My Fake Wedding Was the Start of Their Real Prison novel · Chapter 13 of 24
Chapter 13: The Badge
Caelen didn't argue.
He unclipped the badge from his belt and put it in my mother's hand.
"You're suspended with pay," she said. "Pending review. You don't touch the Treadwell Ridge file, the analysts or the servers."
"Understood."
"You don't discuss it with my daughter."
He looked at me, then back at her.
"That one's harder," he said. "But understood."
The white-haired man cleared his throat.
"And Sadie steps back too, I assume. She's the defendant, Wanda. She's sleeping with the man who was supposed to be checking her."
Six faces turned to me.
They were waiting for me to cry, or apologize, or ask my mother to fix it.
I took the envelope out from under my arm and held it up.
"I'd like something put in the minutes," I said.
My mother nodded once at the secretary.
"My name is Sadie Lowell. I'm the subject of the Treadwell Ridge claim. As of Friday night I'm in a relationship with Caelen Flaherty. I told the CEO myself, on Saturday morning, before anyone served me with a photograph."
"Caelen disclosed it the same morning. He's been suspended for it. I haven't." I set the envelope on the walnut. "So I'm not stepping back."
"Sadie," my mother said.
"Mom, they sued me. Not the firm. Me." I looked around the table. "I'm the defendant. Nobody gets to take my own case away from me."
"You're too close to it," said the white-haired man.
"I'm the only one who was at that table." I turned to my mother. "I'll bring in outside counsel today. Somebody none of you has ever had dinner with. Every page I touch goes to her first."
My mother looked at me for a long moment.
Then she looked at Caelen, standing by the door without his badge.
"Who?" she said.
I named a litigator from a firm on Federal Street.
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