Truly Married Read Online Free PDF

having him transferred rather than firing him?”
    Sharon didn’t answer immediately, but took time to think about Anna’s question. It was a possibility, but... “No, I don’t think so,” she said. “The Starlight hotel chain is a big one. It wouldn’t make sense for them to transfer a known troublemaker from one of their facilities to another.
    “Also, this guy is going to go too far one of these days and pick on some woman who’s in a position to fight back. The company would be courting a multimillion-dollar law-suit if it could be proven that they knew Floyd was sexually harassing women employees and hadn’t dealt with it.”
    Tracey joined the conversation. “But, Sharon, if you don’t report him he’ll just harass the women he works with in Hawaii.”
    Tracey had zeroed in on the load of guilt that weighted Sharon’s conscience, and she reacted angrily. “Dammit, Tracey, don’t you think I know that? I have no proof that he’s making sexual advances to some of the women who work under him. If none of them have come forward by now to assert their rights you can bet they’re not going to just to save my job. With the unemployment rate soaring, none of them can afford to take a chance on being fired.”
    She ignored Tracey’s shocked protest that she wasn’t blaming her and continued. “If I file unsubstantiated charges against one of the hotel managers I’ll be branded a troublemaker and lose everything I’ve worked so hard for the past five years. Besides which, my hopes for a career in the hotel business would be blown away.”
    “Sharon, I’m sorry,” Tracey cried plaintively. “I didn’t mean...that is, I meant... Oh damn, I don’t know what I meant! I always speak before I think and then say the wrong thing.”
    She jumped up, knocking over her chair, and ran out of the room, but not before Sharon saw tears running down her face.
    Sharon knew she’d overreacted, and muttered an unladylike expletive as she dropped her face in her hands.
    It was Anna’s cool reason that defused the situation. She stood and came around the table to put her arm across Sharon’s hunched shoulders. “No one’s criticizing you or blaming you for anything, Sharon,” she said gently. “You’re absolutely right. There’s nothing you can do without proof and lots of it. When Tracey grows up a little more, she’ll learn that we women have to fight our own skirmishes in our battle for equal rights and not expect a mother figure to do it for us.”
    Sharon raised her head and patted Anna’s hand that rested on her shoulder. “I know. It’s just that I’m torn between doing what’s right for me and my responsibilities to the women who look to me for guidance.”
    She straightened up in her chair, and Anna moved away and started stacking dirty dishes.
    “You can’t help those women unless they come to you and file a complaint,” Anna said. “Now, why don’t you go upstairs and convince Tracey that you don’t hate her while I load the dishwasher.”
    * * *
    On the following day, Floyd left for a conference at corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, leaving Sharon to shoulder his duties as well as her own. Not that she minded. It was a relief not to have to confront him again, and she used the time to acquaint herself with the finer details of the position she was in line to move up to when he left for Hawaii.
    She was excited and happy about the promotion. She hadn’t been officially notified yet that the job was hers, but she expected the confirmation any day now. It would be most unusual if she didn’t get it. She was the best qualified, and her record was spotless.
    When Vancleave returned on Monday, the first week in June, he sumoned her to his office. Since hers was just down the hall from his, she arrived at his reception room in only a couple of minutes. His secretary, Beverly Maitland, was young and pretty, just the way he liked his “girls.” She smiled at Sharon and motioned toward the