“We value you as an employee,” Vivian said in an effort to ease the tension.
There is power in silence, and Grace did her best to channel that.
Carson took her silence as his cue to speak. “As everyone at this table is aware of, Miss Hudson has filed a civil suit against Mr. Sokolov. In the many points in this suit, the man’s assaultive behavior is the one thing that stands out as a serious safety concern. If Miss Hudson chooses to continue her employment with the city, this suit and her safety have to be considered.”
“Of course. It goes without saying that Grace wouldn’t be expected to work on anything in regard to this property.” Vivian was doing all the talking.
“And in light of the romantic relationship Miss Hudson and Mr. Locke have developed, Grace feels it would be in her best interest to relinquish the charge of this project to one of her coworkers to avoid any possible questioning of her character.”
Vivian and Richard exchanged glances. “That seems reasonable.”
“What do you say, Grace? Are we able to move past this?” Simons asked.
Carson looked at her, then back at the others. “Can you give us a few minutes?”
Richard looked annoyed, while the other two attempted to smile. “Of course.”
Once Grace and Carson were alone, she finally released the breath she felt she’d been holding. “He is such an asshole.”
“I don’t think that is going to change.”
She was completely torn. “I need some time to think on this.”
Carson nodded. “That’s reasonable.”
A few minutes later, Carson asked the others to return. When they did, he told them she was going to take the rest of the week and weekend to make her decision.
“Thank you, Carson,” she said as they walked out to the parking lot.
“We’re not done yet. Unless you’ve changed your mind about the countersuit.”
“Oh, no. I hate bullies, and that’s what this person is.”
“Couldn’t agree more.”
She stopped at her car. “Listen . . . something is bothering me. I want to run it past you.”
“Okay.” Carson turned to look at her.
“The other day I was driving to my brother’s. This sedan pulled in behind me. At first, I thought maybe it was an unmarked police car because he was right on my butt. I slowed down, he slowed down. I turned, he turned.”
“You were being followed?”
“That’s what it felt like.”
“Was it Sokolov?”
She shook her head. “No. The guy looked familiar, but I didn’t get a good look at him. When I turned into my brother’s neighborhood, I pulled over to the side of the road and the guy pulled past me.”
“When was this?”
“Yesterday.”
“Nothing since?”
“No.”
“You wouldn’t be the first person to get harassed after filing a lawsuit. It does take a special layer of stupidity to do so once things are already in the courts. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unintelligent people out there. The problem is we can’t do anything about it until Sokolov makes contact, directly or indirectly. If the man contacts you at all, you need to call me immediately. I’ll file an emergency restraining order.”
Grace instantly thought of Erin. “Like that will work.”
“I know. But it’s all we have. You need to keep your eyes open. Be cautious. This guy had your cell phone. There’s a lot of personal information in there.”
Grace nodded. “It might have just been my imagination.”
Carson stared her down. “Is that what your gut is saying?”
“No.”
“Okay, then. Did you tell Dameon?”
Grace wavered. “No.”
“Tell him. And your family. The sooner we nip this, the better our chances of nailing this guy if he’s behind it.”
The sky started to open up, and small droplets of rain fell.
“Thanks for your advice,” she said.
“I’ll be in touch.”
Grace went straight to her condo after the city meeting and changed. She packed her mud boots and parka for her drive to Dameon’s canyon home. She had started to pack an overnight bag and decided against it. As a rule, she wasn’t a woman afraid of the dark, or being in a house alone. But the canyon house was isolated without a lot of traffic going by. Heeding Carson’s advice, she didn’t think it was in her best interest to be there alone once the sun went down.
As she drove through town, Grace paid close attention to the cars behind her.
Nothing out of the norm stuck out. Outside of the slapping of her windshield wipers, the drive was uneventful.
Grace waited until she was inside the house before calling Dameon using his landline.