A Taste of Reality

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  I saved the message and found my emotions caught between blinding anger and inexplicable sadness. I was angry because I had wholeheartedly believed that Lorna was my true friend, but I was saddened because our friendship had been shattered through our association with Reed Meyers. I knew Lorna was responsible for her own disloyalty, but I couldn’t help but wonder if she would have undergone such an eerie change in personality if Jim hadn’t been sexually involved with her.

  Lorna sounded so depressed, and I wondered if maybe she had aborted the baby she was carrying. She sounded as if she really needed someone to talk to and that she really was sorry for everything. But I couldn’t find enough sympathy to call her. I didn’t know if I would feel any differently in the future, but right now I just couldn’t do it.

  I stretched across the bed and rested my eyes, replaying my meeting with Jim, Lyle and Tom. I thought about every moment of it and tried to prepare myself mentally.

  There was no telling what they were planning to do next.

  I tried to prepare myself for the worst-case scenario.

  CHAPTER 27

  ANISE, THIS IS Tom,” he said when I answered my phone. I couldn’t believe the CEO himself was calling me directly. “Yes,” I said. “Do you have those other salary histories you spoke about in our meeting last Thursday?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then what I’d like for you to do is bring them to my office. There’s no need to stop at my assistant’s desk, and I’ll let her know that I’ve given you permission to walk right in when you get here.”

  “I’ll bring them to you in about ten minutes.”

  “I’ll be here,” he said, and hung up. He sounded more aggravated than when I’d met with them a few days ago, but something told me that he still didn’t believe I had anything that could hurt them.

  I pulled a stack of copies from my briefcase, secured them with a thick rubber band and headed down to Tom’s office. Once again, when I arrived, I saw Lorna staring from a distance, but I pretended I didn’t see her. Tom’s assistant looked up at me and smiled, but continued working at her computer. At first I wondered if she knew what was going on, but I was sure Tom wanted to keep this little problem of ours completely confidential.

  When I opened the door and walked in, I saw Tom positioned behind his desk with Jim and Lyle sitting in front of him. The atmosphere was tense. I knew immediately that there was no reason to speak to them, and that it was best to simply pass the infamous documents to Tom and leave. Which I did.

  “Thank you, and we’ll get back to you this afternoon or tomorrow morning,” he said.

  I turned and walked out of the office without making any eye contact with Jim or Lyle, but I couldn’t help wondering what they thought of me now. I wondered what they thought now that they knew for sure that I hadn’t been bluffing.

  “Where in the hell did she get these goddamn printouts?” Tom yelled shortly after thumbing through the first two pages of information.

  “Unbelievable,” Lyle said. “I had a feeling all along that she was telling the truth.”

  “I knew it, too, because Anise is not someone to underestimate,” Jim said. “And you’d better believe, just like she produced these printouts, she will go to the newspaper if she doesn’t get what she wants.”

  Maybe now Tom understands that we have to pay her and get her out of here.

  “Whoever helped her with this is going to suffer unmercifully,” Tom said. “Just look at all of this,” he said, passing the stack to Lyle. “Just look!”

  Jim shook his head in disgust.

  “She has information on every office employee we have, and if this gets out, we are going to be destroyed,” Lyle said.

  “Who in the world do you think would betray the company like this?” Tom asked both of his subordinates.

  “I don’t know,” Jim answered, “but I’d be willing to bet that Frank Colletti had something to do with it. I have no idea how, since he doesn’t have access to the payroll system, but you can believe he helped her.”

  “He’s lost his natural mind,” Tom said. “Anise let him stick his dick in her a few times, and now he’s gone insane.”

  “That’s exactly what it sounds like to me,” Jim added.

  Lyle sighed in distress and passed the evidence back to Tom.

  “We’re fucked!” Tom said, slamming it down on his desk. “And I can’t believe we’ve sat back like children and allowed this shit to happen.”

  “Now you understand why I don’t like hiring them in the first place,” Jim said.

  “It’s not like we have a choice,” Lyle insisted.

  “Yeah, but if we hadn’t hired a black in human resources, we wouldn’t be sitting here in turmoil like this,” Jim said. “I knew Anise was trouble as soon as I heard she had an M.B.A., because when they go that far in college, they quickly forget who they are. Not to mention, we probably paid for that M.B.A. with our own tax dollars.”

  “Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars down the drain,” Lyle said.

  “I just don’t see how we can give her what she’s asking,” Tom said. “Do you realize how much money we’re talking about?”

  “Yeah. But I don’t see how we can avoid it, given the situation,” Lyle said. “Especially since she’s made it very clear that her terms aren’t negotiable.”

  “Never in the history of my career have I had to deal with something so outrageous,” Tom said. “And it pains me to think that we’re going to sit back and let this woman rape us financially because she didn’t get the job she wanted.”

  I thought Tom was beginning to realize the seriousness of this, but now I see I’m going to have to spell it out for him.

  “I understand how you feel, Tom,” Jim said, “but there’s something else I think you need to consider: She mentioned in that memo that she had information on past employees, too. And if we end up in court, you can bet EEOC or some attorney will sue us on their behalf as well.”

  “That’s a good point,” Lyle agreed. “And what about the applications we were coding up until three years ago when that one secretary we hired refused to do it, because she said it was illegal. Don’t forget we fired her a couple months later, so you can guess she’d be more than happy to testify against us.”

  Tom leaned back in his chair and breathed deeply. “We really don’t have a choice, do we?”

  “No, I don’t see that we do,” Lyle said.

  “I know we don’t,” Jim commented.

  “Then I guess all we can do is bite the bullet and call Jack,” Tom said, referring to their lead counsel. “I’ve already informed him about what’s going on, but I was really hoping we could see our way out of this for less than a hundred thousand. I’ve suggested that he draw up a contract which will obligate her to release all originals and copies in her possession, and I want a specific paragraph incorporated which will prevent her from discussing any information she has pertaining to any aspect of the company or the details of her settlement agreement.”

  It’s about time he finally realized what we have to do.

  “It’s unfortunate, but the quicker we move this along, the better off we’ll be,” Lyle said.

  “I agree, and I say we have her out of here by tomorrow afternoon,” Jim said.

  “We’ll try, but that’s only if accounting can do what they need to before then. We do have money available for severance packages and small settlements, but Larry is saying that he’ll have to move a few things around to make this work,” Tom said, speaking of the company comptroller. “And I suspect he’ll have even more maneuvering to figure out now that we’re talking the entire three hundred and fifty thousand dollars tax free.”

  “Well, let’s just hope by the time we go to bed tomorrow evening, Anise Miller will be out of our lives for good,” Lyle added.

  “And what a relief,” Jim said, but paused when Lorna stormed into the room.

  “You cruel, conniving son of a bitch,” she screamed, staring at Jim.
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br />   “What the hell . . .” Tom shouted, standing up.

  “Good Lord,” Lyle added.

  “You’ve bullied me since the very beginning, and I’m not taking it anymore,” Lorna continued, all the while glaring at Jim.

  “What is this all about, Lorna?” Tom asked angrily.

  “This is about Jim sexually harassing me, and his baby—which I’ve been carrying for three months now. That’s what this is all about.

  “Jim, is this true?” Tom asked.

  “No . . . no. She’s lying. She’s . . . she’s a lying sack of shit. I don’t know why, but she’s lying about all of this.”

  “No, I’m not lying, and here’s the hush money you gave me for the abortion,” she announced, tossing a stack of loose bills against Jim’s chest. “I’m keeping my baby whether you like it or not, and that means you can expect a petition for child support real soon,” she declared, and walked out without shutting the door behind her.

  Lyle hurried to close it.

  “I tell you she’s lying,” Jim said, trying to sound convincing.

  “Then we have nothing to worry about,” Lyle assured him.

  Tom didn’t comment one way or the other.

  CHAPTER 28

  IT WAS SO HARD to believe that a little black girl who grew up on the west side of Mitchell had stood up for herself and was going to be paid $350,000. Tom had called me this morning with their decision and asked me if I could meet with them at three o’clock to sign a separation agreement. I told him I’d be there, but that I wanted a copy of it two hours before so I could fax it over to my attorney. Tom had hesitated at first, but then told me he’d notify me when the document was ready.

  Ray Stevens had reviewed it and told me that everything looked to be in order, and now I was entering the same conference room I’d dropped the bomb in last Thursday. When I closed the door and sat down in front of the Big Three, I wondered why Jim was still working for the company even though everyone had heard about Lorna’s accusations. But for some odd reason I wasn’t completely surprised. I wasn’t surprised because I knew they were going to stand behind Jim until the end if they had to.

  I waited for one of them to speak, but since their attorney was present, I knew right away that he’d be speaking for everyone except me.

  “We’ve thought about this long and hard, and we’ve decided that it is in your best interest, as well as ours, for you to leave the company with a mutual agreement,” Jack began. “It basically states that you will return all confidential originals and copies in your possession that pertain to this matter, and that you will not discuss the nature of this separation agreement, nor will you discuss any of your claims against the company, with another soul.”

  He slid four documents over to me. I’d already read my copy a number of times, and so had Ray, but I scanned it again just to be safe.

  Then I signed all four copies and passed them back across the table.

  Tom and Lyle signed above their names, and Jack gave me one copy of the agreement to keep.

  “And here are the originals and copies you wanted,” I said, although I still had one complete copy at home. But I wasn’t planning to use it unless I had to.

  “Here’s the bank draft,” the attorney said, passing me an envelope.

  Tom, Lyle and Jim hadn’t said one word, but I could tell they wanted to reach across the table and rip me out of my chair. I ignored them, though, because they owed me every dime of what they were paying me.

  “So is there anything else?” I asked.

  “As a matter of fact, there is,” Tom said. “We’d like you to end your employment effective today. We’re going to pay you through the end of the week, but we don’t see a reason for you to stay. So if you need boxes, we will have one of our secretaries find you some, and maybe you can get someone to help you pack and carry them out to your car.”

  “No, actually, all I need is to grab my purse and briefcase,” I said, because I’d never decorated my new office anyway. Not to mention the fact that I’d taken a few personal items home each day over the last week, anticipating that they would escort me out when the time came.

  But I was still shocked. I knew I shouldn’t have been, but I felt like a criminal. I felt like this was their last chance to try and humiliate me in front of my coworkers, because they knew I wouldn’t be able to openly defend myself. My colleagues would think I was being fired because of some terrible thing I’d done, and I wouldn’t be able to tell them any different. I’d been sworn to lifetime secrecy, and now I wondered if $350,000 was enough. I wondered if I’d done the right thing by negotiating my settlement, even though I hadn’t looked out for all the other innocent employees Reed Meyers was still abusing. I wondered how I could sell out so quickly, even though deep down I knew this was the best option for me personally.

  I stood and walked back to my office, Jim and Lyle followed me, and one of the security guards waited patiently outside my doorway. My coworkers stared as expected, but I couldn’t look at any of them directly.

  This was what I’d asked for, but right now it didn’t feel so good. I thought I’d won the battle, but I was starting to see that no dollar amount could take away my pain and humiliation. It certainly would never stop discrimination in the workplace. All I wanted was for them to do what Martin Luther King had asked. I wanted them to judge me by the content of my character and not the color of my skin.

  But now I knew that this was impossible. I knew Jim, Lyle and Tom would never rid themselves of that racist mentality they’d been taught by their parents and grandparents. I learned the hard way that I could never change that.

  This was my taste of reality.

  EPILOGUE

  It was hard to believe that three months had already passed since I’d left Reed Meyers. I didn’t miss the way they’d treated me, but I did miss having a career, the one I had worked so hard to build. Although, thanks to Mom’s advice, I’d moved on to greater things. I’d decided to start a medical recruiting firm for in-home patients who were seeking private-duty nurses and certified nursing assistants. I was extremely excited about my vision, and now that I’d finalized both my business and marketing plans, I was ready to search for proper office space. Mom had told me she’d help out anytime I needed her, and had decided to go back to school to obtain her nursing assistant certification. That way, she could fill in whenever I couldn’t find someone for a particular assignment.

  Lorna had phoned me a couple of times, but I still hadn’t returned her calls. She’d left one message telling me that she was glad she’d blown the whistle on Jim to Tom and Lyle, and that she wasn’t going to get rid of her baby. She’d mentioned that she truly wanted to keep it, but eventually decided that adoption would be best once the baby was born. She didn’t feel she could support the baby financially and couldn’t dismiss the fact that Jim was married. I told myself that I would call her back sometime, but I still couldn’t say when that would happen.

  My divorce was still in the works, but surprisingly, David had toned his hostility down a few notches and had agreed to split everything fifty-fifty. So I did the right thing and relinquished any claim I had on his 401(k) account. I hadn’t wanted it to begin with, and I think he finally realized that in the end. I hadn’t seen all that much of him, but there were still times when I thought about the day we met and how things had been between us during happier times. But whenever I had those thoughts, they were soon replaced by all the hurtful statements he had made to me. I didn’t hate him, but I was glad that our divorce would be final before the year was over.

  Monica still hadn’t totally accepted my relationship with Frank, but our friendship had finally returned to normal. We were like sisters again, and she had spent a lot of time helping me with the research for my business venture.

  Frank was every bit of what I thought he was, and I was thankful to have him in my life. He’d left Reed Meyers shortly after I did, and was now working as an independent contractor for another comp
any. He’d even kept his word and mailed salary printouts to EEOC and every woman and minority at the company. I still couldn’t believe it, but we’d already heard that claims had been filed one after another, and that EEOC was finally ready to do something about it. I knew Jim, Lyle and Tom had to believe that I was behind all of this, but with Frank printing the information after I was gone, there was nothing they could do. The date listed on each document conveniently fell after my last day of employment.

  On a personal note, Frank had been spending most of his time trying to convince me to marry him, but I still wasn’t sure. I loved him from the bottom of my heart, but I wanted to slow things down just enough to sign my divorce decree and move out of the house David and I finally had an offer on. Frank couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t just accept his proposal, so I spent many hours explaining to him that I didn’t want to drop any unwanted baggage on our new life together.

  But today was a special day. It was his thirty-ninth birthday, and we were going out to dinner to celebrate. He’d been looking forward to it all week long, and although he didn’t know it, I was planning to surprise him with two tickets to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. He’d told me more than once that the Caribbean was his favorite place to vacation, so I’d scheduled a trip for us next month.

  My other gift to him was a bundle of balloons, but since he still hadn’t called to thank me, I was starting to wonder if they’d been delivered. So I decided to check. If he didn’t thank me as soon as I heard his voice, then I would call the shop I ordered them from to see what the problem was.