The Women's Job - I Don't Have a Choice - Chapter 8

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I happened to come across a support group, met others like me, like both of us," she gestured to Ashley and continued, "And here I am.  Can I ask you another question or two, a little more personal?" 

 "I...guess, I'm not sure I can deal with all this.  But go ahead." 

 "First, you look very professional, that blouse and skirt yesterday, and now what are you wearing today? Your makeup and hair.  

You pass very well.  I wasn't sure at all if you were transgendered or a cis-girl when you came in yesterday, but since more of the girls who apply and get hired here have been transgendered and referred, I thought you might be. How did that come about, if you provided a picture of your male side?" 

 "I, well, first, I've since thought about my picture. I've always been younger-looking than my age, and as you can see, I'm not particularly tall.  My natural hair is fairly thick and it was sort of shaggy as I hadn't had it cut in several months, and I was in, oh, neutral I guess is a good word, colored clothes. Maybe whoever looked at it, wasn't sure.  

Anyway, I was in, well, very casual male clothes yesterday morning downtown trying to pass along my resume, not expecting any calls, when Mr. Austin called and wanted me to come in immediately for an interview looking professional. I tried to postpone it, but he insisted. 

You might remember yesterday when we met that I said my attire came from VanHisen downtown?"  

Deirdre nodded in agreement and Ashley continued, "He then directed me to go there and meet up with a saleswoman named Jen.  And she put me in the blouse and skirt, heels, and everything, and had me go to the salon where they did a makeover on me including adding hair extensions."  "Hmmm," Deirdre nodded and continued, "That's one way of dressing, I suppose, and it does sort of explain it.  

I know Mr. Austin was looking for an assistant and I've heard he has some kind of relationship with VanHisen.  I'm guessing he knew Mr. Relsly was gone for several days, saw your resume and picture, and assumed you were transgendered because he knew that's who would probably be asked to come in and make sure you were dressed for the job.  

He has sort of suggested that he would have liked one of us to move over to his office, but we all declined.  

So, would you consider yourself transgendered?"  "I don't really...I mean...well, I wasn't at all sure yesterday when I left VanHisen's that I was doing the right thing, but as the afternoon went on, I just, well, I felt more comfortable with myself.  

I was still worried, but Brenda at the front desk, and then you, and then Mr. Austin, you all accepted me, and treated me so decently and as I would think a woman would be treated, that, well, it just seemed right, like you said.  And certainly yesterday and again this morning, I did like the way Mr. Austin was treating me."  

"As I said, you do pass quite well, as good or better than most transgendered girls, which is sort of amazing for someone with so little experience.  But don't put too much into how Mr. Austin treated you. I'm pretty sure he's what we call a transfan, someone who likes pre-operational transgendered women. 

I'm not saying it's a bad thing or anything, some tg girls like that attention, but many transfans try to discourage the girls from having that final operation.  And they can get a little too personal with the girl.  

I think he just assumed you were, and encouraged you to be that."  Ashley thought about what Deirdre said, trying to understand it all and thinking back to what all happened just recently, earlier in the day and the afternoon before, and said, "I probably should tell you a couple of things.  

He took me out to dinner last night where I might have had a little too much to drink. And then he took me back to my place, but nothing...happened."  She got a little embarrassed as she finished, "Except to be honest, I sort of, well, let him kiss me. 

 I, well I thought he thought I was a woman, and I wasn't expecting it, but I didn't try to push him away, I just, well, maybe drew back a tiny bit, and was too embarrassed and went inside afterward.  

He then gave me a ride to work this morning, I think to make sure I'd come back.  But then he started to get way too...personal and I eventually got upset with him and told him I quit, and then he said I was fired."  

Deirdre nodded a little more forcefully and said, "I was afraid that might have happened.  Are you going to tell Mr. Relsly?"  

"I don't know what to do.  I don't want to cause any problems or start a new job on the wrong foot. I suppose if I'm not near Mr. Austin and he leaves me alone, I won't say anything, but if he starts anything, I may have to."  "I understand.  Mr. Austin has been doing a lot of really good work for Johnston, and I'm pretty sure he's expected to be promoted up through the ranks.  

At this moment in his career, if nothing happened between you two, other than just what others would consider misunderstandings of how you work together if you do say something, I'll be honest.  

It may cause you some problems.  He may also have not fully submitted your name as an employee as of today, so he could make up any story about you he wanted and it would be his word against yours."  

"Then I probably shouldn't say anything, because I stopped it as I thought he was becoming far more friendly than one would expect or want."  

"That was a good idea.  Tell you what, if you accept the job, I'll mention a little of it to Mr. Relsly, so if anything does come up, he'll be aware of it.  

Mr. Relsly right now outranks Mr. Austin, but Mr. Austin does not report to Mr. Relsly. 

He's here temporarily looking into other issues that are related to what we're doing.  

We think he'll be promoted and transferred in a month or two when he finishes.  But back to you.  

What are you thinking about how you'll appear when you show up on Monday if you accept the job?"  Ashley thought for a moment, "Thank you so much for supporting me with Mr. Relsly, I really appreciate it. 

 To answer your question, well, so far there are five people here at Johnston, who have met me as Ashley, you, the receptionist, Lauren earlier today, Mr. Austin, and now Mr. Relsly. Besides what I wore yesterday, Jen also picked out this outfit and three more that I now have back at my place.  

Which reminds me, I'm also not sure how I'll pay for them exactly."  Deirdre laughed a little, "I'm glad you met Lauren. I think we're all rather nice women, but she's really quite friendly.  

So, if you come in as Ashley on Monday, I'll talk to Mr. Relsly, and maybe he can encourage Mr. Austin to cover a significant amount if not all the cost.  

You may have to pay some, though."  

She stopped for a moment, looking directly at Ashley which made Ashley a little nervous, then continued, "I don't want to tell you what you should do, but if I were you, I'd give it a chance.  

Your story is not that dissimilar to most of the other girls in the office, with some variations, but that's to be expected.  And they're now quite happy with the choices they've made.  

Everyone in the office is nice and very supportive of each other.  It's a great place to work."  

"I...well, I suppose I can.  It's just that like you said, I have so little experience, I hardly know anything.  And of course, my family has no idea about me." 

 "Do you see them often?"  "Well, no, not now.  I moved out a few weeks ago and have my own room. I call my mom of course, and I have an older brother I talk to, and a younger sister.  She's a single mother living with our parents.  I have another older brother but he lives several states away."  

Deirdre looked at Ashley and appeared in deep thoughts for a moment then replied, "I'm coming to like you a lot. 

 Tell you what, it's Friday and our workday ends at 5 which is not that far away.  

If you'd like and if you do accept Mr. Relsy's offer, neither of which you have to, we'd be happy to meet you here, me and some of the other girls, and we'll all go out for drinks.  

You can see what they're all like, and they can meet you, and maybe we can help you get started.  If you'd like that, of course."  Ashley considered what she just heard and almost came to tears as she said, "I...I'd like that...a lot.  Thank you."  

"Good, so, I've got to get back to work, I'll stop by Mr. Relsly who I see is over there, and tell him you're ready to make your decision. Okay?"  

Ashley could see that he was sitting by himself at the lunch counter, just putting his cell phone away, and maybe trying not to look at what was happening with the two young women.  "Yes, please do.  And I mean it, thank you so much for being so nice to me." 

 "Ashley? Thank you for being so open with me.  

You'll do just fine working with us for Mr. Relsly.  I'm sure of that now.  Bye.  I hope to see you again in a little while."  

"Bye."  Ashley was now getting a little excited again, as she realized she had found someone who was like her, and was friendly and helpful, and would introduce her to the other young women.  This was turning out even better than she had dared hope.  

Deirdre left, walking by Mr. Relsly and quickly mentioning something. In a moment, he returned to Ashley's table and sat down and asked, "Hi again. So, tell me, did Deirdre help you at all?"  

"Yes, she helped a lot.  Thank you so much for asking her here."  "Well, you're welcome.  I thought you and she might hit it off.  I'm now asking. Have you made a decision? Would you like to come to work for me and Johnston?"  

"Yes, absolutely. I would love to come and work for you and Johnston Industries.  I accept your offer. Thank you so much for it." 

 "You're welcome.  I'm really glad you have.  I think you'll make a fine addition to our group. 

 Oh, yes, I'll make sure Mr. Austin does not interfere with your hiring.  I don't know all the details of the position he offered you, but I will make one thing clear. Nobody should ever ask you to do personal errands for them, and if anyone does, tell them to see me."  

"Oh, okay, thank you."  My goodness, she thought, did he find out about that? I'm so glad he made that clear.  He nodded and then continued, "Tell you what, can you come with me to the office and we'll fill out some paperwork?  

A formal application form, the job offer sheet, and some other papers?  When you come back in on Monday, 8:30, I'll have you go by the H.R. person who will have other forms like your W2 and Medical and Dental to complete, they'll give you a badge to get in each day.  

They'll also schedule you for a drug test and start a background check.  I believe Mr. Austin had not scheduled you for any of that.  

So, is that all right?"  All that he was saying made Ashley feel really good, as it was all that she would have fully expected to happen upon being hired.  

She realized she should have known something was wrong when Mr. Austin never even hinted that she should go through Human Resources.  She replied, "Oh, my, yes. That would be fine. Thank you. I should mention that 

Deirdre asked me to join her and some of the other girls after work for drinks."  

He smiled at that, "I think that would be very good.  You can all get to know one another.  That's why I really like Deirdre.  She's been my best employee, well, since Marilou left.  So, if you're ready, let's go on up."  

Upon arriving in Mr. Relsly's office, he and Ashley continued covering some of the job requirements and working conditions as well as having her read and sign some documents and giving copies to her.  As she was looking them over, Mr. Relsly said, "I assume Deirdre covered most of your concerns.  

We try to be a fully equal-opportunity employer and promote diversity in the workforce.  I will say that with the hiring of Marilou - did Deirdre also mention her?"  

"Yes, she did."  

"Good.  So with her hiring, Marilou became my very best employee.  She then started referring to other young women she knew and now all of them, like Deirdre, are performing at a very high level.  

I really appreciate that and it's made my job easier. The point I'm trying to make is that when you visit the human resources person, you are welcome to put down whatever you feel comfortable with.  The responses are kept very private and only the values are reported. 

 Like I said, whatever you feel comfortable with, it won't make any difference in your hiring, raises, job assignments. The only requirement is that on the forms you fill out, you have to use your legal name, your current social security number, and an ID, like a driver's license. 

I believe there's a place for a preferred name, or nickname, where you can put what you want to be called.  Nicole, our HR person can explain it better. "  

She took the documents, looked them over, and was careful to use her legal name and social security number but checked the box 'other' for her gender.  

She gave permission for a background check as well as signing the formal offer sheet.  When finished, she said, "I appreciate you letting me know all this, but especially offering me a position here. I promise I'll do whatever it takes to show you that giving me the chance was the right decision."  

"I'm sure you will, Ashley.  You come across as a very bright and determined employee.  

But I see it's approaching 5 and I do have some things I have to do, and you have a get-together coming up that I think you'll really enjoy.  I'm glad we met, and I'll expect to see you Monday morning, at 8:30.  

It's been a pleasure getting to know you a little more. See you on Monday."  "Thank you again, Mr. Relsly, I can't wait to start work. Good-bye."  

"Goodbye," he said as they stood and they shook hands.  

This day had been the most emotional day Ashley had ever had, and one she never wanted repeated, since she was both fired and hired, she had had a boss who she now decided was probably groping her and maybe wanting more, and she was on her way to meet other young women who she understood from what Deirdre said were transgendered like she was.  

And yes, she now accepted that she probably was, something she had fretted over, and tried for years to ignore or even banish from her thoughts, all unsuccessfully. Accepting that actually made her feel better about herself.  

As she walked through the hallway, took the elevator down, and walked out through the entrance foyer, Ashley didn't care at all anymore if she ran into Mr. Austin.  

Being with him was an experience she would hardly forget, but perhaps it was a fortunate one, in that she met Mr. Relsly, and she now understood a little more about herself, who she was, and how she should be.   

She didn't have to wait long to meet up with Deirdre who brought Cassandra, Lauren, and Josie with her, who were all t-girls like Deirdre. Deirdre introduced Ashley to the other girls and they were all quite welcoming and supportive of Ashley.  Trying not to be obvious, she had to look quite long at each one before she thought she might have seen any kind of hint they may not be natal girls. Since they were so accepting of her, she soon stopped concerning herself with that and accepted them.  

Cassandra asked, "I understand you worked for Mr. Austin for a day.  How was he? We've heard all sorts of stories."  Deirdre replied first, "Ashley is still new here and we shouldn't put her in any awkward situations."  

Ashley said, "That's all right, Deirdre. I can answer this. In many ways he was nice, and if it weren't for some of his other less attractive traits, he might be a good boss to work for. 

 But, at least for me, he insisted on being a little bit too close for comfort for most of the day. I didn't appreciate that and I decided I didn't want to work for him.  I walked out, and met Mr. Relsly, and immediately he appeared more professional than Mr. Austin. And here I am." 

"Well said, Ashley. So since Ashley will be starting to work with us on Monday, why don't each of us tell her what we do and what a work day is like so she has a good idea of what to expect."