Grissom glanced at Sara, who was staring out the car window with calm eyes. How could she be so relaxed when he felt like he was driving to his own execution? It was because she was so confident that her "sources" would protect them, he supposed, but Grissom wasn't nearly so sure. Mobley had it in for him; he'd had it in for Grissom ever since Grissom had investigated the sheriff's pet construction foreman.
"Grissom?" You're about to miss the turn-off for work." Sara's voice shook him from his thoughts and he jerked the wheel sharply to the right, making the turn into the parking lot with tires squealing. "Jesus, Gris, you're starting to drive like me! Only one insane driver per home, please!" She smiled wryly at him and added, "Calm down. We'll be fine. Man," she said, shaking her head with a laugh, "and they say I'm the high-strung one?"
She was thrown against her seatbelt as Grissom stomped on the brake and put the car in park. "Don't be so cocky, Sara. You don't have any idea what's going to happen in there, so I suggest you do a little contingency planning."
Slamming the passenger side door and massaging her squashed chest, she snapped back, "Me? You're telling ME to be less confident? How about YOU try being a little less pessimistic! Now, can we just go in and get this over with?"
Grissom sighed. "Ok Sara, fighting isn't going to help us tonight." He held out a hand for her to shake. "Truce?"
"Truce," she agreed, taking his hand in a businesslike manner. "Ok then. Let's get moving, bugman." Side-by-side, they entered the building.
As they neared Mobley's office, Sara's pace slowed. Grissom quashed the urge to make a smart remark about her confidence deserting her, instead just placing a comforting hand in the small of her back. He subtly pushed her forward, muttering, "Come on Sidle, don't wimp out on me now." Sara shot him a dirty look, but allowed herself to be urged toward the open door of the sheriff's office.
"Gil!" Mobley's voice rang out from inside the room. "Come in here, please. I need to speak to you."
"Funny, Sara and I need to speak with you too."
"Good, good." A small, nasty smile appeared on Mobley's face. "Come in, have a seat." He gestured magnanimously toward the small, uncomfortable chairs across from his desk.
The two CSIs exchanged a look. "We'd rather stand, Brian," Grissom told him.
"Well, whatever you kids want." The nasty smile was now firmly affixed to his face. "I'll start, ok?" he asked, as though Grissom and Sara had been given a choice. "Certain . . . stories have reached my ears about you," he nodded toward Grissom, "and her," he said, indicating Sara.
"Really?" Sara asked in a calm voice that defied her racing pulse. "What stories might those be?"
"Well now, Miss Sidle, there are stories – just rumors, I'm sure – floating around the building. These rumors are claiming that there is something between you and Gil, here, other than a supervisor-subordinate relationship."
"Interesting you should bring those rumors up, Brian." Grissom attempted a smile. "That was just what Sara and I wanted to talk to you about."
"Well, then? Tell me."
Grissom continued. "Miss Sidle and I have been seeing each other socially for about a week and are considering a more serious relationship." He cast a subtle "how am I doing?" look at Sara, who nodded imperceptibly. "We also heard about these rumors. The reason they've reached your ears is this: at a crime scene last night, an ex-boyfriend of Sara's began to harass her. She repeatedly asked him to stop, but he refused to leave her alone. I was finally forced to step in and explain to the man – one of the scene paramedics – that sexual harassment is most definitely illegal."
Regarding Mobley with a level gaze, Sara picked up the story. "Hank must have started those rumors out of pure malice, Sheriff, because Grissom did nothing for me that I haven't seen him do for other CSIs in similar situations."
"So you're telling me that it's just a coincidence that stories about a romantic relationship between you two began to spread at the same time that you actually began a romantic relationship?"
"Essentially, yes," Sara told him. "An unpleasant coincidence, but a coincidence all the same."
"Ok, then, I'll accept that it may be a coincidence. However," he continued when relieved looks crossed the CSIs faces, "I have a number of concerns about the fact that you, Miss Sidle, are in a relationship with your superior."
"Excuse me?"
"It is well known that you're ambitious, Sara, and that Grissom doesn't have many lady friends. The combination of those two facts . . . well, it makes me wonder." The nasty smile was back. Grissom could almost see the pleasure the man was feeling at being able to nail two of his least favorite people to the wall.
Sara crossed her arms and stared at Mobley in disbelief. "Are you saying that you think I'm sleeping with Grissom? Using him? In order to get a promotion?"
"Oh, no no, Sara. I'm sure you wouldn't do anything like that, at least consciously. But as I said, you do have ambition, and perhaps that determination is . . . leaking into your personal life." Trying to look less elated than he was, Mobley continued, "And such a situation could cause problems, as I'm sure you both know. Department policy prohibits personal relationships that lead to preferential working conditions, and if your ambition, Sara, were to be playing a part in this . . . well, that would certainly lead to those conditions."
Grissom was in shock. He had expected to be confronted with the rulebook, even put on the block himself, but he had never even considered that Mobley might go for Sara's throat rather than his. The man wasn't even trying to be subtle – he was openly accusing Sara of trying to sleep her way to the top. And she wasn't defending herself; Sara's expression was a mirror of what Grissom imagined his was: utter shock and bewilderment. She was in the hot seat, and he knew that once she got her feet back under her, Sara would flash right past diplomacy and straight into rage.
"Excuse me, Brian?" Grissom interrupted. "I was just wondering – before I forget to ask – how's Janet doing?"
The sheriff, cut off mid-tirade, blanched. "Janet?"
"Yeah, Janet. That pretty little secretary you've been sleep—oops, stupid me, carrying rumors like that around the building." Grissom didn't even attempt to hide his pleasure at seeing Mobley caught. "I'm sure those rumors about your wife walking in on you and Janet . . . nah, those couldn't possibly be true. Or the ones about how you slipped her into that head receptionist position without the usual red tape when Emily left." He smiled cruelly. "How silly of me to believe those rumors, huh?"
Mobley sputtered, a wide-eyed Sara grinned, and Grissom just raised a smug eyebrow at his opponent. "Go on, Brian. You were saying that Sara is using my weak mind and needy body to get herself a promotion?"
"There is . . . there is nothing going on between Janet and me, Gil. I had thought you were above spreading rumors."
"Well, I am. You see, the thing is that the story about you isn't a rumor – it's the truth. A number of personnel around the building have come to me with concerns regarding your treatment of Janet in particular, compared to your treatment of the secretaries as a group," he lied. Time for the clincher. Grissom hadn't felt this much satisfaction in . . . well, in at least a day or two. "Sounds to me like you may be the one being used as a stepping stone to the top, Brian. If I were you I'd watch it – Janet might start trying to take advantage of your weak mind and needy body." He was surprised to see Sara wink at him as he concluded his speech.
"So, Sheriff Mobley," she finished for Grissom, "what were those worries you had about me and Grissom? Did you want to go into more detail about them?"
Mobley knew when he was backed against a wall. "No, Sidle," he growled. "I didn't. I think that you two understand my . . . concerns." In a last attempt to assert his power, he muttered, "And I'll be keeping my eye on you two. One slip-up and you're out."
"Sure, Sheriff. But you know, I have a weird feeling that if you were to try to fire me or Gil because of our relationship, the whole thing about Janet . . . well that might spin out of your control." She smiled and nodded to him. "Have a nice day, Sheriff." Trying to muffle their laughter until they were out of earshot, Sara and Grissom swept from the office toward the break room.
