Chapter 4.   Stephanie’s New Job

Two weeks had passed since my interview.  I had just about given up hope of landing the job at Masterson Automotive when the phone rang and it was Jeff Duncan.  He offered me an entry level position in their accounts receivable department and named a starting salary that sounded good.  My department head would be Tom Jenkins, while my initial training supervisor would be a Miss Watson, assistant head of the department.  It was agreed that I would report for work the following Monday.

On Monday I went to my job dressed in attire more modest than what I had worn to the interview.  I wanted to play it safe.  I had noted during my interview visit that most of the female employees were wearing quite conservative attire.  I did not want to draw hostile glances on my first day.

I waited in the reception area with a sense of mounting anticipation.

“Hello, Stephanie Glenn I presume?  My name is Vicki Watson.  You will be working closely with me.  Tom is in meetings all day today so you probably won’t meet him until tomorrow.   I will take you to our department, but they are painting the hall we would normally use today, so we will need to take an alternate route, cutting through the observation mezzanine of the company’s gymnasium.”

We went up a flight of stairs and walked down a long corridor to where there was a set of double doors where she hesitated.

“If you aren’t entirely comfortable with male nudity you may want to avert your eyes for this next bit.  You see we are doing pre employment physicals for non-citizens in the gym today.  If you choose to look down over the railing you will see perhaps a hundred naked applicants of both sexes being examined, assembly line style.”

“But what about the indecent exposure law?  Doesn’t that apply here?”

“Not at all.  Since we are a private employer we can simply waive that on company premises.  We just have to take care that no children or non consenting adults see these naked applicants.”

I was amazed at this revelation.  I followed her through the double doors and tried my best not to look.  But I couldn’t help myself.  It wasn’t every day I got to see naked men!  Some of those guys were very well hung!  I felt sympathetic to the men and women I saw who were being stripped of all dignity as they were herded like cattle from one examining station to the next.

“Why aren’t they examined individually and privately, as I was?”

“Stephanie, you are a citizen, so we were obliged to respect your dignity.  These people are not citizens so we owe them no such consideration.  It is more efficient for the company to examine them in this manner, whatever the cost to their dignity!  We are doing them a big favor just to let them apply for jobs here!”  If we give them a job, however lowly the position, they can generally avoid being picked up for vagrancy and make enough progress paying down their debts so that some creditor doesn’t enslave them!
“That could really happen?”  I had heard of slavery, of course, but I thought it was only imposed as a punishment for crime.

“Yes indeed!  Creditors want, and are entitled to, satisfaction under our laws.  Many nonCits fall into slavery every month, while some of the more fortunate ones manage to earn enough money to qualify for citizenship.  There is both downward and upward mobility.  Being a non-cit is not a condition of birth but a status one falls into by not being or remaining productive enough to achieve or maintain citizenship.”

I had learned something new, that non-citizens could be enslaved for debt.  Fortunately citizens, myself included, did not have to worry about that! 

Eventually we got through the gym, went down another hall to the area she indicated was our department.  She showed me the cubicle that would be mine, and introduced me to June and Lacy.   These two would be my colleagues in the department. 
 
“I understand you have experience doing general ledger work through trial balance.  That being the case, you should have no difficulty doing the kind of reports we usually give to new accountants in this department.  To begin, you will be working with June in the preparation of a report on receivables for the division head.”

With that she left me with June to get started.  After several hours working on the project June suggested that I might join her and Lacy for lunch.  

“We are going to a café called the ‘Garden Club’ here in the building where some of the more broadminded employees have their lunch and enjoy a bit of entertainment at the same time.  So, if you don’t have any serious hang-ups about nudity, why don’t you come with us!  I think you will find it quite an experience!”

I agreed to try it and followed them to the center of the building where we entered a private courtyard with lush greenery and a fountain and quite a few tables set out where people were dining.  What immediately shocked me was that, standing next to many of the tables where patrons sat, there were waiters and waitresses that were, except for steel collars around their necks, completely naked!  

They all appeared to be physically fit.  They were obviously explaining menu choices and taking orders.  We proceeded to sit down at one of these tables and soon a male waiter approached.  He placed a bowl of fragrant soapy water on our table and some small cloth napkins.  I wondered what that was for and asked him.

“Since you are new here I will explain.  It is ‘hygiene water’ which we waitstaff place on each table in case a patron wishes to touch us.  Would each of you young ladies like to start with a glass of our best house wine?”

“I’m sorry, I stammered, could you please repeat the question?”  My two companions laughed out loud.  June was in stitches, her shoulders shaking, and her knees bouncing up and down with her belly laughter!  In truth I hadn’t even heard his question because I was totally preoccupied looking at his penis.  It was almost at my eye level and only a little more than a foot away from me!  It was of impressive size, though flaccid.  And it was circumcised.  The glans had a purplish hue.  Below it was a low hanging scrotum containing two very impressive balls!   I made a conscious effort to raise my glance to meet his glance.  Suddenly I became aware that my face was red as I realized he had noticed where my eyes had been.  We all agreed to his suggestion and he left us to get the wine.  Lacy opened her eyes wide as she looked at me, taking in my embarrassment, and then she tossed her hair with a quick flip of her head, as if to say ‘better get used to it, honey!’

As I looked around I noted that female waitresses were generally waiting on male patrons while males were waiting on females.  Some male patrons were intimately touching some of the waitresses.

“I know the company can waive the indecency laws on company property, but how do they even get guys and gals to do such humiliating jobs?”  I asked.

“Simple.  Notice the steel collars around all the young necks!  The young college kids you see here waiting tables have all been enslaved by a court, either as punishment for a crime or as restitution to a creditor for debt.  They work naked here because their owners have ordered them to do so!  It is intended to be a humiliating punishment for them as no free person would volunteer for such work!”

I was well aware of just how strong the taboo in our society was against a person appearing naked before members of the opposite sex.  So I had no doubt that the humiliation was very real indeed!  I had heard of sex slavery before, of course, but had never experienced it so up close and personal!

Just then our well hung waiter returned with our wine.  As he stood next to Lacy to present her a glass, I noticed that she had placed her hand on his muscular buttocks and was drawing him in closer.  Then, with her other hand she began playing with his genitals.  I was shocked to see this going on in a restaurant!  Presently he became partially erect and I noticed some pre cum forming on the tip of his penis!  

Lacy seemed satisfied that she had been able to procure such a reaction and proceeded to wash and dry her hands using the ‘hygiene water’ and small towels he had earlier provided.  I thought how humiliating it must be for him to actually invite such intimate touching by providing, in advance, the means for a customer who so indulges to clean herself!

“Why don’t you fondle him a bit Stephanie?”  Lacy stated as she finished drying herself.

“I would not feel comfortable doing that.  It is not that I am a prude, or that I wouldn’t enjoy it under other circumstances.  But the involuntary nature of his service would trouble my conscience if I were to indulge.  I don’t believe sexual slavery is right or decent!  I think we should not take advantage of another’s misfortune!”

“Well hello ‘Miss Holier Than Thou”!  Do you think you are better than June and I?

“Leave her alone Lacy.  She just sees things differently than we do.  Perhaps in time she will become comfortable with sexual slavery, as most people eventually do.  Then she will be able to indulge herself right along with us!”

After our lunch the three of us returned to our department, just in time for the weekly staff meeting called by the division chief.  The meeting took place in the Emerson Library.  I was introduced to all present.  After much routine business, the meeting adjourned.  Miss Watson came by to check on how I was settling in and whether I had any questions about the report June and I were collaborating on.   Soon it was time to go home for the day.

The next day Miss Watson introduced me to the head of our department, Tom Jenkins.  He was a portly and not very attractive man.  He kept me standing in front of his desk for some time while he fiddled with various documents.  He kept looking at me out of the corner of his eye.  

“You are to be complimented on your very professional mode of dress, Miss Glenn.  Some of our new female hires try to impress the male managers by wearing short skirts to work.  I see you have exercised better judgment than that.”  His eyes seemed to sweep up and down my figure.  I had the distinct feeling he was undressing me mentally.

“Thank you sir.  I am glad you like my outfit.”  In truth I wished he would move on to talk about things other than my physical appearance.  He was beginning to creep me out.

“I will be leaving for Europe tomorrow.  It will be a month long trip where I will combine business with pleasure.  I trust that you are getting along just fine with Miss Watson, who will be your interim supervisor.”   

It was a statement, not a question.  After a few more pleasantries he indicated that our meeting was over.  I was disappointed in his rather curt manner and wondered just what sort of boss he would prove to be.  Still I was getting on all right with the assistant department head, so perhaps things would work out anyway.

During the weeks that followed I made steady progress with my report and gradually gained more confidence as I learned my way around all the people with whom I needed to interact.  I did experience some discomfort on learning that Lacy was talking to many of my co-workers about the incident in the Garden Café.  She was convincing a lot of people that I was a prude because I would not touch the waiter’s genitals!  She and June were no longer inviting me to join them for lunch.  I wasn’t comfortable going back to that place where I had so embarrassed myself, so I started bringing a brown bag lunch.

Miss Watson eventually assigned me a project that June thought should have been given to her.  June then started putting it about that I must be sleeping with one of the male managers to get such a choice assignment!   The corporate atmosphere was becoming decidedly more hostile to me.

The month was soon up and Tom Jenkins returned from Europe.  If anything, he was more portly than before his trip.  I was really turned off by his appearance.  After a couple of days he called a staff meeting and announced that Miss Watson would be leaving us effective immediately.  Everyone would be reporting to him directly.  Also he announced that, largely on his recommendation, the company was starting a new tradition of casual Fridays.  All employees would be given extra time to make use of the company’s gym and swimming pool on Fridays to maintain physical fitness.  There would be poolside refreshments served every Friday at mid afternoon.  All employees would be expected to dress casually.  Jeans or even shorts would be acceptable dress.

The first casual Friday I chose some jeans that fit me loosely and a modest top.  Jenkins made some crack about my “excessive modesty” and suggested I needed to get more into the spirit of things.  He also asked me out for a date.  I declined politely, indicating that I was currently involved with someone else.  I hoped he would accept this.

Then he began to pick on my work on the slightest pretext.

When the following Friday rolled around I decided perhaps it would be harmless to humor him a bit so I wore short shorts and a sleeveless short halter top as many of the other women in the department were doing on Fridays.  He seemed very pleased.  He made no secret of the fact that he liked my body.  His hands began to wander where they shouldn’t go.  He touched my bare shoulder and traced my collarbone.  I pushed his hand away.  He again asked for a date.  I felt I needed to put him down firmly this time so as to discourage any more attempts.  I made it clear to him that there could be no physical relationship between us since I wasn’t attracted to him in that way.

Around mid morning he called me into his office for a private conference on my latest report.  He instructed his secretary that there were to be no interruptions, then closed the door.  He motioned for me to sit next to him on the sofa he kept in his office.  I was a bit uncomfortable with the intimacy of this considering how scantily I was clothed.  He groped one of my breasts.  I slapped his face.  

“Keep your hands off my body!”  I screamed at him.

“You better watch your attitude, Miss Glenn, if you want to keep your job!”  He said this with a growl.

Not daunted, he began to fondle my left leg.  That really was too much!   My legs weren't for the likes of him.  I felt way above him in the sexual pecking order of things.  I needed to defend my status by keeping those hands off my body.  I pushed his hand violently away from my left leg, then I slapped his face real hard, forehand and backhand.  His pride was clearly stinging as well as his face.

“That does it bitch!  Go pick up your final paycheck!   You don't have a job with this company or any other company if I can fix it! “

I go directly to Human Resources and file a sexual harassment claim. Jeff Duncan interviews me about my harassment claim.  Paul Gregory, the company shrink, also interviews me.  I find that I am still fired despite my claim of harassment.  Many weeks go by and it becomes clear the company will not investigate my claim.