“No, I don’t like him!” she nearly shouted, causing Viktor to finally look at her. “Not like that.”
She was shaking, her eyes watered and she looked utterly distraught. “I have to work with him, Viktor. You saw that room. I can’t…” She shook her head, not knowing how to explain.
“Is he harassing you, Amanda?” Viktor asked calmly.
Tears began streaming her face but she wouldn’t answer.
“Amanda, you need to tell me.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Viktor waited patiently for nearly 5 minutes before she finally spoke. “About a week after I came back from Europe, Derek asked me out,” she tearfully began to explain. “I politely declined and explained that I was already seeing someone.” She dried her eyes with a napkin and continued, “I kept things friendly. I didn’t want to make enemies … It wasn’t long after that Sam got promoted and put in charge of the new department. He asked for me and Derek to be under him.”
“Did Sam know that Derek had asked you out?”
“No. I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Did he ask again?”
She nodded. “And again, and again.”
“Is that all he does?”
She shook her head. “He touches me a lot. I’ve asked him to stop. Then he does for a while but…” She sighed, feeling embarrassed and not wishing to continue.
“Where does he touch you?”
A look of pain washed over her face. “My arm, my shoulder, my back …” She swallowed. “My neck … my leg.” As she said it, she broke down sobbing. She felt humiliated that she hadn’t been able to stop it and now Viktor knew about it.
Viktor squeezed her hand and gently stroked her hair. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You know why,” she asserted.
“I don’t actually.”
“I knew you would just use it as another reason I should quit my job.”
“Actually, Amanda, as an employer I would have told you and am going to tell you to report it.”
“I can’t do that. You have no idea what that would be like.”
“Amanda, you can’t let this go.”
“It’s fine, Viktor. I can manage him.”
“Amanda, when I walked in, he was practically in your lap.”
“Management loves him,” she replied. “I don’t even know if they would believe me. They’ll question why I didn’t report it in the first place. If anything, they’ll look at me as the troublemaker … And the office gossip …” She shook her head. “I can’t, Viktor. I just can’t.”
“Amanda, they have to take you seriously. By law, they can’t ignore this and they can’t retaliate against you. You need to tell your supervisor. You need to tell Sam.”
“I can’t do it, Viktor.”
“If you don’t, I will.”
“Viktor, please!”
“I won’t let this continue,” Viktor stated firmly.
“What if he gets fired, because of me?”
“Sam or Derek?”
“Derek.”
“If Derek gets fired, it won’t be because of you. It will be because of his own actions. Same as if he showed up to work drunk. He has no one to blame but himself. He should have more respect for women.”
“But I didn’t report it right away. It’s been going on for months.”
“It doesn’t matter how long it’s been going on, Amanda. Trust me. I know a little something about this. Currently being sued, remember?” He gently wiped away a tear from her cheek. “You’ve had enough and you want it to stop.”
She took a deep breath and seemed to gather some courage. “Would you stay with me while I tell Sam?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay.”
He rubbed her back. “Think you can eat before you go back in?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I should have told you.” She looked at him and tried to smile. “I’m glad you confronted me.”
“Me too,” he agreed. “I thought you were having an affair with him.”
“Oh boy,” she laughed nervously. “Now I’m really glad you confronted me.”
“Well … I guess I should have known better.”
“I love you more than words can say, Viktor.”
“I know. I love you more than anything else on this earth.”
She leaned over to hug him and they embraced for a long time, each feeling relieved to have cleared the air between them. At Viktor’s urging, Amanda managed to eat some of her meal before returning to work. He accompanied her as she asked Sam if she could speak privately with him. Sam was stunned to learn what had been going on. He wished that Amanda had told him sooner. Needing to speak with upper management and not wanting to send her back to work alone with Derek, he told her to take the rest of the day off with pay. He assured her that he would take steps to protect her until the issue could be resolved. Amanda was glad that she listened to Viktor and felt hopeful that things at work would return to normal eventually.
Chapter 34
The next morning when Amanda arrived at work she was directed to see the General Manager. She nervously walked to his office. He looked up when she approached the door and waved her in.
“Close the door behind you,” he requested as he moved away from his computer and leaned back in his chair. “Have a seat.”
She sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“Sam told me what you said and I want to assure you that we take this very seriously. We are going to look into this and take appropriate measures.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“In the meantime,” he continued, “we think it’s best if we separate the two of you, at least until we can come to a resolution.”
“Okay.”
“So, starting today, we’re moving you back to Support. Sam will stay present while you move your things…”
“Wait,” she interrupted him. “You’re moving me out?”
“Well … yes.”
“Did Sam ask for this?” Amanda asked, thinking this just didn’t sound right.
“It was a management decision.”
“I have seniority. Why am I being moved?”
“I understand you’re upset. But until we come to a resolution, we think this is best for everyone.”
“Why isn’t Derek being moved?”
“Amanda, that’s our decision. Someone from Human Resources will be setting up
