Page 21 of The Aries Alliance (BLP Signs of Love #14)

Reality I

The meeting with President Fields must have been intense, since War didn’t contact me until Friday after lunch. I lit up when his message came through since we didn’t get to act up in his office as planned. To be fair, I’d been so busy with work that I hadn’t followed up with him either.

War:

Have something to share. They’re on to you. Be careful.

What did that even mean?

Me:

Who are THEY? What do THEY know?

War:

On my way out the door. Will chat after work.

I tried to call War on the burner, but my message immediately went to voicemail.

I would have texted him again, but I was already five minutes late for a meeting upstairs with my supervisor, a colleague, and the HR manager in my unit.

Although I asked my supervisor to share the purpose of the meeting in the email and calendar invitation he sent, he didn’t respond. It was a red flag.

“Uh . . .” I scrambled around my office like a chicken with its head cut off.

I threw my burner, personal phone, and electronic notebook in my black leather Coach purse before running out of my office.

A couple of minutes later, I rushed toward the small third-floor conference room in my building.

About six feet before I got to the door, I stopped in my tracks as the words unhinged and ill-equipped met my ears.

A woman’s cutting voice said, “If she didn’t have tenure, she would be out of here faster than a bullet from a gun. ”

“Now, Judy . . .” My supervisor’s patronizing voice interrupted her.

I placed my hand over my chest to steady my breathing and resumed my steps, entering the room slowly.

“Sorry I’m late.” I paused in the doorway and stood tall.

Everyone stared at me, eerily quiet.

“Is everybody okay?” I met each person’s eyes and frowned.

“Oh, you’re here. Scarlett, have a seat.” My supervisor, Henry, who sat at the head of the table, cleared his throat and pointed to the empty chair next to him.

With little fanfare, I sat down, placing my purse on the table next to me.

“You’re racist, Dr. Kane.” Judy, one of the fiscal managers in my unit, puffed her cheeks out as Henry looked between us like a deer caught in headlights.

I jerked my head back, shocked as hell at the accusation.

“Excuse me?” My voice was much louder than I intended it to be.

I sucked in my breath and held it as I sat across the table from Judy and Lance from HR. The three of them stared at me as if I’d shot an innocent bystander in plain sight. I stared right back.

“Hold on, Judy. We need to give Dr. Kane more background.” Lance’s eyes softened as he leaned forward and rested his hands on the table.

At least Lance, whose last name I couldn’t remember, allowed me to get a word in as I was accosted by that heifer.

“You hate white people,” Judy spewed, throwing her limp, heat-damaged, orange hair over her shoulders as small drops of spit fell on the table.

I threw my head back and laughed, despite the situation not being funny.

“Who told you that?” I leaned forward and smirked, ready to pounce if I needed to.

“You made Gayle cry when you asked her why the personnel paperwork wasn’t processed fast enough.”

“I made her cry when I asked her to do her job?” I shook my head, not believing that crybaby Gayle went behind my back and reported me for hurting her feelings.

Hell, she hurt my feelings every day when I had to explain to my supervisees why they might not be able to pay their mortgage because of a delay in processing.

Lance rubbed his nose.

“Your directness is off-putting, unprofessional, and uncharacteristic of someone who holds your title. Gayle has crafted a statement, detailing what happened.” He pushed a piece of paper with Gayle’s typed statement across the table.

I perused the document, which was written as if it were an affidavit. I got angrier with each paragraph I read. I pushed the paper back to him and crossed my arms.

“Are you going to allow me to craft a statement also? Will I be allowed to ask questions with Gayle in the room?” I stared directly at Lance.

“Gayle is too traumatized to speak with you,” he said.

Henry nodded.

I opened my mouth, unable to comprehend how these idiots were trying to build a case against me when they were the ones who violated my rights almost every week by not responding to emails half the time.

“First of all, where does the racist claim come in? How was asking Gayle to do her job racist?”

“You spoke harsher to her than the Blacks on your team.” Judy wagged her manicured finger in the air and ranted for several more seconds as I took notes on the notebook I’d pulled from my bag.

I frowned at Judy and held up my fingers to make my points.

“First, don’t refer to any group collectively as the Blacks.

And second, maybe other people on my team have backbones, so they can have honest conversations about what’s going well and what isn’t.

Third, Gayle needs to receive feedback better, especially if it’s true.

It takes her weeks to respond to time-sensitive emails. ”

“See. That’s what Gayle’s talking about.” Judy pointed at me like she was a kindergartner.

Since she wanted to act like a kid, I slowed my speech and drew out my words so she could hear every word I spoke.

“Judy, my use of the word Black is not racist, especially in an organization where Black is treated like a curse word. You, like Gayle, might be hypersensitive and unexposed to diverse cultures.” I held my head high, refusing to let anyone at that table intimidate or gaslight me.

“You’re a woman. I’m a woman. I don’t know why you have to use the word Black to describe yourself.” Judy’s red cheeks puffed up like she was going to explode.

Lance’s small eyes darted back and forth across the room before he held up his hands.

“Calm down, everyone. Dr. Kane, please tell us the context again for your use of the word Black in your conversation.”

“I mentioned to Gayle that we needed to move forward with hiring to support the needs of our students. Several of our Black students have complained that the current staff lack transparency regarding their concerns. The administration has also silenced them for having divergent views. I told Gayle that those students have a right to express themselves, especially if pushed against the gates of the patriarchy and white supremacy.” I didn’t flinch when I said what I said.

“I don’t know why you dislike white people.” Judy shook her head.

“Say that one more time, and I’m going to report you for harassment and discrimination,” I said.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.” I rolled my eyes despite myself.

Judy was a hot mess ball of confusion who was hired without following proper protocol.

Word on the street was that she was the former director of athletics’ wife, so she benefited from being a diversity hire, as the people in charge lauded the importance of meritocracy.

They were so hypocritical and two-faced.

I always got negative vibes from Judy and suspected that her character was questionable, but I didn’t expect her to be so delusional and outspoken at work, especially in front of Lance from HR.

More than one person said she’d been bitter about school integration and walked around mumbling to herself how Black people didn’t deserve their jobs.

I was sick of her stupid antics and wasn’t going to tolerate her bull today.

“Is saying the word Black at work illegal?” I asked Lance.

He opened his mouth and then closed it, his eyes taking in everyone before they landed on me.

“Not yet, but it’s coming when anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion activities are shut down. Until then, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding that can be worked out,” Lance stated with a weak smile.

I cocked my head at him and frowned, clenching and unclenching my fists under the table so I wouldn’t blow up.

“There’s nothing to work on when that woman is making false accusations. I expect someone in leadership to straighten this out before I invite my attorney to this table.” I gestured around the room. “You are all interrogating me like I’m on trial. Your anti-Blackness isn’t my problem.”

When I said the world attorney, Henry’s face softened.

“I-I,” he stuttered.

“I, what? Finish your sentence so I can catch you in a lie.”

By now, I was ready to pop off on his silly behind. They were all trying my patience.

Lance’s big-as-saucer eyes confirmed that I was showing out with my performance, but I was ready to finish what I started.

“There she goes again.” Judy clapped her hands like she’d caught me in a trap. “It’s that language that’s taking our country in the wrong direction. Why are you even here if you don’t like white people?”

Lance covered his mouth with his hands, then lifted his head, looking at each of us in turn.

“Let me take this information back to my supervisors and get back to you with a resolution,” he said.

Judy wagged her bob like an obedient dog. It was the most agreeable I had seen her since our meeting started.

I pointed to each person as I spoke.

“You all are an embarrassment, with your farce about caring for people. You only care about yourselves. Shame on you for hiding behind reverse racism when you’re the real racists.

Stop using your power to mess with people’s livelihoods.

I wish someone would hold you accountable for being so cruel.

” I checked my watch and stood with my belongings, not waiting to hear another word of this stupidity.

“I have somewhere to be. In the future, please copy my attorney on any email you send my way. Good day.” I walked out with my head high and scurried down the hall, attempting to gather myself.

I still pictured the three of them talking in the conference room as I nearly collapsed in the private restroom outside my office. When I stood in the mirror and examined myself, I frowned, willing myself not to cry.

I pulled a piece of paper towel from the dispenser on the wall and wet it before applying it to my flushed cheeks. I was strong, but hell, this direct attack made me want to crumble. Humans were not created to be hit like punching bags.

With every fiber of my being, I wanted to pull out my burner phone and call War, but I knew better than to be so careless at work. I texted him instead.

Me:

I need you. Just got out of a crazy meeting.

Within seconds, he responded.

War:

I’ve got you, Scar. Breathe.

I closed my eyes and did just that as the reality of our mission hit me. I took a final deep breath and straightened my spine before walking out of the bathroom and back to my office.