Triangles, Part Seventeen

Thin, perfectly painted lips pursed beneath thickly lined eyes narrowed in accusation. Delicate shoulders, broadened by the pads in a tan linen blazer by the British designer Boden, twitched back in defiant righteousness thrusting a sparkling golden cross into prominence. Boney fingers with perfectly manicured nails rested primly upon a small Gucci look-alike purse while the toe of a high-heeled shoe tapped lightly in agitation.

"Mrs. Leminski," Lee sighed when he decided the silence had stretched on long enough, "I am not going to get into a discussion with you about my hiring practices. I am in compliance with all local and federal guidelines for the employment of childcare workers. That's all I need to say."

Mrs. Leminski opened her mouth to protest but Lee shook his head and spoke again before she could begin. "In Pittsburgh, the people in my employ are protected from harassment and discrimination. The parents who bring their children to act in my show can have any opinion they'd like, but I don't tolerate discriminatory behavior from either them or their children. So, I'm not going to tolerate it from the representative of some organization here to cause trouble."

C'mon, lady, drop it, Lee thought at the woman as he watched her absorb what he'd just said. I'm really not in the mood to deal with your crap.

At every turn for the last forty-five minutes, Mrs. Leminski had tried to engage Lee in a debate about the lesbians and gay men that comprised more than two-thirds of his workforce. Cass had dug up some very embarrassing dirt on MAUVE, the religious-based group Mrs. Leminski represented, but, so far, Lee had been reluctant to mention what had been uncovered. All he wanted to do was get the woman to spell out her supposed concerns about violence in his show so he could address them and be done with.

Mrs. Leminski frowned, the mask that was her thickly applied make-up wrinkling unnaturally. "I'm not here to cause trouble, Mr. Rorrison," she contradicted. "But, we know for a fact that children will emulate the adults they see. If children are exposed to deviants such as you employ, they will think that such behavior is acceptable."

Lee really wished he could growl at this woman; maybe even give her a lip curling snarl. Instead, he flicked his eyes toward the tiny clock on his desk. Ten more minutes, he sighed to himself.

"Mrs. Leminski, I'm not sure what behavior you could be referring to."

"Why, acts of perversion, of course," the indignant woman replied as if that explained everything.

Lee stared blankly at the MAUVE representative. After a moment, he drew a long breath. "Mrs. Leminski, I produce educational pieces based on historical records for children. I do not produce porn.

"I'm not sure what sort of acts of perversion you imagine go on among people who are different from yourself, but I can assure you that my employees are completely professional. The children are as safe from untoward influences here as they are at their schools - perhaps more so."

As he spoke, Lee leaned closer and closer to his desk and the woman sitting beyond it, and his voice rose accordingly. For her part, Mrs. Leminski shrank further into herself as he came closer, her expression a cross between confusion and fear. Lee didn't recognize the second emotion until he paused to take a breath. However, that realization halted his rant before it had really begun.

Instead, he settled back into his chair and regarded her curiously. Huh. I wonder... He glanced at the folder Cass had given him. He didn't recall seeing her name on any of the files, but that didn't mean she wasn't in the same boat as much of the membership.

Before he could say anything more, though, the indicator on his intercom lit. Lee looked up at the fidgeting woman then sighed loudly. "Would you excuse me a moment?"

At her nodded assent, Lee pressed the Talk button. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Rorrison," his admin began, "but Ms. Daich is here and needs to see you immediately."

Lee blinked at the intercom in surprise. "Uh, okay," he replied. "Do you know what she needs?"

"She didn't say. But, she's got several people here with her."

Oh, goodie. Lee sighed again. "Alright, I'll be out shortly."

With that, Lee turned his attention back to his guest. Mrs. Leminski had recovered her composure and some of the haughtily arrogant posture she'd had when she first entered his office. Lee's eyes narrowed briefly in response to the change before he pushed himself to his feet.

"Mrs. Leminski, I'm really sorry, but I need to cut this meeting short. It seems my boss is here with some folks and I need to take care of them."

"Yes, of course." The woman stood slowly, clutching her purse to her chest. As Lee ushered her to the door, she added, "I expect we'll be speaking again soon."

Oh, joy. Lee nodded politely. "Just give my office a call. I'm sure my admin will take care of your needs." But only if I take away that bonus she just got.

Mrs. Leminski preceded Lee out of the office. When she had cleared the doorway, Lee saw the crowd Stacey had brought with her and his heart sank. In the reception room stood an entire production crew and Stacy Smith, the highly acclaimed newscaster for KDKA.

Great. Just what I needed today.

~Continued in [an error occurred while processing this directive] Part Eighteen~
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