Chapter 7 - THE DRAFTING TABLE
The drafting table dried badly.
One leg swelled from rain.
A corner veneer lifted.
Emily took it to a furniture conservator.
“Worth repairing?”
The conservator smiled.
“Financially?”
“No.”
“Emotionally?”
“Yes.”
“Then yes.”
Hart Studio photographed the table for insurance records because project drawings had gotten wet nearby.
Among the rescued materials:
Emily’s Harbor One sketchbook.
Page 17:
triangular atrium.
Page 21:
terraced plaza.
Page 36:
curved roofline.
Dates.
Annotations.
Her handwriting.
Lucas’s promotion packet copies matched.
Meridian’s counsel did not rely on sentimental testimony.
They relied on:
original digital files;
cloud backup timestamps;
sketchbook dates;
scan metadata from Lucas’s email;
his admission.
The drafting table was where drawings happened, not legal proof by itself.
Important.
Jonathan later visited Hart Studio for scheduled project review.
He saw repaired table.
“That the famous one?”
Emily grimaced.
“Please don’t call it famous.”
He laughed.
No hero worship.
He apologized again for Lucas’s conduct impacting project.
Emily:
“Handle him like any employee.”
Jonathan:
“We are.”
Meridian concluded investigation after three weeks.
Findings:
Lucas knowingly used Emily’s architectural sketches without permission.
Removed identifying marks.
Misrepresented them as his concept contribution.
Made false statements in promotion materials.
Posted degrading content about a key external professional partner without realizing her identity.
Forwarded mocking post to work chat.
No evidence he influenced Harbor One selection.
No evidence he shared confidential project data externally.
No evidence he received promotion or bonus due false claims.
Consequences:
promotion application withdrawn.
final written warning? Is that enough? Could be demotion/termination. Serious dishonesty in promotion packet may justify termination. The prompt says could destroy career. Let's choose termination after due process, but not blacklisting.
Meridian terminated Lucas for falsification of internal professional records and misuse of another professional’s work.
Not for being a bad brother.
That distinction made Jonathan’s decision defensible.
Lucas was shocked.
“You’re firing me over drawings?”
Jonathan:
“I’m firing you because you lied about authorship in a promotion process.”
“And the photo?”
“It triggered the review. It did not create the evidence.”
Excellent.
Lucas left.
Career damaged.
Not destroyed forever.
He could rebuild if honest.
The eighth chapter would focus his reaction.
He initially blamed Emily.
Then discovered she had asked Meridian not to overreact.
His anger had nowhere comfortable to go.
For the first time, he had to consider that his own post had exposed his own dishonesty.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
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The conservator’s work on the table took several weeks. The swollen leg was dried slowly, the joinery reset, and damaged finish stabilized. Emily paid because the object linked her to Helen, not because the table had suddenly gained celebrity value.
Its importance stayed personal.
