Chapter 10
Jordan
Today was sexual harassment training. Wasn’t that great? Last night I’d had my hand up my intern’s skirt, making her moan while I put my mouth all over her, and now here we were. Fuck. I rubbed my sore neck as I watched another set of employees file in for the third such session today. Adam and I had to sit through all of them and—thank God—this was the last one. There was a dull ache in my head, tightness in my temples. I put my head in my hand, covering my eyes. I felt a nudge at my elbow.
“What’s the matter, can’t stand to suffer the torture you inflicted?”
I sent Adam a dirty look. “It wasn’t my dumbass suggestion, it was the goddamn banker. Don’t shoot the messenger.”
“Can I punch him in the nuts instead?”
“Quit whining.”
For the third time that day, Essie, from the outside firm we’d hired to come in and inflict this low-level torture, stood and gave her canned spiel about the importance of power equality in the workplace and maintaining a safe, harassment-free work environment. I resisted the urge to check my phone when the dumbass video started, staring blankly at it like a zombie—yet again. I ignored the whispers and the rustling behind me. Clearly, the employees hated this as much as I did.
And like before, we progressed to the goddamn Q & A session. But this time, when Essie opened it up to questions, you could have heard a pin drop and crickets chirp. There at least had been some healthy discussion before—enough that it had taken almost all of the time. Apparently, this last group was the rebel bunch and they were protesting.
“So no one has any questions at all?” Essie said, her black brows rising. “Maybe as a jumping off point, we should start the discussion with the viral video.”
I sat back, trying not to cringe. This had only briefly been touched on in the other sessions, but now the gloves were coming off. “Now we know that at least one person participating in that video was an employee. But let’s suppose they were both employees…”
“I fucking hope not,” Adam muttered under his breath for only me to hear. “Wouldn’t that just make it so much better?”
I pretended to be so enthralled by what Essie was saying that I didn’t hear him.
“Is this harassment, per se? If two employees of the same company were engaging in a sexual act?”
“That depends,” someone said. “Maybe they were dating beforehand.”
“Okay.” Essie nodded. “Good point. Previous relationships should be considered. But what if a couple that works together breaks up or the relationship changes…or what if the two people involved are not of the same rank within the company?”
“You mean like if one was the other person’s boss?” a voice piped up. A voice I recognized. My intern. I clenched my jaw and a fist on the table, but I resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder at her.
“Yes, that changes the entire power dynamic, doesn’t it? If one person works for the other, even if they are engaging in a consensual relationship, the power structure between them is inherently unequal.”
I fumed under my collar at her pointed comment, given what had happened between us last night. Perhaps it was her way of telling me she hadn’t wanted it? I frowned at that thought, suddenly brought up short. Maybe she’d been afraid to tell me? But she’d reached out and touched me, too. And I’d given her the chance to tell me to stop…
Of course, there were the liberties she had taken with her goddamn smart phone. I raised my hand. “What about the tape itself? Like, if one person filmed it without the other person knowing? Is that sexual harassment?”
There. Take that, Miss Weiss.
Essie nodded. “Very good question. Of course, filming without the other party’s consent is a grave violation of trust, but beyond that, it is also illegal and a violation of basic civil rights. It’s punishable in civil and criminal court.”
I sat back, stunned. I’d only intended to give April a little grief, not scare the shit out of her. She still had no idea it was me. And she probably was wondering how I knew that the guy in the video didn’t know…or hopefully, she’d just thought I’d guessed right.
Essie started droning on about legal codes, but I was hardly listening. Sure, I was pissed about the goddamn video. I would much rather it had never been made. Hot night of sex or not, I didn’t need the type of reminder that threatened to blow my plans for my company sky high. Nevertheless…I didn’t want April going to jail, either.
Adam stood in the middle of Essie’s diatribe, interrupting her. “I think we are digressing a little from the discussion, don’t you think? It’s only supposition that one party filmed without the other knowing. And now that we know it’s illegal, can we move on?” He shot me an irritated look and I glanced over my shoulder at April, who had paled to the shade of the wall behind her.
She had her hands folded in her lap, her gaze fixed on them. I’d sure showed her, hadn’t I? But it didn’t feel good. She looked petrified.
“Shall we do some role-playing, then? Any volunteers?”
Role-playing? We hadn’t gotten that far in the previous sessions. There hadn’t been time after the discussion. Clearly, Essie was reaching for material to fill this one. I doubted any employee here would volunteer when they couldn’t even muster up a nonsense question. I nudged Adam with my elbow and nodded toward the front of the room. “It’s your leaderly duty,” I muttered.
He rewarded my sarcasm with one of his signature death glares. Unfortunately, sitting in the front row, my movements had attracted Essie’s attention and she brightened, her gaze fixing on me. “Excellent, let’s get one of the big bosses up here for role-play!”
The room burst into applause and Adam started laughing. Under the cover of the table, I flipped him the bird and stood. Shit. How much longer until I could bail on this farce?
I moved to stand beside Essie, facing the room, and the applause only got louder. April had finally looked up, still pale but a faintly amused smile touched her beautiful lips. I held up my hands to quiet the room.
“No applause necessary,” I said. “I already know I’m awesome.”
“I feel threatened by that statement,” one of the smartasses from accounting said, and his buddies laughed.
A wolf whistle came from the back of the room and I pointed. “Hey! No harassing me.” More laughter.
Essie, however, was not amused. “All right, everyone, we need to take this seriously. I know these comments are all in fun, but we’re here to be educated on how to have the safest, most comfortable and efficient work environment possible. And I know your CFO is very interested in efficiency.”
I cleared my throat, sobering, and the room quieted down. Essie glanced around for a long moment before turning to me. “Okay, we’re going to role-play a situation between me, the boss, and my employee, Mr. Fawkes.”
A guy from playtesting snickered before I sent him a sharp glare and he quieted down. “So, here we are. You’ve just arrived at work.”
Essie stepped forward and put her hand on my upper arm. “Hey Mr. Fawkes, how are you today? You are looking really good in those trousers and that shirt.” She ran her eyes up and down me like she was checking me out at a singles bar. I’m sure it wasn’t the response she wanted from me, but I grinned and straightened my tie. The group laughed again.
Essie’s smile faded. “Now clearly this isn’t a problem for Mr. Fawkes, but what if Mr. Fawkes is the boss and he says that same thing to an employee? And touches him or her in the same way?”
She glanced around and no one said anything, though people whispered to each other. A few looked incredibly bored. Essie pointed a finger at April. “Miss, didn’t you ask about the boss-employee power dynamic before? Could you come up and help out, please?”
April’s face went scarlet and she didn’t move. “Uh…”
I muttered to Essie. “She’s actually really shy.”
But that other intern with all the blond hair—what the hell was her name?—started shoving April out of her chair. To keep from falling on the ground, April stood, giving her friend a well-deserved scowl. Essie continued encouraging April to come forward, and she reluctantly moved to stand beside me.
I shifted my weight from one leg to another, trying to distance myself from her without looking like I was distancing myself from her. There was only one word for this situation right here.
Awkward.
April stared at the floor in front of her, self-consciously tucking some strands of her hair behind her ear. I remembered having that delicious lobe in my mouth last night when I’d been engaging in some very unbusinesslike behavior with her in the alley behind the martini lounge. The way she’d moaned my name…
I tore my eyes away and scowled at the room as a whole. This wasn’t so funny anymore.
“Mr. Fawkes, why don’t you make a similar comment to this young lady like I just did to you?”
I cleared my throat and tried hard not to roll my eyes. “Good morning, Miss Weiss,” I droned. “You are looking very nice today in your—uh—”
And then I looked at her to see what she was wearing. A pencil skirt and a silky blouse that hugged her curves. Jesus Christ. What kind of God up there didn’t like me that he gave me a gorgeous intern—one I already knew was hot as a chili pepper in bed, too—that I wasn’t allowed to touch? I’d have to continue to fight to keep my hands off of her, and if last night was any indication, it was a losing battle.
No, this was Karma, and she was biting me in the ass right this very minute. This was for every one of the women I’d dated in the past who had told me some day the Universe would get even with me for being a callous asshole.
It took me a second to realize I was standing here gaping at her and had not continued my sentence.
“Go ahead and put your hand on her arm,” Essie coached.
Instead, I rested it lightly on her shoulder. I could feel the delicate bra strap through her silky top. It reminded me that last night I’d finally gotten a taste of what was underneath that bra. The memory of her succulent nipple beading in my mouth almost made me sprout wood right then and there. I jerked my hand away as if it had been burned, then took a step back.
April was beet red again, eyes on the floor.
“So, uh, how does his behavior make you feel, Miss Weiss? Do you feel comfortable telling him that he is being inappropriate?”
Self-consciously, she flicked her dark hair over her shoulder. “Mr. Fawkes, you are being inappropriate,” she muttered.
Essie nodded her approval. I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Uh, I’m terribly sorry about that, Miss Weiss. It, uh, won’t happen again.”
“Feel her up!” someone called from the back of the room.
Shocked, my mouth fell open, but before I could say anything, Adam was on his feet, his face flushed red. “All right, I’ve had enough of this bullshit,” he said, his narrowed eyes skimming the group in the room. “I’ve been through three meetings, and this is by far the worst of the lot. Don’t you realize the reason we are here in the first place is because of wildly inappropriate employee behavior? Do you think I like wasting my time and yours sitting through stuff you should have learned in grade school? Keep your hands to yourself—one of the basic rules of human behavior. But we’re here because someone obviously doesn’t have a damn clue how to do that.”
My mouth continued to hang open as I watched my friend completely lose his cool. Essie looked extremely uncomfortable, and April—well, she had her head down, her face curtained by swaths of thick, dark hair.
“Someone who works here filmed an intimate moment and then uploaded that to the Internet for the world to see. The moment they did that, they involved this company. And I don’t know how you feel about your jobs here, but it should offend the hell out of all of you that someone did that. That someone represented your company that way. That they had that little respect for the institution to which all of you dedicate a great amount of your time, effort and brainpower. I’ll tell you right now, that pisses me off. Because I spend a pretty large chunk of my life to make this a great company, and if I ever find out who did this…well, they’ll be looking for a new job before they can blink.”
The room was silent now, faces down. No one was meeting Adam’s gaze and people clearly looked ashamed. However, none of them were responsible for the tape.
I should be the one ashamed—and I was. I cast a guilty glance in Adam’s direction, once again cursing my thoughtless actions. We’d both worked so hard for this, built this company from nothing in almost five short years. And with one drunken night of hot sex—and apparently poor choice of hot partner—I’d endangered all our hard work.
Thank the gods above we were asked to return to our desks soon after and let out early by a somewhat exasperated and exhausted Essie.