Frequent Traveller (Cathy Dixon #1) by Pandora Poikilos Read Free Book Online Page B

the suite, the property’s General Manager and Front Office Manager. Cathy explored the scene from the pictures of the suite that were given to her. The furniture was spared but the bedroom area was in shreds, right to the point that the mattress had a huge hole in it. It looked like someone had tried to drive a knife through it.
     
    Rape under any circumstance was a horrid assault no one deserved. Of all people Cathy understood how difficult it was to overcome the experience. Nightmares of her father forcing himself on her and sharing her with his friends still haunted her, even decades after the incidences had occurred. It was after her sixth birthday that he had taught her to "play a game" and so it had gone on for years.
     
    However, when confronted with rape in a professional environment, personal emotions were a line not necessarily worth crossing and objectivity was a handy tool to possess. From a personal standpoint, the victim required any and all support that could be feasibly administered. But from a business viewpoint, clarification to the media that MoonStar Stockholm and its associates were in no way, shape or form accomplices to the rape was imperative and necessary.
     
    Cathy had barely closed her door when it was gently opened and she was greeted by the property's Public Relations Manager, Ingrid Hansson. She looked haggard and far beyond her thirty-five years. Ingrid hugged Cathy tightly and gave her a folder as they both sat down. Hard at work, Corporate Legal had compiled detailed information about victim and alleged rapist. Not as an admission of guilt, they were prepared to offer the victim a significant amount of money to compensate her for the "grievous unforeseen circumstances" she had faced at the property.
     
    Ingrid gazed blankly at the carpet as Cathy flipped through the documents.
     
    "Is anyone else aware of this?" Cathy asked.
     
    "No, there are some interns at the Communications Department and I don't trust them. Well, not enough with such information so I made sure everything was sent directly to me. Other than you and I, alongside Mr. Anderson the General Manager and Legal, no one else is aware of such preparations being made."
     
    Ingrid took a deep breath.
     
    "Cathy, I don't like this. I can't imagine what she has been through but there are so many questions that need answers and I'm feeling uncomfortable here, out of my element," she motioned to her stomach, her right hand formed a fist.
     
    Cathy grimaced. "I know Ingrid. I'm having problems with the fact that she might have recognised him and saw an opportunity to make a quick buck. I don't want to believe it and the investigation is not up to us but it's like you said, things are not adding up. For instance, why did it take her two hours to run down? She said she was helping him to his room when it had happened. It takes about ten minutes from the main entrance to his room."
     
    A long silence fell on both women as they absorbed the significant information regarding the tricky predicament that was presented before them.
     
    "We'll see if she and her lawyer agree to meet with us, Ingrid. Let's just take it from there. We'll keep the settlement quiet, especially from the media and take it one hurdle at a time. First things first, was Front Office in any way involved in hiring the escort for Morrison?"
     
    As Cathy watched Ingrid's face pale, she recognized that the hole they had already found themselves in, just got a little deeper.
     
    "Not this time," came the muffled reply as Cathy looked up sharply.
     
    "On previous occasions, they had called escort agencies for Morrison and other guests. They've already admitted that some of the agencies gave them 'tokens of appreciation' in the form of cash or dates with their girls. Some of them have had consensual sex or performed sexual acts with these girls. I know it doesn't look good at all."
     
    All the corporate values in the world could never come up against a man's desire.