Logan looked at the papers laid out on the desk in front of him and sighed. He was noticing a troubling trend. The employee turnover rate for The Voice was approaching 25 percent; well above the industry standard. He had gone to HR to pull all the employee exit interviews for the last two years, trying to pinpoint the problem. Training new employees was expensive; they couldn't afford to keep losing good writers and support staff.

"Knock knock." Logan looked up from his work

"Hey, fancy meeting you here," he replied with a grin.

"Well I was in the neighborhood," she countered, stepping into the office. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Thank god you are," Logan leaned back in his chair, grateful for the distraction. "A few more minutes of this and my brain was going to be bored into a state of suspended animation."

"Well then, I got here just in time. I was heading to the coffee cart," Rory pointed her thumb over her shoulder in the general vicinity of the kiosk. "And since I was passing by on my way, I thought I'd see if you wanted something."

"You know, a mammoth sized black coffee sounds like just what I need to keep me sane here," he chuckled.

"Well, sanity is overrated, but coffee isn't. What's got you so enthralled over there?" she asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Oh, just a little foray into the wonderful world of human resources." Logan looked at her curiously, wondering if he should ask his next question. He didn't want to put her in an uncomfortable position, but her insight could be helpful. "What do you think of Peterson?" he asked her after a moment.

"Peterson?" she questioned. "Why?" Jeffery Peterson was the Assistant Editor of the Features section.

"Just curious."

"Well, I mean…" she diverted her eyes as she stumbled along, clearly uncomfortable with the question. "He's an incredible writer, you know. His interview was Jordan Van der Sloot was amazing. I don't know if it's true or not but to get that human trafficking confession out of him..."

"He's a talented man," Logan agreed with a nod. "But how is he to work with?"

"Umm," Rory hesitated.

"Just between you and me, Cherry. What you say stays in this room."

"Well," Rory looked around nervously for a moment before finally making eye contact and holding it. "He's a jerk." All traces of nervousness were gone. If he wanted her opinion, apparently he was going to get it. "He steals other reporters' stories, he takes credit for other people's ideas, he constantly talks down to everyone and he can't go more than five minutes in a conversation without reminding you he won a National Journalism Award."

Logan nodded succinctly. "That's what I thought." Peterson wasn't the only toxic employee, Logan gathered, reading between the lines of the exit interviews—not to mention his excellent observational skills. Big name journalists got away with some pretty bad behavior around here. Not that that was limited to The Village Voice—or journalism in general.

"Plus, he's kind of a perv," Rory added.

"What?!" Logan's head shot up. Had he put the moves on Cherry? Had he touched her? Had he tried to coerce her into something she didn't want?

Rory looked around tentatively, then stepped further into Logan's office, closing the door behind her.

"You didn't hear this from me," she said, her voice dropping low.

"Rory," Logan replied warningly. "If you know something…" The thought of some old perv—the man was almost 50—using his power and influence to take advantage of Rory made him sick. But that wasn't the half of it. A sexual harassment scandal would be a huge blow for the company. Not to mention the effect it must be having on the women involved.

Rory sat down at the desk opposite Logan. "He always finds ways be alone with the women here. The younger and more impressionable the better. I know at least two interns…" she trailed off with a shrug.

"What did he do, Rory?" Logan growled. He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but he needed to hear her say it.

"He slept with them," she confirmed.

"Consensually?"

"Depends on your definition of consensual," Rory contended.

Logan's eyes narrowed in confusion. "There are only two definitions of 'consensual' that I know of, and I'm not talking about the reflex doctors look for when they check your pupils."

Rory rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, he didn't use physical force, but he also didn't win them over with his charm and good looks."

"So…"

Rory sighed. "Are you being purposely obtuse? Do I really need to spell it out for you? They agreed because they thought their careers depended on it. And well, he did write them glowing letters of recommendation."

"And you?" Logan asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"What about me?"

"Did Peterson ever write you any glowing letters of recommendation?"

"What?!" Rory cried incredulously. "Eww, no!"

"Well, I had to check. These are serious accusations, Rory. And besides, you have a history of using bad judgement when it comes to men."

Rory shoved her chair back angrily and stood up. "Screw you, Logan. How dare you use what I told you in confidence like that. And besides, when a man in power takes advantage of a women below him for sexual gain, it's not the woman whose judgement should be questioned. Way to victim blame."

"That's not what I meant, I'm sorry."

"Go to hell!" She stomped towards the office door.

Logan stood up from his seat and ran after her. "Wait, Cherry! I'm sorry. I swear. I was out of line!" He managed to catch up with her and plant himself between her and the door.

"This," Rory spat angrily, "is exactly why men like Peterson get away with this crap. You wonder why none of these women ever spoke up? This is why. Because even when people believe them, it still somehow winds up their fault. You're the problem Logan, just as much as he is."

"Hey!" Now Logan was the one to be offended. "I reacted badly, I get it. But I'm trying to help here. I'm not the one coercing my underlings to have sex with me to further their careers."

"Well…" Rory wavered.

"What?!" he asked incredulously.

"Well, you did make unwanted advances towards me your first day here."

"Oh, they were not unwanted," Logan scoffed.

Rory's mouth gaped open disbelievingly for several seconds before she could even get a word out. "You can NOT be serious right now. You're really standing in front of me—in the middle off a conversation about sexual harassment, no less—telling me what I did and did not want?"

"You kissed me back at that club," Logan defended.

"And then I left. And then I found out you were my boss. And you still tried to put the moves on me. You tried to trick me into a candlelit lunch in your office, you gave me a sexually suggestive nickname, you sent me flowers in my workplace…" she ticked off his offenses one by one on her fingers.

Logan stood in silent shock. He felt the not unfamiliar feeling of self-loathing creeping up his spine. Normally it only existed during and immediately after a run in with his father. But not this time. This time it was Rory's eyes he was seeing himself through and that made it all the worse, because he actually cared for and trusted her opinion. He was scum.

Rory's face softened. "Logan," she said gently. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're right," his shoulders slumped defeatedly. "I sexually harassed you."

"No—well, okay technically maybe a little—but I engaged too. You were right—the advances weren't completely unwanted. And you never used your position to make me feel like I had to do anything. There was no reward or retaliation. You crossed some lines, yeah. But it's not the same as what Peterson did. Not even close."

"You should go," Logan said, slinking back towards his desk and refusing to look at her. "It's probably not appropriate for you to be in my office with the door closed."

"Logan…" Rory replied sympathetically as she watched Logan slump back in his seat, still refusing to look at her. "Don't do this to yourself. Don't beat yourself up. You're a good guy. You said you were trying to help…so help. Make a change—with yourself and the office. Wallowing in self-pity isn't going to solve anything." And with that, she slipped out of the office, leaving him alone.

Mitchum concluded the meeting as he gathered up his notes. He had to head back to his office to catch up on his e-mails before meeting Rory for dinner in an hour. Of course, he planned to be at least 15 minutes late. She had left him waiting more than a few times recently. In fact, it was getting to be a habit. He wasn't sure what had come over her lately.

"We need to talk." Mitchum looked up at the familiar voice. Actually, he did have an idea what—or who—had come over Rory lately. And he was not happy about it. Rory was supposed to be a good influence on Logan. Instead, it seemed like Logan was being a bad influence on Rory.

"I have places to be, Logan," Mitchum replied tersely, walking out the door of the conference room. Logan followed after him.

"This won't take long, it's important."

Mitchum sighed as he made his way around the corner towards his office. "What's the matter, your credit card get declined?"

"Gee, Dad, you know me so well," Logan snipped back sarcastically. Mitchum rolled his eyes at his son's impudence as they made their way through the halls. After a few more seconds they made it to the vestibule in front of his office where his secretary's desk was.

"Here you go, Mr. Huntzberger," the eager young man greeted as he made his way out from behind the desk with a cup of coffee in hand. "It's decaf. I left your messages on your desk. Gimbald called, you may want to handle that one first; I think he wants to push your meeting. You have a seven o'clock tee time with McMurray tomorrow morning, so I had your clubs re-gripped. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"That'll be all, Mathew," Mitchum replied tersely as he plucked the coffee cup out of his assistant's hand.

"Hey Matt," Logan greeted with a smile.

"Hey Logan, good to see you." The young man smiled at Logan and gripped his hand warmly. Mitchum scowled. Logan was too friendly with the support staff. Employees should respect and fear their superiors; not give them secret handshakes. Mitchum made his way into his inner office, leaving the door behind him open. Logan was going to follow him, open door or not.

"What do you want, Logan?" He asked with a sigh as he sat in his desk chair.

"We have a problem…"

"Which would be?" He didn't have time for his son to beat around the bush.

"Jeffery Peterson," Logan replied succinctly.

Mitchum looked up at this revelation. "Peterson? What happened? Did you do something to piss him off?" Jeffery Peterson was their most valuable employee. If Logan did something to jeopardize that…

Logan scoffed. "I'm sorry, you think the problem is that Peterson's not happy? I can assure you—Peterson is way too happy."

"Don't be cryptic. What the hell are you talking about?"

"He's sexually harassing the women in his department."

"Excuse me?" What kind of game was Logan playing at?

"I have it on good authority, that he's slept with at least two interns."

Mitchum rolled his eyes at his son's dramatics. "So?"

"So?!" Logan asked incredulously? "He's old enough to be their father."

"There's nothing wrong with a little May-December relationship," Mitchum replied with a smirk. He thought he saw Logan cringe. No matter, Mitchum was the one who was going to be enjoying himself with his nubile, young girlfriend tonight.

"There is when December is May's boss."

"I'm sure it was all consensual. Some women are just drawn to powerful men," Mitchum shrugged with a satisfied smirk.

"Just because you take advantage of naïve, young women, doesn't make it okay; especially when it makes its way into the workplace. If you don't care about the women he's taking advantage of then care about how it jeopardizes this paper."

Mitchum sighed, taking a long draw of his coffee. "What's jeopardizing to this paper is running off our star reporter with unfounded accusations. Peterson is our most popular writer, a great editor and a big draw for investors."

"Profitability is about more than just how much money a business makes, it's about how much it spends. Do you have any idea how much his antics are costing us? The Features Department's employee turnover is staggering. He's running other good writers off and he's making the ones who stay miserable. And let's not even get started on how much a sexual harassment lawsuit could cost us."

Logan was stupider than Mitchum thought, and that was saying something. The boy seriously wanted him to get rid Jefferey Peterson. That would be like Fox News canning Bill O'Reilly; it was never going to happen. If the man wanted to get his jollies with the interns, that was his business. As long as he kept the readers and investors happy and his paws of Rory, he could sleep with whoever he wanted… Mitchum suddenly tensed as a thought occurred to him.

"Who told you about this?" he growled.

Logan scoffed. "We work in journalism Dad, you know better than to ask the name of a confidential source."

"But this source is from Features?" There was one reporter in that department that Logan was getting uncomfortably close to. One person who might be inclined to confide in him…

"Does it matter?"

"It sure as hell does. Was it someone personally victimized?"

"No," Logan confirmed. "She says he hasn't made any advances towards her."

Mitchum let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back into his chair. "Well then what the hell are we even having this conversation for? This is nothing more than office gossip. Keep your damn mind on your work and stop chattering about like a teenage girl."

"You're seriously not going to do anything?" Logan scoffed. "I don't know why I'm surprised. You're just as bad as he is."

"And you're a paragon of virtue and chastity? Your judgment and hypocrisy aren't needed, Logan. Keep sticking your nose where it doesn't belong and you just might find that you're not needed."

"Go ahead," Logan shrugged, chuckling mirthlessly. "Fire me. Get Herschel to take over," he said, referring to his cousin and the next male kin in line to the Huntzberger throne. "Sure, the kid barely graduated community college, but at least he has no mind of his own. He'll be a perfect little automaton."

It was nothing but posturing—on both ends. Mitchum knew his son didn't have the balls to go it alone. And as much of a lazy, arrogant, unfocused, leech as he was, Logan had the genes, the name and the God-given talent Mitchum needed in a successor. And the board would not look kindly on Mitchum getting rid of him. They were stuck together.

"Are we done here?" Mitchum ground out.

"Not hardly," Logan sneered, "But I'll leave you to it for now, Sir." Mitchum watched as Logan stormed out of the room. That boy was getting to be a real problem.

"Hey Blondie, over here." Rory was sitting in the cafeteria with Chase, munching on some fries. She looked over her shoulder to see Logan walking by.

"Hey Chase," he greeted. "Rory," he added succinctly, continuing to walk past them.

"Where are you going?" Chase asked in confusion. "And why did you call Rory 'Rory'?"

"I'm going to eat in my office today," Logan replied.

"Logan, come on. Sit with us," Rory urged. He had been nothing but professional with her since their argument in his office the day before. It was getting to be unsettling.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Chase looked back and forth between Rory and Logan. "What's going on? Did she spit in your coffee or something?"

"He's trying not to sexually harass me," Rory informed her friend, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Chase asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Logan," Rory tried again, ignoring Chase's comment. She had to admit, she was a little surprised at how Logan was reacting to what she'd said yesterday. He had never seemed the type to take things personally. She figured he'd just laugh off her accusations of sexual harassment. Partly because they were laughable. Her and Logan bantered, and yes, maybe even flirted a little, but it was never more than innocent fun. "I'm sorry about what I said to you yesterday. I was angry and I accused you of things that were…"

"True, Rory," Logan interrupted, his eyes trained on Rory. "They were true. You told me you weren't interested in me and I didn't listen. And you were absolutely right about the nickname. I can't believe I ever thought that was appropriate."

"Seriously?" Chase cut in. "You're seriously not going to call her 'Cherry' anymore? That's just not right."

Logan continued to talk to Rory, completely tuning out Chase. "You don't have to worry about me anymore. I heard you, and I'm going to respect your wishes."

"I didn't wish for you to stop being my friend." Rory told him sadly.

"It's better if we keep things professional," he said.

"You're being ridiculous, Logan," She tried once more.

"I need to get back to my office." Rory watched dejectedly as he walked out of the cafeteria.

"Oh my God!," Chase exclaimed once Logan was gone. "What did you say to him? He looked like a puppy who'd been hit with a rolled-up newspaper for pooping on the floor."

Rory sighed frustratedly. Logan was fast becoming one of her best friends. And she was even becoming attached to his other friends, having hung out with the gang a few times since that night in the Meatpacking District. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost that. Of course, maybe she shouldn't get so attached. She was lying to him about something major, and if he ever found out the truth about her relationship, he'd probably never speak to her again anyhow. "I listed all the ways he'd sexually harassed me since he'd started here."

"Yeah, you seemed real harassed by it." Chase rolled his eyes.

"I got mad," she defended. "He was being a hypocrite."

"Welp, you broke him…you better find a way to fix him. I don't like mopey Logan."

Rory didn't like mopey Logan either. And if she was honest with herself, keeping Logan at arms-length wasn't really an option anymore, no matter how much she knew it would blow up in her face when he found out the truth. Logan was her friend, and she was going to make sure he stayed that way.

AN: This isn't really what I had planned for this chapter, but once it manifested itself, it just seemed right. This story centers on sexual misconduct in the workplace. It wouldn't be fair not to bring up the fact that Logan had made some missteps in this area as well. The difference is intent, and also, the fact that he cares. The rest of the story is pretty much planned out scene by scene. I've never done that before, so we'll see if it helps me get the chapters out to you any faster. You know what else helps me get the chapters out faster-reviews? They're great motivation so go ahead and leave one. Thanks for reading!