project is very important for the city. One we can’t afford to lose. After consulting with the legal department, the only acceptable option is to terminate you, effective immediately. Security will escort you out.”
His words are on perpetual replay in my head.
Terminate you, effective immediately .
The logical side of my brain tells me it was the city’s only possible option, but the rest of me revolts against the injustice of it all. A complaint of sexual harassment was filed against me, and unless I was dealt with internally right away, legal charges would be filed against me and the city. The large international hotel conglomerate Portland had just signed a contract with, would be no match for the municipality.
What had seemed like a minor glitch in judgement had turned into a fuck up of epic proportions.
Sexual harassment.
The bitter taste of bile fills my mouth. How ironic, seeing as the only person in this equation guilty of any type of harassment would be the one crying foul. A rush of anger at the hungry bitch, unwilling to accept rejection, burns my stomach.
Twenty years...twenty fucking years of hard work and loyalty, of coloring inside the lines—reduced to this?
I’m not sure why I sought Ruby out. In that first wave of shock, all I knew was I needed to ground myself in her warm dark eyes. I’m a fucking selfish bastard, to look for some kind of comfort from her after the way I treated her.
Yet here I am, halfway drunk, with hours of Ike’s brand of comfort under my belt, watching Dino kiss her and hating that even more. I glare at Dino when he passes me on his way out the door, but he stops and puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Not what you think, brother,” he cautions under his breath before heading out the door.
“I got fired today,” I blurt out when Ruby turns around and spots me.
Her mouth falls open and she immediately takes a few steps toward me. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers, stepping a little closer. “What happened?”
She asked that question earlier, but I couldn’t get the words to form then. Now they’re wanting out. “It’s a mess,” I start, closing the gap between us. As if it is the most natural thing in the world, she slips her arms around my waist, puts her cheek against my chest and hugs me tight.
Her body pressed against me is soft all over. Cushiony and inviting. Without thinking, my arms slip around her and I bend my head down to rest against her hair. My eyes close as I let the comfort of holding her wash over me. Too soon, she releases her hold and I have to let her go.
“Sit,” she says, indicating a chair as she turns to grab two coffee mugs off the shelf. “Tell me.”
And I do. I tell her everything, from the first moment I realized Brenda had set her sights on me, the lapse of judgment when I finally asked her for dinner, to the utterly demoralizing walk to my car, accompanied by security and toting the sparse accumulation of twenty years on the job in a single box. I don’t even stop to drink the coffee she slides toward me as she sits down. I wince at the now lukewarm temperature when I finally take a sip.
She quietly listens until I’m done. “I can’t believe it. That is so unfair,” she says then, shaking her head in disbelief.
I feel about two feet tall. This woman, who just days before opened herself to my judgement, didn’t hesitate to step up to my defense. And what had I done? I’d walked out of her apartment, avoided her for days, and left her to believe she wasn’t worthy.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” I apologize, leaning over the table to grab her small hand. “I’ve been a fucking dick to you and here you are, being nothing but supportive.”
The tight smile and shoulder shrug show me it still stings, and makes me feel even more of an ass.
“What are you going to do?” she asks me, clearly eager to steer the conversation in a different direction. I let her hand go as she sits back in her chair.
“Not much I
His words are on perpetual replay in my head.
Terminate you, effective immediately .
The logical side of my brain tells me it was the city’s only possible option, but the rest of me revolts against the injustice of it all. A complaint of sexual harassment was filed against me, and unless I was dealt with internally right away, legal charges would be filed against me and the city. The large international hotel conglomerate Portland had just signed a contract with, would be no match for the municipality.
What had seemed like a minor glitch in judgement had turned into a fuck up of epic proportions.
Sexual harassment.
The bitter taste of bile fills my mouth. How ironic, seeing as the only person in this equation guilty of any type of harassment would be the one crying foul. A rush of anger at the hungry bitch, unwilling to accept rejection, burns my stomach.
Twenty years...twenty fucking years of hard work and loyalty, of coloring inside the lines—reduced to this?
I’m not sure why I sought Ruby out. In that first wave of shock, all I knew was I needed to ground myself in her warm dark eyes. I’m a fucking selfish bastard, to look for some kind of comfort from her after the way I treated her.
Yet here I am, halfway drunk, with hours of Ike’s brand of comfort under my belt, watching Dino kiss her and hating that even more. I glare at Dino when he passes me on his way out the door, but he stops and puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Not what you think, brother,” he cautions under his breath before heading out the door.
“I got fired today,” I blurt out when Ruby turns around and spots me.
Her mouth falls open and she immediately takes a few steps toward me. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers, stepping a little closer. “What happened?”
She asked that question earlier, but I couldn’t get the words to form then. Now they’re wanting out. “It’s a mess,” I start, closing the gap between us. As if it is the most natural thing in the world, she slips her arms around my waist, puts her cheek against my chest and hugs me tight.
Her body pressed against me is soft all over. Cushiony and inviting. Without thinking, my arms slip around her and I bend my head down to rest against her hair. My eyes close as I let the comfort of holding her wash over me. Too soon, she releases her hold and I have to let her go.
“Sit,” she says, indicating a chair as she turns to grab two coffee mugs off the shelf. “Tell me.”
And I do. I tell her everything, from the first moment I realized Brenda had set her sights on me, the lapse of judgment when I finally asked her for dinner, to the utterly demoralizing walk to my car, accompanied by security and toting the sparse accumulation of twenty years on the job in a single box. I don’t even stop to drink the coffee she slides toward me as she sits down. I wince at the now lukewarm temperature when I finally take a sip.
She quietly listens until I’m done. “I can’t believe it. That is so unfair,” she says then, shaking her head in disbelief.
I feel about two feet tall. This woman, who just days before opened herself to my judgement, didn’t hesitate to step up to my defense. And what had I done? I’d walked out of her apartment, avoided her for days, and left her to believe she wasn’t worthy.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” I apologize, leaning over the table to grab her small hand. “I’ve been a fucking dick to you and here you are, being nothing but supportive.”
The tight smile and shoulder shrug show me it still stings, and makes me feel even more of an ass.
“What are you going to do?” she asks me, clearly eager to steer the conversation in a different direction. I let her hand go as she sits back in her chair.
“Not much I
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