Chapter 26
During the flight I openly discussed the situation at Fredericks Design Co. in front of Victor and Jill. Victor had already sat in on the meeting in the office, and Jill was a lawyer and worked along side Spencer. I had no fear of anything we discussed getting talked about ourside the five of us.
Spencer suggested that Bradley and Victor accompany us to Fredericks Design Co. as we may
actually need their muscle if Adam, Alan or Flona go ballistic. And since I could see that happening, I was thrilled when they readily agreed, Part of me also thinks that Bradley wants
to let Adam know that he lost all the way around.
We were met at the airport by Tony and Tara Harvey. After initial greetings, Jill went with Taral
in her car as they had plans for the afternoon. The rest of us got into the limo which drove us
directly to the offices of Fredericks Design, Bradley and Victor were a bit hesitant when I
suggested they join us in the conference room to meet with HR, mentioning that they didn’t
want to intrude. I responded by saying “Bradley, you are my very soon–to–be husband. Meaning
we are partners. Victor, as your PA needs to be aware of our business situations. So, yes, your
both need to be in this meeting.”
I think I shocked all four men with how firm a stance I was taking regarding this. The thing
is,when I decided to trust Bradley, that was it. Agreeing to marry him, was an extension of that
trust. That meant I was going to trust him with everything, every aspect of my life. Crazy? No
doubt.
But I couldn’t help but think of something my grandmother used to say. ‘You have to be a little crazy to keep from going insane. Who was I to argue with my grandmother?
The five of us entered the conference room and sat at the far end of the table, away from and
facing the door. The HR manager, Alana Morris, came in and I introduced her to each of the men with me. Spencer and Tony were introduced as lawyers I had retained on behalf of Fredericks Design Co., and I introduced Bradley as my new business partner, and Victor as his associate. Alana’s eyes widened at that bit of news, but professional that she is, she said. nothing other than, “welcome, pleased to meet you.
She then gave me the three files that contained the additional interview information from Bonnie, Angela, and Jenny. Before opening the files, I opened my laptop, turned it on, and accessed the Security camera surveillance file. Once that was up and running I opened the
Bonnie’s file.
She was a very smart woman. Or very conniving, I’m not sure which, but she had kept detailed
1/4
Chapter 26
records with date, time and place of all her meetings with Adam. Almost as if she had been
through something like this before, or she was planning to extort the company. I would find out in time, I guess.
She had worked here for just over seven months. According to her notes, Adam had first approached her five months ago. Every meeting had taken place in Adam’s office. One by one. I compared every item on her list with the security camera footage. Everything she claimed in her interview checked out. I did the same with the files of the other two women. Again, everything they claimed in their interview was substantiated.
Angela had made notes on three other meetings she wasn’t a part of, but that she had
overheard. I pulled up the footage for those three meetings. Two of them were between Adam
and Alan where they were laughing about Adam screwing those three women, while being
engaged to me, Alan, the man who was supposed to be my father, but was just a sperm donor
in my mind, made the comment ‘screw that little b***h Anna over, Cheat on her as much as
you want, you certainly have my blessing. She’s as useless as her mother.”
Oh, he would pay for that comment about my mother! He would have absolutely nothing if it
hadn’t been for my mother. She worked her butt off to build Fredericks Design Co. whereas
Alan had contributed nothing. He leeched off of her when she was living, and he still profited
after she died. He is a piece of crap.
I had to take a deep breath and calm myself after that. Bradley, who had watched every video
along with the the rest of us, reached over and rubbed my back. The warmth of his hand, and
his calming touch helped me to refocus on the task at hand. I brought up the video of the third
meeting Angela had noted.
It was Alan and Fiona. This video made it clear that Alan didn’t realize that his princess, Fiona, was in an intimate relationship with Adam. And neither did Fiona give any indication
that she knew Adam was screwing three other women in his department. But the real kicker was when my name was mentioned in conjunction with my upcoming twenty–fifth birthday, on December 31st along with a vague reference to my ‘inheritance. Nothing more was said on the
subject as Adam entered the office cutting the conversation short.
Well, that last video created more questions than it answered. I looked between the four men who were exchanging their own glances with each other. Since I wasn’t born yesterday and knew how to read between the lines, they knew a lot more than they were letting on. Perhaps what they knew was covered by the ‘can’t tell‘ speech Bradley gave me. Can’t tell until the New Year. Meaning New Year’s Eve? Just after I turn twenty–five? Interesting.
I sure hope that Sean can get those background checks done and to me fairly quickly. I don’t like being kept in the dark about things that relate to me. Because if I don’t know what the
24
Chapter 26
danger is, how can I protect myself?
Alana handed me a fourth file folder. This one had Fiona’s name on it Lam sure my eyebrows: shot up into my hairline as I read the contents HR had been thorough. They had called and spoke to each of the clients that had written a letter of complaint to our company regarding Fiona’s unprofessional behavior that seemed to start a yer ago. Every client mentioned, in detail, how Fiona had offered s**** favors in exchange for securing the job. Those favors ranged from a blow job to a full on threesome. The complaints had ceased six months ago when I revoked her ability to meet face to face with our clients.
“Alana, why was this not brought to my attention when the first complaint came in? This is totally unacceptable!” I was furious. “You, as head of HR should have been in my office the moment the first letter came across your desk.”
“Anna, the first letter was received the week your grandparents passed away. You were out of the office for almost two weeks. So I took the complaint to the Board. Alan Fredericks said he would handle it and not to bother you. When the second letter came in, you were away in Europe on a business trip. Alan again said he would handle it. The same situation with the other five complaints. When I did manage to see you on the Maxwell job, with that complaint, you handled it. With Fiona no longer allowed to meet with the clients, it became a non–issue.”
Alana swallowed hard before continuing. ‘Honestly, between Alan, Adam and Fiona lording it over everyone every time you were away, it’s been difficult. And Anna, you have been away from the office a lot this past year, especially the past four months. All the staff has been walking on eggshells because of those three. I know Adam is your fiance, and the other two are your family, but the company would run so much better without them.”
Alana was so nervous as she said her piece, that she was having a hard time looking me in the eyes, but she did manage to. I slowly nodded my head. Everything she said was true. I had
been away f
from the office more than I had been here. I had been doing a lot of travelling back and forth between Toronto and Halifax, juggling my two very separate lives. That, coupled with all the Fredericks Design Co. work trips I had been on had made it near impossible to sit down with any department head and discuss issues such as this.
“Alana, let me assure you that after our meetings with those three this afternoon, you never
have to see them again. Originally, I was going to suspend them un
we completed our internal investigation, but after seeing these videos, I’m done with them. I have already ended my engagement to Adam, and he is being fired, with cause, effective today. Fiona will also be fired with cause. And Alan is being relieved of his position on the Board. My lawyers have drawn up formal letters banning them from the Fredericks Design Co. property. Those three are done here. Please have Security clean out their desks, and they will be escorted into the
W
Chapter 26
building and this room, and then escorted out. They will be charged with trespassing if they so much as step foot on the property again.”
I made up my mind that a situation such as this would never happen again. I needed someone here in the office that could run things in my absence. Someone I trusted. I needed a Chief Operating Officer, and I know exactly who I want in that position.
“Alana, could you please call Jonathan Proctor in accounting and ask him to come up here. immediately?
