I sat back, trying not to cringe. This had only briefly been touched on in the other sessions, but now the gloves were coming off. “Now we know that at least one person participating in that video was an employee. But let’s suppose they were both employees…”
“I fucking hope not,” Adam muttered under his breath for only me to hear. “Wouldn’t that just make it so much better?”
I pretended to be so enthralled by what Essie was saying that I didn’t hear him.
“Is this harassment, per se? If two employees of the same company were engaging in a sexual act?”
“That depends,” someone said. “Maybe they were dating beforehand.”
“Okay.” Essie nodded. “Good point. Previous relationships should be considered. But what if a couple that works together breaks up or the relationship changes…or what if the two people involved are not of the same rank within the company?”
“You mean like if one was the other person’s boss?” a voice piped up. A voice I recognized. My intern. I clenched my jaw and a fist on the table, but I resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder at her.
“Yes, that changes the entire power dynamic, doesn’t it? If one person works for the other, even if they are engaging in a consensual relationship, the power structure between them is inherently unequal.”
I fumed under my collar at her pointed comment, given what had happened between us last night. Perhaps it was her way of telling me she hadn’t wanted it? I frowned at that thought, suddenly brought up short. Maybe she’d been afraid to tell me? But she’d reached out and touched me, too. And I’d given her the chance to tell me to stop…
Of course, there were the liberties she had taken with her goddamn smart phone. I raised my hand. “What about the tape itself? Like, if one person filmed it without the other person knowing? Is that sexual harassment?”
There. Take that, Miss Weiss.
Essie nodded. “Very good question. Of course, filming without the other party’s consent is a grave violation of trust, but beyond that, it is also illegal and a violation of basic civil rights. It’s punishable in civil and criminal court.”
I sat back, stunned. I’d only intended to give April a little grief, not scare the shit out of her. She still had no idea it was me. And she probably was wondering how I knew that the guy in the video didn’t know…or hopefully, she’d just thought I’d guessed right.
Essie started droning on about legal codes, but I was hardly listening. Sure, I was pissed about the goddamn video. I would much rather it had never been made. Hot night of sex or not, I didn’t need the type of reminder that threatened to blow my plans for my company sky high. Nevertheless…I didn’t want April going to jail, either.
Adam stood in the middle of Essie’s diatribe, interrupting her. “I think we are digressing a little from the discussion, don’t you think? It’s only supposition that one party filmed without the other knowing. And now that we know it’s illegal, can we move on?” He shot me an irritated look and I glanced over my shoulder at April, who had paled to the shade of the wall behind her.
She had her hands folded in her lap, her gaze fixed on them. I’d sure showed her, hadn’t I? But it didn’t feel good. She looked petrified.
“Shall we do some role-playing, then? Any volunteers?”
Role-playing? We hadn’t gotten that far in the previous sessions. There hadn’t been time after the discussion. Clearly, Essie was reaching for material to fill this one. I doubted any employee here would volunteer when they couldn’t even muster up a nonsense question. I nudged Adam with my elbow and nodded toward the front of the room. “It’s your leaderly duty,” I muttered.
He rewarded my sarcasm with one of his signature death glares. Unfortunately, sitting in the front row, my movements had attracted Essie’s attention and she brightened, her gaze fixing on me. “Excellent, let’s get one of the big bosses up here for role-play!”
The room burst into applause and Adam started laughing. Under the cover of the table, I flipped him the bird and stood. Shit. How much longer until I could bail on this farce?
I moved to stand beside Essie, facing the room, and the applause only got louder. April had finally looked up, still pale but a faintly amused smile touched her beautiful lips. I held up my hands to quiet the room.
“No applause necessary,” I said. “I already know I’m awesome.”
“I feel threatened by that statement,” one of the smartasses from accounting said, and his buddies laughed.