Beck And Call (19 page)

in Programming is more qualified than Steve. Yet you

passed over all of them.”

“Two of them are engaged and one is pregnant,”

Duncan replied.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Keith

asked.

“They won’t be with the company much longer so

why waste time and money on them,” he shrugged.

“Good lord,” Keith stared. “Paul, get to the punch-

line. Fast.”

“Debbie has given us her statement. The other five

women are as well. They all support Debbie’s

allegations of sexual harassment, nepotism, and

intellectual property theft.”

“I just told you that,” Duncan said impatiently.

“And the whining of a few women shouldn’t…”

“And then you and Hester threatened the six of

them with their jobs if they said anything.” Disgusted,

Keith rose and went to his desk to punch a combination.

“Allen, it’s MacLauren.”

“On the way, sir.”

Duncan frowned now, as if just realizing what was

happening.

“Wait a minute,” he shook his head. “You’re really

taking the word of a bunch of women over me? Your

own, hand-picked VP?” He stood and started across the

room. Paul quickly got in his way. “Out of my way, you

legal pansy,” he ordered.

“Nope,” smiled the lanky lawyer.

As Keith heard the security detail in the outer

office, Duncan shoved at Paul to get him to move. Paul

merely stepped back, still in his way. The door opened

as Duncan swung at Paul. The lawyer caught the man’s

forearm, twisted it around, and turned toward Keith,

forcing Duncan to his knees. Five security guards froze

at the tableau.

“He’s not taking this very well,” Paul observed with

a glance at the CEO.

“Then you better keep him in that lock for a few

more minutes,” Keith replied. “Duncan Samuels, you

are fired on the grounds of nepotism, sexual

harassment, intellectual property theft, and attempted

assault on a legal representative of MC. You will be

escorted out of the building by building security and

will not be permitted inside the building at any time for

any reason. Your personal effects will be forwarded by

HR representatives. Which, by the way, will not include

Hester Bridger,” he smiled when Duncan’s head

snapped up. “Oh, yes,” he nodded. “She’s next.” He

looked at Allen. “Would you escort Mr. Samuels from

the building and make sure everyone in your

department knows he is not allowed back?”

“Absolutely,” he replied. “Len...Pete,” Allen glanced

over his shoulder.

Two men stepped forward and caught Duncan by

the upper arms as Paul released him. Venom spewed

from Duncan’s mouth. Just arriving, Laura froze by

Serena’s desk as he was dragged past her. Seeing Keith

and Paul at the door, she stepped forward and held out

a file.

“Here are the statements from the women,” she

said.

“That was fast,” Keith observed.

“They already knew Debbie was talking to you. It

took about twenty seconds for them to realize that if she

hadn’t been tossed out of your office yet you were taking

it seriously.” Laura smiled slightly. “We have

keyboards built into the conference table and they’re

fast typists. Hit print, sign, and deliver.”

“Paul, double her bonus.”

“Absolutely,” Paul nodded.

Giving them a tight smile, Laura nodded and left.

“How can you stand there so impassively as if this

was an everyday occurrence?” Paul asked.

“Wait until I hit the speed bag,” Keith replied. “I’ll

probably knock the damn thing out the window. Let’s

see what they wrote.”

Not trying to hide his weariness and disgust, Keith

sat down and started reviewing the statements. Paul

settled in his chair and added to his notes on what

Duncan had said.

“Good God, what else is going on that I don’t know

about?” Keith shut the file and tossed it across the desk

toward Paul. “Unbelievable!”

“How bad?”

“The entire fucking department.”

Paul grimaced and skimmed through the first few.

“Holy hell,” he muttered. “What are you going to

do?”

Keith shot him a hard look.

“Duncan’s fired,” he stated firmly. “Sexual

harassment, nepotism, intellectual theft, and attempted

assault on the two of us.”

“And the rest?” Paul prompted.

“Given these statements, can you seriously ask

that?” Keith frowned.

“Have to,” Paul shrugged. “Comes with the job.” He

put the file on the desk and leaned back. “What brought

all this on?”

“Serena brought Debbie to me because HR hadn’t

done anything.” Keith glared at the file. “I had to do

something. There was no way in hell I could ignore one,

let alone the rest of it.” He banged his hand on the desk.

“I won’t have predators on my payroll.” He shook his

head. “God, these men are worse than some I’ve ever

seen at the club.”

“I can agree with that,” Paul nodded.

Inside ten minutes, they had fifteen men in the

office. Some had the decency to seem embarrassed, as if

they’d gone along with the others to fit in. Keith could

understand that...if they’d been in high school...but not

considering what had been in the statements of the

women! Allen had assembled an entire security detail

for this group. Keith saw quite a few outraged

expressions on the uniformed men. In short order, the

worst offenders were taken out. Two stammered out

more damning information. Paul pulled out his cell

phone and his assistant arrived to take the two men

down the hall for further questioning with the police.

“God!” Keith groaned, falling back in his seat.

“What else is going on?”

“Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll,” drawled Paul. “Why

the hell do I feel like I’m back in college?”

“Please,” winced Keith. “Freshman year was a

nightmare I’d rather not relive.”

“Keith!” a woman called from the outer office.

“Hester,” Paul murmured.

“And the nightmare continues,” muttered Keith.

A second later, a middle-aged woman strode in

without knocking. Her gray air was pulled back in a

severe bun. Black rimmed glasses hung from a chain

around her neck over a dark gray blouse and pinstripe

pantsuit.

“Your flighty assistant seems to have taken the day

off,” she snarked.

“My assistant is absent on my orders,” he replied

mildly. “Sit down, Hester.”

Paul inserted a fresh tape into the recorder, turned

it on, and placed it on the desk.

“What is this about?” she demanded, taking the

chair next to Paul.

“Your inaction on sexual harassment com-plaints.”

She stared at him.

“Keith, I worked for your father for thirty years. I do

not have to sit here and listen to you—”

“You work for me now, for however long that

employment lasts,” he added. “So you will listen. Six

women have come to you in the past four years to

complain of sexual harassment. You did nothing,” he

lifted the file before dropping it on his desk. He watched

Hester’s eyes widen slightly and her mouth tighten. “I

want an explanation.”

“Have you met any of those sluts?” she challenged

the men. “Have you seen them?” she emphasized. “The

way they dress? The way they talk? The way they act?”

“Their attire is not the issue at hand, Hester. The

way they have been treated is.”

“Sluts, every one of them,” she insisted, fire and

brimstone in her voice. “Wearing scraps of material

that barely pass as clothing and flinging themselves at

every man they come across! It’s shameful!” She

shivered as if in disgust. “None of them were very

serious about their complaints. And they were highly

defensive when I pointed out their attire was the

problem. If you dress like a tramp, then you shouldn’t

be surprised when you’re treated like one.”

“Like a rape victim?” he threw the question out

casually, glancing at Paul who was studying Hester.

“She’s asking for it?”

“Precisely,” she smiled. “Would you believe that one

of them, Delia, I believe is her name, actually came to

me saying Duncan Samuels had gotten her pregnant

and was threatening her if she didn’t have an abortion?

A family man like Duncan! Preposterous, I told her…”

“It’s true,” Keith told her, fighting down the nausea.

“According to statements, he slipped her a rape drug.

The women were all threatened.”

“Bah!” Hester waved a hand dismissively. “They’re

all in league with each other! Don’t you see?” She

looked at him in growing astonishment. “You don’t, do

you? You really believe Duncan, Steve, Matt, and Luke

did those things!”

“I don’t think I mentioned any other names,” he

replied quietly. “Hester, you are fired.” He punched the

intercom. “Allen.”

The door opened and Allen and the two security

guards came in.

“What?” Hester demanded. “You can’t fire me! I

came over from your father’s company to make sure you

were doing things properly. I’ve spent the last several

years trying to make sure you ran your company the

way a MacLauren should!”

Keith caught Allen’s gaze and nodded. The three

men stepped forward.

“Hester, you are banned from this building. Your

personal effects will be forwarded by the new HR

director.”

“Are you insane?” she shouted. “You are! I’ll go

straight to your father and he’ll straighten you out in a

jiffy, young man!”

“I would hope my father has more intelligence,”

Keith replied. “Considering what happened last time we

disagreed over an important matter.”

Paul’s lips twitched before he resumed a bland

expression.

“Allen, if you would please?”

With a bit more care, the junior guards took hold of

Hester and escorted her from the office. Paul closed the

door behind them. Leaning back in his chair, Keith

exhaled and closed his eyes.

“God, what else could happen today?”

“Well,” Paul started as he resumed his seat.

“Keith!” Mark’s aggressive tone could be heard in

the outer office.

“Stop asking asinine questions,” Keith told him.

“You got it.” Paul nodded. “Wonder what he’s here

about?”

“Allen, let him in,” Keith called out.

Mark strode in as the door bounced off the wall from

the force of his anger.

“Keith, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” he

came forward and pounded the desk with a fist. “You

don’t go around dismissing senior officers and half your

Programming Division! My God! I’m getting calls from

the papers wanting to know if MC is going under.”

Keith glanced at Paul.

“That’s what we didn’t think of,” he murmured.

“I would say so,” the lawyer nodded.

“Mark, thank you for telling me. Call a press

conference in the lobby at two. Tell reporters only that

MC is
not
going under but there was a major internal

shake-up. Tell them I will address them personally. I

will read a brief statement and not take any questions.”

“My God,” Mark stared. “You’re serious. You really

fired Duncan, Steve, and the others on the frivolous

whining of a few women.” He sank down into the chair

Hester had vacated. “Keith, you can’t just…”

“Yes, I can,” he replied. “And I just did. Harassment

of any kind will not be tolerated by MC’s CEO, nor by

any MC employee,” he added for emphasis. “If you can’t

deal with that, you may resign.”

“Resign? Why would I need to resign?” Mark was

stunned. “What have I been accused of?” He glared.

“Let me guess, Serena told you about what happened a

year and a half ago. Well, let me tell you, she’s about as

cold a fish as they come. I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-

foot pole, let alone put my cock into an iceberg like her!”

Inhaling sharply, Keith’s body tensed like a cobra

ready to strike. With each word Mark uttered, the

expression on the CEO’s face became deadlier.

“Oh, shit,” muttered Paul, half-rising from his seat.

Keith’s eyes didn’t leave Mark’s.

“What did you do to Serena?” The ice in his voice

dropped the temperature in the room several degrees.

“When?”

“We stayed late going over a few things while

eating and then she pushed me away!” He was all

righteous fury and indignation. “I showed her a thing

or two.”

Keith clenched his jaw so hard he was amazed he