he began making passes at her. She knew she had Roy to thank for that.
Rebecca also started having panic attacks. She didn’t know if it was because she was afraid of Roy or because she was finally facing herself and all the mistakes she had made.
One night she came home from work and her panic attack was so severe that she grabbed her cordless phone and laid it on her chest and waited. She didn’t know if she should call for an ambulance to come and get her. She knew it couldn’t be good for her heart to pound like that for a solid hour. She turned on the TV for a distraction. Ellen was doing standup on Lifetime and Rebecca foundherself laughing out loud. She wasn’t sure when her heart stopped racing, but Ellen was the perfect diversion.
Rebecca continued with the group, and with her counseling, journaling and her own self-help ritual of reading self-help books from the library. After learning better communication skills from the group, Rebecca decided to confront her boss.
“I know our relationship has changed because I dated one of your best friends. I’m sorry, and I take responsibility for that mistake. But because of that, lines have been crossed and we’ve become more like friends than like a relationship between a boss and his assistant. I’d like to continue working with you, Ed, but I will no longer tolerate your inappropriate remarks and gestures. I’m sorry things didn’t work out with your friend, but I don’t want that to affect our work relationship. I’m under the impression that Roy has said things to you that makes you feel you can mistreat me. If these comments continue, I will report you to your boss. Can I continue working as your assistant and receive the respect you used to give me?”
Rebecca’s boss agreed that they could continue working together and the comments would stop. And that was all that was said. Her work life improved, but her home life got worse.
One morning around three, Rebecca woke to a scraping sound coming from her kitchen. She turned on her light and the sound stopped. She knew that her kitchen wall was also Roy’s kitchen wall. She turned the light off and loudly went back to her bedroom and closed the door. Rebecca stood in the hall for a minute before tiptoeing back into the kitchen. She sat on the floor and waited. After about five minutes the scraping sound started back up. Shelistened closely trying to figure out exactly where it was coming from.
What had led her to this point in her life, sitting on the cold linoleum floor in her kitchen wearing a t-shirt and panties, listening to see if some freaky guy was trying to come though the wall?
She quietly slid her body closer to the pantry and tried to peek under the door. She thought she could see movement. “Shit! Maybe I have a mouse,” she whispered to herself. She flung open the door with every intention of looking at the floor for a mouse, but there was light coming from the wall and Rebecca made eye contact with Roy.
“I’m calling the cops!” Rebecca yelled and slammed the pantry door closed. She dialed 9-1-1.
When the police arrived, Roy was gone and there was nothing in the apartment other than a mattress on the floor. Rebecca wondered if he merely rented the place so he could spy on her. Rebecca’s counselor helped her fill out the forms for a restraining order against Roy. But, the judge denied the order.
Rebecca was disappointed, but she was okay. The landlord didn’t want to get involved and didn’t press charges against Roy for damaging the wall, which added to her disappointment and feelings of being all alone. Rebecca felt certain that she would never see Roy again, which helped her move on with her life.
Several weeks passed, and Ed continued to treat Rebecca with respect. She wondered if her assertiveness had changed him, if Ed and Roy had had a falling out or if they had conspired to keep Rebecca working there so Ed could keep Roy informed about her. Rebecca wanted to keep her
Rebecca also started having panic attacks. She didn’t know if it was because she was afraid of Roy or because she was finally facing herself and all the mistakes she had made.
One night she came home from work and her panic attack was so severe that she grabbed her cordless phone and laid it on her chest and waited. She didn’t know if she should call for an ambulance to come and get her. She knew it couldn’t be good for her heart to pound like that for a solid hour. She turned on the TV for a distraction. Ellen was doing standup on Lifetime and Rebecca foundherself laughing out loud. She wasn’t sure when her heart stopped racing, but Ellen was the perfect diversion.
Rebecca continued with the group, and with her counseling, journaling and her own self-help ritual of reading self-help books from the library. After learning better communication skills from the group, Rebecca decided to confront her boss.
“I know our relationship has changed because I dated one of your best friends. I’m sorry, and I take responsibility for that mistake. But because of that, lines have been crossed and we’ve become more like friends than like a relationship between a boss and his assistant. I’d like to continue working with you, Ed, but I will no longer tolerate your inappropriate remarks and gestures. I’m sorry things didn’t work out with your friend, but I don’t want that to affect our work relationship. I’m under the impression that Roy has said things to you that makes you feel you can mistreat me. If these comments continue, I will report you to your boss. Can I continue working as your assistant and receive the respect you used to give me?”
Rebecca’s boss agreed that they could continue working together and the comments would stop. And that was all that was said. Her work life improved, but her home life got worse.
One morning around three, Rebecca woke to a scraping sound coming from her kitchen. She turned on her light and the sound stopped. She knew that her kitchen wall was also Roy’s kitchen wall. She turned the light off and loudly went back to her bedroom and closed the door. Rebecca stood in the hall for a minute before tiptoeing back into the kitchen. She sat on the floor and waited. After about five minutes the scraping sound started back up. Shelistened closely trying to figure out exactly where it was coming from.
What had led her to this point in her life, sitting on the cold linoleum floor in her kitchen wearing a t-shirt and panties, listening to see if some freaky guy was trying to come though the wall?
She quietly slid her body closer to the pantry and tried to peek under the door. She thought she could see movement. “Shit! Maybe I have a mouse,” she whispered to herself. She flung open the door with every intention of looking at the floor for a mouse, but there was light coming from the wall and Rebecca made eye contact with Roy.
“I’m calling the cops!” Rebecca yelled and slammed the pantry door closed. She dialed 9-1-1.
When the police arrived, Roy was gone and there was nothing in the apartment other than a mattress on the floor. Rebecca wondered if he merely rented the place so he could spy on her. Rebecca’s counselor helped her fill out the forms for a restraining order against Roy. But, the judge denied the order.
Rebecca was disappointed, but she was okay. The landlord didn’t want to get involved and didn’t press charges against Roy for damaging the wall, which added to her disappointment and feelings of being all alone. Rebecca felt certain that she would never see Roy again, which helped her move on with her life.
Several weeks passed, and Ed continued to treat Rebecca with respect. She wondered if her assertiveness had changed him, if Ed and Roy had had a falling out or if they had conspired to keep Rebecca working there so Ed could keep Roy informed about her. Rebecca wanted to keep her
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