AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What is this...?” His eyes scanned, and his face paled. “Oh. Shit.”
“Yeah.” She started pacing like a mouse in a very small cage. The vision of her bigger office and promotion was shrinking away by the second. “Remember this morning when I told you Jonathan propositioned me, and I ran to the bathroom? Well, I ran into Annie in there, and...” She was afraid to admit her involvement in case it somehow implicated her in the collapse of her own company, but she didn’t have a choice seeing that the truth kept spilling out. “I told her about Jonathan, and she implied he’d mistreated her too—which we now know is true—and I told her she didn’t have to stand for it.” She exhaled a heavy breath and looked to Oliver for advice.
His already magnified eyes grew larger behind his glasses. He pointed at her phone balanced in his hand, mouth open in shock. “You told her to—?”
“No! Of course not! I just told her to stand up for herself. I didn’t think she was going to email the entire company about it!”
Oliver grimaced.
“And it gets worse. That second meeting with Jonathan this morning? He tried to fire me with an obscenely large severance package that was nothing but hush money for being harassed. I called him out and then went to Joanna about it. So, secret’s out that I’m the other woman in Annie’s email.”
Oliver stared at her, jaw slack. “What? Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“Well, I’ve been a little busy. Joanna left lunch early to deal with this”—she pointed at her phone still in his hand—“and I had to get a ride back. Luckily, Adam was there, and he—”
“Adam?”
“Yes. The bartender. We ran into each other, and he gave me a ride. Then I kind of tripped, and he caught me and we kissed, and—”
He stumbled back and waved his hands in the shape of a big, swooping rainbow. “Wait. He caught you? With his lips?”
“Yes, and I don’t have time to properly freak out about it because Annie decided to email the whole company our very private business, and I feel like it’s all my fault for telling her to stand up for herself!” Her breath quickened, and she felt her chest tightening. She threw her hands over her face.
Oliver’s cool fingers gently gripped her wrist. “Hey, Luce. We’re definitely going to circle back to the bartender catching you with his lips because that sounds like the universe saying yes, but regarding the matter at hand, this is not your fault. You can’t control anyone else’s behavior, and as far as I’m concerned, Jonathan deserved this. After the way he treated you, and apparently Annie, he should be exposed.”
“Yes, but...”
She did her best to breathe through all the doubt and fear trying to drown her. She knew the beats, the plotline, and the always disappointing ending to this story. She and Annie would be asked why now?; why come forward only now if it had been going on for months and years? They’d have to relive humiliating details, risk losing their jobs, and possibly be exiled from the industry, all to be labeled as victims. Their identities would be centered on Jonathan forevermore because of what he did to them, and all he’d get was a slap on the wrist. He got to hurt them multiple times: the abuse and the public consequences. The injustice was sickening.
But something had awoken in her, and she could not lie about it. The fury she had kept quiet for years was suddenly screaming. She heard it as loudly as she had in the bathroom with Annie that morning, moments after Jonathan put her in the position of choosing between her career and her integrity.
Why the hell couldn’t she have both?
Things may have been happening much more quickly than she expected them to, but Annie and Oliver were right: the time for silence was over.
She stood up straight and looked Oliver right in the eye. “Fuck that guy.”
Oliver grinned like he was ready to ride into battle with her. “Now we’re talking. Whatever you want to do, I’m here for it.” He handed her phone back just as a new email pinged.
Lucy,
We’d like to discuss what you may know about the allegations that have been made. We’re working with an external third-party mediation service, and they are on-site this afternoon. Please come to my office in ten minutes. Thanks.
—Amanda C. Wiles
Director of Human Resources, J&J Public
Lucy and Oliver met eyes over her phone, and she smiled. “Perfect.”
—
Lucy gathered herself and headed for Amanda’s office. With every step she took she felt eyes on her, probing. The fact that they all knew she was the other woman within the company didn’t seem to matter anymore. Yes, she was taking a huge risk, but she had no choice—and not just because she couldn’t lie. It was the right thing to do, and she finally had the courage to do it.
Despite her conviction, when she turned the corner and saw the last person she wanted to share a waiting room with, she almost changed her mind.
“Hey,” Chase said, with something reserved in his voice. Lucy was wary of sitting in the chair beside him, but it was either that, stand, or sit on the floor.
She was early, and it would be a few minutes, so she opted for the chair. But she sat as far to one side as she could, the rigid rectangular arm digging into her hip.
