• • •
I try to focus on work and get a fair amount done. I’m proud I’ve lasted until almost eleven before I finally text her.
Thinking about my girl…how’s it going? Have you seen Mojo yet?
I’m fine, love. No, he’s been in closed-door meetings all morning so I haven’t had to deal with him yet.
Okay. I’ll check in with you later. I love you.
I love you too. XO
I take a break from Bucky and take some time to study Joel’s Robbie model sheets for the new project when I suddenly hear my name.
“Nathan?”
I think I recognize her from HR. She always has the fake happy look on her face.
“Yes?”
“I need you to come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“We need to talk to you.”
“We? Can you tell me what’s this about?”
“Please just come with me,” she insists. The happy smile is gone.
So this is how it’s going to go. I turn off Wayne Dyer silently hoping that he stays with me even if I have to leave my iPod behind.
I follow her to the elevator. It’s the most nerve-wracking ride I’ve ever had, the silence is like a deafening scream. As soon as we step off I realize that we’re heading towards Arnold’s office.
“Why aren’t we going to HR?” I ask, trying to manage my nerves.
“It was decided to have this meeting here.” She says simply likes she’s giving me directions to the mailroom or something.
When she pulls open his office door I pause at the threshold, realizing that there isn’t a single thing inside I’m ready for. Curtis taught me that in football a blindside is when you are tackled without seeing it coming. My instincts tell me to run the other direction, but I know a man must face things head on.
I am Brooke’s man, and I will not run.
I step inside and scan the room. The main HR lady is in the first seat, sitting so upright she looks like she has a metal rod up her back. Then there are two suits watching me carefully, another strangely familiar looking guy sitting just outside the pack and then finally Arnold, seething like a monkey who’s had his banana taken away. The death glare he gives me would totally derail me if Wayne and his affirmations didn’t have my back.
Brooke is gloriously absent from this train wreck and I’m so glad. It’s the one bright spot of relief in this cheery gathering.
“Please have a seat Mr. Evans,” suit lady directs and points to the chair facing the firing squad. “These are our lawyers, Mr. Ruiz and Mr. Felton,” she informs me as she points to the suits on my right.
Damn.
I have two thoughts. The first is that I’m pretty sure I’m not here to get a promotion. I have to fight off a smile at my humor in the face of disaster.
The second is that they can fire me for some bogus reason and blast me out of here on a rocket. It’s not going to change anything that matters to me.
Fuck them…every single one of the soulless fuckers.
I move to the chair, sit down and fold my arms over my chest defiantly. Let’s get this done.
I’m ready, you raving assholes.
Bring it on.
Animate Me / Chapter Twenty-Five / What’s Mine is Yours?
“Hurry Cecil, he’s wrecking our terribly happy magic kingdom!” ~Beany Boyxxiv
“Nathan Evans?” Suit lady asks.
Is this a trick question? My sullen audience regards me warily. I glance around the room and note that Mojo only has framed posters of Sketch Republic shows up and the show pictured in front of me was canceled last season. He really should get that replaced.
“Yes?”
“Are you familiar with the employee conduct rules that you agreed to when you were hired here at Sketch Republic?”
She holds up the rule book they gave us at orientation.
“Sort of. I mean I didn’t read it, but I know the basics; don’t kill your co-workers, stuff like that.”
“This is serious, Mr. Evans.”
I just stare at her with my game face. She must not want to play. Well, I really don’t want to play either. “Yes, I think I understand the rules pretty much.”
“Note that on page seventeen it clearly addresses the rule against excessive fraternization on company property.”
“Excessive?”
A disturbing feeling crawls through me. Where the hell is she going with this? As if I wasn’t unsettled enough, the guy lurking just behind Arnold is staring me down. I look back over to the HR lady, the confusion evident in my expression. My arms loosen where they are folded over my chest, and fall down to my sides.
“Are you aware that there are security cameras in our conference rooms?”
Cameras in the conference rooms…filming what? Oh my God.
Fuck
Fuck, no
My stomach is now somewhere near my knees. I suddenly feel naked, in front of Arnold and the suits, no less. “No.” I admit with great reluctance.
“What was that, you fucking pervert geek?” Arnauld yells.
“Hey!” I yell back. It’s bad enough knowing he must have watched the footage, but if I’m getting fired anyway, I’m done with his crap.
“Arnauld,” one of the suit men barks, holding their hand up like a stop sign.
My mind goes blank but for one thought.
Brooke
We had sex in that room, never realizing we would unknowingly acquire an audience who doesn’t appreciate the allure of Brooke bent over the super-sized conference table. I know I’m flushed crimson, and I hate myself for it. I clear my throat. “I see. No, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t okay according to the employee guidebook.”
“I’m going to take you down, you little fucker,” Arnold growls.
“Arnauld! Do we need to step outside for a moment?” the bigger suit asks.
“No,” he barks. “Let’s get this done.”
“So I’m fired. Anything else?” I scoot to the front of my seat. I just want to get out of here, and protect Brooke from what’s sure to come…the sooner the better.
“I don’t think you understand how serious this is Mr. Evans.” The smaller suit advises. “We’re very concerned because it appears that some level of force was used in the activities on the video from the conference room recording.”
Holy shit.
Force? What are they saying?
The scenes that afternoon start to flash through my memory: pulling Brooke down to her knees, pushing my cock into her mouth. This is what the camera saw, but it must not have heard Brooke asking me to do those things…telling me she wanted it that way.
The blood drains out of my face as it occurs to me how bad this would look on camera. Could they be thinking I took Brooke with aggression against her will? I feel my breakfast rise up in my throat and I choke it back. Surely, once they talk to her they will realize they misunderstood the events. Right?
“Now Mr. Evans, I would strongly advise you to speak with your lawyer before you comment. This is an extremely serious situation.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I insist, ignoring his warning. “It was completely consensual. I swear. Ask Brooke.”
“Again, I advise you to wait for your lawyer, Mr. Evans.”
“Brooke would never want that,” Arnold fiercely insists. He looks like he’s going to beat the crap out of me. I hope he doesn’t have a gun in his desk drawer because I wouldn’t put anything past that fucker.
Despite his fury, I can’t hold back. “Like you’d know,” I retort.
His fists curl and he looks like he’s going to explode. “I’m going to…”
“Arnauld,” the bigger suit looks angry.
The whole room’s starting to spin. Jesus, I have to get out of here. I turn back to the Human Resources woman. “So what are you going to do to me now?”
“You will be released from employment and escorted from the building. Do you have a lawyer?” She asks.