Jane barely said a word all afternoon. At the end of the day, Julia sat down next to her, spoke to her quietly, and said two words. “Me too.” Jane looked at her, shocked. “You can put me on a list if you want. He only went after me once. I gave him a hand job in his office, or he said I’d lose my job. I was too scared and ashamed to tell anyone.” Jane wondered how many more there were, who might speak up now.
Francine had stayed in her office all afternoon too. She had seen the Instagram of the Wanted poster with Dan’s picture on it, along with half the world, and the details of what he was charged with. Everyone would know soon. She didn’t feel sorry for him. She didn’t feel anything. She didn’t give a damn about him. All she felt was relief that he was gone. He was finally getting what he deserved. She hoped he would rot in jail.
Chapter 7
M erriwether stayed late at the office to talk to Bob the day that Dan was arrested. He was deeply upset that things had gotten so out of hand. He was worried about the agency and felt guilty that anyone had suffered. He should have gotten Dan out of the agency before something like this happened. He had never thought Dan was capable of real harm, but he’d been wrong. And he was concerned about what would happen to Dan if he went to prison. He couldn’t imagine him surviving prison at his age. He was more of a figurehead and did very little work, but it was going to make them look bad if one of the heads of the agency went to prison. He wondered if the judge would be lenient, given Dan Fletcher’s age and stature in the community, but it seemed unlikely. More important men than he were going to prison for similar offenses, justifiably. Bob didn’t disagree with the current stricter policies about women being coerced into having sex, trading jobs for sexual favors, or being drugged and raped. But it was such an ignominious end to what had once been a glowing career for a man who had been his friend. Bob wondered if Dan was getting senile, or if too much alcohol had affected his brain.
“The agency will come through it,” Merriwether said. She didn’t know what to do to cheer him up in the circumstances. It was a serious situation, and he felt terrible for Jane once he knew the story. He didn’t want any of his female employees harassed, assaulted, or abused.
“I want people to feel safe here,” he said to Merriwether. “That’s important to me. I’ve always wanted the work environment at the agency to be like a family, and a second home. We all spend a lot of time here.” He looked miserable.
“I know. Dan is an aberration. Look at all the places where things like that are happening now, in corporations, in the film industry, in politics. Dan has always been a loose cannon as long as I’ve worked here,” she said softly.
“I should have dealt with it years ago. I thought he was harmless. Clearly, I was wrong.” And then he looked at Merriwether. “Did he ever do anything inappropriate with you?” He was afraid of the answer now.
“Just a few comments here and there, nothing too shocking. And he never laid a hand on me. I don’t think he’d dare, with me as the CFO. He knew it would have gone straight back to you.”
“It was stupid and wrong of him to go after Jane. She’s young, with an entry-level job. He probably thought he’d get away with it. She’s a brave girl. If my wife’s firm is representing Jane, they’ll ask for the maximum penalty. And they’re not wrong. I know her father, and I took full responsibility for her when we hired her. He must be ready to kill me and I don’t blame him. I’ll call him. It’s really an abuse of power on top of everything else. I feel terrible for Jane.” He felt sick when he thought about it, and they sat and discussed it for a long time. Merriwether was worried about him, and she didn’t leave the office until he did. She got home even later than usual, and Jeff was waiting for her, looking furious when she walked in.
“What the hell was it about now?” he asked her as soon as she came through the door. She was tired and drained and didn’t want to have to deal with him too.
“We had a bad incident in the office today. I had to stay late.”
“What, did someone commit suicide because their book wasn’t at the top of the bestseller list, or some two-bit actress didn’t get a part in a horror movie?” He had a way of denigrating everything they did. It didn’t used to be like that, but it was now. Everything had changed.
“Dan Fletcher got arrested at the office, for attempted rape,” she said simply. “It was very upsetting, and Bob is justifiably worried about the agency.”
“Who did he try to rape?” Jeff looked surprised.
“A new assistant. She hired a lawyer, and they went to the police.”
“Good for her.”
“I agree. Not good for the agency, though. It could give us a bad name, although we’re not the only ones with these problems now. It’s an epidemic across the country.”
“So why did you have to stay late?” he asked her. She could see that he was spoiling for a fight. He’d had little to do all day and she guessed that his writing hadn’t gone well.
“I’m a senior officer of the company. I can’t just run out the door when something like that happens. He got arrested in the office. That’s terrible for morale.”
“But a good warning to everyone else.”
“That’s true,” she agreed with him. “How was your day? I’m sorry I’m late.”
“No, you’re not. You’d sleep there if you could. It’s the only thing you care about,” he accused her. “And my day sucked, actually. I got a rejection for an article I wrote a few weeks ago. I couldn’t get a single goddamn word on the page for my book. I have writer’s block.” He’d had it for months, but she didn’t remind him of that.
“I’m sorry, Jeff. Have you eaten?”
“Obviously. I’m not going to sit here starving, waiting for you.” Everything she did was wrong in his opinion, and she was tired of it. It was depressing to come home to at night. She couldn’t even remember when things had started to go sour. She hadn’t noticed it at first, but now it was a white-hot blaze, which burned her every time she went near him or they talked. She wondered if they’d ever be able to put out the flames and have a decent relationship again. It was beginning to seem more and more unlikely, which depressed her even more. If they couldn’t fix it, there was nothing to look forward to except endless years of his accusations and him putting her down. It wasn’t how she wanted to live, or an atmosphere she wanted her daughter to grow up in. It wasn’t good for any of them. But she wasn’t ready to do anything radical about it yet. She wondered if couples counseling would help, but she didn’t dare suggest it to him in the mood he was in now, the one he was in every time she saw him.
She took a long hot bath to relax from the stressful day. He was asleep when she got to bed. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d made love.
Francine took her son to therapy the night Dan got arrested. Things were going better. The therapy was helping, and with supervision, the bullying had stopped. Tommy was in much better spirits. He spoke to the therapist alone now, and Francine sat in the waiting room, thinking about Dan’s arrest that day. It all had an unreal quality to it, and she was sure that with his connections, he’d be back to torture whoever he chose to again soon. And she’d be seeing him twice a week until he was a hundred years old. The rumor was that he’d go to prison, and she hoped it was true. She felt lighter than she had in years, knowing that he was in jail that night. It made her feel braver and more optimistic about life. She was lost in reverie when Tommy came out of the therapist’s office and looked at his mother.