Page 51 of The Aries Alliance
I threw my head back and laughed, despite the situation not being funny.
“Who told you that?” I leaned forward and smirked, ready to pounce if I needed to.
“You made Gayle cry when you asked her why the personnel paperwork wasn’t processed fast enough.”
“I made her cry when I asked her to do her job?” I shook my head, not believing that crybaby Gayle went behind my back and reported me for hurting her feelings.
Hell, she hurt my feelings every day when I had to explain to my supervisees why they might not be able to pay their mortgage because of a delay in processing.
Lance rubbed his nose.
“Your directness is off-putting, unprofessional, and uncharacteristic of someone who holds your title. Gayle has crafted a statement, detailing what happened.” He pushed a piece of paper with Gayle’s typed statement across the table.
I perused the document, which was written as if it were an affidavit. I got angrier with each paragraph I read. I pushed the paper back to him and crossed my arms.
“Are you going to allow me to craft a statement also? Will I be allowed to ask questions with Gayle in the room?” I stared directly at Lance.
“Gayle is too traumatized to speak with you,” he said.
Henry nodded.
I opened my mouth, unable to comprehend how these idiots were trying to build a case against me when they were the ones who violated my rights almost every week by not responding to emails half the time.
“First of all, where does the racist claim come in? How was asking Gayle to do her job racist?”
“You spoke harsher to her than the Blacks on your team.” Judy wagged her manicured finger in the air and ranted for several more seconds as I took notes on the notebook I’d pulled from my bag.
I frowned at Judy and held up my fingers to make my points.
“First, don’t refer to any group collectively as the Blacks. And second, maybe other people on my team have backbones, so they can have honest conversations about what’s going well and what isn’t. Third, Gayle needs to receive feedback better, especially if it’s true. It takes her weeks to respond to time-sensitive emails.”
“See. That’s what Gayle’s talking about.” Judy pointed at me like she was a kindergartner.
Since she wanted to act like a kid, I slowed my speech and drew out my words so she could hear every word I spoke.
“Judy, my use of the word Black is not racist, especially in an organization where Black is treated like a curse word. You, like Gayle, might be hypersensitive and unexposed to diverse cultures.” I held my head high, refusing to let anyone at that table intimidate or gaslight me.
“You’re a woman. I’m a woman. I don’t know why you have to use the word Black to describe yourself.” Judy’s red cheeks puffed up like she was going to explode.
Lance’s small eyes darted back and forth across the room before he held up his hands.
“Calm down, everyone. Dr. Kane, please tell us the context again for your use of the word Black in your conversation.”
“I mentioned to Gayle that we needed to move forward with hiring to support the needs of our students. Several of our Black students have complained that the current staff lack transparency regarding their concerns. The administration has also silenced them for having divergent views. I told Gayle that those students have a right to express themselves, especially if pushed against the gates of the patriarchy and white supremacy.” I didn’t flinch when I said what I said.
“I don’t know why you dislike white people.” Judy shook her head.
“Say that one more time, and I’m going to report you for harassment and discrimination,” I said.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.” I rolled my eyes despite myself.
Judy was a hot mess ball of confusion who was hired without following proper protocol. Word on the street was that she was the former director of athletics’ wife, so she benefited from being a diversity hire, as the people in charge lauded the importance of meritocracy. They were so hypocritical and two-faced. I always got negative vibes from Judy and suspected that her character was questionable, but I didn’t expect her to be so delusional andoutspoken at work, especially in front of Lance from HR. More than one person said she’d been bitter about school integration and walked around mumbling to herself how Black people didn’t deserve their jobs. I was sick of her stupid antics and wasn’t going to tolerate her bull today.
“Is saying the word Black at work illegal?” I asked Lance.
He opened his mouth and then closed it, his eyes taking in everyone before they landed on me.
