My Kind Of Bad

Forcing this thought away, Kurt led her to her couch and made her sit down. He sat beside her and pulled her into his lap, encircling his arms around her and rubbing her back.

“Talk to me, Neera. What happened?”

Neera sniffed and swiped at her nose with her sleeve.

“My boss was caught having s*x with his secretary last Friday. By his wife on a surprise lunch visit.”

“Ouch.” Kurt reached for a tissue in the box on the coffee table and handed it to Neera as she sniffed again. “But why is that anything to do with you?”

“She came in on the lunch break.” Neera blew her nose. “I was having my lunch. The desk is always unmanned at that point. Normally it doesn’t matter; we barely get anyone coming in during that time. I’m in the cafeteria and then I hear shouts and screams.” She swallowed and dabbed the tissue under her eyes. “Rydzewski blames me for letting his wife catch him in the middle of screwing the sl*t who ‘takes notes’ for him.”

“That’s not your fault.” Kurt couldn’t believe the man. The only person he had to blame was himself. “And he shouldn’t have been having an affair in the first place.”

“Especially not in his office.” Neera shuddered. “Virtually everyone saw his co*k buried where it shouldn’t be. And it got waved about before he had the decency to hide it.”

“Charming.”

“I know.”

Neera sat up in his lap. Her bottom brushed against his groin and his co*k hardened. Kurt shifted, hoping Neera wouldn’t notice.

“He was furious. But he kept himself out of the office until today when he called me in. He said…” Neera broke off but struggled on. “He said that he could fire me but he might be willing to overlook it if I…oh, God, this is too embarrassing.”

She buried her face in her hands and took a long, shaky breath. Kurt hugged her to him, tucking her head against his neck.

“It’s okay, honey. You can talk to me.”

“He wanted to have s*x with me.” Neera sniffed. “And if I did have s*x with him he’d rethink firing me.”

Kurt felt the rage. The man had some balls. He had made the moves on Neera – his Neera – and thought it was okay. He swallowed back his anger. Neera didn’t need that right now. She needed him.

“He tried to blackmail you into having s*x with him to keep your job?”

“He sure did. I said no and that I quit.” Neera sighed. “I’ve spoken to HR and they said they’ll get back to me but I very much doubt that anything will happen. He’s got his fingers in a lot of pies.”

“And in a lot of the steak and kidney ones as well.” Kurt muttered.

Neera jabbed him hard in the side.

“Ouch!”

“Don’t joke, Kurt. I’ve had to walk out on my job because of s*xual harassment and nobody’s going to do anything about it. I know they won’t.”

“Sorry.” Kurt pressed a kiss to her head. “You remember I told you my brother is a cop? I could get him to file a report, speak to the bas*ard…”

“Not just yet. I want to see what the HR lot will do. If they do nothing I’ll talk to your brother.” Neera sagged against Kurt as if the tension in her body had suddenly disappeared but not in a good way. It was as if she had given up the fight. “Right now I need to think about getting another job as soon as possible. I didn’t get severance pay because I quit so I’m stuck with my savings for now.”

“Do you need any help getting a job?”

“No. I can handle it myself.” Neera looked up at him and smiled. “But thanks for the offer.”

Kurt wanted to help. He didn’t like Neera turning him down. She was vulnerable right now and she needed someone to lean on. She was leaning on him right now but she still kept her distance in her mind. She didn’t want to be dependent on him.

After what had happened with her ex, Kurt could very well believe that.

*****

Neera didn’t feel like going out. After everything that had happened she just wanted to hide away and not talk to anyone. But Kurt had insisted that they go out and have dinner with Billy and Taylor. He had made the call while she was having a bath, on his insistence, and Neera was too tired to say no.

She had initially felt bad about calling Kurt when she walked out. But she had wanted to talk to someone, have someone in her corner. Rita had promised to rush HR’s decision into filing a s*xual harassment lawsuit but considering Rydzewski ran the company and HR was part of the company, Neera didn’t hold out much hope. And Kurt had told her if she needed him to call him.

He hadn’t picked up his phone but he arrived at her door minutes after she got home. Neera had never been so grateful to see anyone in her life. Having him there made her feel better but, at the same time, she felt really drained. The tension was oozing out of her and leaving her numb.

Neera couldn’t believe Rydzewski. He honestly thought he could get Neera to have s*x with him if he threatened her job, something he knew she was reliant on. Neera was desperate for a job but not that desperate. She would rather be jobless.

Kurt’s presence calmed her somewhat. It made her feel better and he stopped her from being a nervous wreck. All it needed was a few touches to her hand, a smile and a hug and Neera felt comforted.

She knew she was going to be okay.

Kurt pulled his bike up outside Billy’s, parking beside Billy’s own Harley. He took Neera’s hand as they went up the steps to the front door. Kurt opened the storm door and rang the bell. A few moments later Taylor opened the door. She was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She grinned at them.

“Hey, Kurt. Neera. Come on in.”

Neera saw Kurt’s confused expression and wondered what had happened. He stared at her outfit.

“You’ve changed?”

“Of course.” Taylor winked. “It was getting a bit cold.”

“You don’t normally do that.”

“We all do strange things, Kurt.” Taylor stepped to one side. “Don’t stand out there. You’re letting in the cold.”

Neera went in first, Kurt following close behind. He was still holding onto her hand but the grip seemed to be tighter. What was wrong with him?

“Thanks for having us for dinner, Taylor.” She said.

“It’s not a problem.” Taylor grinned. She shut the door. “You know Billy. He’s always waiting for a chance to show off his culinary skills. He’s not just a dab hand on the barbecue.” She beckoned them down the hall. “Come through. Dinner’s nearly ready.”

As Taylor led the way, Neera hung back and leaned against Kurt.

“What’s wrong?” She whispered. “You looked surprised when she opened the door.”

“When I came in earlier to drop off Billy’s tools and Taylor was here. She was wearing a halter with barely any material and shorts short enough that you could see her butt cheeks.”

“Maybe she got cold and changed.”

Kurt grunted.

“It’s not that cold out there. And she doesn’t wear those clothes around her husband.”

Neera didn’t want to read into it. She was too tired to read into anything. All she wanted was dinner and conversation.

Anything to take her mind of what was going on in her life.