THE HEARING
I had been called to 'provide testimony' at a disciplinary hearing in the main conference room of our company. I had only been in the conference room a few times, but never for anything formal. The room had a big dark, shiny wood table surrounded by high-backed executive chairs. There was a bar and a coffee area. I was out in the hall waiting when other people arrived.
First to arrive was my boss, Mr. Dexter Roche. I have worked for him for four years and think he is the best boss I've ever had. I'm one of his analysts. We are in the bond securities marketing business.
I asked him what this was about but was interrupted by the next arrival. It was Mrs. Altemus, Florence to her friends, which does not include me. She told me that we should not be talking before the hearing or we could be subject to disciplinary action. Mrs. A (I call her Mrs. Anus) is the office manager, Mr. Roche's assistant. She's been with the company for forty years. She's near retirement. I can't wait. She is a tough manager. She really seems to have-it-in for younger women like myself. She's driven a few girls away but I just ignore the bitch unless I have to deal with her.
Three others arrived, Jim Stacey, Bill Wykowski, and Pamela Wright. They all work in the office under Mr. Roche's leadership.
Mrs. A was called in first, then Mr. Roche. After a few minutes, they called me in.
There were five people around the table in addition to Mrs. A and Mr. Roche. I had never met any of them. They introduced themselves. There were three disciplinary panel members, Keri Anderson, she was the chair; Walter Bruce and Roger Chesley, the other two members. Mr. Michael Hall was Mr. Roche's representative and Mrs. Moravia Wilcox was the HR representative. She would present the issues. I still didn't know what they were.
The chair, Ms. Anderson opened the proceedings by telling us that my boss, Mr. Roche was charged with sexual harassment, unethical and immoral conduct and creation of a hostile workplace. I was stunned to hear this. Mr. R. is a great boss and I have never seen him do anything unethical. I thought office morale was great. I know mine was.
They started with Mrs. Altemus/Asshole. She had brought the complaint and was asked to explain.
"Mr. Roche has been involved in sexual harassment and unethical behavior with Miss Hill (that's me). Mr. Roche and Miss Hill have been involved in a sexual relationship in the office and their behavior has been noticeable and has negatively affected office morale."
Roche said, "What the hell are you talking about, Florence. This is ridiculous."
Mrs. A responded. "You and that little chippy (she pointed to me) have been fooling around for some time. You are having sex in the office and she flaunts herself for your benefit in front of the entire team."
Roche said, "That's not true. I don't know what you are talking about."
Mrs. A continued. "Your pet analyst, Miss Hill, wears provocative clothing, I believe at you direction, and she shows inappropriate parts of her anatomy to you and the others on our team."
One of the panel members asked her to explain.
She said, "Miss Hill likes to wear short skirts and loose blouses. We have daily meetings in Mr. Roche's office and she flaunts herself by bending over which exposes her bosom to the view of her colleagues. She wears short skirts and sits in a provocative manner that allows the men to look up her skirt. Everyone can see her panties. One day she was not wearing underwear and her pubic region was visible. Her little blonde bush with the tattoo was there for everyone to see."
Roche said, "I hadn't noticed." That wasn't a credible response, but it was what he said for the record.
I had no idea that we would be in a hearing where my apparel would be a topic. I was wearing a tight black skirt that came to six inches above my knees when I was standing. When sitting, like I was now, my legs were showing almost to my hips. I was in a chair away from the table, so they could see what I typically wore to work. I wasn't wearing stockings and I wore bright pink panties. My blouse was loose and my bra was flimsy, so if I bent over, someone could see nearly all of my breasts. I tried to be modest and crossed my legs, but whenever I uncrossed them or switched legs, I think some of the people in the room could see my panties. One of the panel members, Mr. Bruce, was looking right up my skirt. I smiled at him and he smiled back. I decided to not act like I was hiding anything, so I sat there with my legs crossed and let them look.
Mrs. Altemus handed something over to me and she dropped it on the floor. It was deliberate so they could see down my blouse when I bent forward. 'Screw them, let them look.' I thought.
Mrs. Anustemus said, "You can see how she dresses, like a real tart."
That drew an objection from panel member Bruce, who continued to ogle my assets from his position at the head of the table. "Let's watch the language."
Mrs. Altemus continued. "Miss Hill spends a lot of time alone with Mr. Roche in his office. They were in there together with the door closed for over an hour one day last week. You can imagine what they were doing."
Mrs. Anderson asked, "Is it unusual for someone to spend time in Mr. Roche's office alone?"
Altemus answered. "It certainly is. When she came out of the office, it appeared that she had been crying. Her makeup was smudged and her clothes appeared to be ruffled. I believe Mr. Roche is forcing her to have sex with him."
I said, "He's not forcing me."
Wait, that didn't sound right. "We have not been having sex. What you say is not true." I was lying, but who I have sex with is nobody's business.
Mrs. A said, "Of course, she has to lie for Roche or he'll fire her."
They called in the three other people from the office, one at a time.
Jim Stacey was first and told of how I sat with my legs open. "Miss Hill sits on the couch in the office and leans back. She wears short skirts which ride up her legs when she sits, her legs are exposed half-way up her thighs. She crosses her legs and in-the-process exposes her underwear to view. When she bends over, you can see her nipples. She has a mole on her left breast.
Mr. Roche's representative asked, "Why are you looking up Miss Hill's skirt. Shouldn't your eyes be focused elsewhere?"
Jim Stacey said, "Well it's hard to miss. Tracy (that's my first name) is very attractive and draws attention to herself with the way she dresses."
The HR Rep asked, "Did you see her without underwear at any time?"
Stacey said, "Yes, I did, unfortunately. I had to look away."
Roche's rep asked, "How do you know she wasn't just wearing flesh-colored panties?"
Stacey said, "I could see her pubic hair. She's not a natural blonde, by the way." That drew some stifled laughs.
Roche's rep asked. "Apparently you didn't look away that quickly. What does that have to do with Mr. Roche?"
Mr. Stacey said, "It's both of them. Tracy Hill is a slut, in my opinion. Roche favors her because she is putting-out for him. It has a negative impact on morale of the rest of us."
Panel member Bruce asked, "Why? Is it because the rest of you aren't getting anything from Miss Hill?" That was an inappropriate question and didn't get answered. Mr. Bruce was on my side.
Stacey went on, "Miss Hill sometimes goes without a bra. She has a mole on her left breast that I'll bet everyone has seen."
I shouted, "That's not true."
Roche asked Stacey, "Have you ever seen Miss Hill and I engaged in inappropriate conduct?"
Stacey said, "No, but I suspect it. You spend a lot of time alone with her and you've taken her to a couple of conferences. I think you've been banging her for quite a while."
Roche asked, "Haven't I taken you to a conference too?"
Stacey nodded.
Roche continued, "Did we have sex?"
Stacey gave a firm answer of "No."