The Suicide Effect Read Online Free PDF Page B

head of R&D, Warner was probably making $250,000 a year. People in that pay bracket didn’t miss much work. Even if they were upset.
    Sula spent the rest of the day fielding calls from real journalists asking about the merger. She envied them, writing for Business Week and the Wall Street Journal. Someday she would have a real reporting job, she promised herself. For now, she had to promote Prolabs, to cushion its announcements, good and bad, in a cotton candy spin. She tried to craft a memo to the city council but had trouble concentrating. She kept thinking about Diane Warner.
    Late in the afternoon she called Steve Peterson and asked him if his boss had ever showed up. He hadn’t seen Warner. Sula scanned the personnel database and found Warner’s home phone number. She copied it to a yellow sticky note and pressed the note to the top of her computer. She would give it a day. Warner might be offended if Sula invaded her privacy at home without good reason. The doctor might not want to talk about Nexapra either.
    At 4:15, Marcy Jacobson, the head of human resources, stepped into her office. Sula’s heart sank. She knew the woman had come to fire her.

Chapter 5
     
    Marcy closed the door behind her, and Sula braced herself. She would plead for her job if she had to. If she explained about the custody hearing, maybe–
    “Hi Sula.” Marcy smiled as she took a seat in the visitor’s chair. “How have you been? I feel like we’ve been out of touch lately.” Marcy was in her early sixties, but only her sun-weathered face betrayed her age. The rest of her was still working hard at looking forty-something.
    Sula mind raced. What was this about? It didn’t sound like a dismissal, but Marcy was known for being evasive. “I’m good.” She tried to smile. “How about you?”
    “Also good.” Marcy paused. “I’ve got a delicate situation I need to talk to you about.”
    Sula’s heart pounded. Just say it !
    Marcy launched in. “An employee has filed a sexual harassment complaint about Sergio. I know for a while there he was rather flirtatious with you. Did he ever cross the line?”
    Sula wanted to laugh with relief. Sergio, the creep from marketing, had finally gone too far. “Not really. He bugged me to go out with him, but he never touched me.”
    “Sexual harassment doesn’t have to be physical.”
    “I realize that.”
    Some of Sergio’s comments had been offensive, but he was so annoying and so over the top that she had laughed at him most of the time. He had lost interest rather quickly. Sula couldn’t afford to be involved in the situation. “He was irritating, but not inappropriate. I believe he’s capable of sexual harassment, so whoever has complained, you should take her seriously.”
    “We are.” Marcy unexpectedly reached over and patted Sula’s hand. Sula fought the urge to pull away. Marcy asked, “Are you happy with the company?”
    “Sure.” Even small white lies made her uncomfortable.
    “Good.” Marcy stood to leave. “It will be different when JB takes over, but I’m trying to stay optimistic.”
    “Will you have to lay people off?”
    “Most likely.”
    “What about my position?”
    “I think you’re safe. Thanks for being upfront with me.”
    “Sure.”
    Marcy gave her a small wave and left the room. Sula heaved a sigh of relief, shut down her computer, and followed her out.
    Rudker pulled his short-trip suitcase from the walk-in closet and set it on the bed. Packing had become a precise operation, no more complicated than preparing a familiar meal. Two white, long-sleeved shirts, a light-blue short sleeved one, the charcoal Brooks Brothers suit, casual black slacks, underclothes, and the bathroom kit that he never unpacked. Cell phone, laptop, and financial reports were already in his shoulder bag. Traveling suited his restless personality, but the timing of this trip annoyed him. He wanted to tie up the loose ends of the Nexapra data as quickly as possible, but he