Legally Obligated
Jenna Amstel
The rain streaking down the windshield reflected the tears streaming down Raisa’s face. Outside, a leaden bank of cloud veiled the city in a chilly twilight. Streetlights flickered on, and people scurrying by beneath a sea of bobbing umbrellas only added to the dismal mood of the late spring afternoon.
Huddled behind the steering wheel, Raisa stared at the termination letter clutched in her hand with a mixture of shock and anxiety. Though rumors had circulated in recent weeks about potential staff cuts, her job as a marketing assistant had seemed secure and there had even been tentative talk of a promotion.
Past tense, future tense ... the only thing left to focus on now was the present tense.
Raisa thought of Nick, her charmingly eccentric gay boss. Colorful, energetic and buzzing with creative ideas, he and Raisa made a fine team that had earned her commendations and praise. She had been lucky to land the job considering that many of her peers from college still struggled to find work in an uncertain economy. After transitioning from intern to Nick’s assistant in barely over a year, a promising future in her dream career had run aground on the rocks like a storm-tossed ship.
Perhaps the stormy weather was an omen, dogging her drive to work with flooded streets and sluggish traffic that had turned a normally thirty-minute commute into a hour-long headache. She had called Nick to let him know she was going to be late, but uncharacteristically, he had not picked up.
Raisa noticed the somber mood the moment she stepped into the elegant Bahaus style headquarters of Danleigh Images. The receptionist’s glum greeting should have warned her, but Raisa was excited after staying up half the night brainstorming ideas that she had intended to present to Nick, but which now languished as an unopened document on her tablet.
Retrieving a crumpled tissue from her purse, Raisa dabbed her swollen, mascara-streaked eyes. Her temples pounded from an incipient headache, her mind replaying the scenario like a horror film eternally looped at the bloodiest part.
The atmosphere had not improved by the time she stepped off the elevator into the dramatic, starkly contemporary offices of the creative division. Nick’s team of twenty-three staff were gathered in his office. Agitated voices resonated, and through the patterned glass walls, Raisa noticed a couple of female staff members crying.
At that moment, she had glanced at the clock in Nick’s office ... eight fifty-seven a.m., the day her life nosedived into the fear and uncertainty writhing in her stomach. Nick happened to glance her way and looked at her with sad brown puppy eyes. He came out, draped his arm around her shoulder and guided her into his office.
“I’m so sorry, Raisa,” he said, handing her a sealed envelope. “I fought for you. I fought for all of us.”
For a moment, the floor seemed to lurch beneath Raisa’s feet. Her eyes bounced from face to face, each one representing a life suddenly hurled into chaos by the dictates of a company that cared nothing about the people affected. Raisa wondered about employees with families, or those that had recently moved from other areas, only to now find their lives in total upheaval.
She looked at the envelope, thinking perhaps that if she didn’t open it, the sentence contained within could not be passed.
“What ... what happened, Nick?” she had finally asked in a voice that she didn’t recognize. “What about the campaign ...?”
“Executive decision,” Nick said. “Profits fell for the third quarter in a row, so now we all have. We’re just the first batch to go. Company’s relocating to smaller offices with a skeleton staff.”
“Bastards,” Noelie, a feisty, older black woman, sniffled. “After all these years ... treating us like this. What happened to decency? They deserve to go under!”
A clap of thunder startled Raisa. She glanced up at ominous skies streaked by lightning and rain falling in almost horizontal sheets. The afternoon was as miserable as she was, and creeping home in rush hour traffic was the last thing she wanted to deal with. Strobing lights from a passing police car reflected in the rivulets of rain streaming down her windshield.
Crumpling the termination letter, she tossed it into her purse and reached for her phone. She gazed at the wallpaper displaying a recent photo of herself and her family. The smiling faces of her parents and the confident grin of her younger brother filled her with a sense of longing. Feeling like a little girl lost, all Raisa wanted to do was seek the comfort of her mother’s arms, but her family was back on the East Coast and far from a reassuring hug.
She reached for the keypad, then hesitated. She was not a little girl lost. Those thoughts had to stop or else she’d be back at home listening to an endless litany of I told you so’s. Four years out of college ... she was an adult. Running home with her tail between her legs was not an option. She had struggled for independence in a tough job market for grads, but she had persisted and found a career she not only enjoyed but had opened the gateway to the future she had always envisioned.
Raisa tossed the phone back into her purse. Somehow, some way, she was going to overcome this challenge, but for now, she still reeled from the shock and uncertainty of losing her job.
A muffled curse drew her attention to a car parked two spaces away. Raisa glanced out her window to see Noelie huddled beneath the downpour, her enormous purse shielding her carefully styled hair.
“Goddammit!” she mumbled, shaking her right foot after drenching it in a puddle. “Two hundred goddamned dollar shoes ruined because of those jerk-offs. Wait till I call the ...” She paused when she noticed Raisa’s distraught face peering at her through the car window, sighed, and hobbled toward her.
Raisa partially rolled down the window, admitting stray droplets of rain.
Noelie ducked inside and smiled. “You okay, honey?”
“Not really, Noelie,” Raisa said, swallowing a wave of emotion. “I feel like someone just threw me out in the trash, but what can we do?”
“Don’t worry,” she said in her endearingly husky voice. “I’m calling the labor board first thing tomorrow. Downsizing, my ass! Some jumped up ex-ecu-tive probably didn’t get a fat enough bonus and we’re paying for it? No way, honey! I put in fifteen years at Danleigh. No way I’m raising the white flag just yet.”
“At least you’re getting a severance package,” Raisa said. “That beats a month’s salary.”
“Yeah, which I’m going to wipe my ass on,” Noelie replied. “You think it’s easy for a woman over forty to find work these days?”
Despite herself, Raisa smiled. Noelie’s irreverent personality could brighten up a wake. She was truly going to miss one of her favorite colleagues.
Noelie’s eyes softened when she noticed the emotion in Raisa’s eyes and reached out to stroke her cheek. “You’ve got such a bright future. Don’t let this slow you down. With the referral Nick gave you, you’ll find something even better.”
“Thanks, Noelie,” Raisa said. “I just hope it doesn’t take too long. It doesn’t seem to be any easier for a woman under forty to find a job either.” She shook her head. “They could have at least done this before I bought my new car.”
Noelie regarded Raisa for a moment. “Tell you what. A few of us are meeting at The Dockyard. Why don’t you stop by for a drink? We could all do with getting a few things off our chest. What do you say?”
“Okay,” Raisa said. “I’ll follow you.”
Noelie grinned. “See you in a few,” she said, hurrying off toward her car.
Raisa started the car. She stared at the lucky rabbit’s foot dangling from her keychain and reached to touch it, then withdrew her hand. If her luck was going to change for the better, it was up to her to change it.
The Dockyard was bustling with an after wor
k crowd ranging from scruffy IT geeks to immaculately dressed CEOs. Threading behind Noelie through a dark wooden enclave resembling a Spanish galleon crammed with nautical memorabilia, Raisa could barely hear herself think above the din of conversation, the clang of serving bells and rousing seafaring music.
Toward the rear of the bar, several tables had been pushed together. Nick and most of his staff huddled together talking and nursing drinks. He smiled broadly when he saw Noelie and Raisa.
“Here are my two favorite girls,” he said, rising to give each a hug and pulling out chairs for them. “Thanks for coming.”
Raisa settled between Nick and Noelie. Some of the staff had not come as promised, and she realized that she would not have a chance to say goodbye to them. As she turn to drape her purse over her chair, she noticed the scrutiny of a sharply dressed man sitting with two other polished executives at a nearby table. With her sultry Latin looks, flashing dark eyes and voluptuous figure, she was used to attracting both male and female attention, but when her gaze met his, her heart skipped a beat. In his early forties, the man’s dark, exotic features suggested mixed blood, but it was his piercing blue eyes that pinioned her.
He smiled at her in a way that felt as though his hands had intimately caressed Raisa, his gaze briefly flickering to the sensuous swell of her breasts peeking from the cleavage of her blue silk blouse. Though she had intended to remove her jacket, she decided to leave it on even though it was warm the bar. Quickly looking away, she tried to stem the blush rising from her face.
“What will you ladies have?” Nick asked, holding up a platinum corporate credit card. “No holds barred. Champagne and oysters it is. Tonight it’s on Danleigh. May their stocks plunge as low as their morals!”
He waved over a ponytailed waiter cum aspiring pirate that seemed to blend in too well with the decor. In a manner too cheerful for the mood at the table, he approached and started taking orders.
“Actually, I will have some champagne,” Noelie said. “The best in the house. And throw in some caviar with a side of oysters.”
Raisa smiled incredulously. “Are you serious, Noelie? I thought you were allergic to seafood?”
She grinned conspiratorially. “Damn right I am, but the others can have it. I’m just making a point.”
“And you, Raisa?” Nick asked.
“I’ll have the crab salad and a Margarita.”
Nicked pursed his lips. “Make that a pitcher,” he said to the waiter. “With the 1800 Silver Select. None of that box store stuff.”
“Nick, that’s really not necessary,” Raisa started to protest, but Nick waved her concerns aside.
“We can worry about everything tomorrow, for now let’s just consider this a final staff meeting.”
Glancing at the troubled faces of her former colleagues, Raisa saw her own fears and concerns about their futures mirrored in their eyes. Though some made the effort to interact, it was clear Nick’s attempt at giving the finger to Danleigh was mostly an empty gesture.
Raisa’s phone buzzed. As she reached to retrieve it from her purse, she noticed the man staring at her. He sat back like a lord surveying his domain, one arm casually draped against the back of his chair. Seemingly oblivious to the somewhat heated conversation between his colleagues, he took a long, slow sip of his dirty Martini, then sucked out an olive with his tongue. The suggestive way he ate it left Raisa no doubt what was in his mind.
Though she tried to focus on answering her phone, her fumbling fingers wouldn’t obey and the call went into voicemail. Noticing that the number was from home, she decided to deal with breaking the news about her job later ... if at all. Right now she needed time to figure out what the next step was, and she didn’t want to deal with the inevitable questions from family and friends.
Returning her attention to Nick and the others, Raisa tried to focus on the conversation but began to find the angst-ridden concerns expressed by her coworkers depressing. Noelie continue her diatribe against the company, vowing to file a complaint with the labor board for unfair dismissal.
Their incessantly smiling server arrived with their meals and the Margarita pitcher. Hungrier than she had realized, Raisa wolfed down her crab salad and sipped a couple of Margaritas a little too generously. Unused to the potent one hundred proof tequila, she began to feel oddly detached yet buzzed at the same time.
Strident masculine laughter drew her attention to the table nearby. Sharing a secret joke with his colleagues, the man’s casual yet commanding stance reeked of the arrogance power and money bestowed, an attitude that had been clearly demonstrated by Danleigh’s upper echelon.
For all Raisa knew, the man could have been one of the executives that had signed her termination letter. She had not yet met many of the company’s senior staff so it was a possibility. She found herself growing agitated, as much from the potent drinks as her overactive imagination, yet her eyes continued to linger on the man’s hypnotic blue eyes and the strong, chiseled lines of his face. A tiny raised scar on his left temple intrigued her, it’s irregular shape reminding her almost of some type of tribal marking. She took another sip of her drink, her tip trailing along the salted rim.
One of the man’s companions, pewter-haired and distinguished, proceeded to remove a document from his briefcase while the other man, an attractive, if severe-looking blond in his thirties, excused himself to make a call. Taking advantage of his colleagues’ distractions, the man directed his attention to Raisa.
Blushing, and by now tipsy, Raisa looked away, but not before noticing the man’s dazzling smile. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye, his magnetism drawing her to him with the intensity of a directed laser beam. Between the heat of his gaze and the warmth infusing her body from the Margarita, she suddenly felt faint.
Clumsily scraping her chair back, Raisa rose unsteadily to her feet, her awkwardness augmented by the man’s unwavering attention. She was surprised that no one else had noticed her condition, but perhaps that was a good thing.
“You okay, honey?” Noelie asked with concern.
“I’m fine,” Raisa said, forcing herself to articulate her words. Suddenly, her tongue refused to cooperate, and she also felt on the verge of an intense fit of giggles. “Just going to the ladies room.”
Fearing Noelie might want to accompany her, Raisa quickly stepped away from the table. By now the bar was so packed she had to weave through a forest of patrons, which slowed her already unsteady progress on heels that became an impediment with each faltering step. Aware of how her silky blouse and short black skirt clung to her shapely, well-endowed body, she didn’t need to glance toward the man’s table to know that he was slowly devouring her with his eyes.
By the time Raisa reached the ladies room her shaking legs could barely support her. She splashed her face with water and sat in an adjacent lounge area for a few moments until she felt her lightheadedness pass. The arrival of a pair of chattering women shattered the soothing quiet, and reluctantly, she rose to return to the table.
As soon as she opened the door, Noelie appeared.
“You okay?” she asked. “We were getting worried. You’ve been gone a while.”
“Just feeling really exhausted,” Raisa said, which was partially true as a headache began to throb at her temples. “I think I’ll just head home now.”
“You okay to drive? You look a little pale. Maybe you should wait a while or just take a cab.”
“I really don’t want to stay,” Raisa said. “I’m feeling upset enough as it is and cab fare isn’t in my budget. I’ll just say my goodbyes and head out.”
Noelie smiled and put her arm around Raisa’s shoulder as they headed back to the table.
“I get you,” she said. “I think we’re all going to feel it tomorrow when we start sending out resumes.”
By the time they returned to the table Raisa saw that a few people had already gone, including the man and his colleagues. She felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment, and wondere
d why, since it had not been the first time she had received such attention. She shrugged it off and gave Nick and the others a parting hug. Though they all exchanged promises to keep in touch, Raisa guessed that Noelie and Nick would be the only ones that would make the effort. She and her college friends had uttered the same words after graduation, and now she kept in touch with only two. The channels of her life had been abruptly changed, and for better or worse, she faced a new set of challenges.
“Let me walk you to your car,” Noelie said, as Raisa slipped on her jacket and collected her purse.
They threaded through the still bustling bar, even though it was well past nine. Outside, the rain had given way to a chilly, foggy drizzle that cloaked the streets like an alien mist. Noelie gave Raisa a final hug before she slipped into the car.
“Take care of yourself, Raisa,” she said. “You know how to reach me if you need a mental hug.”
Raisa kissed Noelie on the cheek and watched her hurry back to the bar from the rain streaked side mirror.
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