Diversity Equity and Inclusion

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D.E.I.

Victoria Bottoms had the perfect life. A true success story, she was 29 years old, married to a wonderful man, and had a very promising career. Her and her husband, Charles, met in college. She accidentally spilled her drink on him at a Country music festival, and that was how they met. Ever since that day, he had been nothing but a true gentleman, and the type of guy she felt comfortable around - which was very important to Victoria.

Charles was also very financially wealthy. He inherited a lot of money from his grandfather's estate, which gave Victoria some sense of security, and economic freedom. Anything Victoria mentioned that she wanted, Charles would buy it for her. Anytime she mentioned a place she wanted to go escape to, they would go there. Victoria also felt a sense of independence, so she still pursued her own career, despite Charles wanting her to be a house wife. With no kids yet, Victoria did not see this as being something she wanted just yet.

Almost her entire life, Victoria had been adored for her appearance. Even before her boobs decided to make an appearance in the 10

th

grade, her friends, family, and strangers would constantly tell her how pretty her eyes were... or how pouty her lips were... or how envious they were about her high cheek bones, and slightly upturned nose. On a number of occasions, strangers had compared her face to a famous actress, Ana de Armas. She had to ask her mom who that was, but her mom would just scold her for talking to strangers.

Due to the constant compliments, and attention Victoria had received over the years, she would notice the special treatment she would obtain, because of her pretty eyes and symmetrical features. Her awareness of her privileges only became exponentially apparent, after her boobs and hips filled out. She had an unreal waist to hip ratio. Her measurements had remained the same since college, at 36-24-36. Her breasts received the most attention these days, and were an all-natural DDD. They were tear-drop shaped and always seemed to be pointing up.

All of these physical attributes Victoria possessed, were simply due to genetics. The luck of the draw. Something about her physical attributes, made Victoria feel guilty sometimes. She felt that she had been given these special gifts, when others had not, and this made Victoria want to help make a difference - and take a stand for those deemed unfortunate or less privileged. These feelings made her active in all sorts of different causes; whether it be fighting for women's rights, or gun laws, or immigration rights, etc. That is why she fell in love with her current career: Human resources representative.

Years earlier, and her last semester in college, Victoria had a professor, Dr. Buka, whom she really admired. He was an immigrant from some exotic islands off the coast of Africa, called the Margo islands. Victoria admired his resilience. Here he was, a stranger in a strange land, speaking an entirely new language and teaching at the highest level. He was able to become a well-respected professor, at an ivy league University, despite all of the obstacles that must have stood in his way, she thought back then. That was 8 years ago.

Victoria recalled now, that it was Dr. Buka, that helped put her on this path, toward her current career in Human Relations, at one of the largest talent agencies in San Francisco, called "Skyline." She remembered sitting in his office, her final semester, and finally having the courage to ask him how he was able to overcome such amazing odds? Dr. Buka simply stated, "We must all use our attributes that God gave us, but in my specific case, I was fortunate enough to have been hired under a very new developmental program, called D.E.I... or diversity, equity and inclusion."

Victoria had almost forgotten about that program, or the acronym itself, until years later. At this very moment, Victoria was sitting in her office on the 47

th

floor of the Skyline building, with the chance to make a difference in this World. She had been given a list of 10 prospective new talent hires, and she was tasked to go over the applicant's information on this list, and give her recommendation to her superiors as to the 4 people whom the company should on-board, and use for their agency's newest projects - which usually involved some sort of promotions or advertising media.

Over the past 2 years, since Victoria was appointed head of HR for Skyline, she had done very well with assessing new hires, or new talent. Over 75% of her hiring recommendations had become highly successful, within Skyline. Despite her rate of success, Skyline's team of lawyers had set up meetings with her on several occasions, recently. These meetings involved bold new strategies for success, but also to limit the company's exposure to lawsuits.

Being in Human Relations, Haley was very aware as to what areas are usually at the top of the list of items to be discussed by Skyline's lawyers: Age discrimination, sexual harassment, accommodations for persons with disabilities... etc. However, this most recent meeting specifically prioritized Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Skyline's lawyers were thrilled that Victoria had not only heard of this program before, but they were also amazed at her extensive knowledge of it. Victoria explained to the team of lawyers about her time at the University, and her star professor that introduced her to the merits of inclusivity and equity.

Enlightened with this information, Skyline's team of lawyers recommended that Victoria be put in charge of all new hiring and new talent processes henceforth, thus expanding her role and influence within the company. Victoria began immediately implementing the d.e.i. directives in all new hiring processes. This made her feel like the tip of the spear. "I will become a trailblazer in this inventive new process of hiring, and change the face of industry for all-time, and the better of society as a whole," she thought, as that truly stunning smile began to form across her face - a face that belonged on a billboard.

Victoria chose the 4 best candidates out of 10 applicants, and sent the 4 recommendations to her bosses. Within the following week, all of Victoria's choices were hired. She was so excited, she couldn't wait to get home and explain to her husband just how honored it made her feel, to initiate such a progressive program, within the Skyline company. She called her husband Charles, on her way home.

"Babe, I can't wait to see you. How was your day?" Victoria said excitedly, as she weaved through traffic on the Central Freeway trying to over to Bayshore Blvd. She was listening to the newest Taylor Swift song about some man she didn't need.

"Wow beautiful... you know, I will never grow tired of hearing that! I can't wait to see you too, sweetheart," Charles replied. "How in God's name, did I get so lucky?" He thought.

Everyday, at least 3 or 4 random men would ask Victoria if her husband knew how lucky he was. This did make her feel wonderful, no matter how many times she heard it. Half of those times, this reoccurring question was usually followed by some form of them asking if she was "happily married?". This happened so often, that Victoria would actually say that she was very happily married, even before they could ask. There were times, when she would hesitate, depending on what man was asking. She loved her husband, but she was also human, and she had a strong attraction to confident men.

At their house, Charles ordered and picked up some Chinese food, at an amazing local restaurant called, the "Sky Dragon." He had everything home and the table set when he heard the garage door opening. When he heard her heels approaching, he met her at the door, and it felt like his first time seeing her. Every time, was like the first time, with Victoria. She just had this amazing energy, and this positive feminine aura that captured the soul of any man she came in contact with. This time was no different. Charles took one look, and thought, "God, she has the most perfect tits."

Many times, Charles had imagined all of Victoria's physical features to be like antennas, picking up and reflecting all of this positive energy. It was like her body was like some kind of a meta-physical generator, that could change the entire feeling or mood of a room - instantly. Victoria was the only woman that Charles had ever known in his adult life, that could make him erect by just hearing her voice on the phone, or feeling her small soft hand in his, or just watching her walk to someplace or no place in particular.

This very moment was no different. Charles walked over to open their front door, as his olfactory filled with her soft scent. He saw her eyebrows raise over her sunglasses, followed by her lips seeking his own. They kissed, and after a few pleasantries, Victoria stated that she was famished and so they made their way over to their dinner table. They held hands and said a blessing, before taking a few small bites of the city's best eggrolls that the Sky Dragon had made so famous.

Charles recalled her excitement over the phone, and was very intrigued as to what materialized at her work. "So... tell me what has you glowing, Vic?" he said. Her lips curled and she took a sip of their favorite cabernet, Opus One. She took a deep breath and reached for his hand.

"Do you remember when we were in college, and I was telling you about the professor that steered me in this direction? Professor Buka?" Charles slowly nodded, as if by habit. "Well, I was given an opportunity earlier in this week to initiate a new program, only... it wasn't totally new to me. This new program will revolutionize the way we develop... the way ALL of society will develop their talent and labor force over the next decade and beyond," Victoria exclaimed.

Charles thought for a moment, and said, "Artificial intelligence...?"

Victoria squeezed his hand. She had a look of pure eminence, and said, "No sweetie, although that is a very good guess. Now please stop trying to sound smart, and let me finish." Her husband apologized and nodded. She said, "This new program is known as D.E.I." Charles just sat with a blank question mark on his face. He had never heard of the acronym. Victoria stated proudly, "That stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion."

"Those seem like all good things," Charles thought, but did not speak this time, and waited for her to finish her thought. Victoria released his hand and sat back taking another sip of her wine. Charles let a few seconds pass, before attempting to say, "Well that sounds like a wonderful..."

Victoria cut him off, "That is the beauty of this program. No more guidelines. No more boxes to check. No more racist patriarchy terms that need to be fulfilled. This program allows for complete plausible deniability." Charles was vaguely familiar with that term, but made a note to google it later. Charles' work involved auctions, of all different kinds. He made introductions and new investments, but he had no real experience from within a large company's inner-workings.

She continued, "In other words, I have been given the freedom to hire whomever I deem the best fit for the job, regardless of their background, or despite not having any prior experience, or even if they have a terrible credit score... or even a criminal history, which we all know can be so detrimental, for even the slightest offenses." Charles stared blanky at her, pretending as though he was listening, but he was looking at the way her hair seemed to hang so perfectly.

"For once, I can hire someone, whom I feel... is the best fit. And you know first-hand, about my intuition. This is something I've been wanting to implement into our hiring practices, since I became the HR head for Skyline...!" Victoria exclaimed, and took another deep breath, feeling so relaxed.

Charles noted her perfect tits, as she breathed in deep, and said, "Victoria darling, that sounds very promising... and I am so happy for what this might mean for your career, it sounds like...". Charles wasn't sure if she was listening to him because she began checking her email notifications, half-way through his sentence.

She looked up at him, after his sentence trailed off, as if telling him to continue his thought, and he said, "So you said you began implementing this new program this week? That seems wonderful, dear. So... who were the first... diversity hires to make the cut?"

Victoria's mouth fell open. Her eyebrows lowered, and that's when Charles knew he had stepped on a tripwire, unknowingly - as so often was the case when married to the head of HR at a fortune 500 company. "Oh no... what did I say?" he winced.

"Diversity hires, Charles?" she snapped. "Why don't you just call them thugs... or better yet, illegals?!" Victoria shouted. "My goodness... what planet are you even on?? It is a good thing we are in the privacy of our own home. You would have just got me fired... No! Humiliated first! Then, fired for sure!" she said, and threw her chopsticks at her plate.

Charles put his palm up into the air, trying to make a retreating gesture, and said, "Oh gosh honey, I am so sorry... I thought you said something about diversity... I certainly didn't mean..."

Victoria pressed on, "Diversity is in the name of the program, yes, but you have already decided to create some derogatory term... oh my God..." she protested. "It is almost as if your own white privilege cannot even seem to help itself... you are really the last breath of a dying culture." Victoria regarded Charles for a moment, seeming to observe him, like one would regard an old archaic and nearly forgotten and useless device.

She then grabbed his hand and said, "Sweetie, it is a very good thing that I know you have a good heart. You simply do not know any better sometimes, and how could you. This brave new World, our society is pushing forward into, is just out of your conception. But don't worry, darling. You have me to help guide you," and with that she squeezed his hand.

"God, her tits look great when she's mad," Charles thought. He vaguely remembered her saying something about a brave new World, but then saw her lips moving and totally forgot what they were even talking about. Charles just wanted her to be happy, so he learned over the years to simply comply and defer to her judgements. He didn't have to fake a smile, because he truly was happy. So many guys would kill to be sitting here, having Chinese food and drinking wine with this total hottie right now, he thought.

Charles decided to just take in the view and keep his thoughts to himself, for now. Afterall, he understood absolutely nothing about her field of work. Charles was in the auction business, or at least, that's what his business card read. It was a much, much smaller company than Skyline. He would stop into his office a few days a week, and shake some hands. His grandfather created the auction company from scratch, and Charles' father ran most of the operations. Charles had some ambition, but he mostly just enjoyed staying in the shadows and not messing anything up. For the most part, Charles just wanted to fit in, watch sports, and be one of the guys.

Charles knew zero about Human Resources. The subject of HR just didn't interest him, and plus he didn't really even understand what areas of it did seem interesting, in the slightest. All he was interested in was the 49ers and the latest video game, and currently the hour-glass figure with olive complexion that was looking back at him. "How could he be so lucky?" he thought, for the millionth time.

Charles' mind drifted back to her words, as he heard Victoria ask him, "Now, I think what you were trying to ask me, despite your childlike ignorance, is 'Who were my first recruits'?" He quickly nodded with a yes, and took a sip of his own wine. "Well sweetie, I am so glad you asked..." Victoria remarked as she reached into her Saint Laurent purse, which seemed to always be in her vicinity. She pulled out a small folder. She opened it, and inside the small folder was her famous "black book," which she would refer to as her "burn bag." This book kept information, she never wanted to have on her computer - for reasons she also said Charles would never understand.

"First," she said with a certain vigor, "we have Monica Pourkarim. I just love her. She is here, in the United States under asylum. She defected from Syria, when all the bombings started happening there a few years ago," Victoria said, as her eyes began to well. Charles noticed that each file had a physical picture to go along with it. He picked up Monica's picture, and noticed how stunning she was. Dark thick hair with glowing eyes, that almost seemed yellow. Perhaps a hazel brown. She was a model, for certain.

"I'm not even sure if that is her real name, it's so sad, but she is so positive and energetic. And I was very impressed with her sense of style... her clothes were so simplistic, yet I found myself wanting to ask her where she got them. She will be my protégé - no doubt!" Victoria beamed. Charles was thinking, and hoping honestly, that many future dinners, and Skyline company parties, would have her in attendance.

"Next," continued Victoria, "We have Olga Dov. She is from the Ukraine. What an amazing story. Would you believe, that she was sex trafficked from the age of 17?! She found herself on a Saudi billionaire's yacht that arrived in Miami, Florida last year. She somehow escaped during the night, and made her way here, to California. She has been working with a cleaning company, but she actually speaks perfect English! I felt so inadequate, knowing she could speak multiple languages, fluently!?"

Charles then regarded Olga's picture. My goodness, he thought, without trying to feign interest. This Ukrainian woman certainly knew how to accentuate her assets. Her tits looked even bigger than Victoria's. And her eyes were truly stunning. Piercing. Probably from generations of similar genetics, he thought. Charles wasn't sure what to say, so he said, "Your two new-hires look extremely promising, sweetheart..."

"I know, right!?" quipped Victoria. "I am so excited to bring them into Skyline. I know Jessica will be so pleased, once she sees their potential." Jessica Row was the wife of the CEO of Skyline. She didn't have an official title at the company, but she was always there. Jessica was actually the woman that helped hire Victoria, after they became friends at the local gym, during a spin class. She was a beautiful, older woman in her forties. Victoria respected Jessica immensely, although their competitive natures did seem to clash at times. They were both Alpha type personalities, and it was apparent when they interacted, one always trying to upstage the other.

"I'm certain Billy will too," Charles said. Billy Row was the CEO of Skyline. He was always traveling, but stopped into the office once or twice per week to show his face, or attend a board meeting. Billy was puddy in Victoria's hands. Whatever she wanted or suggested, she seemed to get, either due to her friendship with Billy's wife, or just because Victoria usually got whatever she wanted.

"And the last two new recruits?" Charles remarked, still studying Olga's immense cleavage out of the corner of his eye, when he noticed Victoria's hand pulling her picture away from him. If there was one thing Charles was good at, it was not being obvious, when checking out another woman. Being able to change the subject, ran a close second, when Charles was counting his attributes.

"The final two candidates I went with, are a bit on the risky side, regarding their past criminal history, but alas... that is where the real genius of this d.e.i. program shines through..." Victoria exclaimed. She smiled a perfect smile and took a deep breath. "They have been friends since their childhood, when a vicious Tsunami destroyed their village, and they were both sent to boy's homes. First, in London, then France, and finally they were sent to New York and then Chicago... all before the age of 16. From there, they did whatever they could to survive. They were very honest with me. And to be honest... this was a VERY tough decision, for me. They came to the interview together, but I saw them, one at a time."