My eyes widened in disbelief. In the fifteen years working here, Greer had never congratulated me on a damn thing. “Wow, thanks, Greer. I appreciate that.”
Greer huffed. “I guess the Serranos were looking for something more…pedestrian.”
And there it was. The backhanded compliment. “Well, thanks anyway. I need to go talk to Ari.” I moved past Greer to go across the hall.
“By the way,” Greer chirped. “I hope you got more out of Ari than some design inspiration.”
I froze as my brain slowly processed Greer’s words. “What did you just say?”
Greer stepped closer, leaning down to whisper. “I heard she likes to give her design partners a little congratulatory sloppy top, if you know what I mean?” He dryly chuckled as he motioned a lazy blow job with his hand. “So how was it?”
My mind went black as I pushed him up against the wall, anger searing my lungs. Greer had at least twenty pounds and two inches on me. At that moment, logic was out of the window.
“Don’t fucking talk about her that way!” I hissed, my eye twitching with rage.
“Yo! Chill, Porter, it was a joke! Let me go!”
I held on to the lapel of his jacket. “Keep on fucking with me! I dare you!”
“Porter!” a female voice yelled. I turned to face Ari, who had one hand on my arm. A crowd of associates had stepped into the hallway. I let go of Greer as Ari led me into her office.
Ari closed the door and pointed at a chair, instructing me to sit. I couldn’t. I was too charged up, opting to move about in circles in her office.
“I swear, I’m going to kill him!”
“Porter, stop! Greer isn’t worth it.”
“Did you hear him? He disrespected you, Ari!”
Ari frowned, then shrugged. “I did and who cares!”
I stopped pacing. “What do you mean, who cares? Ari, he’s making you out to be some kind of…whore.”
Ari closed her eyes, then sighed. “I don’t care what he thinks about me. Or what he’s heard about me, Porter. Your outburst, however, wasn’t warranted.”
“I was defending you, Ari,” I yelled.
“I don’t need defending, Porter. I’ve told you repeatedly, I’m a grown woman. I’ve heard worse. Trust me.”
I sat in the chair next to Ari’s desk. Ari sat behind her desk, her hand on her chin. “Porter, do you want to be partner?”
“Of course, I do!”
“Do you care about my career?”
I squinted, then frowned. “Of course, I do, Ari. That’s a dumb question.”
“Then why are you making things harder for the both of us? There are only about five hundred Black architects in the world. How many of them are women?”
“I…” I didn’t know the exact number, but it was small.
Ari interrupted. “Listen, Porter, I don’t know how long I’ll be here at the firm. I don’t need my time here made worse by the immature actions of a man.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, ashamed that I’d given her secondhand embarrassment. I thought I was doing what any man would do…what her man would do.
“It’s fine. It’s just… I don’t need another reason for the partners to want to axe me.”
“What do you mean? Did the partners say something to you?”
Ari blinked. “No. Did they say something to you?”
I swallowed, and it felt like razor blades were in my throat. “Well, sort of. They were just saying I was in the running for partner.” I took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. “They thought it best that we don’t work together anymore so I can appear impartial moving forward in the process. And…” I hesitated.
Ari stared at me. “And what?”
“Ari, I think they’re up to something. I think the partners want to ice you out until you either walk or…”
“They fire me,” finished Ari.
“Wait, did you know? How?”
Ari narrowed her eyes. “That’s not important. The real question is why would you want to jeopardize everything we’ve done by fighting Greer? Over rumors?”
I shook my head, unable to understand why Ari was being so nonchalant over this. “It wasn’t nothing. It was about you. Ari, I love you. Your reputation is important. We can fight this. I can call my brother. And…”
Ari scoffed. “Porter, it’s pointless. As for my reputation? Trust me, that ship has sailed, it seems.”