Maybe it was the wine, but I slept soundly. I woke up early though and tried to put my thoughts in order. I still felt sort of unclean but another shower wasn't the answer.
I realized that the events of yesterday could not be washed away. I had been assaulted, plain and simple and then rewarded with a promotion. Did that imply consent after the fact?
How could I have let myself be taken advantage of without so much as a peep of protest? Sure he was slick, and events happened quickly, but what had happened to me?
::
I arrived at my new office before eight and was starting to unpack the boxes of my meager corporate existence. An older woman stuck her head in and introduced herself as Ruthie, Armand's administrative assistant. We shook hands briefly and were about to engage in the usual "hi-how-are-you", when Armand arrived at the door, nodded and said, "My office, please."
I followed him down the hall to his corner of the floor. He motioned to a leather sofa by the window and took a chair in front of me.
"Kumar will be here at 8:30 to start handing over two major files. He's been filling in while I found a replacement. I like Kumar, but he hasn't really enjoyed his short tenure as my assistant and I suspect he's thanking his stars that you've dropped into our little corner of paradise. Before he gets here though I thought I ought to welcome you and lay out some of my expectations."
"Can we talk about yesterday?" I tried to look firm.
He cocked his head, looked perplexed and said, "What about yesterday?"
"The ... er ... well frankly ... the assault in the hotel."
There was a pregnant silence. Then he put his fingertips together like he was about to pray. He looked at me sadly and said, "Jessica, I'm very disappointed."
He stood, crossed the room and picked something from his desk. It was a memory stick. He toyed with it as he sat down and then spoke.
"Jessica, I asked Gregor, the concierge at the Metropolitan to cull some footage from the hotel security cameras. The camera in the lobby shows us leaving the restaurant and crossing the lobby. All very chummy. We get a key card from the concierge and go to the elevators. You seem quite cheerful. Then, in the elevator, we stand quietly. There's no sign of any resistance on your part. The camera in the hall then shows me leaving the elevator followed by a woman who looks a lot like you. She then uses the card to open the room. No sign of you being forced. A short while later, we exit the room and quickly take the elevator back down to the lobby and depart together. It's not exactly a scene that one could describe as "assault". Actually it does look suspicious, but more like someone offering a favour in exchange for future considerations from someone a lot like me.
"Later that day you were offered a promotion and accepted without reserve.
"If there had been an assault, why did you not inform human resources? Why did you accept a position in my group?
"HR will more likely take the view that someone is sleeping her way to the top. They take a dim view of such behavior. It would be the end of a fresh and promising career. I might receive a letter explaining that such behavior is to be avoided but sadly, you would be let go. Not fair I know, but life is never fair."
He paused and watched for my reaction. I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it again.
"Very good Jessica. My advice is that you not mention yesterday's frivolities, but sadly, such frivolities are indeed part of the job. Again, life is not fair."
He handed me the memory stick.
"Ah, Kumar has arrived. We can continue this discussion another time."
I stood and turned to greet Kumar and found myself facing an extremely attractive man. He had dark eyes and a strong chin. His impeccable suit covered a lean frame and ... did I mention tall?
"Kumar this is Jessica. Jessica ... Kumar."
"Morning, Jessica." He had the plumiest of English accents.
I smiled. "God morning Mr. ...? I'm so sorry. I don't think I know your last name."
He laughed. "It starts with R and then goes on for at least a dozen syllables. I'm happy with just Kumar thank you. We haven't got all day you know."
"Kumar and I have worked together on several files over the years and we always seem to make large returns for the bank. Let's start with the Australian caper, shall we?"
The Australian Caper was a monstrous three-sided deal in the Australian mining sector that was complicated by a British bank and an American hedge fund. Counting us there were six parties in four countries. Taxation issues alone would make one's head spin and mine certainly was. The pile of summary documents was almost a foot high.
After an hour, Armand stopped the proceedings to make a call. Kumar and I retreated to my office.
"All the easy deals have been done", quipped Kumar. "Please don't do the logical thing and run screaming from the building. This project turns on the details and I'm not really a detail person. It's a sound deal which should make everyone money and patch up at least one company's balance sheet. The sheer number of players though is a nightmare and the Americans in particular see win-win as money-left-on-the-table. I've been dropping balls right, left and centre. Everyone says you are a wizard with the details."
