ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

Cordero ran after her. "Ali, wait. Dad and Jim offered to finish. I'd be happy to take you to town. Can you give me a few minutes to clean up?"

She nodded.

Inside, Rosa walked up to Cordero. "I won't plan on you two for dinner."

He winked. "Mom, when have you ever needed the SUV when it's this close to dinner? Pretty good trick."

Rose smiled. "You two need alone time."

*****
The drive to town was silent. Once parked, Cordero went around the pick-up and opened Alexandra's door. "Should I stay or leave?"

"Good question. I'm not sure the women will talk freely with a man here. At least stay back. We'll see what happens."

"Gotcha."


TODAY POST:

Chapter 12 B

Lisa was the first to arrive. She smiled at Cordero as they shared greetings.

Alexandra walked to her. "Hello. I'm glad to see you again." She glanced at her watch. "There are three additional ladies who said they'd come. We'll start once they arrive. Her eyes met Lisa's. "Do you mind if Cord sits at the back? If you do, I'll ask him to leave. I understand how sensitive this subject is."

"I'm fine. I've known Cord since grade school. He's one of the good guys. I'm sure the others will feel the same."

Smiling, Alexandra said, "I agree. There are not many like him."

Within five minutes, the rest of the women trickled in.

After the introductions, Alexandra began, "You'll have time to discuss privately your individual situations. After I hear them, I'll decide if it's best to approach these cases individually or combine them."

She took a drink from a water bottle. "Before we do, I want to explain legally what we're discussing. Since you probably consented, you feel you don't have a case. That's not necessarily true."

Opening her briefcase, Alexandra removed a file. "Here's the legality of the situation. I checked and made sure Texas followed the same law. Quid pro quo harassment is a type of sexual harassment in which the terms or conditions of a person's job are in some way impacted by whether that person engages in sexual behavior."

A short, slender Hispanic lady stood. "I wasn't employed by Mr. Rogers."

"I understand, Caridad." Alexandra stumbled over her Hispanic name.

"Ms. Alexandra, please call me Cari, most people do."

Glancing at Cordero, Alexandra blushed at his grin, before she said, "Thank you. I'll practice my Spanish."

The ladies turned and smiled at Cordero and nodded.

"Back to what we're discussing. You don't have to be. From what I understand, you couldn't get approved for needed business loans without having sex with him. This means you were coerced. Even if you gave consent, it's still coercion. You wouldn't have had sex with him unless it affected your loan status. Correct?"

After the ladies nodded, Alexandra continued, "Sexual trauma can happen in many ways. It doesn't always involve physical force. Sexual coercion happens when someone pressures or manipulates you into having sexual contact when you don't want it."

When tears welled in one of the ladies' eyes, Alexandra hesitated and then asked, "Rebecca, do you need a minute?"

"I'm fine, Ma'am. Please call me Becca."

Nodding, Alexandra continued, "Sexual coercion can be confusing and deeply distressing. You know what happened wasn't right, but you don't understand how or why. You might even believe he couldn't have assaulted you because you didn't say no."

After taking a deep breath, Alexandra said, "This is extremely important, and you need to remember it, true consent is given voluntarily." She paused. "Let me repeat, true consent is given voluntarily."

Nancy stood. "Ms. Alexandra, maybe I should have said something earlier. My loan wasn't a business loan. I live with my elderly mother. A wind and hailstorm damaged our roof. Rain leaked into our house."

"Good point. You still needed a loan, and it was refused until you had sex. So, he held power over you." Alexandra paused until her eyes met each person's. "According to the United States Department of Justice, rape refers to sexual penetration you didn't consent to. It follows, that coerced sex, when it involves penetration, would count as rape, even if the other person didn't use physical force or violence."

Carol raised her hand. "Are you saying we were raped?"

"I am." Alexandra paused and let that sink in for a few moments before she continued, "Now, for what I can do for you. I doubt Pat Rogers' attorney will allow this to go to trial. He wouldn't want the negative publicity, so he'll probably settle out of court."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I could be wrong. Anyway, I'd like to have a settlement prepared. I think $100,000 should be paid to each of you. Say $1,000 paid every month, spread over a little more than eight years, until the balance is paid. To ensure he pays, it'd be payable to the court, and they'd then mail it to you."

Alexandra paused, while the ladies commented to each other. "I heard that's a lot of money. You're right. I'm sure it won't be accepted. So, I want you to speak amongst yourselves and come up with a minimum amount you're willing to accept."

She studied the ladies' eyes before she added, "While you discuss it, I'll talk to each of you individually. I'll take notes and record your cases. I don't want to misunderstand anything you say. I promise I'll be the only person who'll listen to the tape. Does anyone have a problem with me recording?"

After the ladies agreed, Alexandra and Lisa went to a corner of the room to talk privately.

All the ladies gave their statements, before Alexandra asked, "What's the minimum amount of money you'd agree too.

Caridad offered, "We agreed to $10,000."

Alexandra tilted her head. "Ladies, I feel your pain and suffering's worth more than that. He degraded you. Don't allow him to get away with it. That amount is a slap on the wrist." She exhaled. "I'd say the rock bottom would be $50,000, but I don't want to go below $75,000. What are your thoughts?"

Nancy asked, "Will this go to each of us?"

Nodding, Alexandra said, "Yes. You each deserve to be compensated for what he did."

Rebecca was the next to speak, "I still feel dirty for what he did."

The other ladies agreed.

"Good. I'll file it with the court and then I'll meet with Mr. Rogers' attorney. After that, I'll contact you. Is meeting here as a group, okay?"

Again, the ladies agreed.

"Then we're finished, unless you have something else."

As the ladies stood, Alexandra said, "I forgot something. Amy Harding is another lady Mr. Rogers has wronged. Does anybody know how to contact her?"

Carol said, "Since her grandma died, she was forced to move. She can't afford a phone, but I have her address. It's at home."

"Can I call tomorrow morning and get it?"

"Yes."

~~~~~
Spanish accents have been removed so I don't get weird characters in my posts.

Mi hijo & Mijo are Spanish for son. Jorge will use them often.

Bendecido is Spanish for blessed.

Elote (eh-LOH-teh), also known as Mexican street corn, is salty, sweet, crunchy, and creamy in every bite. It hits all the right flavor notes, especially hot off the grill in the summer months when fresh corn is at its peak and abundantly available at every market. It's a popular street food in Mexico and can be served as a snack or side dish.
~~~~~


CHARACTER LIST:

Cordero Ortiz: 'Cord' runs his parents Texas ranch

Alexandra Black: 'Ali' is a New York City corporate lawyer, is a junior partner in huge family law firm

Jorge and Rosa Ortiz: Cordero's parents who own a large West Texas Ranch

Jim: One of the ranch foremen's and good friend of Cordero. He takes care of the main house and surrounding ranch area.

Bob: One of the ranch foremen and good friend of Cordero. He works the entire ranch.

Pat Rogers: Bank owner, not a good person

Sam Bailey: Lobo's Sheriff.

Tonia and Brent Black: Alexandra's parents

Joyce: Cords' ex-girlfriend

Gary Hart: A young ranch hand