15. Kassie #2
She was quiet for a moment. “I am not delving into all the details. I don’t like thinking about it.”
“That’s fair.”
“After you left and I knew you weren’t coming back, I decided to go ahead with becoming an accountant. I looked into schools and courses, and Toronto was the best place to get my degree.”
I nodded. It made the most sense.
“I had to do it the long way since money was so tight. I went to school, worked part time, and came home when I could. After Mom died, I stopped coming home. I sold the house and used the money to finish my education. I did all the requirements, including the practical experience, and I got my CPA degree. It was years of hard work.”
“I bet you graduated top of your class.”
“I did well,” she replied.
I squeezed her hands. “Keep going.”
“I started working full time. I was the lowest-ranking employee, but I worked my way up. Then I was offered a job at a different firm. More money, better benefits, and I liked the people I interviewed with. It seemed like a good fit. And it was, for a while.”
I slid a little closer, feeling her tense up. “What changed?”
“One of the partners started harassing me. It seemed innocuous at first, and I thought I was imagining it. But it escalated. Barry would say things, make innuendos, whisper to me in meetings. He stood too close and showed up at after-hours functions and just…” She trailed off.
“He was just too close. I spoke with him, and he told me he was simply being friendly and I was making too much of it.”
“What happened?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“It got worse, not better. He’d come up with excuses to have me alone. Got me assigned to an audit that made us work together more closely. I went to HR finally and complained.”
“Did it do any good?”
“He was ‘spoken to.’” She made air quotes. “I realized what I thought was a great place to work was an old boys’ club. Even HR didn’t take me seriously. I started looking for another job. Quietly.”
Her fingers worked the blanket over her knees, clutching at it.
A pulse beat frantically at the base of her throat.
I moved as close as I could, silently offering her the strength of my presence to finish her story.
I let her grip my hands, the shaking in her fingers telling me how relating her tale was affecting her.
“Do you want to stop?”
“No.” She looked past me, focusing on something behind my shoulder. “One night, I was working late. He showed up. He’d been drinking, and he got physical. He had me cornered and told me in no uncertain terms if I wanted to keep my job what I had to do for him. What I had to let him do.”
“Bastard,” I snarled.
“He touched me. It made me sick to my stomach.” She took a deep breath.
“He grabbed my neck and squeezed my throat. I pushed him away, and he slapped me. He threw me against the wall, and I fought him. I scratched his face, and he slapped me again.” She shut her eyes.
“I thought—I knew—he was going to rape me.”
Anger so hot and bright that my skin felt on fire raged through me. “Kassie,” I murmured, horrified.
“He lunged at me, screaming obscenities, and I kneed him in the balls. He went down like a sack of potatoes.”
The unexpected statement caught me off guard, and a shout of laughter escaped my lips. “Good girl.”
“I ran. I grabbed my purse and I ran. It was late, and no one else was around. I went right home and took a shower. Cried. Then I hid at home for two days.”
“You were traumatized.”
“I shouldn’t have done any of it. I should have gone right to the police.
When I returned to the office, he was waiting with HR.
He accused me of harassing him. Showed off the scratches on his face.
Told them how he had to fight me off, which caused the bruises on my arms and neck.
I was fired immediately and kicked out of the building. ”
“But you’d already complained.”
“He insisted it was all on my part, not his. And given his friendship with the partners and his status, he was believed.” She sighed, rubbing her head. “I went to a lawyer and, after much deliberation, decided to fight back.”
“And?”
“It wasn’t going well. My word against his. A disgruntled employee against a senior partner who refused her advances, knowing he was being used to climb the ladder.” She paused. “I need a drink of water.”
I handed her the glass, waiting while she drank it. She reached for my hands again. “One day, my lawyer called me and had me come to her office. There was a woman there. Younger than me. It turned out she worked at the firm and with Barry but had left abruptly.”
“Had he harassed her?”
“Yes. But unlike me, Mandy had dates, times, what he said, all written down. She had a voice recording of a message he left her. She videotaped him one day in her office, basically blackmailing her. Threatening to ruin her career and get her fired. But before he could do anything, someone came in. She cleaned out her office and left that day. Moved.”
I frowned. “She never told anyone?”
“She had a mother to care for and a disabled sister to support. She needed a job, and she knew if she spoke up, she wouldn’t be believed.
That they would blackball her name. She went to Niagara and took a job there.
Moved her mom and sister and kept her mouth shut.
But she saw my case in the paper. She was married by that point.
Her husband fully supported her coming forward with her evidence.
Let’s just say, once that was presented, the case turned my way. ”
“And you won?”
“The firm fired him. I was offered my job back, which I refused. Then they offered a settlement, and I was advised to take it. My lawyer wanted to go after Barry personally next. I wasn’t sure I wanted to take it any further.
The partners asked for a meeting with Mandy and me.
I went with my lawyer, and when it was over, we were walking out… ”
Her trembling grew more pronounced.
I pulled her close, letting her rest her head on my chest. My heart was pounding, and I knew what she said next was going to be hard to hear.
“Barry showed up, angry and shouting. Demanding his job back. When he saw Mandy, he lost it. He went after her. I stepped in front of her, and he barrelled into me, sending us both backward. My back hit the edge of a cement block that held a piece of artwork so hard it shattered the vertebra. I fell to the floor, and he did as well, landing on top of me. He wasn’t a small man, and he went down hard, causing more damage. ”
She looked up at me, her wide eyes wet with tears. “The next thing I knew, I woke up, and I was in the hospital. Unsure if I would walk again.”
I cupped her face. “Kassie.” I held her, letting her cry. “You got hurt saving someone else.”
“She was tiny—almost fragile-looking. He was out of control with his anger, and I thought he would kill her. I didn’t think, I just acted. It happened so fast,” she sobbed.
“You were incredibly brave,” I praised her.
“I was terrified,” she admitted. “It took months of recovery, therapy, and physio. The firm tried to keep it all hush-hush, but word got out. The story made the papers for a while. Barry’s wife left him and moved away, taking the kids.
The firm was in chaos, and others came forward with more stories of harassment.
It wasn’t long before they closed down the firm. ”
“And what of him?” I asked, thinking a trip to Toronto might be needed. An unfortunate mugging occurring.
“I heard he died. A robbery gone wrong.”
“Fitting.”
She nodded, and I wiped away the tears on her face.
“So, you came home,” I prompted.
“Yes. I had job offers, but I didn’t want to stay.
Too many bad memories and I was lonely. The city seemed too big and scary.
I had enough clients who still wanted me to do their accounting, I knew I could start my own business.
I used the money from the settlement to pay for this house and started my company.
I came home. People knew what happened. It was in the papers and on the news for a while.
But no one treated me differently. I was just Kassie here.
They were helpful and friendly. Not looking for gossip or a story.
So I rebuilt my life.” Her shoulders slumped forward, showing her exhaustion. “And that’s it.”
“I think you’re incredible,” I murmured after a moment of gathering my thoughts. “Brave. Selfless. Tough.”
“Some days, I don’t feel so tough.”
“I get that. But you are. Resilient. Look at everything life has thrown at you, and you’re still here.
Running a business. Three of them. Your accounting, your pies, and this place.
You have friends, a close circle around you.
A great house. You spoke up against injustice and won.
” I traced my fingers over her cheek. “I wish you hadn’t been hurt while doing it, though. ”
“Me too. Especially on bad days.”
“Do you ever hear from Mandy?”
“All the time. She comes to visit. I go see her. Her husband thinks I’m a hero. She tells everyone I saved her, but if she hadn’t come forward…” She shrugged. “I think we saved each other.”
“And he lost. Everything.”
“He did.”
“Payback can be a bitch. Especially when they have strawberry-blond hair and wicked knees.”
She giggled, the sound making me smile. “I wish I’d gotten a few more of those in. It was very satisfying.”
“I’ll remember to stand back next time I make you angry.”
She gave me a smile, then sighed and ran a hand over her head. “I’m tired.”
I stood, offering her my hand. “I’m not surprised. You’re mentally and physically exhausted. Let me help you to bed.”