Unraveled (Jersey Girls Book 1)

by Lisa-Marie Cabrelli

  Maureen snapped her fingers at her again; it was getting annoying. “Uh, same thing, Claire! Any man who goes around telling other women he loves them when he is married already is a cheat and a liar. Get that in your head before we go in there. I don’t want you to hold back on the stuff that happened with Nick just because you are trying to protect Satish. His name might come up, and you are just going to go with it. He deserves it, don’t you see?”

  Claire understood why Maureen was so angry. The nightmare she’d experienced with Nick had damaged her so deeply that she had trouble looking at any man without doubting their intentions. Everything that she said made logical sense, but she just couldn’t think that badly of Satish. Truthfully, she still wasn’t over him. She spent every second wishing there was a way they could be together, and the thought that he was back in New Jersey and that she couldn’t see him was tortuous! She couldn’t believe his wife was here.

  “So, what was she like? What did she say?” she repeated.

  “She didn’t speak to anyone,” Maureen said, “but just went straight into Satish’s office and sat there while he met a few people. They were only here for an hour, or so. You know how Satish is—he didn’t introduce her to anyone or anything. She sat in his office, and then they both left. I heard that she was very beautiful, though—and young. Younger than you. They can’t have been married long.”

  Claire couldn’t think about this right now. If she could stop the world and get off, she would have screamed, “Enough!” She didn’t hold back her annoyance when she said, “Well, thanks for telling me, Maureen… I think. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with that information, other than stew about it for the next hour and not hear a word anyone is saying to me. Good timing, by the way!”

  Maureen looked stung. She took her arms off of Claire’s shoulders, turned, and marched off, down the hallway. Claire felt awful. She had been such a bitch lately, and she felt out of control. Maureen was only trying to help her—they all were. Claire hustled after her to apologize; Maureen was close the door now, and as Claire rushed after her, she came to a complete and sudden stop, causing Claire to bump hard into her back. She stepped out from behind Maureen to see why she had stopped.

  “Maureen, what the—” Claire’s mouth snapped shut. Tingling numbness ran straight down her legs as she struggled to stay upright.

  Standing in front of the door of HR, waiting for them, was Satish.

  38

  Satish

  Satish swallowed hard to hold back his tears. Tears! If only his father could see him now, he would be dismayed at his son’s lack of emotional control. It was Claire—she had moved from behind Maureen, glanced at him, and turned sheet white. He had heard it described, but had never seen it happen. It was like watching a cartoon.

  She was beautiful. Her curls were highly bound in a bun, but a few had managed to escape and were bouncing around her ears. Her skin, though pure white, was sparkling, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, like his own. I will not make a scene, he thought. I will be professional and composed.

  Satish needed to get a message to Claire and Maureen, and he had to do it before they were all invited into the office. He stepped toward Claire, but she stepped quickly back; he couldn’t blame her. He turned toward Maureen, who gave him a truly dangerous look, and he was taken aback for a moment. He could not be distracted from his mission, though—it was too important. It was the only thing that he had left to give to Claire.

  Satish took another step, so he was within whispering distance to Maureen. “Lawyers will be in the room—they are your lawyers. Their names are Burnham and Brown. Do not act surprised or question their presence; they are under my employ, but I have no wish for that to be public knowledge. Do you understand?” Maureen looked confused, but nodded. Satish then turned to Claire. “I would like to see you after this meeting. I understand if you are hesitant, so there is no need to answer now. I will wait at our break—” Satish stopped short, swallowed, and started again. “I will wait at the breakfast place until noon. If you don’t come, I will respect your decision, but I do have some words I would like to share with you face to face.”

  Claire, still white as a ghost, but shockingly beautiful, nodded slightly. He didn’t know if she was agreeing to his request or just signifying that she had heard him, but he would wait until noon—damn it, he would wait all day—to see if she allowed him the opportunity of a few precious minutes with her. He wanted her to hear an explanation directly from him. He was sure that it wouldn’t make her any less angry, but it was his duty to face up to the consequences of his decisions.

  39

  Claire

  Maureen was gripping Claire’s hand so tightly that it hurt. She had scooted her pleather-covered chair so close to Claire’s that the metal had clanged as they bumped together. She wanted to tell Maureen that it was okay—that she was alright—but she would have been lying.

  They were sitting in front of a large desk in a crowded room. Behind the desk sat Marie Fliszer, the stern and efficient VP of human resources. Claire had spoken to her exactly once before in her life, when she had bumped into her on her way into the ladies room. Marie had been pushing open the door with her hip while wiping her hands on a paper towel, and Claire had blithely walked in and stepped hard on her left foot. She had apologized profusely, but Marie hadn’t said a word, and instead had just glanced over her glasses at her bright red face and walked past. She was a scary woman.

  Sitting to the left of Claire and Maureen was an extremely well-dressed man in a three-piece suit, shiny, black loafers, and cufflinks, and an equally well-presented young woman. Both had smiled and shook their hands when they entered, but they hadn’t introduced themselves, which led Claire to believe that they were the lawyers. They certainly couldn’t afford lawyers like these, so if Satish was expecting any reimbursement, they were screwed. Why had he hired lawyers? Maybe Nick had repeated his threat directly to Satish? Was he worried for his job? What was he even doing here? Unfortunately, he had followed them into the room and now stood against the window, leaning handsomely, well within her line of sight. Talk about a distraction. This whole scene was terrifying.

  Marie Fliszer cleared her throat, and Maureen gripped Claire’s hand even tighter. “Ms. Vitale, Ms. Black, thank you for joining us this morning.”

  They both nodded. Maureen mumbled, “You’re welcome” under her breath, but only Claire was close enough to hear it.

  “Your lawyers and I have had a productive few days. I have spent some time with my team verifying the statements of the other claimants and witnesses involved in your suit.” Claire gripped Maureen’s hand right back and saw her wince from the corner of her eye. They hadn’t filed a suit! That’s what they were here for today! “All claims have been confirmed and the witnesses’ testimonies were verified. Your allegations against Mr. Hamner are justified, and frankly, devastating to Telco. The company would like to extend the most profound apologies for the experiences that you suffered at the hands of Mr. Hamner.”

  They nodded dumbly again, and Claire heard Maureen mutter yet another, “You’re welcome” under her breath and was glad no one could hear her.

  Marie Fliszer continued, “We wish to foster an environment of inclusiveness, equality, and fairness here, and I am appalled to discover that we allowed this individual to continue his abuses, unchecked, for so long. Of course, the company can shoulder no blame for not identifying the issue sooner. We do have clear processes and procedures in place for reporting any policy violations, especially when it comes to harassment. I only wish you had brought it to our attention prior to filing suit. I am sure that we could have resolved this issue quickly and efficiently.” At this point, she lowered her head and looked sternly at the both of them over the top of her glasses. Claire had a bathroom flashback and felt herself flush red again. She glanced at Satish and he gave her an almost imperceptible head shake. She knew what it meant, though: don’t let her get to you.

&nbs
p; “However, considering the abundance of evidence, as well as the direct and irrefutable eyewitness testimony of a company executive,” she looked at Satish, who nodded at her, matching her seriousness, “we have decided that allowing this suit to go to court would serve no purpose. I hope you will consider our internal offer as a resolution to this matter, and then we can all move on from this unfortunate circumstance.” Marie looked across her desk at the lawyers and nodded to them.

  The older gentleman lawyer turned his chair, so that he was facing Claire and Maureen. He opened a large, leather binder in front of him, turned it toward them, and smiled kindly. Claire was so relieved that someone was smiling in this horrible room that she almost gave him a hug.

  He spoke quietly to them, “The company has put together what I believe to be an acceptable settlement. I will provide you both with signed copies of the relevant documentation, but allow me to summarize the conditions for you. First, Telco has already relieved Mr. Hamner from his duties. He is no longer in the employ of the company and will not be permitted to return to Telco or any Telco subsidiaries at any time. He is aware of the irrefutable case you have put forward and has guaranteed, both verbally and in writing, that he will have no further contact with any individual named in the suit. This includes the two of you, as well as all witnesses.”

  At this, Maureen started to cry quietly. Claire grabbed a tissue from the box on the desk in front of her as Marie leaned forward, looking uncharacteristically kind and concerned.

  “Are you alright, Ms. Vitale? Can we get you some water?”

  “No, thank you,” she sat up straighter and took the tissue from Claire’s hand. “I’m just so relieved. It was difficult being around him at work every day.”

  “Well, now you won’t have to see him, at all.” The kindly old man lawyer reached out and patted Maureen’s hand. “May I continue?” She nodded and blew her nose loudly.

  “The second item in the settlement concerns you, Ms. Vitale. The company has conducted a full performance and salary review of the past two years of your employment. It is clear to HR that Mr. Hamner’s influence has had a negative impact on your growth in the company. The company would like to offer you a salary raise of 35%, which is commensurate with your level of skills and experience. This salary raise will also be retroactive for a period of twenty-four months, and you will receive this in the form of a lump-sum payment. The company also understands that you are interested in a director role within Mr. Bhatt’s organization and has agreed that this would be a strong move for both yourself and the company moving forward. If you choose to accept this role, a new title and salary will be implemented at the time the new position is assumed.”

  Claire squeezed Maureen’s hand extra hard at this. This settlement was everything that Maureen had wanted and more. She loved her work and she loved working for this company, with the exception of the presence of Nick the Dick. To be recognized fairly was everything she had dreamed of—and the money wouldn’t hurt, either.

  She looked at Satish and smiled. Since the “executive eyewitness” comment, she had begun to piece together what this was all about. This lawsuit had been all Satish’s doing. She had an idea that Phil was probably a big part of it, but now she understood that it was Satish who had paid the lawyers, initiated and built the content of the suit, and then put his reputation and job on the line by stepping up as a major witness. He was a kind man. Satish avoided her smile, and she noticed that his eyes were shining.

  “The final item is, of course, related to you, Ms. Black. The company recognizes that your resignation was forced. They would like to provide you with a cash settlement of $25,000 in order to address your period of unemployment, as well as your emotional distress. Of course, you are also welcome to resume employment with the company, if you wish.”

  $25,000! Claire swallowed hard and felt a fizz in her sternum. Relief? Excitement? She turned to Maureen, who nodded quickly. She sat up straight in her chair, glanced quickly at Satish, who had a gentle, encouraging smile on his face, and turned to Marie Fliszer.

  “Maureen and I are willing to admit that we made mistakes that contributed the issue. The biggest one was not reporting Nick sooner. Maureen, however, has been working here for two years and her struggles with Nick the D—I mean, Mr. Hamner—were well-known amongst the staff and management. I think the company did have an opportunity to deal with the issue before now, but chose to ignore it in the hopes that it would go away. That’s a shame, because I think the job of HR is to be nurturing, empathic, and supportive. Maureen has struggled, alone, for the past two years. Telco failed her, which is a shame, because she is a far stronger, smarter, and more valuable employee than Mr. Hamner.”

  Marie was stony-eyed, and not a whisper of her prior flash of kindness was evident. What a shame it was that this woman had to act this way for the sake of fitting in with the corporate way. For a moment, there, Claire had been thinking of chickening out and taking her nice, safe, steady job back, but when she saw Ms. Fliszar’s steely look, she realized that she wasn’t cut out for this. She couldn’t work in this environment any longer.

  She definitely couldn’t work in a place where there was a chance that she would see Satish every day, either. Being in his presence right now was sweetly painful. His soft smile and dark eyes made every moment she had shared with him—every feeling she had felt for him—rush toward her. The knowledge that he had a wife, however, sat inside her empty, aching insides, swinging a heavy bat against that onslaught of tenderness, knocking her painfully in the ribs with every swing.

  Claire took a deep breath. “Maureen and I would like to accept your offer, except I don’t want my job back. Thank you for offering.” Why did she thank them? What a doofus! She had been doing so well as the bad cop. She glanced over at Satish, who still had a gentle smile on his face, and he gave her a surreptitious thumbs-up.

  “Oh my God, Claire! Everything—we got everything—and you got more than enough to start your shop. Aren’t you thrilled? Why aren’t you thrilled?” Maureen wrapped her arms around her chest and rocked slowly, hugging herself and grinning.

  Claire had never seen her so animated. They were sitting on concrete steps outside a door of the executive wing. Although the exit was technically a fire door, they had both felt the need for fresh air after the lack of oxygen in the room they had just left. After Claire had agreed to the offer, Satish had quietly left the room. Marie Fliszar hadn’t said a word during the signing of the documents, and the lawyers were efficient and curt in finalizing the details and explaining the next steps.

  The sun was warm, but had yet to reach this shady side of the building, so the cold concrete was seeping through Claire’s black linen skirt. She shivered and pulled her purse over to grab the scarf inside. About twenty feet beyond the patch of abnormally green grass stretched the company parking lot. It was filled to the brim with rows of sparkly Toyotas, Hondas, and the Telco car of choice, the Lexus. Claire wondered how everyone could afford such a nice car, except herself. Well, now she could, but she had other intentions for her $25,000.

  If she looked hard enough, at the far side of the parking lot, she could see the roof of their breakfast place. She knew that Satish would be there by now, waiting for her. She just didn’t know if she could go.

  Maureen noticed Claire’s stillness and stopped her rocking and grinning. “You’re not going, are you?” She said, “Seriously, you shouldn’t go.”

  Claire wrapped her scarf around her mouth and then kept going until it was wrapped around her entire head. She replied with a muffled, “I think I have to.”

  Maureen reached over and pulled the scarf down to expose Claire’s eyes. “Look me in the eyes. You don’t have to. It’s over, we’ve won, and you can move on! This is a bad idea.”

  She realized that she actually couldn’t breathe, so she dragged the scarf back down around her neck and dropped her head into her hands. “If I don’t go, Maureen, I will always wonder. I’ll be thinking about
it for the rest of my freakin’ life, and it will drive me insane. I want him to tell me why. I need to hear it from him, because I can’t imagine what he would say. ‘I’m sorry, Claire, I’m married, and I was just messing with you?’ It doesn’t make sense to me. I can’t imagine it coming out of his mouth.”

  Maureen scootched along the cold step and put her arm around Claire’s shoulders. She gave her a serious look. “Just remember: some things are better left unheard.”

  Claire let out a short bark of a laugh and Maureen jumped. “It’s ‘unsaid,’ Maureen—some things are better left unsaid.” She pushed her away playfully. “That was such a Sally thing to say! You’d better stop hanging out with her for the sake of your new director-level brain.”

  Maureen lifted both of her arms and punched them into the air. “Director! Yes!”

  Claire stood, ruffled Maureen’s hair, brushed the concrete dust from her butt, and tugged on the heavy door. She was on her way to hear some things that were probably better left unheard.

  40

  Satish

  Satish’s hands were shaking. He rubbed them hard against his crisply-pressed trousers and gripped them tightly together, trying to steady them. It didn’t work, though. Every fiber of his being told him when—if—Claire arrived, he should sweep her into his arms and tell her he was sorry and that he was hers. All he wanted was to be hers, but he couldn’t.

  His promise to his father had been the last thing he could, or would, give to him. It was the only thing that had kept him from flying with Satish after Nandita to bring her back to a life of misery and disgrace. Satish had told him that he would never return to India, but that he would marry his intended and bring her back to the US. It would not be difficult for his father to continue the business without him, since his marriage to his intended would give his father both a partner and the political alliances he needed to grow the business and retire in style in his final years.