooper’s eyes narrowed.
Kari picked at her nail polish before looking directly up at him. “This whole time I’ve been beating myself up. Wondering how I could have made such a poor decision with a guy I’m not even attracted to. But when I heard Marty ratting you out to Mr. Westbrook, what he was trying to do to you, I realized how manipulative he is. He likes to screw with people’s heads almost as much as he likes to fuck them…whether they’re into it or not.”
“I’m so sorry, Kari. We didn’t find out about how he’d cornered you until it was too late to have your blood tested for date rape drugs, but I would bet this firm on the fact that he used chemicals to persuade you.” Mr. King got up and rounded the table to crouch beside Kari. He glanced over at Cooper before biting his lip.
“Say what you want. I don’t mind if Cooper knows the truth.” Kari put her hand on Mr. King’s and squeezed.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. With the two drink tickets allotted to each employee, you sure as shit didn’t get drunk enough to suddenly decide you had the hots for that slime bucket and jump his bones in the alley. He used guilt and shame to persuade you that you had. That what happened was at least partially your fault. It wasn’t. He raped you. He tried to scam Cooper and his partners in the same underhanded way. That isn’t acceptable behavior for one of our staff. And we’d like to make it right.”
Mr. Westbrook never took his eyes off Cooper. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes, sir.” He definitely needed that hold on the table twice as much now. If he had known this before, he might have been tempted to take that swing at Marty he’d so desperately wanted to the other day. Kari’s story wasn’t so different from Andi’s. Son of a bitch!
“Would you be willing to testify about what you’ve disclosed today on the record, in a court of law, if it comes to that?” Mr. Westbrook asked.
“Of course, sir.” Cooper nodded vigorously enough that he rattled his brains a bit.
“You can cut that shit out.” Mr. King chuckled. “He’s just Ford to those of us who know him best.”
“I don’t—” Cooper leaned back.
“Maybe not yet,” Mr. Arman said. “But we would very much enjoy getting to know you and your significant others better.”
“Go ahead, Ford…blow his mind,” Mr. King said as he nudged Mr. Westbrook with his elbow.
“Safe to say you’ve already done that today. All of you.” Cooper glanced over at Kari, who had straightened her spine and lifted her chin. He wished he could hug her, but knew she might not appreciate the contact and definitely didn’t need it.
“Well, then, what’s a little more TMI between colleagues?” Mr. Westbrook said with the first hint of a smile. “Here’s the thing, Cooper. We are counting on your prudence in this matter now.”
“I’m sorry? I don’t plan to hide my relationship with Andi from anyone. We are who we are, and we love who we love. If that’s not acceptable—if I and the people I love aren’t acceptable—to the firm, then I’ll resign. I won’t be a part of an organization that refuses to accept us.” Hadn’t they realized that’s what he’d been telling them before?
“I heard you the first time.” Mr. Westbrook—Ford—grinned to soften the retort. “What I meant is that I’d like to share some sensitive information with you, and I hope you’ll understand why it’s not exactly public knowledge.”
“Oh.” The muscles in Cooper’s back relaxed. “Yes, of course. I’ve had a crash course in how damaging it can be when the wrong people find out something about you.”