Chapter 0177
“No?” I echoed. The word flitted around in my brain, not totally sinking in.
I had been so confident, so sure that Logan would agree the company, needed more stringent sexual harassment rules and punishments.
How could he just turn it down without even looking at it? Was he trivializing the importance of this? Maybe he’d never been harassed at the workplace? Maybe he didn’t understand how important this was? “Logan, maybe you should actually read it.” I slid the stack of papers back to his side of the desk.
“I have read it, and it is extreme. Those suspected of harassment are immediately placed on leave, with HR alone deciding if they should be fired permanently. Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Of course it is! Those guys should face immediate punishment, not pats on the back.” How could we not be on the same page about this?
“And what about us?” he asked.
My thoughts skidded to a halt. “What about us?”
“If anyone catches us together… If they even suspect… One of us could be fired.”
He’d said one of us, but the implication was clear. As he was the one in the position of power, he would be the one fired, and there wouldn’t be a damn thing we could do to stop it. Even if we explained everything, Logan would still be on the hook.
Even so, the current policy sucked. We couldn’t let this pattern of victim’s being punished while the perpetrators got off free continue.
“We can’t just let people get away with acting like animals around here…” I said. Was there no good solution?
Logan suddenly went very still. His gaze was laser–focused on me. “Has someone tried something with you?”
“Me? No.” I had given him the wrong impression. I wanted to tell him about Maria, but I’d promised not to. give her name to HR. That likely extended to Logan.
Logan didn’t seem convinced. He sighed and pulled the paperwork closer. “Any changes this large will have to be reviewed by the board. Will you arrange a meeting?”
A sense of pride welled within me. Logan was going to do the right thing, even if it made things more difficult for us. This was going to protect others in the office, like Maria. For her, Logan and I could keep things cool here at the office, surely.
“Right away,” I sald.
Logan sat at the end of a long table. Many of the other seats were taken up by board members. Those that couldn’t attend the meeting in person were present virtually instead. Their live–feed was displayed on a projection against the fair wall.
By now, Logan had gotten used to these meetings. Oftentimes, the board would talk at him, and he would be forced to hold his tongue.
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Chapter 0177
Today was no exception.
“We’ve already been notified by your Human Resources department of the rampant sexual harassment happening there, on your watch, Logan,” said one of the board members, Chuck Freeman. He was an older man, once a rival with Logan’s grandfather.
“Measures have been taken to –” Logan began.
“That’s not good enough,” Chuck snapped. “If the clients or the public found out the office there is like the wild west, our stocks would plummet faster than we could recover.”
As was typical of these meetings, the rest of the board differed to Chuck, letting him do all the talking. Logan knew that if he dared to speak up against Chuck, he’d be reprimanded later for not respecting his elders.
Once, even his own grandfather called him to chew him out, and his grandfather hadn’t even been present at that meeting.
“HR sent over a proposal,” Chuck said. “We’ve already reviewed it, and we approve. You are to sign off on this proposal at once.”
Great. HR went behind Logan’s back, appealing straight to the board. Logan’s fingers curled a little tighter around the pen he was holding.
“And more… For the sake of appearances, we need a woman to be the face of this new proposal,” Chuck continued. “So we offered that position to the HR representative who sent the proposal. A woman named …” He checked his notes. “Dawn.”
Dawn? The power–hungry HR rep who had been breathing down Logan’s neck since he arrived, just hoping ‘he’d mess up somehow?
“Dawn accepted our offer, and even made some additional suggestions to the proposal,” Chuck said.
More suggestions? What could possibly be added? The rules in the current proposal were already clearly defined, the punishments strict.
“We’ll send a copy for your review…” Chuck started.
“That won’t be necessary,” said Dawn, appearing at the door. “I’ve taken it upon myself to print him his very own copy. I hope you can forgive the intrusion, but I thought it might be better if I personally delivered it.”
Dawn walked into the room. She smiled at Logan as she lowered the new bound document onto the desk in front of him.
“How thoughtful,” Chuck said. Several other board members agreed.
Logan grit his teeth.
Back in his office, as Logan reviewed the document, he became more and more angry. Many of the alterations to the original proposal seemed directed at him specifically.
One rule even read, “CEO’s are held to a higher standard and must lead by example. They are not to address their personal lives in any capacity at the office. Work is only for work.”
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Chapter 0177
What really bothered him though, was a rule that came much later.
“Interpersonal relationships of a romantic or sexual nature between employees are forbidden. If two employees are found by Dawn to be in a relationship, both employees will be fired with no reference given.”
Both employees would be fired.
Logan had been more willing to sign off on the original document, when he would be the only one fired, with Hazel being safe.
Now, however, it seemed they would both be at risk.
Logan wanted to protect his employees, but these new rules felt too strict. He sighed, and called Hazel. “Come to my office when you get a moment,” he said.
Two minutes later, she was standing in front of him. He handed her the new rules and gestured for her to sit and read.
As she did, her face grew more and more pale.
“This wasn’t what I agreed to,” Hazel said, flipping through the pages. “There’s no appeal process. And Dawn’s name is all through here. Why does she have so much power?”
Logan couldn’t answer that, beyond, “She’s the one who wrote it.”
Hazel’s face fell. “I only wanted to help people…”
Logan couldn’t stand to see her beat herself up for being a good person. He left his chair and came around the desk to her. He wanted to place his hand on her shoulder, would have before today, but held himself back, remembering the new rules.
They had to be extra careful now, not just to protect their relationship but to protect themselves as well. Even a perceived intimacy between them would be judged. They couldn’t take any chances.
Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Logan glanced through the window and saw Dawn standing there, looking in.
When she met Logan’s eye, she smiled, as if she was enjoying this.
Logan inched away from Hazel.
