“Hmmm.” Lyle was disappointed.
“This shit really gets me,” Jim said. “Why can’t she just cooperate and do what we tell her? I mean, who is she to tell us who we have to hire and promote? If we don’t want her in that recruiting position, it should be as simple as that.”
“But you know it’s not. I don’t want her in recruiting either, but it’s those damn equal opportunity laws I’m worried about. And believe me when I say that Anise Miller wouldn’t think twice about slapping a discrimination lawsuit on us.”
Jim pursed his lips in disgust. “And that’s the very reason I’m so sick of all these ridiculous laws the government keeps passing. First, it was women’s rights, and then it was this racial crap. Even if a company wants to have all white men with no women or minorities, it ought to be just fine. Women belong at home taking care of their children anyway.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Lyle said humorously. “Because if it weren’t for women, who would we get to schedule our calendars and make our coffee?”
Jim chuckled. “You do have a point there, but with the exception of that, I don’t see any other positions that we really need them in. And when you hire these women, it’s always just a matter of time before they start talking about having a family. It used to be that they got six weeks for maternity leave, but now that Family Leave foolishness is in effect. Every woman at Reed Meyers who’s had a baby in the last year has opted to take three months off. Hell, I say if a person wants that much time at home, then they should quit altogether and let someone else have their job. Someone who has their priorities in order.”
“I agree,” Lyle said, clasping his hands together. “I think we’re going to have to do some rearranging and make some other openings available. That way, maybe Anise will reconsider applying for something else.”
“Maybe. Because quite frankly, I’m becoming a bit tired of all this unnecessary time she’s forcing us to spend on one job opening. Kelli Jacobson isn’t the classiest woman, but I’d much rather have her in the position than someone who is barely one step away from living in the ghetto. Hell, you’d think Anise would just be happy we hired her at all, because you know I never wanted her here in the first place.”
“Isn’t that the truth? But it’s not like we really had a choice with some of the factory workers making such a fuss over the fact that there weren’t any minorities in human resources.”
“Well, regardless of who complains this time, I’ll be damned if I’m going to let someone like her have that corporate recruiting position,” Jim professed. “Because the next thing you know, she’ll be recruiting God knows what kind of people into this company.”
“That you can be sure of, so if we can’t find a position we can open up right away, then we’ll just have to create one. All we have to do is make the education and work experience requirements match hers. That way the posting is bound to grab her attention.”
“I’ll get started on this, but I sure hope these are the last few days we’ll have to spend with this,” Jim said, standing.
“I hope so, too, because I’d really like to see you get Kelli moved into that position so we can post her current one as soon as possible.”
“I’ll check back with you later this afternoon or sometime tomorrow.”
“That sounds fine,” Lyle said, lighting his cherry wood pipe and taking two initial puffs. Then he relaxed his body against the high-backed chair he was sitting in.
Jim leaned his head back in deep pleasure. He’d left work later than usual and had spent all afternoon trying to find a new strategy—one that would allow them to give Kelli Jacobson that management position. He hadn’t made much progress, but on his way out to the executive parking lot, a whole new scheme had come to him. It had appeared from nowhere, and he couldn’t wait to work it all out on paper first thing tomorrow morning. He’d promised Kelli weeks ago that she could have the next managerial slot that was posted, and with the way she was performing oral sex on him right now, he knew he couldn’t disappoint her.
Kelli moved her head forward, backward and then in half circles. Jim moaned with desire and Kelli increased her momentum. Jim could feel himself swelling with every stroke, but he wanted to hold out a little while longer, until he was rock hard. She tightened her lips, but as soon as she did he pushed her away.
“Get up, you little bitch, and take this monster dick like a real woman should.”
“Okay, Mr. Tarzan,” she said in a timid voice.
He forced her onto the hotel bed, she rested on her hands and knees and Jim plowed into her with all three inches. She groaned loudly, but Jim paid her no mind. He maneuvered himself in and out of her and then pushed with more force than when he’d entered her initially.
“Oh my goodness, Mr. Tarzan, you’re way too big for me.”
Jim slapped her on her buttocks and left his handprint plastered in red.
“Shut up, you little whore, and take this the way I taught you.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Tarzan.”
“You’d better be sorry, or you won’t be getting any more of this gigantic dick.”
“Please don’t deprive me of it, Mr. Tarzan. I’ll be good.”
“Oh no! I think I hear Jane swinging through the jungle,” he said, and rolled his eyes toward the top of his head, all the while pushing himself in and out of her with intense speed. He moaned with pleasure and she grunted with what he was sure was pain.
He continued pulling and pushing her buttocks until he climaxed. She yelled loudly and he breathed uncontrollably. She flattened her stomach across the bed, and he lay to the side of her, trying to calm his heart rate.
Kelli was the best. She dropped down on her knees every time he told her to, and she didn’t mind doing it here at the hotel, in his office or in his company car. About a year ago, he’d asked her if his dick was the biggest she’d ever had and she’d made the mistake of telling him no. So he’d had no choice but to threaten taking away her job if she didn’t tell him the truth. He’d made her tell him that she was lying, and that not only did he have the biggest dick she’d ever had, it was the most enormous one she’d ever seen.
He’d then decided that he would be Tarzan from here on out, and she would be the mistress that Jane never arrived in time to see.
“Guess who I saw eating lunch together this afternoon?” Kelli said, pushing her long blond hair behind her left ear and turning toward him.
“Who?”
“That bitch Anise and Frank Colletti.”
“Is that so?” Jim responded, but didn’t think it was necessary to tell her he’d set the whole thing up.
“Yeah, and it made me sick just watching them. She thinks she’s hot shit, and I can’t wait for her to find out that I’m getting that job she wants so badly. She actually brought up the fact that we both applied for it, and I wanted so desperately to tell her she was wasting her time.”
“I understand your frustration, but don’t you even think about telling her anything. Everything I discuss with you is confidential, and it has to stay that way.”
“I know, I know. But it was just that she had that smug look on her face like she had just as much right to be working at Reed Meyers as we do. And they looked way too comfortable.”
“Comfortable how?”
“You know. Like they’ve known each other for twenty years or something. It made me sick, because all I could think was that Frank might actually be interested in her sexually. You do know that he pretty much dates only black women, don’t you?”
“Frank dating black women? I doubt it,” Jim said in disbelief.
“Okay, but I’m just telling you what I’ve heard in the past.”
“Well, if he is, he can just forget about that promotion Lyle is wanting to give him. As a matter of fact, he’d better not be, or he’ll be out of a job altogether. Lyle will go through the roof. Lyle’s daughter married a black, and he cut her clean out of his will because of it. He and
his wife haven’t seen or heard from her in over ten years, and if you ask Lyle, he’ll tell you that he doesn’t even have a daughter.”
“Yeah, I’d heard rumors about that, but I never knew if it was really true,” Kelli said, rubbing her foot slowly up and down Jim’s leg.
“I tell you, what is the world coming to?” Jim said, sighing. “But I will say this. We might not be able to control what’s going on everywhere else, but we sure as hell can control what goes on at Reed Meyers. And that’s exactly what Lyle and I plan on doing.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Kelli said, and kissed Jim up and down his neck. “So are you sure the job is going to be mine?”
“I’m positive,” he said, closing his eyes. He enjoyed what she was doing to him, but he hoped she knew a fifty-year-old man couldn’t rise again so quickly.
“I think Jane is gone, Mr. Tarzan,” she said, moaning.
“No, I don’t think she is,” he said, trying to tone her down.
“Yes, I really think she is, because I saw her swing right past us with Cheetah.”
Jim kept quiet and tried to ignore her until she forced her nipple inside his mouth. He inhaled it roughly and squeezed the other one so tightly that she jerked. Her breasts were 42Ds, and since her frame was so tiny, they were the first thing any man noticed as soon as he laid eyes on her. They drove him wild, and she always used them against him. She made him suck them for long periods of time, and sometimes she even got off with the assistance of her own fingers while he did it.
He’d slept with five different women inside the company, but Kelli Jacobson was, by far, the best he’d ever been with. She made him feel like a man, and she recognized how massive his dick really was even though none of the others would admit it.
Jim enjoyed watching Kelli climax again, and when she did he got up and went into the bathroom. Kelli followed him shortly thereafter, and then they both showered, dressed and drove to their respective homes. Jim drove far east to his mini-mansion, and Kelli drove to her less-than-luxurious apartment on the southeast side of town.
CHAPTER 9
I’D BARELY SAT DOWN at my desk when Frank stuck his head inside my doorway. “Hey,” he said. “How are you, Frank?”
“I’m good. What about you?”
“I’m okay, I guess.”
“At least you have that beautiful smile on your face today,” he said, and then turned away when someone called out his name.
“Hey, I’ll see you later, okay.”
“See ya.”
I was sort of glad to see him. I’d dodged him as best I could ever since we’d had lunch a week ago, but he’d made sure to attract my attention as often as he could. Even if he didn’t say anything, he winked and smiled in a way that he shouldn’t have, or watched me walk by until I was out of sight. It had gotten to the point where I almost expected it. In all honesty, I wanted him to do it. I wanted any attention he was willing to give me because I was now sleeping alone in a cold bed.
David never called, and I was sure he was living with his new woman. I told myself that I didn’t care, but my emotions still zigzagged around the clock, and there were moments when I thought I was losing my mind. I was sad because it hadn’t bothered him to leave me. I was angry because things still weren’t the way they should be at work.
I hadn’t shed any more tears, but I kept wondering when I was finally going to explode. Everyone had a breaking point. I knew I would be no exception. I’d kept to myself for the most part, but Mom and Monica made sure they called me every day. Mom even brought me dinner on Saturday and sat with me for a while, and Monica convinced me last night to meet her at the gym this evening. But the highlight of the week was about to take place in thirty minutes. Jim’s secretary had called me on Friday and scheduled my interview for 3:00 P.M. today.
Mom had tried talking me into going to church yesterday, because she really thought prayer and worship would make me feel better, but I took a rain check instead. Now, though, I wished I had listened to her, because my stomach was tied in knots. I’d told myself this morning that all I had to do was walk into Jim’s office, answer his questions, ask some of my own and then leave with my head held high when it was over. But that was easier said than done. I didn’t like Jim, and Jim clearly didn’t want me applying for the position. So how were we going to deal with each other during this pointless interview process? I was sure he and Lyle had already made up their minds and were only doing this for documentation purposes. But a small part of me was still hoping that they’d decided to give in and promote me.
I wasn’t being naïve.
I was just trying to stay positive until this was over.
Finally, I gathered together my leather portfolio. Jim’s office was at the opposite end of the department, but today it seemed as if it was just around the corner. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of his secretary with no true recollection of how I’d gotten there.
She smiled and told me to go right in, the same as she’d done in the past.
“Have a seat, Anise,” Jim said as soon as I entered.
“Thank you.”
“I guess this is a little awkward for both of us,” he began.
“Yes, I guess it is.” I wondered how I was going to get through this.
“This won’t take very long, but I do have a short list of questions that I’m asking each candidate.”
I wondered if he was asking each of us the same exact questions.
“What is it about this position that gave you the most interest?”
“The idea of being able to meet people who don’t work for the company but who are interested in doing so, and the idea of working with internal candidates who are applying for management and executive positions. I also like the idea of playing a part in finding the most qualified people and matching them with the appropriate jobs.”
“But you do know it’s not always as simple as that, and that this job is not always the most glamorous, right?”
“Yes, but no job can be wonderful all the time.”
“And you do know that while you’d be hiring people, you’d also be responsible for terminating employees if it became necessary. And you’d also have to send out rejection letters to candidates who aren’t chosen for a particular position.”
“I realize that, but one of the things I like about human resources is that it allows you to interact with people on all levels. I love working with people, and I think that will help when I’m faced with the responsibility of having to terminate or reject someone.”
“Maybe, but somehow I still think you’re seeing this job through rose-colored glasses.”
“Well, unfortunately, I have to disagree with you.”
Jim gazed at me and then at the sheet of paper in front of him.
“Where do you see yourself in five years? Still working here at Reed Meyers? Still living in Mitchell? Or do you have plans to relocate if something better comes along?”
“If I’m selected for this promotion, I would hope to still be working as the corporate HR recruiting manager or in your position if you’re promoted to operations.”
Jim grunted in disbelief.
He was making this more difficult by the minute.
“Do you have any questions for me?” he asked without interest.
“Actually, I do,” I said, pulling out my list of five questions. “How many candidates applied for this position?” I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him tell me.
“Three.” No elaboration.
“Am I the last person to be interviewed?”
“Yes.”
The look on his face said that I was wasting his precious time.
But I continued.
“I know the low portion of the salary range is around forty-eight, the mid is around fifty-eight, and that it tops out at sixty-eight. Right now I’m earning just over thirty-eight thousand dollars, so would I start right at the beginning of the range, or is there a chance I would start somewhat higher
than that?” I knew that going from thirty-eight thousand to forty-eight would mean a twenty-six percent increase, and that they’d never start me out any higher than that, but I still wanted an answer. I wanted him to know that I was aware not only of their hiring and promoting practices but also of their pay scales, because last night it dawned on me that they could be discriminating against employees in that respect, too.
“Probably,” he said.
But since I didn’t know which part of my question he was answering, I said, “Probably, meaning . . . ?”
“Probably, meaning you would definitely start at the beginning of the range.”
I couldn’t believe how irritated he’d become, but I continued.
“I found quite a few HR manager training conferences that are coming up and was wondering if you’d allow me to attend one of them if I’m selected?”
“Maybe. We’d have to make sure it was beneficial for both you and the company.”
At least he’d spoken a full sentence this time. But I wondered how he was going to respond to my final query.
“Since I’m the last person to be interviewed and I’m the only candidate who has a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and four years of solid HR experience, how soon do you think you’ll be making your decision?”
“You are really a piece of work.”
“What do you mean by that?” I spoke strongly.
“Never mind. We’ll be making our decision within the next week or so.”
“Can you tell me why it’s going to take so long?”
“Because we have to evaluate everyone’s qualifications thoroughly. And if that’s all you have for me, then I guess this interview is over.”
“You know, Jim,” I said, standing up, “this is the first interview I’ve ever had where the person asking the questions didn’t take any notes after I answered them.”
“I don’t think any two people conduct interviews the same way.”
“Maybe not, but then I guess since you know I’m the most qualified candidate, it’s not like you needed to take notes anyway, did you?”
A Taste of Reality Page 8
