by Daphne Dawn
“We need to be more careful at work.”
“Like not talk at all?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No, that would be weird. We’re working together. If you’re going out of your way to avoid me that might look just as suspicious.”
Kylie nods. “That makes sense.”
“So, we’re going to talk about work and work-related things only, and not speak otherwise unless the situation demands it. And we can’t be alone. Ever.”
“Not even for meetings?”
I shake my head. “No, not even for meetings. Or mentoring.”
She nods. “You don’t just want to end this?”
I walk to her. When I’m in front of her, she looks up at me. Her hair hangs in her face, and I push it out of the way before I cup her cheek.
“No, Kylie. I don’t want to end this. I still want you. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever been with. I don’t want to stop any of this.”
Her lips curl into a smile.
“Okay,” she says. “We’ll be super cautious. Because I don’t want this to end, either.”
I don’t want a relationship, and I don’t think that it came across that way. But I want to keep seeing her. When I’m with her, I feel like a real man. When I’m with her, everything feels different. Not to mention, sex with her is the best sex I’ve had in my life.
We have breakfast together before Kylie gets dressed to leave. She’s wearing the little black dress she was wearing last night. I kiss her at the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say.
“Seeing you and pretending like there’s nothing between us is going to be torture,” she says.
I nod. “It will be. But just imagine how much better it will be when we get to see each other again.”
She smiles and nods before she turns away, and I close the door behind her.
Kylie
When Monday morning rolls around, and I’m back in the office, everything goes back to normal. Mostly.
I still can’t get Wes out of my mind, and I swear I can still feel him between my legs, all over my body, in my mouth. I do my best to push away the thoughts. I have a meeting with Leon, Clive and the rest of the team and I must be on top of my game. Leon is looking for any reason to make trouble, and I can’t afford to give him any ammo.
I can’t believe Wes knew about my plans all along. And that he was gunning for me too in the beginning. But I’m so relieved that my secret’s out. It was starting to weigh on me. And now I know that everything that’s happened between us has been real. No games or false pretenses. It’s a relief. If only we can find a way to continue without putting our jobs at risk because I’m really loving this new job, way more than I ever expected.
When I walk into the meeting room, most of my team has already arrived. Tanya nods encouragingly at me, even though I’m a lot more comfortable now that I’m a bit more settled in my new position. I think she will always be the mothering type.
Leon comes in last and glowers at me. I try to ignore him, but it makes me stressed all the same.
He joins me in the front of the room and then my presentation starts. I run through a summary of what we’ve managed so far and then I put my ideas on display. I am proud of what I’ve done. Being a project manager allows me so much freedom, and I get to use my creative side, which I love. Being a receptionist was a complete snore in comparison. Everyone seems enthusiastic about it except Leon.
Surprise, surprise.
He stands next to me biting his tongue, looking sour.
“That’s pretty much what we have so far,” I say when I wrap up. “Any questions or something you would like to add?” I ask and look around the room. They all shake their heads. My team seems happy.
“Well, that’s it, then,” I say. “Thanks, everyone.”
They get up and start filing out. The meeting room clears bit by bit. I stack my papers and files and pick them up, ready to return to my own desk.
“Miss Jordan,” Leon says. “Stay behind, please.”
I don’t like when he talks to me like that. He’s ordering me to stay when he could have asked, and I would have said yes. But I do as he asks. I put down my papers and files again and turn to look at him.
Leon waits until everyone else has left the meeting room. I don’t like being alone in a room with him – he doesn’t like me, and I feel uncomfortable around him.
“That was quite a performance today,” Leon says.
“Thank you.” I’m not sure if it’s a compliment, but I’ll treat it as one.
“It seems like a lot of work for a career that’s going down the drain, anyway.”
I frown. “That’s a very pessimistic outlook,” I say. I don’t want to respect him after how he’s been treating me, but I must. I don’t like the way he talks to me, I don’t like the way he acts like I can’t do anything for myself.
“I’ve been around for a while,” Leon says. “I can see when people aren’t going places, and you’re not going anywhere.”
I’m getting angry. “What is your problem with me?” I ask. “I have done nothing to you.”
Leon laughs. “Of course, you have.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He shakes his head, a smile still on his face but it’s not a friendly one.
“I know women like you,” he says. “All too well. You use your looks to get where you want to be in life. You don’t need to do anything other than look pretty and the world fawns at your feet when people like me have to work every day of our life. And then you come in and use sex and end up ruining lives.”
What the fuck? Leon has seriously lost it.
“I’ve been working hard,” I say. If this is some sexist bullshit, I’m not going to stand here listening to this.
“Yeah, you have. Working real hard on sleeping with Wes Wagner.”
My blood runs cold, but I don’t show the shock on my face. I have a damn good poker face. I just blink at Leon.
“I’m not sure where you’re getting your information from,” I say when he just stands there, grinning at me like a fool. “But I can assure you it’s wrong.”
“Really? Does the word Paris mean anything to you?”
My stomach turns to stone. If she said something to Leon – how on earth would she do that – then I’m fucked.
“The city?” I ask, playing dumb.
Leon rolls his eyes, irritated.
“Don’t be a little snip,” he sneers at me. “I mean the person. Your friend? She bragged to Bradley all night long about how her best friend is fucking her boss.”
“Who’s Bradley?” I ask.
Leon scowls. “Your dumb-blonde routine isn’t going to get you out of this,” he says. I don’t bother correcting him that my hair is light brown, not blonde. “He’s my son.”
It still doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t know why someone would talk to their dad about who they’re sleeping with, but to each his own, I guess. He knows enough that his facts are accurate if he knows Paris’s name. But I’m not going to let him know that.
“Well, maybe she was talking about another friend. Did she give him a name?”
Leon doesn’t respond, which is a no.
“Paris has a lot of friends, not just me,” I continue. “I’m pretty sure all of her friends have bosses.”
Leon pulls back his lips, baring his teeth in a weirdly animalistic gesture.
“You’re lying,” he snarls at me.
“It’s your word against mine, at this point.”
“Wes ran away when I asked him about it.”
I know what he’s talking about, but I’m not going to let on to that, either.
“How Wes responds to accusations really has nothing to do with me, does it?” I ask. Leon is stumped again, unable to answer me. I keep going. If I can shut him up, I can get out of here with my job and my dignity intact. “Do you have any proof of this alleged affair?”
“Of course,” he say
s.
I bark a laugh. “I’m sure you do,” I say. “I’m sure you have all the evidence you need to prove something that isn’t happening.”
I’m calling his bluff. I hope to God that’s what it is. I’m acting confident, but I don’t know for a fact that he doesn’t have evidence.
“What I have can screw you over, both of you,” Leon threatens.
“Fine,” I say. If I’m going to call his bluff, I’m going to do it properly. I know he can’t have any footage of what happened at Wes’s place – that would be a crime – and Wes would have known if he had cameras in his office. Leon is a pain, but he’s not that crafty. I’m willing to take a gamble. “Why don’t you call the board members together? We’ll sort this out.”
Leon narrows his eyes at me. For the first time, I see uncertainty in his eyes, but it’s gone almost immediately.
“That’s a ballsy move,” he says.
I shrug. “Maybe that shows you that you’re wrong.”
Leon shakes his head. “I know I’m right. You’ll be notified.”
I shake my head.
“This is all good and well, Leon, but what the hell is your problem with me? Surely, you don’t think I’m sleeping with someone to get where I want to be in life?”
Leon is angry now, and I’m not sure why. This whole situation with him is so irrational. I don’t understand it.
“I don’t get to coast through life based on my looks. Bringing women into the workplace was the biggest mistake anyone could have made. Give any man a pretty face and open legs and women make fools of them. This is no different and don’t think for one second I don’t see right through you.”
I can’t understand what he’s so angry about. It’s not like I took his job when I got promoted or anything. I’m not only confused, but I’m also furious. I hate it when people assume I would do something so underhanded to get what I want in life.
“You know what, Leon?” I say. “Shove it up your ass.”
I walk out of the meeting room with my files, not looking back. I’m not sure if I’ll get in trouble for talking to my superior that way, but I’m furious. My blood boils beneath my skin. Where the hell is he coming from? I know he’s older than I am, obviously from a generation that has different views about gender equality than I do, but that gives him no right to treat me like the enemy. It’s not my fault I’m a woman and I sure as shit worked my ass off to get where I am now and not end up like my mother, dependent on someone else.
The nerve!
It takes me most of the day to calm down after what he said to me. I’m furious most of the time. When I finally manage to calm enough to think about the rest of the conversation, nerves bunch in my stomach. I challenged Leon, told him to tell the board. But what if his evidence is real, and I lose my job?
What will I do then? I was so focused on taking down RidgeCo in the beginning, but now all I can think about is losing my job. Who would have thought things would have flipped like this?
I take out my phone and text Wes. I explain myself briefly to give him a heads up. When he replies it’s only to say thank you for the heads up. I don’t know how he feels about it. I don’t know what’s going to happen.
What I do know is that I’m going to have to go ahead with this and see the board because I’m the one that suggested it. I’m going to go in there – whenever it is – and I’m going to stand my ground. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know to what lengths Leon will go. All I know is that I must go down fighting this because I can’t admit that Leon is right.
Yes, the guy hates me because I’m a woman in a good position, and that’s unfair. Yes, he’s a dick. But his hunch is right. His guess about me fucking Wes is correct. He might be going about it wrong, but he’s right. That scares the shit out of me. I’m fighting him on a lie. Wes is fighting him on a lie. Everything in this career seems to be based on a lie.
Even if I didn’t use sex to get where I wanted. Does it make me any better if I’m breaking the rules for other personal benefits than a promotion? I try not to think about it too hard. I’m scared about the conclusions I might come to.
Why does sex make things so complicated?
Wes
On Wednesday morning, I’m on my way to the dreaded board meeting. I’m not happy that we must meet with the board – I would have preferred that Kylie say something else to Leon about it than calling in the big boys. She called his bluff and told him he could go to the board about his accusations, but we don’t know if it’s a bluff. Leon apparently has proof that we’re having an affair.
Kylie seems confident that he’s lying. I think it’s a dangerous game to play considering he’s right about what we’re doing.
I’m one of the first people to arrive in the boardroom. Harold Clancy, head of HR, is there as well. He’s tall and stately, in his late forties with gray hair and a mustache. He still wears brown suits and striped ties the way they did in the fifties.
“Sorry about this nasty business, Wesley,” he says to me when I shake his hand. “I know I can trust you, but when an employee makes an accusation like this, you understand we need to follow up.”
I nod. “I do. It’s all part of the game, isn’t it?” I asked. “HR has its ups and downs.”
Harold laughs, and I remember why I like the guy. He’s firm, but he will always do it by the book. Here’s to hoping that Leon is wrong, because as nice as Harold is, if Leon is right he won’t save my ass.
Leon arrives shortly after. He smiles smugly at me. One by one the other board members filter in until all twelve of them are present. Kylie is the last to arrive. If she’s nervous, she doesn’t show it.
In fact, she has gone out of her way to look innocent. She’s wearing a butter yellow blouse and white pants with sandals that show bare toenails. She’s not wearing a lot of jewelry and what little makeup she has on makes her eyes look bigger. Her hair is loose hanging over her shoulders.
“Am I late?” she asks.
Harold smiles at her. I realize her look works. “You’re just in time,” he says. “Please, sit down.”
Kylie sits down in the nearest seat. She glances at me and in that small gesture I can tell she’s nervous, but her poker face is excellent. She looks calm. If anything, she looks unassuming. I don’t know how nervous she is on the inside. If only I felt as calm as she looks.
I am stressed. Leon’s accusations are a little more accurate than I’m comfortable with, even though I don’t think he can prove it. He wants to throw it all wide open because he seems to have something against Kylie, but it’s convenient that this is something he can hone in on. It’s one way to get her exposed, especially if it’s true.
Which it is. I sincerely hope that his so-called evidence isn’t real. I hope that he really is bluffing. The fact that he went through with the board meeting when Kylie suggested it makes me worry he has something solid to go by.
I guess we will find out in the next couple of minutes if it’s real or not.
“Let’s get this business started, shall we?” Mr. Richman says. He’s a stark, no-nonsense kind of guy and he’s conducting this meeting. He looks irritated. Mr. Richman looks at Leon. “You have come to us saying you caught wind of an affair. Our policy here at RidgeCo is strictly no fraternizing with colleagues.”
“That’s right,” Leon says.
“I would like you to know,” Mr. Richman says, “That we have a lot to do and I see this as a waste of my time.”
He’s not in a good mood. That may work in our favor. Leon shifts his weight from one foot to the other.
“It won’t be a waste of your time, sir,” he says. “I have proof of their affair, and I think it’s important that I bring it to the attention of the board.”
Mr. Richman just blinks at Leon before he turns his attention to me.
“What do you have to say about this?” he asks me.
“Well, Mr. Richman, I don’t know how he could have gotten any proof if nothing is happ
ening. I’m as curious to see what he has for proof as you are.”
When I glance at Kylie, I can’t read her face.
“And you?” Mr. Richman asks Kylie. “Have you been sleeping with your boss?”
He sounds mocking. His tone is irritated and a little disbelieving.
“I just got this job, Mr. Richman,” Kylie says. I’ve worked hard for it. It would be a terrible idea to jeopardize it now.”
I realize that she hasn’t exactly given Richman an answer. When I look at Leon, his eyes are narrowed at her. I’m sure he’s noticed that, too. Maybe he sees the evasion as another form of proof.
“Well, let’s see what you have, then,” Richman says to Leon.
Leon nods and steps forward. He puts a small recording device on the table. I frown. Richman looks at it with a blank expression.
“What’s this?” he asks.
“A recording of the conversations I’ve had with both Wesley and Kylie about their affair.”
Richman doesn’t seem impressed, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I’ve been holding.
Leon presses the playback button and steps back. Leon’s voice is loud and clear, filling the room a moment later. We all listen.
“He slept with a woman last night that apparently wouldn’t stop bragging about how much game her friend has.” It’s Leon’s voice.
“She didn’t brag about herself?” I sound bored.
“Yeah, it is interesting. This friend apparently fucks her boss.”
“Well, I guess morals vary from person to person.”
“I know who Brad’s talking about. He’s talking about Kylie.”
There’s a pause, and I remember how I felt, how I reacted. Of course, that’s not on tape.
“Don’t be ridiculous, man. You heard from your son who heard from a one-night stand who heard from a friend? It sounds like everyone has been drinking too much.”
“I have to get going. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow. Send my regards to Martha.”
Mr. Richman opens his mouth to say something when it plays again, this time with Kylie speaking to Leon.