BWWM Interracial Romance 1: Professional Relations (3 page)

“I think you’ll both agree that in terms of the strengths of your groups, this works out better.” Regina nodded slowly. The allocation also made sense in light of her strengths as a project manager; while her ability to plan was good, and she had a great head for analyzing data, she was not as strong of a designer as Bradley was, and she knew it.

The two left Talitha’s office after their boss announced that she would send her completed allocations to them via email. Regina went back to her office to start preparing development briefs for her team. She would have a few design components for those members of her staff, but the focus of her part of the assignment would be the testing phases, the market research and A-B comparisons, along with site development for individual products. There were a number of individual tasks that she would have to think through to make sure that nothing got left out.

Regina thought of the way that she and Bradley had bickered in Talitha’s office; it hadn’t been a major fight—Talitha would have called them to order a lot more forcefully if it had been—but she knew that preparing for meetings with the client would not be any fun.

Regina thought with dread that she would be spending much more time in Bradley’s company than she ever wanted. If she suggested that they work on their reports separately, she would give him an opening to try and show her up. On the other hand, if they worked on the presentations together, Regina knew that they were going to constantly be disagreeing.

As Regina finished up the briefs for her team, looking at the schedule and allocation that Talitha had sent to her, she grumbled to herself in the privacy of her office. She had to keep a positive viewpoint; her sister Abigail reminded her of that constantly. But Regina was honest enough with herself to know that it was going to be a struggle. She wished that her first major project as an assistant project manager could have been working directly with Talitha or on her own—or even with any of the other APMs.

She could hear her sister’s voice in her mind:
“Reggie, you have two choices: give it up, or suck it up.”

Regina was not about to do anything to jeopardize her new position, so she would have to find a way to deal with her cantankerous and arrogant coworker. As she sent out the briefs and left for the day she realized that she was long overdue for a conversation with her sister, who might have some insight on how to deal with Bradley. Regina smiled to herself at the prospect of a good chat with her sibling, hefting her purse on her shoulder as she got onto the elevator.

Everything seemed much better when she and Abigail spent time together.

On Friday Regina had a brief meeting with the representatives of Alistair-Pole-Richards, during which Bradley was on his best behavior. The meeting wasn’t incredibly serious—mostly a matter of presenting the timeline that Talitha had helped pull together and introducing themselves as the points of contact. Regina dressed carefully for the meeting, feeling nervous at the prospect and almost giving into the strong temptation to reschedule it. She knew that she had to get over her learned instinct for anxiety; she had to move forward from the cowed, depressed person her ex-husband had turned her into. But it was difficult for her to believe in herself with his voice still in her head, dripping poison every time she tried to make a decision to benefit herself.

After the meeting, Regina and Bradley left the clients and were walking back to their respective offices from the lobby, when he turned to her. “You didn’t have to flirt with them, you know,” he said, his voice full of irritation.

Regina froze in her steps. “What?” She asked, stunned at the accusation.

“You were totally flirting with them. ‘Well Mr. Andrews, I’m really excited to be a part of this project,’ Bradley said, mimicking a hair-flip and pitching his voice higher—obviously pretending to mimic her tones.

“I am excited to be part of the project—and I did NOT flip my hair.” Regina crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the blood rush into her face.

“Oh please. You were totally charming him. I get it—you gotta use whatever you can—but you should at least wait until they’re mad at you for something before pulling out the big guns.”

Regina shook her head, staring at him. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” she said. She felt an instantaneous doubt; had she been unconsciously trying to flirt with the men in the meeting? Her ex-husband had constantly accused her of that—usually right before he’d moved to hit her or at the very least spend an hour screaming at her. In spite of knowing that she hadn’t intended to flirt with the representatives, Regina still worried that she was the type of woman who would lead a man along without thinking. The thought of her ex-husband’s constant reprimands for her “slutty” behavior sent a chill through Regina. She bit her bottom lip and swallowed against the lump in her throat, moving away from Bradley quickly and fumbling at the door to her office.

When she woke up on Saturday morning, Regina was only too glad that she would be meeting her older sister Abigail for lunch. She had a lot on her mind; her stress over the scope of her new responsibilities, her difficulties with Bradley, and the lingering issues she had over her disastrous marriage. Regina spent the morning lounging around her apartment, drinking coffee and catching up on the week’s news. She tried to avoid thinking about work, but her mind kept turning back to the topic of Bradley. Regina tried to pin down the reason she found him so annoying in particular: he was arrogant, but Regina had dealt with over-confident people before. He was competitive, but then so was she. Regina tried and failed to figure out the puzzle in her mind.

She finally got dressed comfortably, knowing that after her lunch with her sister she had an appointment at the salon to get her hair done. Regina wanted to get rid of the hair extensions she’d had for so long; her natural hair had grown out over time, and she had wanted to do something with it finally. Her ex-husband had insisted on her maintaining her fake hair, coercing her to go to the salon twice a month to get a new style. Regina’s natural hair was curly and thick, and she thought that lightening it a little bit—to a nice, deep brown instead of her natural black—would be a fun change, and really help her to get to the next stage of recovering from her tempestuous divorce. With a little maintenance, she could have nice ringlets falling almost to her shoulders—and Regina had imagined that outcome with a smile for longer than she had been separated from her husband.

Regina sped slightly on the way to the restaurant where she planned to meet Abigail, anxious to see her sister and unload her troubles and thoughts. Although Regina sometimes felt guilty, burdening Abby with her woes, her older sister was always adamant that she should go to no one else; particularly since their mother had passed away. Regina and Abigail had been in each other’s confidence from childhood, when Regina had started asking her sister “big girl” questions that she wasn’t comfortable talking to their mother about.

The thing that Regina enjoyed most about her conversations with Abigail was that her older sister had a way of telling her the truth bluntly—but without being mean. Abigail had been the first and most vocal champion of Regina’s divorce, goading her sister months before Regina finally went to a lawyer for the first time. Abigail had insisted on cataloguing Regina’s injuries at the hands of her husband, and went to court defiantly to testify to what she knew of the relationship and Regina’s husband’s behavior. It was a debt that Regina could never pay back, and she knew it.

Abigail was waiting for her at the entrance to one of their favorite cafes. Regina smiled at the sight of her sister; Abby was three years older than Regina, with skin maybe two shades darker. She had given up on what she termed the “oppressive rigmarole” of having her hair done and maintained every two weeks, instead opting to keep her hair natural—she didn’t even color it. Of the two sisters, Abigail was the more “hippy-like,” preferring to wear flowing, comfortable clothes and making her money in natural medicine, while Regina worked her way up the corporate ladder, committing to a life of business professional attire and makeup.

Abigail spotted Regina approaching. “Reggie!” she called out, rushing to her. “Oh, little girl, you look so good!” Abigail hugged her tightly, and Regina breathed in the smell of lavender and rose oil that clung to her skin and the flower water she treated her hair with. Abigail was almost exactly the same height as Regina—perhaps an inch shorter—and her work, including massage and chiropractic adjustments—had given her strength and vibrancy.

“Abby!” Regina said, holding her sister tightly. “Big girl, it’s so good to see you.” They had started calling each other “little girl” and “big girl” as a joke when they had been children—the nicknames had stuck, with their parents even referring to them that way. Regina admired the strength and confidence that her older sister constantly displayed; Abigail, she thought, would never have been in an abusive relationship in the first place, much less stayed in it once the abuse started. Abigail had told her on multiple occasions that it could happen to anyone—pointing out that it happened to men who outweighed their wives and in same-sex relationships as well—and that she shouldn’t be ashamed.

The two sisters went into the café, where they were seated immediately by the hostess; they made a habit of visiting the particular restaurant, so much so that every single member of the staff knew them, and knew their favorite menu items. Regina indulged in the macaroni and cheese with bacon and leek, with a side of zucchini fritters, while Abigail tended to get the collard green gratin with the catch of the day.

“Changing it up today, ladies?” their waiter asked them, grinning at the excited women.

“Nope, same as usual, Charlie,” Abigail told him. “Unless you want to add a little taste of something new for free.” Charlie laughed, shaking his head.

“I’ll bring you both your drinks, and put your orders in.” Abigail and Regina loved the café not just for its magnificent food, but also for the house-made sangria—sweet and tart, served cold in the summer and hot in the winter. They made a point of having it every time. Abigail was looking at Regina intently, her dark eyes seeming to take in every detail that might have possibly changed since the last time they had met.

“What’s troubling you?” Abigail asked, getting directly to the point as she always did.

Regina started out with the positive aspects of her new position, telling her sister about her new boss and the people she had on her team. She then explained the major project she’d been assigned to, and how it was a huge opportunity.

“The downside is that I have to work with this jerk, Bradley. I swear to God I can’t stand that man—he gets on my nerves constantly.”

Abigail raised an eyebrow. “Just what does this jerk Bradley do?”

Regina told her about the confrontation that happened on her first day, and how ever since then Bradley had constantly attempted to undermine her. She described their argument after the client meeting, sitting back and taking a sip of her sangria.

“You know I love you, Reggie, but you are determined to face the same issues over and over again without learning,” Abigail said, smiling to soften the criticism. “This Bradley guy is trying to make you buckle—he’s probably gotten all high and mighty because of his job, and he’s threatened by you being there, doing your usual awesome work.”

Regina could see the logic in her sister’s words. It made sense; she knew from experience that usually bullies had a reason for targeting whoever they did. “So what do I do about it? I have to work with him.”

Abigail shrugged, taking a bite of her gratin. “You have to show him that you’re not an easy target. Stand up to him. Once he sees that you’re not going to take his shit, he’ll back down and find someone else to pick on.”

Regina considered the advice. “But if I stand up to him right now he’ll just double down.”

Abigail nodded. “You better be prepared for fall out, of course. Do it carefully. I know you can stay professional or I wouldn’t recommend it. You keep putting out your best work and if he does complain to someone higher up, they’ll smack him down for you.”

Regina took a bite of her macaroni and cheese, trying to think of how she could put the advice to work.

They shifted the conversation to more pleasant topics and Regina found out that Abigail and her long-time boyfriend were considering getting engaged. “Daniel wants to have babies, and while I told him we could do that without getting married, he keeps insisting that he wants our children to have a stable home to grow up in, and that the only way he can guarantee that for his offspring is to marry me.”

Regina laughed, thinking that Daniel was in for a difficult task if he thought he would convince her sister to marry him. Abigail had been opposed to marriage for as long as they’d formed opinions about the matter—while Abby had never been against the idea of having a family, she had seen their mother compromise and give in to their father on so many occasions that the institution of marriage itself had never appealed to her.

They split the check as they always did, after Abigail argued that as the older sister she should be responsible for the meal.

Regina hugged her sister as they parted ways, thinking of her advice. If she stood up to Bradley, she knew that she would be putting herself in a position of vulnerability. But she also knew that she had to establish boundaries with him—that he would keep bullying her if she didn’t. As she left the café and made her way across town to the salon Regina wondered what it was about Bradley that irritated her so much. Thinking of him brought the image of the man to mind; she thought with only a little bit of embarrassment that he was actually very good-looking. His creamy-pale skin was appealing, and his bright eyes and reddish hair had a subtle exoticism that Regina couldn’t deny finding attractive.

Regina sat in the salon chair while the stylist went to work, continuing to think of her conundrum. She considered the possibility of taking another approach to the issue of her frustrating coworker; not knuckling under precisely, but being slightly deferential to him, reinforcing his sense of seniority over her. Regina knew that it would probably work in the short term, but over time, it would just create more trouble. She would eventually have to stick up to him—it would be better for her to get it out of the way as quickly as possible, to assert her position and establish her boundaries. Her support groups, which she had attended all during the divorce as a way to get some advice without hounding her sister, had always stressed that establishing boundaries was important.

Regina left the salon feeling like a new woman. She had seen herself in the mirror and knew that her hair was beautiful. It was always a relief to go to the salon; even when she had been getting her hair done to her ex-husband’s demanding specifications, she had always enjoyed the satisfaction she’d felt at seeing the accomplished style. Regina decided that she would follow her sister’s advice. She would take the first opportunity that presented itself to confront Bradley and let him know that she was not going to tolerate any more of his bullying.

The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully. Regina felt a little guilty at the fact that, in spite of her divorce being finalized, she had never entertained much of a real interest in “getting back out there,” as Abigail said. Another relationship was the farthest thing from Regina’s mind right now. She wanted peace and quiet, time to heal, and an opportunity to rebuild the tattered remains of her confidence. She didn’t think that going after someone so soon after the end of her marriage was a good idea—it was likely to only end in heartache. “I’ll start looking for a new man once I’ve totally exorcised the remains of my old man from my brain,” Regina had told her sister when Abigail pressed her to try a dating service, or to simply go out on a Friday night for drinks.

Regina spent her Sunday getting ready for the week to come, comforted by the familiar routine. Her home was echoingly empty at times, but it was easy for Regina to put some music on and fill the space with sound. She went to the grocery store, and picked up her dry cleaning, and in her mind she rehearsed how she was going to deal with Bradley in the following weeks. She did her laundry, muttering to herself as she played through scenarios in her mind.