He Laughed While I Was Hit novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: The Board

On Friday I went back up in the same elevator.

The bruises had turned from red to a deep yellow-purple, and I wore no makeup over them.

Brennan waited in the lobby because Aurelio had said the board room was for the board.

I pushed the boardroom door open myself.

Fourteen men and women sat around the long table.

Aurelio sat at one end with his cane on the wood.

Rocco sat at the other, in a gray suit, with a fresh haircut and a smile ready.

Fiorella was not there.

The two department managers were, at the far end, exactly where they had been sitting before.

Nobody stood up for me.

"Britta, there you are," Rocco said, warmly. "Sit, please. We were just saying how much we want this settled."

I did not sit.

"Good morning," I said to the table. "I'm Britta Solheim. I designed the process your plants run on."

A director in the middle, a heavy man with a red tie, cleared his throat.

"Mrs. Venturi, we are all very sorry about your domestic..."

"This is not domestic." I held up a hand and pointed at the table. "On Monday, in this room, I was held by two men and slapped five times. Mr. Venturi's sister-in-law did it. Mr. Venturi laughed. Then he took a picture."

Rocco made a small, regretful sound.

"It was a family disagreement," he told the board. "It was ugly, and I've apologized."

"You haven't."

"I'm apologizing now. Britta, I'm sorry."

He said it flatly, looking at the table.

I turned my back on him and walked down the length of the table until I stood in front of the two department managers.

"You were in this room," I said.

The older man, gray at the temples, kept his eyes on the wood.

"Mrs. Venturi, I don't..."

"Three hundred and ten people work on your filling lines," I said. "I read the roster before I came. Your name is at the top of it."

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