Texas, with a Twist

Prompt: Your character is invited to a secret meeting. Who invited them, and what do they encounter?

***

She laughed to herself as she inspected her newly printed business cards. “Sheila McCarry, Investigator” in bold, black print. She could have included “workplace consultant” or “employment attorney,” but some part of her liked the association with one of her favorite characters from childhood, whom she considered to be a superhero--Nancy Drew. Maybe she should have joined the FBI or gone into criminal law after law school. But here she was. A freelance workplace investigator living in her hometown of Roanoke, Virginia.

Most of her work was remote, but StarBright, the organization that had hired her to conduct a neutral investigation into certain workplace allegations, had insisted on flying her in to their headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. As she disembarked from the plane, she realized that shoes like her conservative pumps were not the preferred fashion choice of these particular passengers. Looking at the array of cowboy boots and western style wedges in the aisle, she was beginning to understand why they called it “Cowtown.”

***

Meanwhile, Adam Arturo, the radio sales manager at StarBright, sat uneasily at his desk. Starbright was a large media conglomerate, and he had just received an email from the HR director advising that there would be an “investigation” and that he was to cooperate with the external investigator when she contacted him. He immediately closed his office door and called his friend, Juli, in HR and asked what it was about. She told him that he would find out all about it during his interview. Did she say it smugly? Hard to tell over the phone, but he thought so. Now he wished he hadn’t declined when she invited him for drinks with her earlier that year.

Did they know about what he had done? For that matter, which time? How would they know? How much did they know? Was this the company’s way of getting rid of him? He sighed, settled into his emails and reminded himself that he’d find out soon enough.

***

Early the next morning, while waiting for her first interviewee to arrive in the StarBright conference room, Sheila reviewed the anonymously made complaint that was the subject of her investigation. The transcript of the complaint, which had been made via telephone on the company hotline, reflected a “same sex” sexual harassment complaint. The complainant stated that she was female, that she worked in the radio sales department, and that she felt she was in a hostile work environment due to being sexually harassed by a woman in a cubicle near her named Claire Satterfield.

Sheila also reviewed the sketch she had requested and received from the company. It was a layout of the block of cubicles where Claire and the rest of the radio sales staff sat. It also identified the names of the individuals in all the cubicles and, most importantly, showed which ones sat beside Claire, the respondent in the complaint.

In this investigation, Sheila had decided not to interview Claire first. Instead, she asked to interview two individuals who sat adjacent to Claire in the cubicles, as well as Claire’s supervisor, prior to talking to Claire. Sheila’s plan was to talk to the first three witnesses about “team dynamics,” which was a subtle way of learning about the overall atmosphere in the work area without necessarily disclosing the specifics of the complaint or the individuals involved.

Sheila heard a tentative knock on the door and looked through the narrow window beside the door to see a figure standing outside the conference room. Her first interviewee of the day had arrived. Sheila quickly lowered the blinds on the small window and then welcomed Kaili with “two i’s” (as Kaili perkily told Sheila in her first sentence). Kaili was a chipper young woman who was an administrative assistant to some of the radio salespeople. She immediately asked if this was about the “hotline call.” Kaili said she heard about a hotline call made about a lesbian doing something she shouldn’t have to another girl. She lowered her voice and said she heard it might have been Claire who did it. Sheila could tell from the twinkle in her eye that Kaili was quite proud of her acquisition of this information.

Sheila, who was never surprised by how quickly rumors spread in departments that were being investigated, explained that she was not at liberty to discuss any details and suggested they move forward with some preliminary matters. During the interview, not only did Kaili state that she had never seen inappropriate behavior in the cubicle area, she said she had never heard any jokes in the department or building at any time during her employment. This struck Sheila as somewhat implausible, especially given that it was the radio industry, but she supposed it was possible that this was a particularly serious group.

Next on the schedule was Chrissie, who was a radio salesperson in the department. Based on the woman’s strong Texas accent and the liberal fringe accents adorning her shirt, Sheila was reminded of where she was. Like “Kaili with a two i’s,” Chrissie had no recollection of any inappropriate behavior between any of the women at work or otherwise. She appeared almost implausibly flabbergasted at the idea that anyone in her department would do anything inappropriate. She said she knew Juli and Cameron wouldn’t do anything “sexual” and then commented that Claire “definitely” wouldn’t. When Sheila asked why she said “definitely,” Chrissie said she knew Claire really well and that Claire was "just not like that."

Next, after taking a few minutes to organize her notes, Sheila welcomed Adam Arturo into the conference room. Adam was the radio sales manager and Claire’s supervisor. When Sheila shook hands with Adam, she noticed his warm, sweaty palm. His demeanor was relaxed, but, to some degree, it also seemed practiced. He was quick to flash his boyish smile revealing perfect teeth. Sheila suspected this combination served him well in both sales and his personal life.

After getting through the preliminaries, Sheila asked Adam about his staff and which ones he would consider his top and bottom performers. Adam did not mention Claire in either group. Adam stated that his team is solid and works well together. Adam then volunteered that no one had ever told him he had done anything “suggestive.”

When asked in a general way about whether he had observed anyone on the floor engaging in the type of behavior alleged by the complainant, he somewhat angrily replied, “Of course not. We aren’t like that.” Then the flash of anger disappeared as quickly as it had come. When questioned about the sudden burst of emotion, Adam explained that he takes pride in his team’s ability to work together and sometimes gets protective of them.

When Adam was discussing each of various employees about whom Sheila questioned him, he described Claire as a conscientious hard worker. He said she was somewhere in the middle of the pack with things she still needs to learn, but she is “holding her own.” He said that he didn’t know her that well, and his office wasn’t close to where she sat, but he had never seen her do anything inappropriate to anyone. He reiterated that he really didn’t know anything about her at all. Adam also said no one had ever said anything negative about Claire to him.

***

Working through lunch, Sheila had scheduled Claire, the respondent, as the fourth interview of the day, in case the prior witnesses had observed anything about which Sheila would want to question Claire. When Claire knocked, Sheila warmly greeted her and invited her into the conference room. Claire greeted her back, but “warm” would not be how Sheila would describe Claire’s demeanor. As she began the interview, Claire was visibly anxious. As Sheila went through the preliminary instructions and explanation of the process, Claire’s anxiety seemed to intensify, and Sheila sensed that tears were not far below the surface.

After learning a few facts about Claire’s role as a radio salesperson and establishing a rapport, it was time to discuss the specific allegations made against Claire. It was important that the interview not feel confrontational and equally important that Claire had the opportunity to respond to each of the allegations fully.

As Sheila walked through the list of allegations that included frequent “brushing up” against the anonymous complainant by Claire and “constant” suggestive comments and invitations, Claire did not seem surprised by any of them, but unequivocally denied them all. In fact, the longer they talked about the allegations, the less anxious Claire seemed to be. With regard to the allegation that Claire had hugged the anonymous complainant from behind when they were in the kitchen one day, Claire denied it and stated that she does not hug anyone at work like that. At this point, Sheila exercised the “power of the pause,” and after a few seconds of silence, Claire spoke again. She told Sheila that she was “not gay” and that even if she were, she knows better than to “bring that stuff” to work.

Claire stated that she had no idea where these complaints were coming from or why anyone would say these things about her. Claire said she did not remember any incident(s) with anyone in which something she had done could have been misconstrued. Finally, Sheila asked if there was anyone else to whom Sheila should talk. Without hesitation, Claire ran through a list of three individuals in rapid fire fashion: Chrissie, Cameron and Anton. Claire said to talk to them because they knew she would never do anything like what was in the complaint. Claire left somewhat more composed that when she arrived.

Given that she had already interviewed Chrissie that morning, Sheila contacted the HR director to see if Cameron and Anton might be available for an interview later that afternoon. Sheila then stepped out for a very late lunch. While she was having a “Texas BBQ” sandwich from a place called Risckey’s down the street, she received a text from the HR director saying that Cameron was available that afternoon, but that Anton would not be in until the following day.

***

When Sheila returned to the conference room, she reviewed her notes and prepared to interview Cameron. According to the HR director, Cameron had been with the company for years, and Adam had identified him as one of his top performers. However, the most significant fact Sheila knew about Cameron thus far was that he sat next to Claire in the cubicle area.

When Cameron arrived, he, like the prior witnesses, denied seeing anything inappropriate in the department and spoke very highly of all his coworkers. He made a point of telling Sheila that Claire would not do anything inappropriate, as she was a very “straight arrow.” Sheila asked Cameron why he brought up Claire, and he said there was no reason and that she was one of many “good people” he worked with. He then named other employees and stated that they were also “straight arrows.”

***

When Sheila returned to her hotel room, which was decorated with a less than subtle western theme, she changed clothes, and was preparing to order room service. When she heard her phone vibrate, she saw a text stating that the sender had some “important information” and asking to meet with her that night. The text was signed, “-Claire.” It was Sheila’s practice to give her phone number to witnesses in case they “remembered” anything after the interview, so the contact was not unusual. However, the urgent request for a meeting was out of the ordinary.

Sheila thanked Claire for the text and said she would be happy to talk more with her the next day when they were in the office. Claire texted, “No. It’s too risky. No one can know we are meeting again.” Internally rolling her eyes at the cloak and dagger-ness of it all, Sheila agreed to meet with Claire briefly at a nearby coffee shop.

***

When Sheila arrived at “Stockyards Coffee,” she was relieved to see that it was not crowded. She knew if it were, it would only add to the stress that Claire seemed to be feeling. She found Claire seated in a booth at the back of the shop looking intently at her phone. After getting herself a cup of “Railyard Coffee,” which was delicious, Sheila sat down and attempted to engage in pleasantries with Claire.

Suddenly, Claire stopped talking and blurted out, “I’m supposed to give you this.” Claire held out an envelope. While noticing the bright red splotches that had appeared on Claire’s neck and chest, Sheila slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a note that looked like it might have been to war. The note was handwritten in blue ink that apparently smudged easily. It read:

I already called the hotline to say this, but I wanted you to know too since you are the investigater [sic]. I’m the person who complained about Claire. But I’m withdrawing my complaint. I changed my mind. I don’t want any investigation. She stopped doing stuff to me. Please close the case.

Sheila slowly folded the note and put it back in the envelope. “Why don’t you tell me about the note, Claire?” Claire’s splotches were spreading as she responded, “That’s from the person who complained. I’m just giving it to you. And I just want you to know that this person really doesn’t want anything else to happen.”

Sheila gently asked if Claire knew why the person would give her the note to pass along when it was bound to be suspicious coming from the person who was accused of engaging in inappropriate conduct. Claire teared up at this point, shook her head, stared at a drop of spilled coffee on the table, and said in a tremulous voice, “I don’t know.”

Sheila told Claire she was simply trying to understand what happened. The tears were beginning to roll down Claire’s face now, and she said in a small, high voice, “I don’t know what to do.” Sheila softly responded that telling her the truth was all she was asking.

After a long pause, Claire sat up straighter, dabbed at her tears with her coffee stained napkin, and began to speak. The red splotches were no longer visible; instead her entire face, neck, and chest had turned red. Claire softly said she was dating a supervisor, which was prohibited by the employee handbook. The supervisor was male, and they had both heard there were growing rumors about whether they were “you know, together.” She and the supervisor both needed their jobs and knew they would get fired if their bosses found out. Even worse, Claire suspected the supervisor was starting to think about ending the relationship because of the rumors. Claire said she did not want to lose Adam or her job, so she came up with a plan she thought would work. Sheila asked, “Adam?” Claire closed her eyes, realizing her mistake, and nodded. “Adam Arturo, your boss?” Claire looked away and again nodded.

Sheila waited a moment and then asked Claire about her plan. To Sheila’s surprise, Claire said out of the blue, “I made the complaint.” Sheila tried to wrap her brain around what she just heard. “Against yourself?” she asked. Claire nodded and stated quickly, “I made the whole thing up. I shouldn’t have done it.” Though Sheila generally didn’t show much reaction to what interviewees said, it was a challenge to not look at least somewhat incredulously at Claire. Claire went on, “Now that you know that, can we just close this case?”

Sheila explained it wasn’t that simple and asked Claire why she had made a complaint about herself. Claire said she decided that if she could get the staff to think she was gay and harassing another female, that would start new rumors, which she said would take the focus off her real relationship with Adam. Claire added that if they thought she was gay, it would also then not make sense for her to be involved with Adam.

Sheila asked why she would not be concerned about being fired for harassing someone, as the complaint stated she had done. Claire said she had thought about that and told a couple of her friends that she was making the complaint “just for fun” to see what the company did. At her request, her friends had agreed to say that Claire would never have done anything like what person who complained said and that she was a "straight arrow." Even though she suspected she knew the answer, Sheila asked, “And those friends are?” Claire responded, “Chrissie, Cameron, and Anton.” Claire went on, “I knew nobody would actually say I did anything wrong, so the case would just get closed. But people would still be talking about me being gay.” 

Sheila leaned back and commented, “That is quite the scheme.” Claire anxiously asked again, “So you close the case now, right?” Sheila again responded that it was not that simple, thanked Claire for her honesty, and bid her farewell for the evening.

As she walked back into her hotel, Sheila mused to herself how unfortunate it was at times like this that she had an obligation to keep her investigations confidential. This would certainly have been a doozy of a story for someone. In fact, this might be one that would have made Nancy Drew proud.

On a whim, and on her way to the elevators, Sheila turned into the hotel bar for a nightcap. Looking over the cocktail menu, a vodka drink called the “Texas” appealed to her. She laughed to herself as she asked the bartender for “Texas, with a twist.”

That was certainly what she had gotten that day.