This Could Hurt

by Jillian Medoff

Awake now, he reached for her. Janine tasted like whiskey, smoke, and something else, something sweet. In the light from the bathroom, he saw her clothes—silk blouse, pants, boots, black cashmere coat—strewn across the floor. A bra hung off a chair. She wore a T-shirt and no underwear, and Kenny slid his hands over her ass, between her thighs, then teased his fingers against the silk folds of her pussy. “Was it fun?” Her clit was thick, damp; his cock, hugely erect, sprung from his boxers. Licking her fingers, Janine formed an O, which she slid up and down his shaft. An animal’s growl, a deep thrum, came from his throat.

  “Very, very, very. We started with martinis and then switched to champagne—”

  “So you . . . took the job?” He could barely speak. As Janine stroked him, his body took over, pulsing and tingling down to his toes. “Hold on.” He gasped, steadied her hand. “Slower . . .”

  Janine pulled off her T-shirt. Kenny licked her nipples. “—after the champagne, Les bought this nasty port. (Oh, Kenny, that’s good, that’s good. Keep going.) It tasted like rotten plums, but Les said it cost two-fifty a glass, and UBS was paying, so what the hell? Between us, we drank a thousand dollars of that plum port shit.”

  “So you did take the job,” Kenny repeated, starting on her left nipple.

  Janine arched her back. “What job?” Then she whooped. “Hell, yeah, I took it!” She rolled on top of him, spread herself open against the curve of his hip, and then rocked up and down.

  “Congratulations, baby.” Sleepy, horny, humming with pleasure—Kenny felt enormous, ravenous. “Tomorrow night, Jeannie, we’ll celebrate; drink some thousand-dollar plum port.”

  “Yes, yes,” she whispered. “Make me come, baby.” Wetness filled his ear again, her tongue, fingers. “I missed you. God, baby, that’s good. You ready for tomorrow?”

  Starting to spasm, Kenny was about to shoot when he stopped, rolled onto his back, slid her onto his cock, and lost himself in her warm velvet thrusts. “Oh yeah,” he said, thrusting deeper, deeper. “I’m so ready.”

  15

  Rosa beckoned Kenny into her office. Yesterday, she’d told him she wanted to discuss the upcoming layoffs, so he was surprised to see the new girl in there. “Katherine, could you get me a water?” Rosa asked. “I’m parched.” She smacked her lips as if to prove the point.

  “Sure, Rosa. Kenny? Water?” Katherine rose from the small conference table.

  “Not for me, thanks.” Kenny was in a lousy mood. Last Friday he’d kicked ass at SCA, so where was his offer? It was already Wednesday. On top of that, he was annoyed at Janine. “Should we start?” he asked Rosa as soon as they were alone.

  “I’d like Katherine to sit in.” Rosa patted a stack of printouts. “She’ll be right back.”

  “I thought this meeting was confidential.” Kenny checked his screen again. Nothing.

  Rosa saw him glance at his phone. “Did your wife get the job? Where was it?”

  “UBS—yes, she got it. Thanks for asking.”

  Rosa was being polite, but Kenny knew she was peeved at him for calling in sick on Friday. She’d left him a terse voice mail reminding him about their meeting with Rutherford, so he called her back from the men’s room at SCA. When she answered, he launched into a pretend coughing fit. Coincidentally, he’d woken up that morning with a stuffed nose and raw throat, so his fake cough turned into a wet, phlegmy hacking that went from bad to really bad. Soon he was wheezing. “Kenny?” Rosa had shouted, alarmed. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m in the ER. But don’t worry, I’ll reschedule with Rutherford.”

  “You’re in the ER now?” Rosa asked, but instead of replying, Kenny held his phone under the turbojet dryer. Rosa called out, “Kenny? Are you there?” but the dryer was roaring. The last thing he heard before hanging up was Rosa telling him to feel better.

  As it turned out, Kenny did not feel better, which made for a shitty weekend. His cold worsened as Friday wore on, and by five o’clock his head was banging. Weak and fading fast after a full day of talking, Kenny was nonetheless excited to celebrate Janine’s new job, but she was still recovering from her late night with Les from UBS and already in bed when he got home. On Saturday he woke up feverish, but instead of tending to him, she went shopping with her mother. He felt better on Sunday, so he asked Fez and Hondo to hang out, but neither of them was free, and he dozed on the couch alone with Dog, while Janine attended a baby shower for one of her girlfriends from Penn.

  A minute later, Katherine stepped into Rosa’s office and handed him a water. “I brought extra,” she said, but turned away before he could thank her. Normally Kenny wouldn’t care, but today this bothered him. Did the new girl not like him? Maybe she didn’t know any black people. At work, he’d met a lot of white people who didn’t have black friends. “Well, you’re my friend,” some guy at J&J once said. “We updated a bonus plan together,” Kenny had wanted to reply. “That barely makes us colleagues.” The presumptuousness of his white coworkers enraged him; that proximity to his blackness entitled them to a status or feeling they hadn’t earned. They were so smug, so self-important! While he knew raising the issue would most likely spark a debate he shouldn’t have, not in the office, saying nothing (his default position) left him feeling alienated and trapped.

  Rosa clapped. “Okay, guys. Payroll, payroll. Let’s talk payroll.”

  Kenny sighed. This was what he meant—one minute Rosa’s talking about layoffs, and the next, it’s payroll. Not only was she all over the place, but this meeting was confidential and she was letting her secretary sit in. “Rosa, this meeting is about org charts.”

  “That’s right! Org charts, org charts.” She grabbed the packets, which she dealt around the table like a Vegas croupier. “So Katherine, here’s what you need to know. Rutherford gave Kenny and me an assignment that I thought you could help with—”

  She was interrupted by a knock. Leo stuck his head in. “Excuse me, Rosa. I got Brandon Easton a set of board books.” Rosa looked confused. “Lorelei’s new baby,” he added, glancing at Katherine. “You asked me to get her a gift.” A look passed between Leo and Katherine, one Kenny didn’t understand. He felt left out of something but didn’t know what, only that, along with everything else, not knowing pissed him off.

  “Thank you, Leo.” Rosa waited for him to close the door, but instead of resuming their meeting, she turned to Katherine. “Yes, I do like Lorelei Easton,” she said, answering a question no one had asked. “Before she took over Automotive, she was a little mouse, afraid of her own shadow. Still, that was no excuse for how the guys treated her. That happened to me at Sony. Have I told you this story?”

  Looking up, Kenny realized she was addressing him. “I don’t know; you may have.”

  “Sony was hard on women. Back then, it was mostly Japanese men at the top, and they were very, very disrespectful. These guys—my coworkers—ignored me when I spoke, ‘forgot’ to invite me to meetings, hid information. Some were my direct reports, if you can believe that! Imagine treating your boss that way! Shameful behavior, worse than junior high. ‘No way that Mexican chica is gonna run this department,’ one guy said. That pissed me off. ‘I’m Spanish, you idiot,’ I wanted to say. But I didn’t. Never give bullies a reason to go after you. The culture was rough—no women, no minorities, no gays—and there I was, a ball-buster from the Bronx. I ask myself how I survived, but I did what I always do: dug in and worked harder than everyone else. I called myself Rosa, never Rosalita—Americanized my name—to cover my bases. At the time, my mother was dying, but I never made excuses. I came in before dawn, left after dark, stayed up all night nursing my mom and then got up and did it again. By year two, I’d exceeded my goals, revamped two divisions, and had the place running like . . . like tick-tock. So who had the last laugh? The ‘Mexican chica’ with the night-school degree, the kid who never heard of the Ivy League.” She sighed.

  An awkward silence followed. While this wasn’t the first time Rosa had wandered off the reservation mid-convers
ation, usually Leo or Lucy was around to ferry her back. But it was just him and the new girl, and Kenny felt out of his depth.

  A beat later, as if prodded by an unseen hand, Rosa came to life. “I’m telling you this story, Kenny, because you don’t appreciate what’s going on here. Rutherford gave you a unique opportunity, and you’re squandering it. You didn’t feel well last week—okay, we all have our days—but your absence was noted. If it were me, I would’ve offered to dial in to the meeting. Rutherford would’ve refused, but the gesture would’ve gone a long way. I’ve told you this: to get ahead, you need the CEO on your side—more than you need me. I’m imploring you, Kenny, you must make this assignment a priority.”

  “Speaking of which,” Katherine said, “can you take us through these packets, Rosa?”

  This enraged Kenny: first Rosa calling him out in front of a junior person, then this junior, a secretary, taking charge while he sat with his thumb up his ass. Still, he had to marvel at how well Rosa pulled together the threads of her meandering story only to zing him at the end. She was right, though. It had been foolish of him to blow off Rutherford, though once SCA hired him, it wouldn’t matter.

  “Let’s move on.” Rosa took a long drink of water, leaving a ring of red lipstick around the mouth of her bottle. Seeing this reminded Kenny of Janine; he hadn’t heard from her all day. “I am so distressed about these layoffs, I can’t sleep. But as I was lying awake, I came up with a plan to reorganize HR. Right now, we have areas that are understaffed—payroll, operations—so instead of letting people go, let’s just reassign these functions.”

  “Rosa.” Kenny was stern. “Rutherford explained his rationale for the layoffs. They’re a done deal.” His eyes cut toward Katherine. “What about confidentiality?”

  “Katherine understands this is confidential.” She turned to her. “Rutherford wants to lay off two HR staffers—Rob and Maisie Fresh—but it’s a terrible idea for reasons I can’t get into.”

  “That’s awful,” Katherine said, looking genuinely upset.

  Rosa agreed. “Business can be awful, but you have to rise above it; one way is to show your humanity when everyone else’s has disappeared.” She paused. “I made new org charts, which you’ll find in your packets. The biggest change I’m proposing is to have Lucy take over recruiting so Rob can focus on training. Then we could give communications to Marketing. By the way, Lucy is being promoted to number two, which we’re announcing soon—”

  “Lucy?” The idea of Lucy gaining power rattled Kenny. Sure, she was smart, but also a wild card: one night, you’re pounding martinis on a booze cruise while she spills her secrets (father, love life, the whole shebang); the next morning, you’re a leper. “That’s great!” he said with false enthusiasm.

  “It is great,” Rosa said drily. “We appreciate the endorsement. Anyway, I’d like the two of you to devise a few more scenarios for restructuring HR, with the goal of retaining Rob.”

  Kenny couldn’t believe it. “Rosa, this is a lot of work, and to what end? Rutherford won’t change his mind.”

  Rosa didn’t waver. “I suggest you start online. Find out how our competitors are set up. Talk to consultants. Have SHRM pull research on best practices. The answer is out there.” She sipped her water. “And guys? Again—discretion, please.”

  “Got it.” Katherine stood up. “Kenny, I’ll get going with the online stuff and show you what I find.”

  “That’s great, thanks.” Katherine, he knew, was caught in the middle. No need to be a shit to her; she was just a kid. Pretty, too, though not his type. Katherine was scrawny, unlike Janine, whose biceps and triceps were gym toned and rock solid. She was also so pale as to barely register: blond hair, wispy eyebrows. Even Katie’s eyes were colorless, a translucent green he could see through.

  Leaving Rosa’s office, Kenny made the decision to discuss her assignment with Rutherford as soon as possible. The CEO should know what was going on, especially since he’d given Kenny very different instructions. Meanwhile, he sent telepathic messages to SCA and Janine, imploring them to call. Thankfully, someone heard: leaving the gym two hours later, he had a voice mail from the hedge fund’s in-house recruiter. “Scarlett Raynes here. Apologies for not returning sooner. Barry’s in the Maldives, and Donald has to confer with him before we can proceed. You should hear from us within the week. Again, sorry for the delay. Hang in,” she added.

  Elated, Kenny texted Janine: SCA called. Offer coming next few days! When she didn’t reply, his mood dipped. Up! Down! Up! Down!

  She finally checked in an hour later, sounding rushed. “Sorry I didn’t call. I’ve been insane. Hair is done. Nails next. I’m so nervous. I want this job—I need this job—to go well.”

  Kenny answered in a monotone. “Where’ve you been? I was sick all weekend, and—”

  Janine cut him off. “Are you pouting? Seriously, Kenny? Why do grown men think the damn world stops turning when they get the sniffles? First of all, I saw your text, so don’t expect me to join your pity party. Second, my job isn’t only important to me, it’s important to us. Do you realize how much money we spend? And third, I may be busy—my job starts in one week—but I still love you, so don’t go falling into some dark hole just because I’ve been elsewhere.”

  “I just miss you,” Kenny said sheepishly.

  “I’m right here; and tonight we’ll celebrate . . .” She purred like a cat, which made his cock swell. “In the meantime, I want to hear everything the recruiter said, starting with ‘Hello’ . . .”

  Happy to have Janine’s attention, he recited Scarlett Rayne’s message. Then he told her about Rosa’s org-chart project, which she agreed was ridiculous, encouraging him to tell Rutherford. “Kenny, what if Rosa did have a stroke, and what if it left her with a . . . I don’t know . . . some mental condition that’s impairing her judgment? If you don’t say something, he could hold you responsible. Clearly I don’t know all the ins and outs, but it sounds like Rosa should step down. There’s no shame in getting old, but it’s selfish to stay in a job you can’t perform when people are lined up behind you—especially in a recession. I don’t mean to sound cold, and believe me, I’ll be kicking and screaming when it’s my time, but I also hope I’ll have the good sense to move on without humiliating myself.” She paused. “Look, I have to run, but I’ll see you tonight. Special menu, so stay tuned.” And clicked off with a kiss.

  Janine had a point. While Kenny could see why Rosa wanted to save Rob—nice guy, long tenure—he was unmotivated and underperforming. “Rosa,” he’d said to his boss earlier, “there are hundreds of Robs out there. Why put yourself on the line when his fate is a foregone conclusion?”

  “According to who?” Rosa had snapped. “You? Kenny, there is so much about Ellery—about the world—you don’t know. Nor do you have enough history to appreciate everything Rob has done for our group—including hiring you! So do your work and be grateful you still have a job.”

  It was only four, but after texting Fez to grab a drink, Kenny shut down his computer and put on his coat. En route to the elevator, he remembered he’d meant to ask Rob about the second payroll clerk they were supposed to be hiring, but when he backtracked, Rob’s door was closed.

  “Rob’s home for a few days,” Lucy said, passing by. “Ask Katie for his schedule—or Leo.”

  “Okay, thanks. Hey, Lucy?” Kenny lowered his voice. “Do you ever think about leaving Ellery? Going somewhere else? Hypothetically?” When Lucy raised an eyebrow, he went on. “Let’s say I had an offer from a hedge fund with deep pockets. Let’s also say they needed a communications lead. Any of this interest you?”

  Lucy smiled. “First I’d like to know who’s insane enough to make you an offer.”

  Something was different about her. It was her eyes, he realized—she wasn’t wearing her glasses. Without them her face looked softer, a contrast to her sharp tone. “Seriously, Lucy.”

  “Seriously, Kenny. And I think it’s ironic you may have a new job—h
ypothetically.”

  Ironic? “Why ironic?”

  “No reason. It’s just a word.” She started to walk away.

  “What if it was a lot more money?” He paused. “Hypothetically.”

  “No way,” Lucy called over her shoulder. “Hypothetically.”

  “That’s crazy!” he called back. But really, what did he care? From where he stood, Lucy Bender was a waste of brains and talent. Before heading out, he stepped into Leo’s office, and was shocked to find Rosa slumped over their colleague’s desk as if she’d been shot. What the hell? He crept closer. The woman was napping! Napping! In the middle of the day!

  Stepping back, he shook his head. This was exactly the kind of bullshit Rutherford should know about. But he could hear the faintest whistle escape from Rosa’s lips as she exhaled, and something about the sound prompted pity to surge in his chest. So he lifted Leo’s jacket off the hook and draped it, gently, over Rosa’s shoulders before closing the door.

  See, he told himself. I’m not a total asshole.

  “KNOCK-KNOCK.” ON FRIDAY, Kenny stood at Rob’s door. “Just wanted to talk about the payroll assistant—oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you were on the phone.”

  “We have several candidates,” Rob said. “No, Maddy, I’m talking to Kenny. Ken, have a seat.” He scribbled notes on a pad. “You called this in? Okay. Love you too.”

  “Everything okay?” Kenny asked.

  “My older girl was sick.” Rob let out a ferocious yawn. “Excuse me; it’s been intense.” He started to tell Kenny about her infection, but Kenny stopped listening. He didn’t want to learn anything about Rob’s kids, knowing as he did that their dad was getting laid off. When he first heard about Rob, the idea didn’t register, not completely. It was like hearing bad news about a guy from school; Kenny felt a twinge of “tough break,” then relief to be spared. He felt even less when he updated the org chart. With a click of his mouse, one box merged with another, and eleven years of Rob Hirsch vanished. But now, seeing Rob so frazzled and depleted, Kenny felt sorry for him.