“What? Why?”
I bend at the waist, trying to get my laughs under control. Then they suddenly turn to tears. “She… she had her lunch stolen by her boss and her ideas stolen by her colleague.” I sniffle. “I don’t blame her. I’d have written up a file like that too. It’s a bunch of crap.”
Ben looks hurt, so I shake my head. “I know you didn’t mean to do it. It happens. It’s just that she got screwed.” And there are times, just like this one, when I need to stand with a female colleague. “I’m not saying she did the right thing, but I get her motivation.”
“I do too.” Ben nods. “I feel like shit.”
Then I remember. Facing him, I place my hands on my hips. “What about her claim about favoritism?”
“I was already thinking about that. In the break room last week, she mentioned that Sam had never asked her to join him for drinks after work. It’s always just been Brendan and me and sometimes Silvia along with a couple of the other managers.”
“Why would he do that?”
He shrugs. “She’s got kids.”
“So does Brendan.” My brows are furrowed, and my voice is curt because this makes me angry. I’m starting to feel like I need to wear a Team Lindsay T-shirt.
Ben turns to face me. “Hey. I know this is wrong. It’s sexist bullshit. And no, I didn’t see it before, but I do now.”
“I know.” I get it, but it’s still bullshit. Crossing my arms in front of me, I demand, “So, what are you going to do about it?”
He runs his palm over his face again. “I’m going to fix it.”
“What about Sam? Shouldn’t he be the one ‘fixing’ some of this too?”
“Yes.” Ben nods. “Definitely. I’m just not sure how to go about making all these wrongs right.”
“It’s not just you, Ben. Sam and Graham need to play a role as well.”
“Are you going to tell Graham all of this?”
Is he asking me not to? Because if he is….
“I think you should.”
Oh thank God. He’s turning out to be the man I’d hoped he was. “Let me talk to Lindsay. Then I’ll write up my report for Graham.”
“In the meantime, I’ll speak to Sam. I can go over at lunch.” He looks over his desk at Sky. “Oh, I can’t….”
“I’ll take Sky. She can sit with me in the conference room while you go to the hospital.”
“But—”
“If we’re right about this, then my work here is nearly done.”
That means, depending on the fallout, Ben and I could possibly, maybe….
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ben
“So you’re sayingI’m the one to blame for all the bad shit that’s been going on in the department?” Sam’s tone is telling me everything I need to know. He thinks that’s bullshit.
“No. Not everything. You stole her lunch. I don’t know how many times, but once was probably enough.”
Sam looks sheepish now. “She always had something great, and I can’t cook. Plus I’m getting sucked dry financially by my ex.”
“If you needed help with lunch, you could have told me. I thought we were friends.” Not anymore, but at one time, I thought we were.
