Then, in a low voice, I confided, “she needs to replace her entire foundation to stay in this house. The money from the claim will go to that.”
Rachel pursed her lips, worry appearing in her eyes. She consulted her tablet, scrolling through notes. “If I document this accurately, it will void her current claim. And not only that, the structure could be marked as unsafe. Maybe itshouldbe marked that way.”
“That structure kept a seventy-eight-year-old widow warm and dry through one of the worst winters we’ve had in a decade.” I kept my voice low, conscious of Mrs. Andretti inside. “She couldn’t afford proper repairs. Her insurance had already denied the claim once because of some bullshit technicality about pre-existing damage.”
“So you just did the work, anyway? Without permits, without inspections, or any guarantee that your repairs would actually hold?” Rachel asked in exasperation.
“My repairs held fine. Not a single leak all winter.” I stepped closer, frustration bleeding into my voice. “You want to talk about guarantees? Your companyguaranteedher coverage, and then they foundeveryexcuse in the book not to pay out. What was she supposed to do, freeze to death while she waited for the appeals process?”
“That’s not how it works, Clayton, and you know it.” Rachel’s voice was tight. “There are procedures and regulations. They exist for a reason.”
“They exist to protect the company’s bottom line, not to protect people like Loretta!”
Rachel frowned, “That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it?” I was close enough to see the conflict in her eyes.
She was struggling between what she knew was right and what her job required her to do.
“You’veseenher. You’ve sat at her table and eaten her food. You going to tell me that old woman’s trying to commit fraud?”
“Of course not.” Rachel’s hand came up, pressing against my chest. “But if I don’t document what I see accurately,I’mthe one who loses my job. I’ll get the blame when the next adjuster comes through and finds unpermitted work that I should have caught. And it’s pretty damn obvious. I was able to overlook it at Mrs. Patterson’s place because the salvaged materials weren’t as obvious. But here… this place is as patched up as your own home, Clayton.”
What she said made sense, but sometimes right and wrong wasn’t about what made sense. I growled out, “You follow policy. I prioritizepeople. That’s the difference between us, and I won’t step back from that.”
Her hand was warm through my flannel, her fingers splayed over my heart. She left it there a second too long, her eyes locked on mine, devastation in her eyes. She almost looked like she was about to cry.
I’d hit home with my words.
The anger drained out of me, replaced by something else entirely.
“I’m not asking you to lie,” I said quietly. “I’m asking you to see the whole picture. Not just the paperwork.”
Rachel’s throat worked as she swallowed. Her hand was still on my chest, and neither of us moved to change that.
“I don’t know if I can do that,” she whispered. “I’d be risking my job. Is that what you want? To see me out of a career?”
I gripped her gently by the waist, everything about us tilting in this moment, crossing a line from landlord and tenant, or adjuster and contractor, into something more.
“Of course I don’t want to see you hurt, Rachel. But I don’t want to see Angela hurt, either. Did you know she looks after hergreat-niece? Both of them will be homeless if you submit that report.”
She stared up at me with wounded eyes, and I could tell her heart was in turmoil.
And it wasn’t just about Mrs. Andretti anymore.
This was aboutus.
Chapter 9
Rachel
My laptop screen was covered in photographs while I tried to focus on my claims for the day. Every image showed lives hanging in the balance of my recommendations. I studied them with a knot tied in my stomach.
After today, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a part of the insurance industry any longer.
I heard Clayton’s heavy footsteps behind me before I felt his presence, the warmth of him radiating against my back as he leaned over my shoulder to look at the photos on the screen.
“That’s the Harrison place,” he said, his voice a low rumble near my ear.
