Page 29 of Sexy

I don’t even have an answer. But I have to tell them something. “Ladies, first off, thank you for coming in and telling me your stories. As a woman, I know what it feels like to be objectified. And I know how bad it hurts when you feel misled by a man you thought was interested. But Fletcher Novak has no clause in his contract that prohibits him from sleeping with non-employees.”

And I just fucked him, so I’m breaking more rules than he did, I don’t add.

“But,” I continue, “I assure you, I will take action regarding this matter. And his contract will be redrawn the minute I can talk to the lawyers.”

“You’re not going to fire him?” Lisa exclaims.

“Well—” I stutter.

“He deserves to be fired,” a girl named Cathy says. “Now.”

“Yeah,” a few more echo.

“I can’t promise that. You have to understand we are bound by labor laws. If he didn’t break his contract, then I have to write him up and give him a warning.”

“How about poor representation of your show and casino? Don’t performers have that in their contracts?”

“We do not,” I lie. I’m not sure why I lie. Maybe just because I need these girls to go away. I don’t want them following up or pressing matters. I don’t want my father to find anything out about this. I just want to clear the air, make the necessary changes, and then move on. “But I will be looking very closely at this issue. And I’m not saying he won’t be fired, I’m just not saying he will. You understand this is an internal matter and he has rights too. So I need to respect them and push this through the proper channels. But I can tell you, the Landslide is not interested in a performer who presents a bad image of our establishment.”

They mumble a few more complaints, but I wrap things up, give them one more assurance that things will be dealt with and usher them out of the hotel.

I watch them leave by the front entrance, and cringe when Lisa Watkins gives me an angry look over her shoulder. She’s not satisfied.

And neither am I.

Fletcher really does need to go.

I turn back and walk into the casino, wondering what I should do next. I wonder all the way back up to the office floor, and then I take my indecision back into the conference room and sit down.

“Leslie?” I call out for the receptionist.

“Yes, Miss Preston?” She gets up out of her chair and rushes in to see what I might need.

“Can you text me Fletcher’s number?”

“Sure, ma’am. Let me go get it.”

I stare out the window as I wait. It’s late afternoon now and the sun is making its way towards the mountains on the west side of the lake.

Well, this day certainly started better than it will end.

I still can’t believe I slept with Novak. What an idiot I am. And not because I feel used, like those girls. I don’t. I’m not interested in a pretty boy like him, a man who thinks he can manipulate the world with his charm and good looks.

I just feel disappointed in myself because if my father finds out, he’ll be disappointed in me for making a bad decision.

I’m not afraid of my father. I’m not afraid of being yelled at, or losing my job, or my trust fund. I just want to please him. And if he finds out I had such a monumental lapse in judgment, well, it will kill me to see his face.

My phone buzzes in my purse, and Leslie calls out, “That’s the number,” from her desk.

“Thank you,” I call back. I get up, close the door, and press send as I walk back and take a seat in my chair.

“Yeah,” he answers on the first ring.

“It’s Tiffy.”

“I know.”

“Can you… come down to the conference room on three?”