After work we talked about Elena\u2019s inappropriate boss. \u2018She\u2019s always adjusting her bra,\u2019 Elena said, \u2018but a new all-time today, fixing her tights beside me while I\u2019m trying to sort the quarterlies. Skirt hiked up and she’s wiggling her backside, bloody heedless.\u2019<\/p>\n
Per had a haunted look. \u2018I\u2019ve seen that. Clomp, shoe on the desk. Eyes straight for Christ’s sake! Half the unit knows what you’d see, she talked about grooming her downstairs in section last week.’<\/p>\n
\u2018You poor devils,\u2019 I said, and lifted my glass. We were drinking wine that day, at Per’s insistence. \u2018To your innocence. In memoriam.’<\/p>\n
\u2018Hell with innocence,\u2019 Elena said. \u2018I\u2019ll drink to shame and those that have it.\u2019<\/p>\n
Poor Marina. She was well in her thirties but there were some basics she still hadn\u2019t figured out. I thought I had the answers of course: \u2018You have to say something to her.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Doesn’t work,\u2019 Elena said. \u2018She doesn\u2019t get it.’<\/p>\n
Per snorted. \u2018Don\u2019t tell me: you advised her on appropriate boundaries at work, and she thanked you with a real close hug?\u2019<\/p>\n
I was increasingly confident in my wisdom: \u2018She shouldn\u2019t be in the job! It\u2019s just not on, is it? Have you spoken to Mitch?\u2019<\/p>\n
Mitch was Marina’s boss, and Elena didn\u2019t hide her distaste: \u2018Mitch is a bastard.\u2019<\/p>\n
**<\/p>\n
Friday night was drinks for Elena\u2019s birthday, and Marina came. Per and I were settled in a booth, getting steadily merrier while discussing the travesty that was the supermarket DVD shelf, when Marina sat down and yanked the conversation in a different direction. \u2018Supermarkets are amazing now! Can you imagine lubricant and vibrators are just there at the checkout! You have no idea what it used to be like. I didn\u2019t even know lubricant existed. And that is really unfortunate, it would have made certain things much much easier when I was a teenager!\u2019<\/p>\n
The conversation never quite made it back to DVDs. Marina did most of the talking, and she wasn\u2019t such a great listener when Per or I took a turn. Still, I\u2019m a bit like that myself, and she sort of won me over to be honest. Not that I had to work with her every day.<\/p>\n
Elena cornered me as the evening wound down. \u2018You got the treatment!\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I think I like her,\u2019 I said, then sucked my lips. \u2018I am somewhat drunken.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Exactly!\u2019 Elena hit my arm. \u2018I like her too! But she’s terrible! She got me a gift, she gave it to me in the office today – you know what it was? Lingerie! Blue lacy underwear! From my boss! What is that!\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Is she hitting on you?\u2019<\/p>\n
Elena closed her eyes and dumped her head on my shoulder. \u2018Worse. I think she\u2019s trying to be my friend.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018This can’t continue,\u2019 I declared.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s really nice,\u2019 Elena laughed into my collarbone. \u2018The lingerie. It\u2019s fancy<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n **<\/p>\n As I left, Marina fell in beside me. We walked to the taxi rank and waited together. She took my arm and asked me about my department, and I did my best to answer even though I was many sheets to the wind. Then out of nowhere she said, \u2018Sometimes at work, actually, I don\u2019t feel very comfortable. Sometimes when I work late to get something done, and Mitch is there. Sometimes he comes up behind me and puts both his hands on my shoulders.\u2019<\/p>\n I pulled it together enough to say \u2018Really?\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018One time I think he followed me into the toilets. I was in a cubicle but the door definitely opened. But it was late, it was probably just a cleaner that time.\u2019 She gave me a strange little smile, then she changed the subject, and I let her, and then she was in a taxi and gone.<\/p>\n **<\/p>\n Her story stayed with me. A few days later I did the only useful thing I could think of, and went to Irene, my boss. \u2018There\u2019s someone in the company being harassed,\u2019 I said after closing her office door. \u2018But I don’t think she wants to complain, so… What should I do?\u2019<\/p>\n I was lucky to have Irene as a manager. She’d make sure something happened. \u2018She won\u2019t go on the record?\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018It’s her direct line manager. I guess it doesn’t feel safe.\u2019<\/p>\n Irene gave me a careful look. \u2018I see. Well, yes, you can’t complain for her. But, listen. Matters like this… Sometimes there might already be conversations happening. I’m happy to add my voice to those conversations to say, in general, that we have to take this kind of behaviour very seriously. That’s something I can do, following this chat.’<\/p>\n I felt better immediately. Irene would handle it.<\/p>\n \u2018Good on you,’ she added as I left. ‘This person probably needs a friend.\u2019<\/p>\n **<\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t a friend. In fact I was probably one of the last to hear she was leaving. \u2018I think Mitch pushed her out,’ Elena said with lip curled. ‘Bloody typical.\u2019<\/p>\n Per shrugged. ‘Her role was going to disappear sooner or later. Why wait for the ship to sink?’<\/p>\n Elena gave his arm a shove. ‘You don’t get her at all.’<\/p>\n I couldn’t figure it either. I was tempted to share Marina’s account and Irene’s response, but it wasn’t my story to tell. ‘End of an era,’ I said instead.<\/p>\n \u2018You better be at her farewell drinks,\u2019 Per told me. ‘Help the numbers. She deserves that at least.’<\/p>\n **<\/p>\n At the bar Marina bounced from person to person, mingling happily, and for once her outfit seemed to match the tone of the room. It was a small group but she made it big enough, putting a hand to one man’s chest and laughing, raising eyebrows at another over her glass. Mitch had already gone by the time I arrived, which pleased me, but it surprised me too, like an admission of guilt.<\/p>\n I caught her near the bar and wished her well for her next move. \u2018I don\u2019t have a next move,\u2019 she said with that same weird smile. \u2018But it doesn\u2019t matter, does it?\u2019 Then she pressed by me, closer than I would have liked; but it felt like she was pushing me away. And like waking up into a hangover, I suddenly understood who Irene had meant.<\/p>\n Per\u2019s arm around me jolted me back. \u2018Come sign our card.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018I already signed the card.\u2019 This was a lie. I didn\u2019t feel I could.<\/p>\n \u2018No, we have our own one,\u2019 Per said. \u2018Elena chose it.’<\/p>\n ‘It’s special for her!’ Elena said, and she grabbed my arm and pulled me to the task. Both of them watched as I held the pen and couldn’t think what to write. Eventually Per nudged me, so I scribbled my name and wrote ‘good luck’.<\/p>\n We gave it to Marina as she was leaving. Her face brightened as she pulled it out of the envelope. \u2018Oh, thank you!\u2019 she said, hugging Elena and Per, and then me. \u2018So carefully chosen! You see?\u2019 Marina displayed the card: enormous breasts straining a colourful Mediterranean bikini. \u2018They look just like mine!\u2019<\/p>\n She wasn’t going to forgive me, of course. She wouldn’t need to forgive anyone. So I laughed with the others, and I meant it, because she was right: the card was well-chosen. And that would have to be enough.<\/p>\n ***<\/em><\/p>\n I wrote this sketch about a decade ago, and I’ve lightly edited it before publishing here. It is based on true events.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After work we talked about Elena\u2019s inappropriate boss. \u2018She\u2019s always adjusting her bra,\u2019 Elena said, \u2018but a new all-time today, fixing her tights beside me while I\u2019m trying to sort the quarterlies. Skirt hiked up and she’s wiggling her backside, bloody heedless.\u2019 Per had a haunted look. \u2018I\u2019ve seen that. Clomp, shoe on the desk. … Continue reading [Fiction] Inappropriate Boss<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[196,149,197,181],"class_list":["post-7672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing","tag-fiction","tag-sexism","tag-short-story","tag-writing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8D9ZE-1ZK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7672"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7679,"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7672\/revisions\/7679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgue.isprettyawesome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}