Armando’s POV

I walk back to my office in silence. Thomas motions as if he’d like to talk to me, but I shake my head and lift my fingers to my face. Phone. Talk to you later. He nods and goes to his office. I lock my office door and sit back.

I have a problem at this branch and it isn’t a disloyal RangeMan. It’s a bunch of arrogant assholes. I cringe. Hell, I’m included. Firing Antonio will be easy but it won’t solve the problem. The problem is deeper and the solution will be much harder.

Charlotte isn’t my test. This is my test. How I handle this will decide how the CO and Leadership Core deal with me.

Steph’s right. She can’t solve this problem because we’re talking about the hearts of men. Atlanta was easy. She taught them her secrets to skip tracing. NYC? They hired the right guy for the job. Trenton? Who knows? Diego told me that Pat admitted she found numerous deficiencies in their operation. Mark and RMBoston have major cleanup in front of them, which is shocking. Mark normally runs a tight ship and she’s already ripped his ass away over the hospitality stuff.

I guess that’s what happens when you spend more time concentrating on everyone else’s branch and not your own.

This is one of those moments where, long ago, I would call Mark for advice. He may be an asshole, but he’s a good leader. He’s a good strategic thinker. But he’s also an asshole and, for once, I find that I don’t want to take my problems to him. Hell, if nothing else, that time at the beach showed me that Hal, Danny, and Javier have banded together. They’re a tight clique and they support each other.

I want in.

I wonder where Hal went.

“Yo!”

“Yo.”

“I need some help.”

Silence. Yeah, I know. First time I’ve ever done this. Cut me some slack, Hal.

“OK. Whatcha need?”

“I need someone to bounce ideas off.”

Silence. I can hear him moving around and talking. Finally, “OK, I’ll be back in 30.”

“Where are you?”

“Airport.”

Oh god. Does Granny Mazur have a sister? “I would have sent someone.”

“Not for this person, you won’t.” Hal’s voice is hard and I get the unsaid meaning: I don’t like or trust your men and, whoever this person is, I wouldn’t subject them to your men. Must be a woman. Oh god, is it Candy? If it’s Candy, my men aren’t ready for someone like that walking around. Hal will end up breaking all of them.

“Understood. That’s exactly what I want to talk about. You have a place for her to stay?”

“Didn’t say it was a woman.”

“Not dealing with an idiot. Tell Candy I said hello.”

Silence. “She’s staying with me, in my apartment there.” I can hear Hal breathe for a moment, then, “If your men give her one moment’s pain, I will break them on the mats. No questions asked, no apologies accepted.”

Whoa. OK. “Understood. I will reinforce the mat time. You’re welcome to dish it out.” I’m not fighting Hal’s battle over his woman and, quite frankly, I see his point. If I took Mariela to Trenton and the Trenton men acted like assholes with her, I would expect, no, demand the right to punish them on the mats. “OK, see you when you get back.” Click.

Well, I’ve got Hal on his way back. Might as well see if I can get Danny.

“Yo!”

“Yo! ‘Sup?”

“CO found my leak.”

Whistle. “And?”

“No leak.”

Silence. “OK, don’t leave me in suspense. What was the problem?”

“Female intel networks.” Silence then laughter. I endure a few moments before I finish. “Yeah, essentially, we’re getting killed because of the sexism in this office.”

The laughter stops. “Shit. That’s a problem.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s your plan?”

“Honestly? No fucking clue. That’s why I’m calling. Hal’s on his way back here. I want to bring in Javier. I’m following the CO’s lead in this, you know, reaching out to my fellow XO’s and, quite frankly, I want to be in the Trenton-Atlanta-NYC clique.”

Danny snorts. “No clique. Just support.”

“Exactly. You know what I have here?” Silence. “I have a bunch of arrogant assholes. I tried running a psyop to counter the sexism and it failed. I now know why but to find out that it’s the cause of our problems? Man, it compounds the failure. Normally, Mark would be the first person I call. He’s an asshole but he’s also a good strategic thinker. Thing is, for once, I’m gonna give him a pass and see what you guys think. Fresh blood, so to speak.”

Silence, then, “Call Javi. Hal’s going to be there with you?”

“Yeah. He’s at the airport picking up Candy.”

“Whoa.”

I snort. “How should I interpret that ‘Whoa’? As, ‘Whoa, that’s great?’ or ‘Whoa, you are about to have a huge problem the moment the Miami men see that gorgeous woman walking around in a management position?’ Because I promise you, I already had those thoughts.”

Danny sniggers then laughs. “OK, you interpreted the ‘Whoa’ correctly. It had both meanings.”

“Thanks. I can’t wait for them to see her. Between Granny Mazur, Maria, Steph, and now Candy, my office won’t know what to do. The women are in revolt. Edna Mazur pinches bottoms and parades around the nude beaches, Steph has the power to fire them all, Candy made me forget I was married for a minute, and Maria won’t cook like she used to. Shit! Talk about a demonstration of power. My men won’t know what hit them.”

Danny laughs and I have to chuckle then laugh. Oh god it feels good. There’s no one else I could have said that to. Danny’s been a great help and friend these past six weeks. I realize I should have called on my colleagues more often. Steph called all of us right. Javi’s fucking brilliant helping me probe ideas late at night and, even better, Jorge and Mack usually get in on it. I’m not stupid; they’re scoping the competition but I don’t care. They can help me build the branch stronger. Danny helped me understand Charlotte’s books, which was crucial. He did some creative shit with their books that I reviewed with Ryan. Ryan loved it and is thinking about restructuring the branch books like Atlanta’s.

Chatting with them made me miss Mark’s neurotic ass even more. He may be an asshole but he also has a brilliant analytical mind.

Finally, Danny sobers. “Look, call Javi. Ask him to hop on the XO conference line in 30. Call Diego to your office. He’s still XO of Miami. He needs to work with us, see how we operate.” He’s quiet then he shocks me. “Call the nosy fucker. He’s an XO too. Short timer but let’s extend him some mercy, treat him like a member of the team too. You say he would normally be your first call?”

“Yeah.”

“I wanna see why. Let’s see what he’s like when he actually supports someone else. And let’s call the Chief XO. Maybe Tank has some ideas.”

---

Thirty minutes later, the XO line is in force. Tank said he’d join us later. The Leadership Core is looking at the results from around the company, which makes every man on the phone nervous, but they’re sending them out to the head of each branch later. Diego and Hal are in the office with me, Hal having squared Candy away. She’s headed to the beach with Stephanie, Granny Mazur, Mack, and Ren. Thomas and Pat are reviewing financials for the branch.

“OK, let’s start with an examination of Armando’s current state.” Yeah, as usual, Mark takes the lead. “Give us the information you’ve been given.”

“OK, the particulars are these: female intel networks have put the word out about us. Popular adjectives include arrogant, rude, dismissive, pushy, and condescending. The CO asked each man in the branch to take a survey to determine his levels of ambivalent sexism. I’ve emailed the link to the definition to each of you. The branch score was 4.05 score in the benevolent sexism range and 3.12 in the hostile sexism range, giving us a total score of 3.59. Anything over a 2.5 is considered sexist. What’s particularly troubling is the fact that almost every single man in the bodyguard services group scores over 3.0 in both measures.”

There’s silence on the line as everyone reads the email and the branch assessment information I scanned.

“I assume your earlier psyop failed because you also scored relatively high in the benevolent sexism measure?” Mark asks.

“Yeah,” I reply. “I can’t fix the problem when I’m a factor, but the CO also stated that Maria herself was a factor. She had a 3.45 benevolent sexism score.”

“Really explains why our earlier psyop failed. Shit, I’m ashamed of my scores,” Diego says. Diego scored 1.12 in hostile sexism, but 3.57 in benevolent sexism. At least his average score is lower than mine.

“What’s worse,” Hal says, “is the hostile sexism score of the former head of the department, Antonio. 4.16. Jesus Christ! The man hates women.”

Everyone looks at the number. I can hear Danny whistle.

“Dude, he’s gotta go. The rot starts at the top.”

“Well, let’s not jump there first,” Mark says. “Let’s remain objective. First things first. Armando, do you accept that the assessment was conducted fairly?”

Diego, Hal and I are looking at the phone in astonishment.

“What a dick,” I hear Javi mutter. Hal smirks.

“No, not a dick. It’s a legitimate question. Before we can move forward, we have to agree that we accept the numbers we have in front of us. To do that, we have to accept that it was done fairly. After all, if the survey wasn’t done fairly, the numbers might be skewed. Mando, do you accept the CO’s information was obtained fairly?”

“I’m kicking that question over to Diego. You were here. Was it done fairly?”

“Yeah,” Diego replies. “We were prevented from googling questions and since no one got their results at the end, they couldn’t discuss what the survey was about.”

“Exactly. That’s the reason why I asked if you accepted it. Anecdotal evidence indicated that your men were sexist. Now you have actual numbers, actual survey results. Before we move forward we have to establish that you accept both the survey and the results as being fair and unbiased. Do you think this survey was rigged in any way?”

“No. I think it was conducted fairly. Most of the men had no idea what it was testing until yesterday afternoon.”

Mark’s assessment is sound. This is why he used to be my first call. Asshole, yes, but calm, cool, and deliberate. I can see Hal nod slightly, with a look that suggests grudging respect.

“OK. You’re still a dick but let’s move forward,” Javi says. Hal and I smile. “What next?”

“Thank you, asshole,” Mark replies. Now Hal and I are chuckling. Diego looks amused. “Having accepted the collection method as sound, Mando, Diego, do you feel this accurately reflects the feelings of the men as you know them? This is a more subjective question, but you know your men. Do you think these numbers are right for each of them?”

I examine each man’s numbers. “Yeah, I accept them, especially the benevolent sexism scores. One of the sheets the CO handed me had the notation ‘Madonna/Whore’ at the top and when I thought about it, I realized what she was getting at. There’s a tendency to treat women as either Madonnas or Whores in this office. I asked each man the questions correlated to benevolent sexism and it looked accurate. Each man raised his hands in about the right rate for the benevolent sexism scores. Diego?”

“I agree. I find it very interesting that the men we have the most problems with are at the very top of this assessment.”

“OK, so we accept the survey was done fairly and that the numbers seem appropriate for each man,” Mark says. “Now, where do you have your greatest collection of disturbing results?”

Hal’s sitting back, nodding. Mark’s cool-eyed assessment always prevents me from doing something stupid. I take a few moments to rank the guys. It’s disturbing. “All through Client Services,” Diego replies. “The bodyguard department is the worst.”

“Where are your best results?”

“Monitoring.”

“That would suggest that the men who don’t interact with the public as much have the better scores.”

I review the results again and he’s right. The men who have the least exposure to the public have the best scores.

“So what are you suggesting, Mark?” Javi asks. “Are you suggesting that the guys in bodyguard services are burnt out?”

“I’m not suggesting anything yet. I’m trying to get all my facts straight.”

“If this were my office, my first thought would be that your bodyguards are getting burnt out,” Danny says.

Hal snorts. “Really? That would be your first thought? Mine was what you said earlier. Antonio’s gotta go.”

There’s silence before we all start laughing. “OK, OK,” Danny says, “I agree but I also agree with Mark here. Once you actually start looking at the numbers, you start thinking differently. It may be that your men are getting burnt out. As a bodyguard in Miami, are they assigned to one client all the time?”

“Yeah,” Diego replies. “Now that I think about it, that’s gotta be hell. One or two people all the time. If it’s a woman, you’ve gone from being a bad-ass to being a chauffeur, bag mule, bodyguard, and silent statue. Possibly a babysitter if the client has kids. Shit! All the duties of a boyfriend with none of the benefits.”

Again, we all laugh. Shit. I wouldn’t want to be a bodyguard.

“OK, what’s next?” Danny asks.

“Well, this is where I start drilling into the numbers,” Mark replies. We pull highlighters and pens. “You know Client Services is the worst and Monitoring is the best. Your results are ranked by the men, not their department, so what I would do is rank the men within each department, then look at my results. Then take my terminations and failure to renews and see if they also have a pattern. Can you attribute the problems to a few rogue individuals within the group? Or is it spread evenly across the group?”

“If I send you guys a spreadsheet of my men, can you rank them while I pull the lost contracts?”

Everyone agrees, so I email them the information and hit the stairwell. I’m immediately confronted by Antonio but the look on my face must give him a clue. He steps aside. I continue moving to the Client Services office and the file cabinet containing the lost contracts.

I grab the files I need and drop them into a box. I head back to my office, drop the box on the table and lock my door. Hal’s staring at me, blinking.

“What happened?”

“Antonio. Don’t even want to look at his ass right now.”

Hal shakes his head and snorts.

“You haven’t fired him?” Mark asks. I stare at the phone. “Jesus Christ–” He shuts up, but I eventually hear him mutter, “Not my office. Not my call. Not my business.”

Hal and I look at each other in wonder. Who the fuck is this guy? Diego has raised an eyebrow. I look at him, flick my eyes to the door and drag a finger across my throat. Diego sits back and grins gleefully, rubbing his hands.

“Mando?” Mark calls.

“Yeah?”

“I sent you back my rankings.”

“Cool. Hey, can you take point on collecting all the results? Hal and I have the paper. We’ll take a look at what we have and start calling it out.”

“My suggestion,” Javi says.

“Yeah?”

“For the contracts lost, give us the individual fired, the service provided, the department it was assigned to, and the dollar amount. Let’s see which departments are losing the most money.”

Good idea. Hal takes half the files and starts writing notes. Diego and I take the other half and start calling it out. Within 20 minutes we have a good idea of how the pain is spread.

“So, in the past six months, you’ve lost a total of $500,000 in bodyguard services for individual bodyguard contracts, and it can be attributed to six individuals,” Javi says. “Thankfully, it’s been somewhat offset by the institutional contracts you’ve been picking up, but again, you’ve got the steady drip drip from your branch. More importantly, you have a crap reputation among women.”

“I have a question,” Hal says. “Are the other branches experiencing problems with burnout among the bodyguards?”

It’s a good question. There’s silence before Javi answers. I really want to hear his answer. “No, not really. Jorge took a look at the bodyguard contracts and deemed them shit, so we switched to an institutional model. We assign a certain number of bodyguards to an institution. It’s always the same two, if we’re guarding one person, or up to 20 if it’s a company board or such. That way our guys switch out and get into the field for more active work.”

I shake my head. Brilliant. I see Diego write that down as an idea to implement.

“Boston? Atlanta? Trenton?” I look at Hal, who shrugs.

“Our contracts are short-term. We’re hired if you’re going somewhere in the tri-state and need a bodyguard temporarily, not long term.”

Danny and Mark agree. I nod. Their men don’t get burn out because it’s not a long term assignment. Interesting.

It’s silent again before I ask, “Suggestions?”

Again, silence. Finally, I decide to poke.

“Mark?”

“You want my suggestion or what I would do?”

“What you would do is a suggestion. Or opinion. And yeah, I want to hear it.”

There’s silence, then, “Your branch, Mando. Your call. What do you think you should do?”

Hal, Diego and I stare at the phone. That’s a first. I take a few minutes to really look at the numbers, look at the individuals and make a decision. “OK. Looking at all the information in front of me, I would do the following: Fire Antonio. Both of his scores are disturbing, he’s a pain in my ass, and he’s constantly insubordinate and disrespectful. I’m also firing the six people in the department causing the most problems. Anyone in the branch with a hostile sexism score over the 2.5 cutoff gets fired. Anyone in the branch whose total average score is over the cutoff gets demoted or moved as appropriate.”

“I agree,” Javi says quietly. “That’s what I would do.” Agreement from everyone on the line.

I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“What do your numbers look like if you do that?” Danny asks.

I do a quick count. “I’m firing 30 men.”

“Shit!” every XO says. I’m still staring at the screen in shock. Nearly half the branch is getting fired but it has to happen. Saving grace? No one in leadership is getting fired except Antonio.

“What do your numbers look like if you move the cutoff to 3.0?” Tank. Hal and I stare at the phone in surprise. I do a quick count.

“Twenty-four, sir.”

“Leadership Core chose 3.0 as a cutoff number. 2.5 suggests sexism. 3.0 is pretty clear. Also, I’ve listened closely to this conversation. I caution all of you to use the results of this survey carefully when you see your scores. There’s no way to get a perfect score. Second: We can’t fire right now. Think about why.”

Ranger. Shit. Now what do I do? I stare at the spreadsheet for a few minutes. “OK, so if I can’t fire them right now, I need to transfer them out until we get this branch stabilized and the circumstances change. Can I send six to each branch?”

It’s quiet on the line. Everyone takes a few moments to consider the implications of this before Mark picks up. “Yeah. Your needs above my own. I’ll take six.”

Every XO chimes in and at the end I have the 30 worst men out of Miami for the immediate future. I look at Diggy and he’s already made a note to separate the league of assholes and divide the cliques of the soon-to-be-fired men.

Danny. “Hal, you’d give monitor duty to the rest?”

Hal smirks. “Oh hell yeah.”

We all laugh. Mark picks up. “Sounds like a good idea to me. While their asses numb, they can consider the consequences of their attitudes, i.e., ‘You’re so fucked up I can’t even put you in front of the public right now’. It would drive home the point. Let your guys in monitoring become bodyguards for a while. Also, explain to the clients you’re going to change the bodyguard model. They’ll get a new guy every three or six months in order to ensure that your men stay fresh to all threats. Sell it as a ‘we’re combating complacency’ idea. That’ll combat situational fatigue . . . it’ll stop ’em from getting burnt out.”

Hal and I are both writing this down. It’s good stuff.

“Next thing. Hire women.”

“I agree,” Danny says. “If your problem is with women, hire women. Women can bodyguard clients discreetly. With a man, they can play the role of a female friend or PA. With a women, old friend or colleague. Much easier to conceal. Plus, that starts combating the problem in your office. Hard to think of a woman as precious little Madonna if she can bounce your ass across the mats.”

“Actually, Trenton brought that up to the CO back when she took over, that we wanted to hire female employees,” Hal says, smiling. “The CO is holding off because she isn’t sure about the camaraderie aspect. She doesn’t want to ruin the brotherhood we have in this company but given what’s happened here in Miami, she might just do it.”

I nod, smiling. “Any other suggestions?”

“Yeah, but no one will like this one,” Hal says. “We’re still papering over the problem. At the end of the day, the men have a problem with women. Handing them their asses on the mats won’t change that and Steph put it in your hands to fix. My suggestion? HR. Maybe it’s time for a touchy-feely, hand-holding, ‘We are the world’ seminar.”

I cringe. Please tell me I don’t have to attend that. Then again, who knows what I might learn. This has been an eye-opening experience and if I intend to teach my girls to find men who respect them, I need to start changing my attitude to women.

“Hal, man, say it isn’t so. Please say you don’t mean that,” Danny pleads.

“Hey, I don’t like it either, but it’s the truth. Let’s talk to Candy. Maybe she’ll have some ideas.”

“I agree.” Tank. Every man is silent. I keep forgetting he’s on the line. “The Leadership has noted a disturbing trend, but since the other branches have yet to see their scores, I won’t discuss them. I’m interested in knowing what our new head of HR thinks.”

I stare at the phone. That was a lot of words. “I thought Candy went to the beach.”

Hal shakes his head. “She’s upstairs. She doesn’t want to go without me.” We hear kissy noises on the phone and Hal turns red. “I’m ignoring that.”

We all laugh and the guys agree to hold. We’re going to get the head of HR.

Time to take the problem to the ladies.

---

Candy’s POV

Hal was adamant about my not staying in the building when he wasn’t around. Normally, his overprotectiveness is adorable, but right now it’s not. Right now it’s preventing me from doing my job. My brand new job. After six years outside the industry, I’m finally in and I’m the boss. I’m a one woman department right now but I’m the boss.

I decided to pass on the beach. I like going when Hal’s with me. For some reason, the beach is more fun when he’s there so I head off to the office Steph pointed out earlier. It’s temporary space for when I’m here, but it’s nice.

“Umm. Nice.” I turn around to find the space invaded by three men. I blink.

“Hello. I’m Candace Taylor. And you are?” I smile, but these guys are making me nervous. They’re too close.

“Pedro. This is Patrice and Zay. Candace, how did you get in the building? This is a secure area.”

I back up a few steps. Useless. He moves forward the same number of steps. I’m uncomfortable. OK …maybe Hal had a point. “I’m the new company head of Human Resources and I’d appreciate it if you would back up. Now.”

He blinks and takes a step back. “HR?” I nod. “What the fuck? Do we even need an HR department?”

I shrug. “Your CO believes you do.”

They look at me hard then walk out. I shrug. Whatever’s necessary to get you out my personal space.

I start examining the file cabinets and looking at the records. There’s a lot here to digitize and I think that’ll be one of my first projects. I’ve got a good rhythm going and I’m about thirty minutes in when I feel a hand pat my ass. I turn around, smiling.

It’s not Hal.

The habits of a lifetime come back. I immediately stomp on his foot with my stiletto heel.

“SHIT! What the fuck!” He’s hobbling now, looking furious. “If you don’t want someone to pat your ass, don’t stick it in the air like that.”

I’m astonished. He can’t be serious! “Sit!” He blinks. “SIT!” He sits in the chair. “Name?”

“Ben.”

“Full name.”

“Benjamin Whaley.”

I dig the folder out and pull a clean sheet of paper. This is going in your file, buddy.

“Mr. Whaley, my name is Candace Taylor. I’m the new head of HR for RangeMan. Just so you understand, I’m writing up this incident and filing a formal complaint to be placed in your file.”

“The fuck you are!” He shouts, standing. “Look, if you stick your ass up in the air like that you should expect a response. If you can’t handle it, then you can get the fuck out our offices.”

Jesus! Even drunks at the bars treated me better than this asshole. “SIT!” He sits, jaw clenched. “Look, you don’t have to like it, but I am writing this up. What you just did is termed sexual harassment.” He rolls his eyes. “Fine. You have a choice. You can take this up with the XO or you can listen to me talk for an hour. Either way, I’m writing this up and I’m filing it.”

“Fuck you. I’ll talk to Armando.” He rises to leave and I smile.

“Mr. Whaley?” He turns. “I never specified which XO. You see, the Trenton XO is my boyfriend.” He pales and grips the doorframe. Steph was right: Hal is an effective threat. “I know him. He’s the one you need to worry about.”

---

Thirty minutes later, Hal and Armando walk in. The very sight of Hal is a relief. He doesn’t look so happy.

“Before you even start, I understand now. I’ve had my ass patted and my personal space invaded. Half the Miami office has walked by and given me looks I used to get when I was naked on a pole.” I shiver. “I feel nasty. I’m going to need a lot of sex tonight to forget about this day.”

By the end of my speech Armando’s turned red, shaking his head and trying not to laugh. Hal’s pursed his lips. I know that look; he’s amused and angry all at the same time. I walk over and put my arms around him. After a minute, he hugs back.

“I didn’t want you to go through that.”

“I know, but still. You can’t protect me from everything. I had a chance to come take a look at the files. I took it. I regret it.” I look up at him, smiling. “Ben Whaley needs some mat time.” His eyebrow rises. “He was my bottom patter.”

Hal nods, looking furious.

“What time?” We turn to Armando, who has his phone out. “What time? I’m emailing him right now.”

“1700,” Hal replies. I do the math. 5p.m. It’s almost 1p.m. now.

“Done,” Armando says. He smiles at me. “Ms. Taylor, I have a problem I believe requires your expertise. You mind joining me and Hal in my office?”

I look around. “Can we secure these files again?” He nods and we repack the file cabinets and head upstairs. This time, I know whose hand is near my ass (well, Hal’s hand is at the small of my back) and I wiggle for it. I’m popped lightly.

“You know, there are cameras in this stairwell,” Armando says, smiling. Hal turns red while I smother a giggle. We walk into Armando’s office and sit down. I smile at Diego, who stands until I’m seated and smiles charmingly back at me. I don’t miss Hal’s quiet growl or Armando’s smirk.

“OK, how can I help?”

“Hey, Candy!” Danny.

“Hey, Candy!” Javier.

“Hello, Candy, good to hear your voice.” I look at Hal in confusion. Mark? I mouth. He nods. Wow, his firing has led to his locating some manners.

“Ms. Taylor, glad you could join our call.” I look at Hal. That’s Tank and Hal looks very pleased.

“Pleasure to be here. So, I’m meeting with the management, huh? Well, how can I help?”

Armando slowly starts recapping the results of Stephanie’s survey and their subsequent discussion. I have the numbers and it’s interesting reading. Mando’s overall score is better than his wife’s. Interesting. And Ben Whaley is not a bodyguard, but he did score highly in hostile sexism.

I sit back and consider what I know of the Miami office so far. “Well, I can say personally that I don’t like the guys in this office.” Armando nods solemnly. “I’ve watched as they spent the past hour walking by my office and looking at me as if I were naked on a pole. They know nothing about me but not one of them thought that was inappropriate.”

“Hal?” Danny says.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t kill ’em. Armando does need his remaining men, assholes though they are.” The guys laugh but I shake my head.

“That kind of attitude is a problem, guys. Sexual harassment or discrimination in any form shouldn’t be tolerated. What I’m guessing is that your men date upwardly mobile women, the kind that think of themselves as sexually liberated, right?” Armando nods. “Well, they’ve grown used to the idea that women can be used because they feel these women are using them. Tit for tat, one night stand, no one gets hurt. Add Miami’s macho atmosphere and beach culture that encourages everyone beautiful to walk around half naked and it’s the perfect storm of events.”

Hal and Armando are nodding.

“Ms. Taylor, Candy, if I may ask, how do you know these things about Miami?” Tank asks.

“I’m from Miami, sir, and I went to college here at Florida International. It’s where I got my degree in HR. I stayed at the beach, partied in the clubs, and avoided men like the men in this branch like the plague.” I turn to Armando. “I have some ideas but you may or may not like them.”

“At this point, I want to hear everything. Shoot,” Armando says, reaching for a legal pad.

“OK. Terminations. Demotions. Salary reductions and HR seminars. Personal favorite? Making your men volunteer in abused women and rape crisis shelters. Maybe if they see the results of their sexism, they won’t think it’s so amusing or unimportant.”

“Jesucristo! You’re suggesting I have a bunch of potential rapists in my branch.” Armando and Diego both look horrified but I shrug.

“Do the research, Armando. Men who score high in hostile sexism are more likely to rape women. Men that score high in benevolent sexism are more likely to blame a victim of rape for the attack.” I smile. “Wait here.” I motion for Hal to follow me.

“I want to give Armando a demonstration of the idea but it might make you uncomfortable.” Hal’s eyebrows draw together but he nods. “I’m going to change into my bikini and walk back down here. OK?”

Silence then a short nod. “Bring clothes back with you.”

I run back upstairs to our apartment, change into my raciest bikini, and walk back down to the 5th floor. I walk through to Armando’s office and it’s completely silent on the floor. Most of the men are staring at me slack-jawed. I pass Mack, Pat, and Thomas. All stare in shock and I smile.

I love my boyfriend, but that’s power. Just to ensure the men get the idea that I’m not available, I give Hal a big kiss (with plenty of tongue) the moment I reach him and he picks me up and walks me back into Armando’s office, glaring at every man.

Mando shuts the door and I watch as he tries not to drool. Hal is amused (and horny). Diego is drooling, literally. He makes no attempt to hide his erection. We sit down around the phone.

“Just for the record, guys, I changed into a bikini and walked back downstairs.”

“You’re insane,” Danny breathes.

“Why?” Great. Danny didn’t even see me and he’s going to make my point.

“Because . . . because . . .” I can hear Javi grasping for words.

“Because you’re a spectacular looking woman and the sight of you in a bikini is going to give every man in that office thoughts about the head of HR he shouldn’t have,” Mark says. Again, Hal and I look at each other. Wow. “It’s giving me thoughts I shouldn’t have,” we hear him mutter. I try not to giggle.

“If the men tried to hit on me, or pat my bottom, would you blame them?”

“Hell no,” Javi says. “Well, yeah, because they should respect you regardless of whether you’re wearing a muumuu or a bikini and they shouldn’t touch you, but shit . . .” He laughs. “I’d admire the man for being willing to risk his balls like that.”

“Even knowing that she’s in management in this company? Knowing that she is the head of HR, the person keeping the employee records?” Tank asks. It’s completely silent on the line for a minute or two. Hal, Armando, and Diego are all red. I squeeze Hal’s hand and he gives me a tiny smile.

“Jesus, Tank, I gotta call with Javi on that one,” says a quiet, amused voice. “You saw the pics. That’s spank material! Hell, you toasted the boy for his good taste.” We hear a mutter and a choked laugh. Hal grins and mouths ‘Les’. Mando and Diego turn red trying not to laugh. There’s finally some laughs on the phone but Tank is serious.

“Candy could walk through that office naked and no man should touch her, regardless of her status, unless they’re handing her something to cover herself.”

“Thank you, sir. You are exactly right,” I reply, trying not to giggle. I turn to Armando. “I’ve seen your benevolent sexism score so don’t lie to me. If I’d been attacked, meaning anything from patting my behind to rape, would you have thought that maybe I kinda set myself up for that? By parading around this office in a skimpy bikini, knowing what I know about your men?”

I can see Armando is uncomfortable. I turn to Diego and raise an eyebrow. He blushes. Point made. I slip on my t-shirt and shorts.

“Point made,” Tank says.

“Exactly, sir. It’s a slippery slope. I’m not saying your men are rapists. I’m saying that the ones with high scores in hostile sexism show an alarming disregard for women that’s dangerous for this branch. Especially given the fact that this branch is primarily hired by women. The ones scoring high in benevolent sexism, like you, Armando, don’t really see women as equals.”

I sit back and smile. Hal’s grinning.

“Why didn’t your psyop work? Because as much as you love women, you set them on pedestals. You don’t see them as equals. That’s why you had so many problems with Maria. You didn’t see her as a member of the management team until the other housekeepers demonstrated the power that the housekeepers have in this company.” Hal is nodding and Armando and Diego look thoughtful. “I would be willing to bet money that if we’d tested you right when Ms. Plum took over as CO, your scores would be higher.”

“Whoa …” I hear Danny say.

I nod. “Sexist feelings are not set in stone. They can be overcome with education and retraining.”

“So there is a way to combat this?” Tank asks.

“Yes, sir. Having a woman, like Steph, in this company that the men report to and respect has already begun to change their opinions about women in charge. The housekeepers demonstrated the power they hold. They’ve taught them to respect women in some capacity, but it was helped by the fact that Maria has also been shown that she accepted bullying and sexist behavior. She’s now seen the high cost it had on her and she’s no longer accepting it. She’s reinforcing the lessons from her colleagues and it helps.

From what I know, in speaking to her and to Armando, the sexism here in this branch got progressively worse after Ranger left because Maria not only buckled under the bullying but she accepted the sexism.” I look at Armando. “Stephanie gave me a brief overview of your family history. Would you say that Antonio treated Maria as he treats his mother?”

Mando nods.

“So he didn’t see anything wrong with it because that’s always been the way he treats women. Does he treat all the women in your family like that? As if they’re there to cook and clean and make his life easier?” Mando nods, red-faced. “And they’ve always catered to him, right?” He thinks for a moment before slowly nodding.

“His fiancée, she was like that too.”

“He had a fiancée?” I’m shocked.

“Yeah. She left when he no longer had the money or the South Beach condo.”

I snort in laughter. “Yeah, so he was brought up to think of women in that manner and, unfortunately, it’s probably too deeply ingrained in him now for him to change. He’ll always see a woman and think ‘maid’ or ‘fuck toy’.” Diego coughs to hide his laugh. He’s not the only one. I hear a bunch of coughing on the phone. “Because Maria didn’t complain, the men learned to treat her like that. Because they treated her like that, and they’re almost all single and having casual sex with women they probably never see again, they began to feel they could treat all women like that. Women were there to service their needs. Respect wasn’t necessary.”

The room is quiet. Diego, I notice, is pale, probably thinking over his own actions. I sigh.

“I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty over having casual sex. There’s nothing wrong with it between two consenting adults. The problem occurs when you stop treating women respectfully and start thinking that they’re replaceable. When women are only there to fill a need, whether that’s as a maid, like Maria, or a bed partner, that’s a problem.”

“The idea has been raised to transfer the men with the worst scores to other branches for the foreseeable future,” Danny says.

I frown. “Why?”

“Need to know,” Hal says quietly. “We can’t get rid of them right now.”

My shoulders slump. “OK …” I motion for the scores again. “If you can’t fire them, you need to dilute their power. Moving them to other branches is good if you combine it with salary reductions, some sort of punishment, and improvement plans. Send the worst ones, the ones high in hostile sexism, to the branches with the lowest scores and make sure that all the men understand that the attitude isn’t to be tolerated.”

I look up at Armando. “The ringleaders have to be fired. Otherwise you aren’t sending the message that this won’t be tolerated.”

“Who would that be, Mando?” Tank asks.

“Antonio, Nacho, Julio, Pedro, and Patrice.” I check the sheet. Yup, they have the worst scores on both assessments.

It’s silent for a few minutes.

“Fire them, Mando,” Tank says finally. Diego pumps his fist happily and Mando smiles.

I sip my water and sigh. “Honestly, I wouldn’t hire women for this branch until the men scoring high in hostile sexism were either fired or demoted, preferably fired. If I were a woman joining this branch, I would be uncomfortable. No one wants to walk into a situation where they constantly have to prove themselves and that’s what would happen if you hired women into this branch right now.”

“She’s right,” Mark says. “Hell, Boston is proof of that.”

Everyone stares at the phone. Finally, Hal, Armando and Diego nod slowly. I didn’t even think of that but Mark’s right. That’s exactly what happened to Steph.

I smile at Armando. “Consider this. Your fellow XO refuses to allow your men to pick up the head of HR at the airport. He then tells her not to walk around this building without his escort. No matter what, each RangeMan is supposed to trust another, but your own colleague doesn’t trust your men to act professionally toward a new member of management. And unfortunately, they proved him right by patting her behind, staring at her for an hour, and generally making her feel uncomfortable.”

“Ms. Taylor, who touched you?”

“Benjamin Whaley, sir.”

“Armando, arrange for him to be sent here after Hal finishes with him on the mats.”

Whoa. I stare at the phone but Hal has a satisfied smile on his face. I finally stand, pat Armando on the shoulder and kiss Hal’s cheeks.

“Seminars. Trainings. Demotions. Firings. ‘Mandatory’ volunteering in crisis shelters until they get the point. They don’t see the real harm their attitudes cause so it’s time to make it real. Time to make it personal to each man and Steph’s already done a great job there.

I love their fear of Granny Mazur. That’s cute and all she’s doing is what they do to women. Patting them inappropriately, ignoring their intelligence and treating them like sex objects. Demeaning them in public and private and not allowing them any chance to get away. Making their job and their lives difficult simply by refusing to respect them.

She’s the best weapon Steph could have pulled out against them. They’re getting the sexist treatment back and they don’t like it.”

---

A/N: The idea of sending Candy, in her bikini, through the 5th floor came from this article: Dell-Amore, C. (2009, February 16). Bikinis make men see women as objects, scans confirm. National Geographic News.

Just an FYI:

1. I wrote this chapter (and the one preceding) back in April/May…..that’s how long I’ve had this plan in place. 😀 Thankfully, this is the last sexism-heavy chapter.
2. I know a lot of you are thinking ‘Oh my God, they’re acting like complete ASSHOLES!’ but no, that’s not it. They’re trying to lighten the moment, trying to inject some levity into a serious discussion. Not one of them is treating this as a joke. They’re stunned, caught off guard, and feeling embarrassed. They’re committed to helping Mando, but for men, for any man, a discussion of sexism is a hard topic.
3. If you want to take a survey on Sexism Against Men, check my website under ‘Extras’ or click the link. I found it and recreated it. I couldn’t find one you could take independently online, but I did find the original journal article and recreated the survey for anyone who was interested.