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“Stop being inappropriate at work. I’m saving you from yourself.” “How?”
I’m trying not to beat your ass. “She’s THE HR MANAGER.” My whisper is
full of emphasis. Dom just smirks.

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen…” Sanya projects her voice to get everyone’s
attention. We have two female engineers. I almost feel sorry for them sometimes.
It has to be hard being surrounded by so much sperm all the damn time.
“I know you all are used to seeing Sue, but she is under the weather. I’m doing
the honors today. I’m Sanya Shaw, the HR Manager. Those of you who do not
wish to participate are free to take a break. We have pastries, juice, and coffee in the
break room.”

She waits a few minutes and when no one leaves, she continues. “Today, we
are celebrating Henri Zidane’s birthday.”
She motions for me to come up. Her brief squeeze on my bicep sets me on fire.
I stare at the white frosting to redirect my thoughts. I’ve done this a least three
times, and Sue had tried in vain to get everyone to sing. I felt bad for the girl. She
just wanted to distribute the cake and go on her day. Sanya looks around the room
to assess the gathered people.
“I’ll tell you what…if you do a good job at yelling “Happy Birthday” on three,
I will exempt you from singing. Deal?” She looks around at the nodding people.
“Here we go.”

She holds up her fingers as she counts. “One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
The crowd roars Happy Birthday. Sanya and I laugh at their overzealousness;

they really don’t want to sing. We take a few customary pictures and hand out the
cake; the crowd falls into their own cliques to socialize.
I get a small piece and take a tentative bite. It’s not bad for a grocery store cake.
My eyes find her in time to see her sucking frosting off her thumb. Damn. The
white frosting pulls me back down the memory hole.
“You’re not eating any cake,” Dom flirts.
“No.” Sanya smiles. “I’m leaving in a bit to pick up a bunch of desserts I
purchased from an exclusive bakery for an event tonight. I’m dying to try them, so
I had to choose. You know, moderation and all.”