“She says it’s urgent, sir.”
“What part of not now did you not understand, Rita?”
“Yes sir. I apologize sir.”
William released the button.
“But I’ll tell you what,” Mike said, “she should have let me continue golfing. Now my other passions aren’t so nice.”
They both laughed. “Get out of my office,” he said as he turned back toward his computer screen.
But his door flew open and Joy, with Cory nervously behind her, hurried in.
“Here we go,” Mike said when he saw Cory with her.
“Yes here we go,” Joy said with hot attitude when she saw Mike standing beside William’s desk.
“Didn’t I say I was in a meeting?”
“He fired Cory for no good reason.”
Mike was astounded. “Sexually harassment is not a good reason to you? Is that what we’re doing?”
“I’m not talking to you!” Joy said forcefully to Mike. Then she looked back at William. “Cory did not sexually harass anyone!”
“You need to calm down,” William said bluntly to Joy.
Joy frowned. “How could you let Mike fire him over nothing?”
“I fired him for cause,” said Mike, “whether you wanna believe it or not. He was sexually harassing one of my trainees and that’s not tolerated.”
“But that’s not true!” pleaded Cory.
“He didn’t do it,” Joy added.
“Were you there, Joynetta?”
Everybody looked at William when he asked that question. And then Mike looked at Joy. But Joy held firm. “No, I wasn’t there. But I know Cory wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Were you there, Joynetta?” William asked her again.
Mike smiled. Joy had to take a deep breath. “No sir.”
“Then shut the fuck up!” William yelled. “Nobody is going to besmirch the reputation of this firm I don’t care who they are. Sexual harassment is taken seriously around here and it will continue to be taken seriously.”
Joy couldn’t believe he would just take Mike’s word for it. “Have you even heard Cory’s side of the story?” she asked him.
“There’s nothing to hear,” Mike said.
“You shut the fuck up too!” Joy yelled at him. “You shut up!”
Cory wanted to run out of that office. He knew he was doomed for certain now.
Mike was pissed. “I will remind you, Miss Johnson,” he said, “that I am your superior in this organization.”
“And?” Joy asked him defiantly.
“And I can fire you. And I can fire you summarily.”
