#hello this is super long and a little triggery so please read with caution

[lucy-luckk]

The Only Woman in the Room

Wednesday Morning  May 27, 2020 Channel 5 Studio  TW: Mentions Sexual Assault  Word Count: 1541

Lucy stopped dead in her tracks the moment she walked into the meeting room and her eyes landed on the channel president and some other fairly important people. This was not a good sign. Her boss’ boss wanted to see her twenty minutes before they were supposed to be on air. 

She took a seat next to her producer, Mark, her legs crossed at her ankles and her hands in her lap. A perfect lady since that was what this meeting called before. She tried to catch Mark’s eye, to read some kind of clue in their eyes as to what this meeting was about, but he was pointedly avoiding her gaze. It was really bad then. Working together like they did, she could read his face like they shared some kind of mental connection. 

Frank, the channel president, cleared his throat and Lucy’s head whipped to his general direction. The meeting was starting then. “Lucy, do you know why you’re here?”

One, two, three - She always counted slowly in her head before answering anyone’s questions. It made her feel like she had control over a situation like this. “No, I can’t say I’m sure why. Is this truly something that couldn’t have waited until after the show today, Frank?” First names. Never ‘mister’. 

“Well, if you would have answered your phone, we could have avoided this.” His voice was raspy, like he had a frog in his throat he just couldn’t kick. He wouldn’t look her in the eyes either, just down at his hands, which he was wringing incessantly. “Have you been on your phone at all? Looked online? Fielded any conversations from friends or family?”

Lucy counted in her head while she looked around the room at all the men looking at her with very guarded expressions. Her eyes finally landed back on Frank. “No, I typically turn off my phone unless I’m on call. What is this about, Frank? Just get to the point and stop wasting my time.”

Frank glanced over at an associate. The lawyer Lucy recalled from a previous meeting she had when she accused her cohost of sexually assaulting her. He pulled out a manila file folder and slid it in her direction. Lucy eyed it confused, again taking time to look at all the men in the room, before she picked up the file and started flipping through the contents. She kept her face stone cold as she realized what she was looking at. Photos. Of her. In various states of undress. The majority of them, though, were completely nude in positions that might just make the devil blush. Lucy still hadn’t reacted, whether from shock or pride she wasn’t sure. 

Mark spoke up then. “They were posted last night, along with a video, on a revenge porn site.” 

“A video?” She croaked, the only sign she was in any distress at all. She was aware the photos existed, but she had never consented to any video being made. Her eyes burned as she held back the tears that welled in her eyes. She would not cry in front of all these men. She’d already just lost their respect and she wasn’t about to dig herself deeper in that hole. She cleared her throat before continuing, her voice angrier now to cover the fact she just wanted to crawl under the table. “Why? Who? Who the fuck posted these?” 

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Mark rested a hand on her wrist, trying to comfort her probably. “Greg and Ashley were also in the video... They worked here about two years ago, you may remember. We think Greg posted everything,” he explained. It was better to hear it from Mark then any of the executive assholes that had no right to be in the room. “Kevin and the legal team are working to get everything taken down for you,” Mark explained with a nod in the lawyer’s direction.

“It’s on the internet, Mark. There’s no taking it down…” This is why she hated the internet. And technology. And men. They ruined everything. Why would Greg post any of this stuff in the first place?

Frank pulled her from her thoughts in that moment. “Maybe that was something you should have considered, Ms. Luck.”

Lucy balled her fists together. “Say that again, Frank, and I’ll shove my foot so far up your-” Mark dug his nails into her wrist, a warning, and Lucy clamped down on her tongue. She truly didn’t need to make her day worse by getting fired as well. 

The president gave her a long look before clearing his throat. “You weren’t thinking, so now we’re in clean up mode. There is a morality clause in your contract. However, we can understand these images were apparently taken in a private moment. For private purposes. You’re our head morning anchor and you’re damn good at your job. Ratings have gone up since we brought you on. we‘re not firing you today. So, that begs the question how do we handle this? We take you out until all of this passes.”

“Take me out?!”

Frank pressed on. “You will not speak of this to anyone. You will do no interviews. You will not be on social media. And you will be off air for four months. At least. Suspended with pay.”

“You’re suspending me?!” 

“Once everyone has forgotten about this misfortunate lapse in judgement, you can come back fresh and well-rested.”

“Someone posts images of me without my permission and you’re suspending me? You should be speaking out against the man that did this. Does Greg still work here? He should be fired! We should run a piece about how there is no legislature or precedence in court when it comes to fucking revenge porn! Why are we ignoring this when you could let me take a stand?”

Frank silenced her with a look. Mark, who was likely on her side, stayed quiet. “We will not add fire to the flame, Ms. Luck,” Frank sternly advised. “Greg no longer works here and you are welcome to approach him and this situation through the correct legal channels, but you will not be using our network as a platform to spin your mistakes into some positive light.”

“You’ve got to be fucking --” Mark’s grip tightened again. Lucy looked around the room again and was struck at how there were no other women to come to her defense. Many of the men looked awkward. One was undressing her with his eyes. The rest looked unimpressed by Lucy. She was not about to win this battle. She was still caught up on one issue though -- Why did Greg release these images now? A thought stuck her suddenly. She remembered who Greg had been friends with back in the day. “How does this affect my case against Ross? And the investigation into him sexually assaulting me?” 

More quiet. Finally, the lawyer answered. “Allegedly. He allegedly sexually assaulted you. I promise you it is something we take very seriously, Ms. Luck. The findings on our end were inconclusive. With this new evidence that you’ve had sexual encounters with other employees in the past, well… Mr. Harper will finish up his two-month suspension without pay and be moved to another station.”

Lucy sucked on the bottom of her lip. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing now. It was bullshit. All of it. “That’s not consent. The two incidents shouldn’t even be related! You should be firing Ross!” She was standing now, her finger pointed at the lawyer accusingly. 

“Control yourself Ms. Luck.,” Frank warned. “We’ve said our piece. If you would like to continue to have a job here, you’ll be quiet and take the suspension. Mark will walk you out now.” 

Mark stood and grabbed Lucy by the hand, looking at her apologetically. “Go home and tell your wives and daughters how you handled my life. I hope they cut your dick’s off in your sleep. Oh wait, they can’t because you’re all cowardly bastards. Fucking sausage fest in here…” 

Mark pulled her out and closed the door behind them. “What the hell, Lucy?”

“What the hell? What the hell was that, Mark!? Did they cut off your tongue? Did they have you by the fucking balls the whole time? You’re my producer, you’re supposed to have my back! You didn’t say anything! You just sat there and let them slut shame me.” 

“I want you to have a job, Lu!”

“And I wanted so much more from you,” she remarked sadly, heading towards her dressing room to gather her things.

“Lu! Wait! Where are you going? You have to leave the property.”

“I gotta get my purse because I’m a fucking woman, Mark!” She yelled back, giving him a majestic middle finger. He followed closely behind.

She got to her dressing room and slammed the door. Mark knocked. “Give me five minutes, asshole!” She yelled, grabbing her phone out of her purse. She powered it on before climbing underneath her vanity. She had hundreds of unread text messages and missed phone calls. The tears finally started to spill over as she dialed only one number, ignoring the rest. “Daddy… I need you. Come to Vesta please.”