Taste of Reality (33 page)

“But you know that’s how it always is,” she said. “It was one thing when David left you to be with another woman, but it’s another now that he knows you don’t care.”

“The reason I don’t care is because there was nothing I could do to make him love me. He found another woman, and I learned to accept it.”

“I know, but what he wanted was for you to shed a bunch of tears over him. And when you acted like you didn’t care one way or the other, he couldn’t take it.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly why he’s so upset. I’ve thought that all along, and he would die if he knew about Frank.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he would.”

“He’d never guess in a million years that I would end up dating someone white. Actually, I didn’t ever think I would myself. But it just goes to show how funny life can be. I practically despised white men when I realized how racist Jim and Lyle were, and now I’m seeing one.”

“Love is love, no matter what color a person is. You can’t fight the way you feel about someone when it’s meant to be. And with the way you always said you’d never date a white man, I know for sure that you must be head over heels about Frank.”

I laughed. “I am. I don’t know how it happened, but I really am. He’s so considerate of my feelings and my needs, and he goes out of his way to make sure I’m happy. I never experienced that with David. So I finally had to ask myself, is it better to be with a black man just because he’s black, even though he treats you like crap, or would it be better to live the rest of your life in peace with a man of any color who loves and respects you?”

“Love is much more important than someone’s racial background.”

“I realize that now, but you know Monica isn’t happy about my relationship with Frank at all.”

“She’ll get over it. And if she doesn’t, then she’s not really your friend, and she doesn’t care one thing about your happiness. I love Monica like a daughter, and I know you’ve been best friends with her forever, but it’s during times like these that you discover who your real friends truly are. Because it’s not Monica’s job to decide what’s right for you. Her job is to support you no matter what.”

“I just hope she sees it that way pretty soon, because our conversations have been a little on the tense side ever since I told her about Frank. I called her a few times when I wanted her to read that memo I put together, but I could tell things weren’t the same between us.”

“You’ll have to see how things go, but I wouldn’t feel bad about being with the person I love regardless of who has a problem with it.”

“I know, but I just don’t want to lose Monica’s friendship. She’s always been like a sister to me, and the thought of us not having anything to do with each other really hurts.”

“I understand how you feel, but it’s like I said, she’s not really the friend we thought she was if she doesn’t support your decision. Especially when it’s pretty obvious that Frank makes you happy.”

“He does, Mom.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry about what anyone else has to say.”

“I wish it were that easy for me.”

“As time goes on, it will be. Don’t get me wrong, you will always come across people who don’t approve of your relationship, but in the end you still have to do what’s best for you.”

“Mom, thanks so much for always understanding me and for loving me the way only a mother could,” I said, reaching for her hand and holding it against my cheek. My eyes misted.

Darkness spread across the sky, but we didn’t go in the house until after ten o’clock. After another half hour or so, I drove home to get my clothes ready for work the next day. Then I called Frank. I’d given him a few details about the meeting before we left work, but I wanted to thank him again for everything he’d done.

“Hi, beautiful,” he answered.

“How are you?” I asked, and smiled when I heard his voice.

“So how does it feel to be queen of the mountain?”

We laughed.

“Yeah right,” I said.

“Well, you are. It took a lot of courage to stand up to the three of them in that meeting.”

“Yeah, it did, but I have to say I’m glad it’s over with, and I hope the rest of it is over very soon.”

“I’m sure it will be. What they’re doing now is trying to figure out how they can get away with paying you a smaller amount than what you’re demanding.”

“Well, I’m not taking less than three-fifty, so they can just forget about it. Actually, they should just be happy I’m not asking for more, because in reality, there’s no specific dollar amount that could possibly equal the way they’ve treated me. And the only reason I’m asking for money at all is because that’s the only remedy available to the victim when it comes to racial discrimination.”

“Good for you, and if they don’t do what you expect, then you have to go straight to the newspaper like we discussed. Then we’ll go over to EEOC to get the ball rolling with them.”

“I’m hoping it doesn’t have to come to that, because, like you said, the publicity would totally destroy my chances of working anywhere else in the city. But if I don’t have a choice, I agree with you that I have to move on to Plan B.”

“So how was your mom?” he asked.

“She was fine. I hadn’t spent that much time with her in a while, and it felt good.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“I do think she’s lonely, though, and I wish she could find someone to share her life with.”

“It’s never too late.”

“No. It’s not, but she’s almost sixty.”

“Some people meet and get married in their eighties.”

“Yeah, I’ve read about a few in the past, but I hope my mom doesn’t have to wait that long.”

“So what are you doing for lunch tomorrow?”

“Nothing, why?”

“I thought we could grab something quick and drive out to the forest preserve.”

“I don’t know if we should take the chance of being seen together now that Jim knows about us.”

“I don’t care who sees us, because I decided tonight that I’m turning in my letter of resignation as soon as you leave the company.”

“I hate to see you doing that because of me.”

“Don’t worry about it for one minute, because Reed Meyers is no longer the type of place I want to work for. And you can bet that I’m never going to be promoted now that they know I’m dating you. They hate that sort of thing, so I’m out anyway, even if I continue working there.”

“That’s really too bad, and it makes me so angry to know that they have that much control.”

“Well, they do.”

“Frank, I’m so sorry that you had to get involved with all of this.”

“Don’t be. I would do it all over again if I had the chance.”

“I love you so much,” I confessed.

“I love you more,” he said.

An hour passed before we ended our conversation, but as soon as I hung up, my phone rang again. My blood flowed rapidly when I saw that it was Lorna, and I couldn’t help wondering how she could possibly have the audacity to be calling.

My first notion was to answer and see what she wanted. However, I soon decided against it, and waited to see if she was bold enough to leave a message.

She did, and I dialed the access number to retrieve it.

“Anise?” she began in a distraught voice. “I was really hoping you would be home so that I could speak to you directly. But I guess leaving this message will have to do. I’m so, so sorry for
everything. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you. I’m sorry for lying to you and for betraying you the way I have. I know you probably hate me right now, but I’m still hoping that you will find it in your heart to speak to me again. Please let me make all of this up to you, Anise. I’m not just asking, but I’m begging you. I can’t explain why I did what I did, except that Jim promised me a promotion and more money, and I really, really needed it. I needed it more than you could possibly ever know. And I guess I was just hoping that Jim would make good on his promise if I slept with him and didn’t tell you that he had someone following you. I know it probably sounds sick, but there’s no other way I can explain it. I don’t know how long I
have left on your voice mail, so I’ll just say again that I’m sorry, and whether you believe me or not, I’ll regret all of this for the rest of my life. I really do care about you, Anise, and I realize now that I’ve never had a more genuine friend than I had in you. I can’t believe I was so stupid,” she said between sniffles. “And if it’s the last thing I do, I promise I will make things right with you. I don’t know quite how, but I promise you I will. My life is so screwed up, and while I know that doesn’t justify my actions, I hope you can try to forgive me one day. Bye, Anise.”

I saved the message and found my emotions caught between blinding anger and inexplicable sadness. I was angry because I had wholeheartedly believed that Lorna was my true friend, but I was saddened because our friendship had been shattered through our association with Reed Meyers. I knew Lorna was responsible for her own disloyalty, but I couldn’t help but wonder if she would have undergone such an eerie change in personality if Jim hadn’t been sexually involved with her.

Lorna sounded so depressed, and I wondered if maybe she had aborted the baby she was carrying. She sounded as if she really needed someone to talk to and that she really was sorry for everything. But I couldn’t find enough sympathy to call her. I didn’t
know if I would feel any differently in the future, but right now I just couldn’t do it.

I stretched across the bed and rested my eyes, replaying my meeting with Jim, Lyle and Tom. I thought about every moment of it and tried to prepare myself mentally.

There was no telling what they were planning to do next.

I tried to prepare myself for the worst-case scenario.

A
NISE, THIS IS
Tom,” he said when I answered my phone. I couldn’t believe the CEO himself was calling me directly. “Yes,” I said. “Do you have those other salary histories you spoke about in our meeting last Thursday?”

“Yes.”

“Then what I’d like for you to do is bring them to my office. There’s no need to stop at my assistant’s desk, and I’ll let her know that I’ve given you permission to walk right in when you get here.”

“I’ll bring them to you in about ten minutes.”

“I’ll be here,” he said, and hung up. He sounded more aggravated than when I’d met with them a few days ago, but something told me that he still didn’t believe I had anything that could hurt them.

I pulled a stack of copies from my briefcase, secured them with a thick rubber band and headed down to Tom’s office. Once again, when I arrived, I saw Lorna staring from a distance, but I pretended I didn’t see her. Tom’s assistant looked up at me and smiled, but continued working at her computer. At first I wondered if she knew
what was going on, but I was sure Tom wanted to keep this little problem of ours completely confidential.

When I opened the door and walked in, I saw Tom positioned behind his desk with Jim and Lyle sitting in front of him. The atmosphere was tense. I knew immediately that there was no reason to speak to them, and that it was best to simply pass the infamous documents to Tom and leave. Which I did.

“Thank you, and we’ll get back to you this afternoon or tomorrow morning,” he said.

I turned and walked out of the office without making any eye contact with Jim or Lyle, but I couldn’t help wondering what they thought of me now. I wondered what they thought now that
they knew for sure that I hadn’t been bluffing.

“Where in the hell did she get these goddamn printouts?” Tom
yelled shortly after thumbing through the first two pages of information.

“Unbelievable,” Lyle said. “I had a feeling all along that she was telling the truth.”

“I knew it, too, because Anise is not someone to underestimate,” Jim said. “And you’d better believe, just like she produced these printouts, she
will
go to the newspaper if she doesn’t get what she wants.”

Maybe now Tom understands that we have to pay her and get her out of here.

“Whoever helped her with this is going to suffer unmercifully,” Tom said. “Just look at all of this,” he said, passing the stack to Lyle. “Just look!”

Jim shook his head in disgust.

“She has information on every office employee we have, and if this gets out, we are going to be destroyed,” Lyle said.

“Who in the world do you think would betray the company like this?” Tom asked both of his subordinates.

“I don’t know,” Jim answered, “but I’d be willing to bet that
Frank Colletti had something to do with it. I have no idea how, since he doesn’t have access to the payroll system, but you can believe he helped her.”

“He’s lost his natural mind,” Tom said. “Anise let him stick his dick in her a few times, and now he’s gone insane.”

“That’s exactly what it sounds like to me,” Jim added.

Lyle sighed in distress and passed the evidence back to Tom.

“We’re fucked!” Tom said, slamming it down on his desk. “And I can’t believe we’ve sat back like children and allowed this shit to happen.”

“Now you understand why I don’t like hiring them in the first place,” Jim said.

“It’s not like we have a choice,” Lyle insisted.

“Yeah, but if we hadn’t hired a black in human resources, we wouldn’t be sitting here in turmoil like this,” Jim said. “I knew Anise was trouble as soon as I heard she had an M.B.A., because when they go that far in college, they quickly forget who they are. Not to mention, we probably paid for that M.B.A. with our own tax dollars.”

“Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars down the drain,” Lyle said.

“I just don’t see how we can give her what she’s asking,” Tom said. “Do you realize how much money we’re talking about?”

“Yeah. But I don’t see how we can avoid it, given the situation,” Lyle said. “Especially since she’s made it very clear that her terms aren’t negotiable.”

“Never in the history of my career have I had to deal with something so outrageous,” Tom said. “And it pains me to think that we’re going to sit back and let this woman rape us financially because she didn’t get the job she wanted.”

I thought Tom was beginning to realize the seriousness of this, but now I see I’m going to have to spell it out for him.