A short story for mature readers.

“A retail worker is confronted by harassment allegations.”

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the break room at two thirty. morris wong, fifty two, sits next to chigane, another dime a dozen teenaged filipina with a potmarked face buried in her phone. morris’ warm congee scented breath can be felt on her shoulder but she doesnt recede. she leans in to him instead, laughing, pointing out the funny cat on her feed. joseline walks by and morris straightens himself, waking chi out of her digital stupor.

are you still coming to celias party tonight?

i told you no already. his accent is milder then his looks suggest.

why not?

we talked about this already.

i know.

its just not appropriate.

i know. she bats her mascaraed eyes. morris is a fool for her eyes.

then why do you keep asking?

i don’t know.

i want us to be more open too, just not yet. you know what people will say. she recedes, expecting a different result. hey morris?

he looks up to see steve, the colossi store manager. he has their full attention.

what’s up?

can i see you in my office?

i have a few minutes left on my lunch.

now please? you can make them up later. hello, chigane.

morris looks at chi like jim to pam, collects his things and follows steve out of the break room and down the hall to his office. the managers office is an enigma: company owned furniture and meek decor; certificates on the wall for milestones of the branch; and personal photos of steves twin boys in full hockey gear, co exist together in this carnivorous ecosystem. steve shuts the door behind morris.

take a seat, morris. they both oblige. so how are you?

im good, steve. whats going on with you?

well, to be honest im not so good. i had a letter, put in my drop box anonymously. there wasnt a name, so i dont know who sent it. but it concerns you.

whats this about?

i think the best way to do this, is to have you read it. i have already taken the appropriate action. steve hands him a typed, single sided, single spaced letter. morris reads it in its entirety. when he is finished, his hands collapse to his sides exhausted.

do you have anything to say for yourself? steve takes his mark.

i dont know what this is.

are you saying that, whoever wrote that letter, those things, they arent true?

…no!

they didnt happen? this was steves favourite part of the job, back peddling with the goofs.

…no, of course not.

there will still have to be a full investigation.

i understand.

ill be interviewing the other staff in your department, your department head, whos your manager?

tim.

tim t?

no, timothy. steve stands up from the chair and crosses to the side of his desk closest to morris, sitting on the edge and looking down on him. he is made all the more intimidating with the fluorescent lights silhouetting him.

timothy, with the glasses, right. thanks. its hard to keep track of all these seasonal changes, school year ends, new staff, new, responsibilities, you know?

i know.

we all like you, morris. youve been here a long time. investigations take a long time. i just want you to know that it will be a fair and balanced process.

okay.

…you know the company, has been changing its policies lately, becoming stricter with, harassment in the workplace, bullying, unwanted advances, etcetera. now im not saying you, im just saying, as a representative of the company, nothing we have discussed here will leave this room. but i cant make promises for the rest of the staff. people talk, it is to be expected. so i think its better for everyone that you take some time off. call it a leave of absence.

is it a leave of absence or a suspension?

its an unpaid leave of absence while we conduct our internal investigation.

morris leaves the building with his knapsack heavier than usual. his locker buddies were always complaining about the smell, and a suspension was as good a time as any to finally get some things done, like clean those three year old orthotics and safety vest. could he throw those in the washing machine? would that ruin them any more then they were ruined already? how long would the suspension be? how long does an investigation take? how long is long? steve didnt give him any answers, and one thing morris couldnt stand were loose ends. would it be better to think he was fired? maybe. then at least there would be some excitement when he got the call to return, if. it is starting to rain. morris closes the top of his mazda convertible and drives off.

//jf 9.10.2019

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