The HR Department Head's office was smaller than the Chief Medical Examiner's office but larger than most offices in the building. One large, L-shaped desk sat at the back of the office in front of floor to ceiling windows that covered the back wall. It was organized, clean, and, though it was clear that a lot of work needed to be done and had been done just in that morning based on the neatly stacked piles of folders, nothing seemed to overwhelm the desk as a whole. With the computer in the corner of the L-shape, both sides of the desk were perfectly balanced full of various items. Over all, Rosa Hernandez's desk had a weird feeling of balance and control despite all of the chaos that constantly happened within her department. It was a perfect representation of the woman herself.
Rosa calmly seated herself behind her desk and took note of where everyone else had decided to settle.
In front of the desk were three guest chairs. Against the wall by the door and behind the chairs were a lone sofa, an end table, and a lounge chair that all looked dated but clean and well kept. If one were to take a guess, they were likely purchased in the 1960s. The walls were once white but lightly yellowed with age, and lovely framed and matted black and white landscapes brought the eye away from the walls and distracted from the obvious age of the office and the items in it.
As Jane leaned against the wall closest to the guest chair in which Maura had taken up residence, she tried to avoid the pictures and the weird sense of unease the office gave her. Living with the doctor had allowed her to become accustomed to a higher level of organization, but Maura's organized life was warm and welcoming. This office had a cold, clinical feel to it almost despite itself. The detective gave a shiver, shifted against the wall, and wrapped her arms around herself.
Maura nodded a hello to Rosa as she shifted to cross her legs and lean a bit closer to her detective. Glancing around the room, she took note of Cynthia Boyle occupying the chair on the opposite end of the row of three. The chair between them remained empty despite the two men in the room who could have occupied it. The doctor frowned and turned to find the men in question. Captain Fletcher had followed Rosa to her desk and was now standing beside her and behind the desk. Korsak leaned against the wall across from Jane and directly beside Cindy. He mirrored the younger detective's stance, though his arms were crossed as opposed to wrapped around himself. It felt as if the detectives were keep guard over the proceedings, and Maura had to mentally kick herself to keep from chuckling at the thought. A giggle during something as serious as this meeting would not do. Instead, she shifted again to move the chair slightly closer to Jane and angle it to get a better view of both Rosa and Captain Fletcher as well as Cindy and Korsak.
Breaking the tense silence in the room with what was clearly her trademark calm yet authoritative voice, Rosa began, "Ms. Boyle, would you like to start with an explanation?"
The younger woman crossed her arms, shaking her head at her supervisor as she spoke, "An explanation for what, exactly?"
"For starters," Captain Fletcher reached for the folder in Jane's hand that Maura had brought in. Taking it, he opened it to a photo of Cindy carrying Maura's ICE form to Cavanaugh, "You can start by explaining why you broke protocol."
She glanced down at the photo and paled. "That proves nothing but that I had that piece of paper with me while running errands." She set her jaw, lips thinning.
"Captain Fletcher, as we discussed earlier," Hernandez broke into what was starting to feel slightly like an interrogation, "employees of the department cannot be questioned for disciplinary action in front of other employees. Its supervisors and the employee in question only for those types of conversations, Captain. You know this. Please don't force me to write us all up on infractions." She reached forward to take the folder, closed it, and placed on top of a small stack of paperwork in the center of one side of her desk. "When I asked if you'd like to explain, Ms. Boyle, I was giving you a courtesy. Needless-to-say, you and I will be chatting once everyone else leaves my office." She glanced around at the assembled people.
"That said, you are all in here so that we can make certain we're all on the same page. My department employees have already heard this speech, but I need to make certain all of you hear it as well and agree to the rules I'm about to set in place." She took in a deep breath. "First of all, I should hope that it goes without saying that nothing regarding this situation is to go beyond these walls. I know this precinct has a tendency to gossip, but this situation is strictly confidential. If I had known this was going on earlier, I would have dealt with it sooner."
"You trying to cover this up or what?" The words were out of Jane's mouth before she could stop herself.
"Jane," Maura murmured quietly, wanting to make certain the lanky brunette wasn't about to go off on a rant.
"Not at all, Detective." Rosa gave a nod to the doctor to reassure her that nothing was about to happen. "I simply want to keep a handle on things because, once the dust settles, there will be some very unhappy people. I'd much prefer to have everyone go through one point of contact regarding this situation. In this case, that would be me. I'm handling this issue personally and proposing procedures and disciplinary action to ensure this doesn't occur again. I don't support what's happened here." She glanced to Cindy, eyes narrowing. "Clearly my trust in the system was misplaced. It will not happen again."
"So why are we here, Rosa?" Korsak pushed off of the wall to turn more toward the desk. "You don't have to tell us to keep our mouths shut. None of us wanted to deal with this in the first place."
"We're here so everyone hears the same thing, Vince. Now be quiet so she can finish," Fletcher snapped, crossing his arms and glowering at the young HR worker quietly seething in her seat.
Korsak fell back against the wall. "Fine."
"Cathrine is going through the documents claiming complaint of your behavior right now as we speak," Rosa turned her attention fully to Jane and Maura. "If any of the documents are actually valid, I'll speak with you personally regarding those matters."
"There's one in there from Crowe that's legit," Jane said, smirking a little. "I really did tell him to stop ogling my girlfriend's ass or I'd shoot his balls off. I feel it was justified."
Rose coughed, covering her mouth with one hand even as her eyes seemed to brighten for a moment. "Excuse me, and so noted."
"Was there something else?" Maura tried to redirect. "You seemed to indicate there was something else you wanted to make certain we were all aware of."
"Yes, Doctor Isles, there is one other thing." Rosa opened a desk drawer and pulled out yet another folder. Flipping through it, she seemed irritated for a brief moment before pulling out a sheet of paper and looking at it thoughtfully. "Captain Fletcher gave me a detailed report of the account all of you," she glanced to Cindy, "minus Ms. Boyle, of course, gave to him last night. I would like you to note that any internal family drama that results from this matter be handled off precinct property." She replaced the paper and put the folder back into its place inside the drawer before closing it. "As much as I and many others would love to see those events unfold, it would be best to do that away from the prying eyes of those who aren't on the same side as you are. You understand, I'm sure?"
"Yes, perfectly." Maura nodded her head in the affirmative.
"I… what?" Jane's frown hardened. "Maura, what are you two talking about?"
"I'll explain later, dear-heart. Suffice it to say, Rosa makes a very valid point, and I'll make certain the message is received by all parties." The doctor reached over to place a hand on Jane's still crossed arms. "It will be fine."
"Thank you, Doctor. As always, I appreciate your ability to catch the minute details of discretion," Rosa gave a small smile.
"Of course," Maura returned the smile.
Korsak gave a sigh, rolling his eyes at the weird exchange. "Anything else, or is it time to leave you to it, Rosa?"
"That will be all." Hernandez glanced around to the people in the room. "Detectives, Doctor, I hope the remainder of your day goes smoothly."
"Yeah, thanks," Jane grunted as she offered Maura her hand to stand. "Korsak…"
"Have a good lunch," he said as he opened the door. "Doc, tell me how that talk goes, okay? I think I got what you two were saying."
"I will," Maura nodded as she and Jane stepped outside the office with Korsak following behind to the sound of Rosa Hernandez addressing Cynthia Boyle.
"Cindy, I must say," Rosa's voice floated quietly out of the quickly closing gap between the door and frame, "that when I told my wife this morning that I felt today was going to be more trying than the norm…"
I suppose everyone wants to see that family confrontation, right?