Readers have complained about typos and my crap syntax etc. but only one has offered to help. Thanks Carl.
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"Just because I come from a country town, and just because I speak kind of slow, doesn't mean that I'm stupid." I looked at the two men in the room with me. This was a different Tracy Bowman to the girl that they'd hired a week ago, the one with the good references from her previous employer that told them that she was a dedicated but not highly talented Para-legal, that she was a little shy, and while working well as part of a team, didn't tend to mix socially.
One of the men, the one seated behind the huge mahogany desk, the older one, was the senior partner in this law firm. The other, the younger one seated in a comfortable leather tub chair, the one with the smarmy expression on his face was his son, a junior associate and soon to be partner. "You are telling me that I don't fit into this law firm because I lodged a complaint against your son, this little shit, for raping me."
"My son tells a different story, he tells one of consensual sex and revenge on your part, revenge because he didn't wish to continue with this relationship beyond the one night. You have provided no proof other than your version of what happened and there is absolutely nothing to suggest that this can be otherwise. Because this could lead to ill feeling within this company, I have reached the conclusion that, in the interests of workplace harmony we have no option but to terminate your probation and let you go."
"I can't believe that you can do this. I have a legitimate complaint and you won't even investigate it."
"Unless you have proof it's a case of your word against my son's, and I have no reason to believe that he would lie to me."
Just then his PA came into the room. "Sir, there are some police here and they say they want to speak to you and Peter."
"What the fuck." He cast a questioning look at Peter. "Send them in."
Two plain clothed policemen and a police woman came into the office flashing their ID's. The leader spoke. "I am Detective Inspector Thomas, this is Detective Sergeant Mandy Wilson and Detective Constable Roger Benson. We are investigating a rape complaint made against Peter Blenkiron, that'd be you." He looked at Peter. "It is alleged that the incident took place at his apartment last evening."
"This is preposterous! To accuse my son of rape just on the word of this woman is totally ridiculous. I am a lawyer, as is he, and we will not say another word to you until you can come up with some substantive and compelling evidence to support these outrageous accusations."
"As I said, we are investigating the complaint, we are not yet in a position to lay any charges against anyone. We would like to interview Peter Blenkiron to get his side of the story before we proceed any further. You have a choice, we can do it here where we can be seen by the staff or we can go to the station where it can be done in private. It's your choice."
"As I said before, her allegations are preposterous. I have no intention of allowing my son to make any statement unless there is some evidence that points to his guilt, not some baseless allegation."
"Very well, if you want it that way we'll do it by the book. I will ask you gentlemen to come with us to the police station where we will show you some of the substantive and compelling evidence that will convince you that this is not a trivial accusation."
"What's going on?" I was asked as the procession left the offices.
"I have just laid a complaint against Peter for raping me last night."
"What! You'll never make it stick, it'll be your word against his."
"It is more than my word against his, there is evidence to support me, don't ask me how I got it, just believe that it exists. I understand that I'm not the first girl to make these accusations against him, and I'm not the first to complain to Human Resources who did nothing. What is going to happen is that the authorities will investigate and, if in addition to the rape charge they find that the company has failed to follow up on these complaints, it will be prosecuted under the Workplace Relations Act. It could cost the company millions. If any of you have had similar experiences to mine I'd like you to swear an affidavit to that effect giving dates and times and I'll make sure that these are followed up."
I had been warned from day one by the other girls that Peter the young and smarmy one was a womanizer who looked on any new girl as fair game, but then I knew about this before I even started my job here.
I had been warned, yet I still went to dinner with him. He took me to the most expensive restaurant in town, the one where the A list dined, and to say that I wasn't impressed would be to lie. A glance at the prices beside the dishes on the menu was enough to impress me, he was spending what was, to me, almost a week's wages on the main course alone and the wine prices, I would just about have to take out a second mortgage to pay for just one bottle. I would say that any woman would be impressed.
The entrΓ©e was so small that I thought of asking for a magnifying glass to see it but it was very nice. The Sommelier poured a glass of wine for me and I took one sip, at that price I was going to stretch it out for as long as I could. By the time the main course had arrived I had only lowered the level by about a centimetre but Peter topped it up nonetheless. Meanwhile he was on his second glass.
The main course was marginally more generous than the entrΓ©e and it too was very nice. I had chosen a crispy skinned duck with a mandarin glaze served with steamed vegetables. I would have thought twice about paying that amount of money for what was a glorified traditional Chinese dish, but then I wasn't paying.