“Maybe. But I would make time. If you want to know the truth, I’d probably have on a neck brace right now.”
I laughed. “No you wouldn’t. And why is it that people always talk that way when someone else is in an accident?”
“Because they want to get paid.”
“Yeah, right. Well, I’m not about to pretend like I’m injured just so I can sue some insurance company for no reason. I have better morals than that.”
“Maybe you do, but some people would get paid and laugh all the way to the bank.”
“No good will come to them either. Because bad things always happen to people who scheme.”
“Well, first of all, not every human being is a Goody Two-shoes like you, Anise.”
“I don’t believe you said that. Just because I don’t condone trying to get over on people doesn’t mean I’m some saint.”
“Whatever you say,” she said, still joking around.
“Good-bye, Lorna. See you in another life.”
“Bye, Anise.”
I smiled as I walked away because Lorna really was a good friend. She was upset about my newest job venture, but I knew she was only looking out for my best interests.
As I strolled through the department, I saw Frank turning to leave my office. I considered heading in another direction until he was gone, but he spied me before I could make a quick detour. I walked toward him nervously, and the closer I approached, the more he grinned from ear to ear. I wished wholeheartedly that he wouldn’t do that, because it would only be a matter of time before some nosy coworker discovered this attraction we were sharing—an attraction he obviously didn’t mind proclaiming to the world, but which I wanted to disguise.
“What are you doing here, Frank?” I said, slightly brushing past him and entering my office.
“I’m here because whenever I see you, it makes my day run smoother,” he said, following me.
“You know,” I said, leaning against the edge of my desk, “you don’t act much like the director of a department.”
“I know. I’m acting more like a schoolboy who’s having his first crush, don’t I?”
I smiled, but I could tell this was going too far. It was a good thing I had a corner office, but I knew there were people walking by and others who had probably seen him come into my office. He’d been making a daily habit of it, and it was making me self-conscious.
He noticed my discomfort but didn’t help the situation. “Just admit it, you’re attracted to me, too.”
I raised up from my desk and walked around it. Then I sat down in my chair. “I don’t know about that, but what I do know is that I have a lot of work to do before my meeting with Elizabeth.”
“Changing the subject isn’t going to change the way you feel about me. You do know that, don’t you?”
“Frank, I really do have to get to work.”
“Okay, I’ll leave, but just remember, tomorrow’s a new day,” he said matter-of-factly, and winked at me.
I was glad he was gone, but my heart was turning somersaults. He wasn’t going to let up, and I knew it was just a matter of time before he persuaded me to see him outside of work. I was fighting this growing desire to be with him with powerful determination, but even the strongest person sometimes becomes too weak to win the battle. Truth was, I didn’t know if I wanted to win the battle, anyway.
I looked at Elizabeth and was embarrassed, because I realized she’d said something to me.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked.
“Must have been one serious daydream,” she said.
We laughed.
“I was just asking if it was okay for us to meet at one-thirty instead of one,” she said.
“Oh. Yes, that should be fine. I just came back from meeting with Jim and he’s going to see if his secretary can schedule an interview for me with Mike this afternoon, but hopefully it won’t be until sometime after three.”
“Well, just let me know, because your interview is more important. I was so happy when you told me this morning that you were going to apply for it, and I want you to know that I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
An hour later, Jim’s secretary called to tell me that I could meet with Mike at 3:00 P.M. in the HR conference room on my end of the building. Mike was intelligent and professional but very laid-back, so I wasn’t worried about interviewing with him. Everyone in the plant loved him, and I’d known as soon as I met him that he was a respectable guy.
I met with Elizabeth and discussed what she wanted me to help her complete before she left next week, and what she would be doing at her new company. She’d told me bits and pieces over the last few days, but what I didn’t know was that she was taking a cut in pay. She would still have a manager’s title, but the company was smaller and didn’t pay nearly as much as Reed Meyers. I didn’t understand how that could be with the Milwaukee area being so much larger than Mitchell, but she explained to me that while her parents lived in Milwaukee, she would be working in a smaller city close by. It was unfortunate that she’d had to struggle all these years trying to make a good life for herself and then give it all up. She said she hadn’t thought twice about it, though, because her parents meant everything to her. She told me how they weren’t doing very well, and that the last thing she wanted was for one of them to suffer or pass away without her being there. She said she’d never be able to live with herself, and I understood without reservation. I realized I was no different from Elizabeth, because here I was living in Mitchell when I could easily have moved to Chicago, Atlanta or New York and gotten paid so much more. But I knew I was never leaving, not as long as Mom lived here.
After the meeting with Elizabeth, I entered the conference room five minutes early and Mike walked in five minutes late.
“I’m sorry for the short delay, but we had a situation out in the plant with one of the foreman and one of the machine operators,” he said.
“That’s not a problem. I haven’t been in here for very long.”
“So it looks like we might be working together,” Mike said, closing the door.
Another attractive white man. I didn’t know why I hadn’t noticed his looks before, but maybe it was because I’d never had too many one-on-one conversations with him. His shoulders were cut like a football player’s, his skin was tanned Florida-style and his clothing fit him perfectly.
“Yes, I guess it does,” I answered.
I was flattered that he was so optimistic about me having the job.
“Jim thought it would be a good idea for us to get together, but it’s not like I have all that much to ask you, because I already know how sharp you are. I’ve also seen how great you are with the kids out in the plant, and I admire the way you treat them. From blacks to Mexicans to hillbillies like me, you treat everyone the same, and they love you for it,” he joked.
He always referred to his employees as kids because he’d discovered sometime ago that they called him Daddy behind his back. They didn’t do it because they disliked him, but said it in a teasing way, because when he gave an order, he didn’t play. He was easy to get along with and would stand up for his employees when necessary, but wasn’t one to deal with when production slowed down due to carelessness or absenteeism.
“Well, thank you,” I said.
“I’m serious, because you and I both know that some of these corporate assholes around here treat the factory employees like shit, and I’m tellin’ you, that crap burns my butt like jalapeño peppers.”
That was Mike for you. What came up came out without any tact. But I liked him, because Mike was just Mike at all times and didn’t have a hidden agenda.
“You’re right.”
“So like I said, I really don’t have any questions for you.”
“Well, if it’s okay then, I have a couple for you.”
“Shoot,” he said, and rested his back against the chair.
“When you have
job openings that need to be filled, do you get involved with the interviewing process, or do you leave the decision up to your area foremen and supervisors?”
“It all depends on the position. If it’s strictly a line position like an assembler, drill operator or shipping and receiving personnel, I leave the entire hiring process up to the person who they’ll be reporting to. If it’s a lead person or skilled tradesman we’re looking for, then I like to sit in on the interviews myself. I don’t always, but I try to whenever I can.”
“Either way is fine, but I just want to know how many people I’d be dealing with when there’s a job opening that needs to be filled.”
“We’re all pretty flexible, and I can tell you right now that color and gender don’t exist out in our environment.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“I know all about what’s been going on with that other job you applied for, and don’t think for one minute that I agree with how they’ve been handling it.”
“Goodness. It sounds like my little ordeal is common knowledge around here.”
“As a matter of fact, it is. Word travels quickly out in the shop, and even though I report to Lyle, I don’t agree with a lot of his tactics. Just between you and me, I don’t care for Jim or Lyle and the only reason I put up with it is because they pay me a damn good salary to be here. But that’s where it ends with me. They’re some dirty sons of bitches, and everybody around here knows it.”
I was shocked. Not because Mike didn’t care for them, but because he was giving me his honest opinion. I appreciated that, and now I knew that Mike had every bit of the integrity I’d always thought he had.
“I’ll admit, my time here hasn’t been all that wonderful,” I said. “And I’ve been more frustrated in the last six months than I have in my entire life. At first I thought Lyle was different from Jim, but now I’m starting to think otherwise. They’ve made things as difficult for me as they could every time I’ve tried to move higher, so I figured I’d rather take this promotion instead of not getting one at all. But I have to be honest with you: if I had my choice between getting the corporate recruiting manager position versus this manufacturing one, I would have chosen the corporate one in a heartbeat.”
“I figured as much, but that’s not a problem for me. I hope you don’t leave anytime soon, though, because we’d love to have you around for as long as we can. But if something better does come along, I won’t be upset with you in the least. Hell, I’d do the same thing, so there’s no way I would ever hold anything against you for trying to better your career.”
“I appreciate hearing you say that, and that answered my other question.”
“Well, now that we’ve got all the cow manure out of the way, are you going to take the job?”
“If you guys offer it to me, I suppose I will.”
“Glad to hear it. And if you don’t have anything else you want to ask me, I need to get back out to the plant for a meeting with two of my foremen.”
“I don’t, and thanks so much for meeting with me.”
“No. Thank you. Because I know this isn’t the job you really wanted, but on the other hand, I’ll be able to sleep better knowing that you’re going to be taking over this part of human resources.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will,” he said, smiling as he left the room.
Maybe this really was the right thing for me to do, because Mike genuinely wanted me in the position. Jim did too, but for different reasons. Maybe the corporate job wasn’t meant to be. Maybe it was time for me to move on and try to find contentment. If nothing else, I could work in this position for a while and apply for a different job at another company, because now my résumé would show managerial experience.
Walking back to my office, I heard the phone ringing, so I rushed to answer it.
“Anise Miller.”
“Hi, beautiful.”
It was Frank.
“What do you want?” I said in a cheerful tone.
“Don’t you sound like a happy camper this afternoon!”
“I am. At least I guess I am anyway.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I decided to apply for the manufacturing position.”
“Oh? And you didn’t tell me?”
“No. I didn’t tell anyone except Lorna and Elizabeth.”
“Well, at least I know where I stand, in terms of how important I am to you.”
“Don’t take it personally.”
“But I am.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“I can’t help it.”
“Will you stop it?” I said, laughing because we sounded like two small children trying to outwit each other. Or worse, like two people who were beginning to fall in love.
The latter is what worried me the most.
“Will I stop what?” he asked.
“Being so argumentative.”
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“That’s better.”
“So when will you know whether you got the job or not?”
“It sounds like pretty soon. I met with Jim this morning to tell him that I was interested, and I just finished meeting with Mike.”
“Mike is a good guy.”
“Yeah, I know, and I like him even more now that I’ve had a chance to speak with him.”
“Better than me?”
“Better than you, what?” I asked.
“Do you like him better than me?”
“What kind of silly comment is that?”
“It’s silly to you maybe, but I want to know.”
“There’s something wrong with you.”
He laughed. “I’m only joking with you because whenever I try to be serious, you shy away from me. So if this is the only way I can get you to talk to me, then so be it.”
“Frank, you know full well that I can’t be serious with you because I’m married.”
“I know. But just tell me this. If you weren’t married, would you go out with me then?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know because I’m white.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
I kept quiet.
“What difference should it make if a black woman and a white man want to go out together?”
“I guess it shouldn’t make any difference at all, but society has decided that it does.”
“And that’s ridiculous, too.”
“Maybe it is, but it’s still reality.”
“Well, I don’t agree, and all I’m asking is that you give me a chance to show you that I’m no different from any other man who’s attracted to you.”
“You still keep forgetting the fact that I’m married.”
“But you’re not happily married, and I know you’re attracted to me.”
“Some attractions can get you into a lot of trouble,” I admitted.
“Not the one we have for each other.”
“Look, Frank. You’re a nice guy. I like you a lot. But the timing isn’t right for you and me. Maybe if this was a different time in my life and I was single, things would be different.”
“There’s never a right time for anything. You have to make time conform to your own wants and needs.”
“You’re just not hearing me at all, are you?”
“No, actually I’m not. And it’s like I told you earlier, I’m not giving up unless you tell me to. I’ve dated black women and white women over the years, but I’ve never been so attracted to any woman the way I am to you. And regardless of what you say, I think that means something.”
I was speechless again, something that was becoming quite common whenever I had conversations with Frank. If he only knew, I wanted to be with him almost as badly as he wanted to be with me. But I could never let on that this was true.
“Hey,” he said. “I’ve got a dentist appointment I need to get to. But, Anise, please think about what I’m saying, okay? Promise me
you won’t throw our relationship away before we even have one.”
“Maybe we’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry. If I have anything to do with it, we will.”
“I’ll see you later.”
“I hope so,” he said.
“Good-bye, Frank.”
Happiness wasn’t something I’d felt for quite some time, but I really was feeling rather optimistic about my meeting with Mike and the fact that I would finally get the promotion I deserved. Maybe not the one I wanted, but a promotion nonetheless.
I decided that if they offered it to me I would take it and try to feel satisfied afterward.
CHAPTER 14
SHE TOOK the bait a lot quicker than I expected,” Jim said. “Well, I’ll tell you one thing, I never thought she’d go for it at all,” Lyle said, puffing his pipe. “But you know this only happened by luck, though, because if Elizabeth hadn’t given us her two-week notice, we never would’ve been able to move Bob into her position so quickly. Which means we would have had to go forward with my plan of forcing someone else out of another management position to make it available.”
“I know. It was a very close call.”
“And if we hadn’t been able to convince Bob to make the move, we’d still be up shit creek.”
“But ten more thousand dollars a year is pretty convincing.”
“That it is,” Jim said. “That it is.”
“Actually, Anise seems like she’s been pretty happy ever since you told her the job was hers.”
“She has, and that’s why I wanted to tell her last week before I went out of town, even though we couldn’t make it official until today.”
“You did good, Jim, and I appreciate you putting in so much time with this. Now all we have to do is bide our time, and then we can fill that corporate position with Kelli. Although, just to be safe, I think we need to find some way to pacify Anise, just in case she starts screaming discrimination. I know Kelli has more seniority than Anise, but her lack of comparable education could shake things up a bit. I’m really hoping it doesn’t come to that, but we need to be prepared just the same.”
A Taste of Reality Page 13
