Scott sat patiently waiting for Julia to finish the phone call she'd absolutely had to take before they'd started their meeting. The conversation seemed to be mostly one sided, with her responding positively to the caller's questions and confirming requests, while she played with her long red hair. He liked her hair, it was the only thing he did like about her.
He tried to calm his nerves by staring out of the window, focusing on the rain lashing against the panes of glass as the sun set on what had been a truly awful day. An awful day culminating in this "quick word" with Julia that he'd requested in the vain hope that his recent problems in the office would be solved. He'd never complained about a member of staff before and had no idea what to expect afterwards. Would his co-workers shun him for ratting on one of them? Maybe they would understand. After all nobody enjoys sexual harassment in the workplace, no matter what your gender.
Julia ended her conversation with a melodic goodbye, placed the receiver down slowly, and sat back in her chair.
"Sorry about that Scott. So what was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked with an annoying smile spreading across her pale, doll like features.
Scott took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and remembered what he'd practiced saying on his drive to work. Then promptly forgot it all, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Jacob has been saying inappropriate things about me." He'd meant to say to him but thought it better to cover that in any follow up questions.
Julia cocked her head in puzzlement. "Such as?" a tone of humour in her voice.
He attempted to clear his throat, hoping he'd be able to say it to her without his voice cracking. "Well he keeps asking me how big my, erm, penis is. He asks me if I'm circumcised, if I shave my testicles, that sort of thing."
Of course those weren't the words Jacob had used, and he didn't bother to mention that Jacob licked his lips or winked whenever they conversed. The whole thing already felt awkward enough.
Julia was clearly amused by his discomfort. That annoying smile now turned into an annoying smirk, "anything else?" Her eyes seemed to light up as he squirmed.
"Well yeah, a few other things but more of the same. Shouldn't you be taking notes?"
"I can if you would like, but I thought you wanted a quick word not to report a member of staff."
"Well, um, yes I would like you to take notes." His already shaky resolve was slowly being eroded by her calmness. He needed to be more assertive. This whole episode had been eating at him all week, and she just seemed to brush it off as if she couldn't understand why he was here talking to her.
She opened a draw and took out a notebook and pen, flipped it open, and clicked the pen with a flourish. Though it was immediately clear to him that she wasn't planning on writing anything.
"It just seems a little unnecessary to me is all. Isn't this just a bit of fun in the office, something to pass the day. Have you asked him to stop?" she asked.
Scott felt himself flush with anger. He suppressed it by fidgeting in his chair and taking a deep breath. "Yes on three separate occasions now, but he keeps doing it and everyone keeps laughing at me, and I'm sick of it," he said trying his best to stay calm.
It wasn't easy being a single straight man in this office. Mostly because aside from Jacob, he was the only single person in the office. Hell, even the stuck up bitch in front of him was married. What's more, he hadn't had a girlfriend for years. His own Mother was starting to suspect he might be secretly gay, and just afraid to come out. He almost wished he were, perhaps things would be simpler.
"Well perhaps now you've told him, things might calm down a little. Maybe try not to let it get to you so much. Maybe he considers it a compliment," she said.
This time the smile was dismissive. It seemed that as far as she was concerned, he could go now.
Now he really felt his anger boil over. How could she say that? He imagined what the consequences would be if he'd said such things to her. "Really? How would you like it if it were you? Tell me Julia, what colour is your pubic hair, or do you shave your bush? What about your pussy lips, are they all puffy or nice and tight?"
She stared at him with no change to her expression, and he felt the blood drain from his face. He'd said it without thinking, and now he was in trouble. He'd come here to make a complaint about sexual harassment in the workplace, and now he was probably about to be suspended for asking his married boss about her genitals. She sat there in silence while his heart beat faster and faster until he was ready to be sick.
She sat there a moment longer, then as if reaching a decision, slowly leaned forward and said, "I have red pubic hair, more orange I would say, lighter than the hair on my head. I don't like to shave it all off but I do keep it tidy, it's a neat little landing strip at the moment. As for my pussy lips, well I'll let you be the judge."