揋emma, don抰。 Suzy in the main office has hated me ever since you called last year. She won抰 even tell me when I get a package now.?
My fists clench. 揇ocument it, Mom,?I growl. 揇ocument everything she抯 done. She doesn抰 get to treat you like that.?
I can hear the rage in my voice. It抯 the sort that would turn to tears as soon as I hang up the call, if Ben wasn抰 here to witness it.
揌oney, stop. You抮e just going to make things worse. I don抰 want Suzy to get fired. She抯 doing her best, and she抯 got problems of her own.?
Stop being so forgiving, I want to scream. Stop letting people walk on you. And stop assuming the best of others when no one will extend that same courtesy to you. I抦 angry at her. I抦 angry on her behalf. I抦 so angry, and I抦 so tired of being angry all the time. Maybe I wouldn抰 have to be if I accepted my father抯 offer梑ut then I抎 be angry about other things instead.
揙kay,?I tell her, swallowing hard.
When I hang up the phone, I抦 still upset, and considering my options. I抣l play along for now, but if she falls, I抦 suing them for everything they抮e worth.
揥hat was that about??Ben asks, walking up behind me.
I shake my head because it抯 easier not to talk about it. 揘othing. Just my mom.?
But then he turns me to face him, his hands cradling my jaw, forcing my gaze to his. I sense what it抯 meant to convey: tell me, let me in. How many times now has he held me when I抦 upset, patiently waiting for me to open up to him, getting nothing in response? Too many.
揟hey抮e expecting freezing rain tonight,?I say quietly. 揗y mom抯 apartment complex is supposed to shovel and salt the walkways and they never do it. She fell last year and sprained her wrist.?
揝he didn抰 want to sue??
揝he said it would just cause more problems and I棓 My voice cracks and I have to stop talking about it. I have to.
揧ou what??he asks softly.
揑 could get her a better place, but she won抰 let me help her. And nothing in her apartment works. The towel rack came out of the wall, she can抰 reach the light on the front porch, and there抯 no place to keep a ladder so it抯 always burned out. It抯 just so unfair. She did everything for me, she did everything for my father, and this is where she抯 ended up. And now people take advantage of her and I can抰 fucking stand it.?
He pulls me closer and presses his lips to the top of my head. 揧ou want to burn the whole world to ash, just to make sure every path she walks is cleared for her. I know the feeling.?
The following day, I locate Lauren, the employee Leona told us had been invited to the strip clubs but only if she got on stage. I convince her to meet with me梥he can attest to being sexually harassed at work and name employees who participated in the strip club outings梑ut she insists she won抰 testify. Even though she抯 no longer with the company, and doesn抰 even live in the area, she still can抰 afford to piss them off.
Ben enters my office just as I抦 hanging up the phone.
揧ou look way too happy,?he says. 揕et me guess: some guy you抮e taking to court just sent a dick pic to a small child??
揈ven better,?I reply, and he laughs. 揑 located the woman who was harassed at Fiducia and she抯 willing to talk to me. I抦 flying to Seattle on Friday.?
揕et me see if I can move some stuff,?he says, pulling out his phone.
I lean back in my chair, bracing for a fight. 揑 think I should take this one on my own. It抯 hard for women to discuss harassment with men, especially if it was bad, and she抯 really skittish.?
His tongue prods his cheek and his nostrils flare. He抯 still my boss and this is his case. Of course he wants to be there.
But梐stonishingly梙e puts his phone away. 揙kay,?he says. 揥e抣l celebrate when you get back.?
揑 don抰 even know if I抦 going to get anything from her.?
He laughs. 揙f course, you抮e going to get something from her. You抮e Gemma Charles. You always figure it out.?
I smile. He didn抰 even remind me I haven抰 made partner.
Later that evening a notification pops up on his phone while he抯 in the bathroom. He抯 made a reservation this coming Saturday at Ardor, an insanely expensive Michelin-starred restaurant. Romance Package for Two.
It抯 too much. Too serious, too romantic, and the idea of eating dinner at a table strewn with rose petals while everyone stares at us makes me wince. Yet a little thing in me just卹elents. He believes in me in a way no one else ever has. He supports me, and he has waited. If he still wants to go to HR, to sign the form and have the whole goddamned office gossiping about us, then so be it. I抦 ready.
37
On Friday, I wake before he does to catch my flight to Seattle. In the shower, I plan out what I will wear to Ardor梞aybe the dress I wore to the retreat, with the Louboutins he bought me for Christmas. Perhaps, for once, the night will end at his place rather than mine. And when it does, I抣l tell him we can go to HR. He抣l be pleased by that桰 suspect he wants it more than he lets on.