Suffering harassment
I hope you like the story, and that you tell me your opinions, through them I know if I'm on the right path.
Remember English is not my native language, I hope the translation is correct, check it, but sometimes I miss some incorrect personal pronouns for the phrase, sorry.
I reiterate, I do not own the characters of Friends I only rely on them for the pure pleasure of writing stories without any economic interest, and Monica and Chandler inspire me
Chapter 4
Chandler arrives home as usual, at the same time as always, but he keeps his resignation secret.
Monica doesn't know what's new, but she watches him even more quietly.
"Is something wrong with you?"
"No, everything is fine, just discussions about ideas at work, a bit stressful, but nothing more, I'm going to take a shower, then we'll have dinner.
Chandler turns on the hot shower, and stays under the water running down his body for a while, as if he were getting rid of all the shit that fell on him during those months.
He feels terribly ashamed, he is a failure and clearly does not deserve the wonderful woman he has, she should not have married him, she would probably have been happier with Richard, but he immediately shakes his head, he does not want to think about that idiot, that did not happen and it will never happen, Monica is the woman he loves madly and he knows that for her he is the love of her life, he has to see how to fix this mess.
However, he doesn't want to worry her for now and decides to keep quiet for a few days until he finds a good job that he can be proud of, even if it's not in advertising.
The next morning, he goes out pretending to go to the agency, but in reality he goes to leave his resume at other agencies, but he doesn't get anything, they practically send him back an entry-level resume.
This catches his attention, since they usually receive the resumes and normally they tell him that they will call him for an interview, yes or no, until he discovers the reason. Four days later Edward calls him to tell him that Harrison is a friend of Gina and the girl told him in confidence that the boss was furious because Chandler resigned without telling anyone and left without saying nothing to her, so she ordered Gina to contact all the agencies in the area, and Gina heard her giving bad references about Chandler, she warned them not to even interview him since he wasn't good for the job.
Faced with this news, it was obviously useless to continue looking for advertising, but he continued for a few more days, going out every morning, only now he starts looking for any other kind of work.
Two weeks have passed since his resignation, and since he has not told Monica anything yet, neither about the harassment nor about his resignation, during all this time she believes that he is still working at the agency, but she sees him even more tired, haggard, with a sad look.
In her total ignorance Monica insists on trying for a baby, she keeps alert for the days when she is ovulating, but Chandler finds it harder every day to give himself over to love, shame, self-loathing take away all his desire, but he has to make the effort, Monica cannot realize that even in that he is a failure.
He begins to feel exhausted from spending the whole day sitting in the park or in a cafeteria, to his total lack of self-esteem is added the boredom of doing nothing, he has resigned two weeks ago, he cannot continue like this.
He decides that he will tell Monica everything that very night. He can't keep the secret any longer, it's just sinking him in even deeper.
That day was Tuesday, the day that Monica has to check the incoming merchandise in the morning, and she was busy doing that when one of the waiters, who was coming in to start his workday, told her that he had seen her husband in a bar in SoHo.
Monica asked him if he was alone and the boy told her yes, that he thought he was reading a book.
Monica was surprised, she assumed he had a work meeting, but there was something bothering her, so she called Chandler on his cell phone.
"Hi honey, how are you? A lot of work? Can I ask you a question?"
Chandler was surprised by the call at that time of the morning, "Hi honey, yes, you know that at this time of the day there is a lot of activity at the agency, what is going on?"
Monica was silent for a moment, Chandler was lying to her, he was not at the agency.
"Honey are you still there, what is going on?" ask him
"Yes, I'm here, I just wanted to ask you if you saw a recipe book. I thought I had it here in my office and I don't remember leaving it at home," Monica quickly invented.
"No, baby, I didn't see it."
"Well, I'll keep looking, thanks."
"See you later, I love you," Chandler replied.
That strange feeling Monica had now turned into a huge concern. Her husband was lying to her. He said he was in the office when he was actually at a bar. What was going on?
She looked in her calendar and called the Agency, asking for Mr. Chandler Bing.
"Excuse me, Mr. Bing hasn't worked here for about 15 days. He's quitting. Can I put you in touch with another copywriter?"
"No, thank you. I needed to talk to him." Monica hung up and froze in her seat. Chandler had resigned from the Agency 15 days ago and she didn't know anything. Where did he go every day when he said he was in the office?
Her stomach turned, she was shaking, what was happening... her head began to spin with a bunch of increasingly dark thoughts.
She couldn't stay in the restaurant, she didn't have the head to concentrate on anything, she had never even imagined that Chandler would lie to her, or worse, that he was being unfaithful, what could he have been doing all these days?
Monica told the Chef that she felt sick and that she was going home, that he would take care of controlling the entry of the merchandise.
Monica arrived at apartment 20, with each moment her incomprehension and anger increased, was Chandler cheating on her with another woman? She didn't know what else to think... the hours she had to wait until he arrived and she demanded an explanation were endless.
Chandler entered his house like every day, giving his wife a tender smile, but he saw Monica's icy eyes and her disfigured face.
"I just found out that you quit your job more than 15 days ago, where have you been all that time when you were supposedly telling me you were at the agency, do you have another woman?" Monica screamed
The blood disappeared from Chandler's face, "Please… let me explain" he said with a shaky voice and stuttering
"What the fuck are you going to explain to me, where have you been these two weeks when you were supposedly going to work," and continued screaming
"Is there another woman, truth? That explains why the last few months you didn't look for me to make love, it was me who incited you, and you barely pleased me.
"No, Mon, … for God's sake, there is no other, there will never be another" explained Chandler with a trembling voice
"So what is it, but explain to me something coherent, what is happening !"
Chandler fell into the couch without strength, lowered his head taking his face with his hands, he had to begin to explain that he was a failure, which he felt was worse than being an unfaithful husband.
Chandler raised his head, his eyes were full of tears and some began to slide down his cheek.
Monica sat in front of him at the low table surprised by her husband's reaction.
With a trembling voice he began to speak: "Mon, there is no other woman, never think that, what happened is that I had a really bad time at work, my boss hated me, I quit because I couldn't take it anymore, but I didn't want to worry you, I thought I would get a job in another agency, but last week I found out that she took it upon herself to notify each one not to give me a job because I was good for nothing, and the rest of the time I was trying to get a job in anything else, I was so ashamed of being useless and a failure."
"You never told me you had problems at the agency, that your boss hated you. I asked you many times how you were and you said you were fine. I don't understand. You quit a good job. Where did you get the money you brought home from your supposed job?" Monica asked.
"I took it out of the trust fund," Chandler answered weakly.
"Chandler, tell me the truth. Is there another woman…?"
"For God's sake Mon! I repeat a thousand times, there is no other woman, I couldn't stand the mistreatment anymore, it was a nightmare, I'm obviously not good at that job, I was told so clearly hundreds of times and in the worst way"
"Chandler, I know you're smart, you're brilliant and that job was perfect for you, Steve hired you for a reason, did you talk to Steve about it?"
"Yes, but he blindly trusts Priscilla's judgment, he didn't believe me about the mistreatment, I showed him the crossed out proposals and he considers it part of her character, nothing important, and he told me that the problem was me, that I had to try harder" explained Chandler
"Why didn't you tell me? You say you didn't want to worry me, but you did, you were weird, you weren't the Chandler I love, I asked you and you told me that everything was fine, but when you got home you were serious, distracted, thinner, without energy, you didn't even want to make love"
The head of Chandler was a whirlwind, he knew he should have told Monica about his work problems from the beginning and the need to escape from that place, that was his mistake, but he had to explain to her, convince her.
"Monica, if they treat you like you're incapable every day you end up believing it, if they humiliate you end up feeling like shit" explained Chandler
"Nothing I presented to her was good, she would tell me alone in her office or in the meeting in front of everyone, she would tell me I was useless, incapable, that I wasn't good for that job, that I was stealing the money from my salary. She even told me that surely my wife knew I was a failure and that I was a cuckold"
"Now I'll show you all my presentations that she returned crossed out in red and with a "NOT SUITABLE" in red across the proposal, almost all of them have that mark"
Monica looked at him with her eyes wide open and incredulous
"And the rest of the team didn't say anything?"
"No, they are afraid of her, they know that their opinion could cost them their jobs. She was extremely kind and cooperative with the three girls, she never gave them back their work, sometimes she even called them to her office to help them improve it. And Edward and Harrison are two older men, whom she mostly ignored, who are also afraid of losing their jobs, Edward has to pay for his son's college, and Harrison has to face the expenses of his wife's illness. Only that both of them, behind Priscilla's back, told me that what I did was very good, but their comments did not help me to bear the constant contempt for my work that this woman made and with the worst words" ….
"At first I confronted her, but it was worse… no one was going to question her criteria"
"And when I told Edward of my intention to resign, he told me to try to record how she treated me first, only at that point she barely spoke to me, I did record some things, but I don't think they're of much use, now I'll make you listen to them" …
"Mon…. I'm so ashamed, I disappointed you in every possible way, I can't give you a child, I thought I didn't even deserve to make love to you, that I didn't deserve you in any way"
As he told her everything that had happened, his hands and voice did not stop shaking, his depression was evident.
Obviously Monica had already put aside her crazy thoughts, and now she was worried about her husband's physical and mental health. She knew that Chandler was vulnerable regarding his self-esteem, and clearly that witch had hurt him, had destroyed him, with what it had cost him to overcome that recurring feeling of not being enough, now that bitch had woken him up.
Monica crossed to the sofa, hugged him tightly, while kissing his forehead, until she managed to get him to lift his head and she gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
"For God's sake Chandler, you haven't let me down, you never will, I know you more than anyone, even more than you know yourself, I know your soul, your heart, your intelligence, your ability, your love for me, in your vows you said that we'll be together in all the good and the bad, and if a fucking crazy boss crossed our path, that or any other difficulty will not be able to hurt us"
"But Mon, I promised to make you happy…" said Chandler with a trembling voice
"And you do, you've done it since I met you, my friend Chandler made me happy, my boyfriend Chandler made me happy, now my incredible husband and my great lover make me happy every day, never doubt it, you are a better man and husband than I ever thought I would have the good fortune to find"
When she was trying to reassure him, to prop him up with her love, Ross entered first with Emma in his arms and behind him Rachel and Joey.
The three of them immediately notice that something is happening, Chandler is with his shoulders down, clearly dejected and Monica with tears on her cheek, has him hugged by his shoulders and caresses his head. -
Mon what is going on? Asked Ross clearly worried by the scene, the first thing that crossed his mind was that something had happened to one of Chandler's parents. -
Ross hands Rachel the girl and together with Joey they quickly sit at the low table in front of the couple.
Monica tells them something about what happened to Chandler, until he gathers strength and explains to his friends everything that happened and his conclusion that he is a failure.
Joey listens to him with wet eyes, his friend, his brother, they can't have done this to him, everyone was so happy, he had asked so much for his friend to get the job and it turned out to be a shitty job.
Instead, Ross's face turns red with rage: "Chandler, since you didn't tell us anything, what happened to you is terrible. We would have supported you and helped you think. Monica, first of all, you have been a victim of workplace harassment. It could have affected your physical health and your mental state. How did you endure that hell alone for 6 months, without saying anything?"
Chandler's eyes filled with tears again, "I was so embarrassed, you all had supported me so much to change jobs, you had faith in me for this new job, in which I was sure I would be successful, I even believed that by liking it so much I could climb the ranks faster, but it was all a dream that became my worst nightmare, you are all successful at your jobs and I am absolutely useless as Priscilla constantly told me"
"Dude, I am not going to allow you to continue beating yourself up with the stupid things that woman said to you, you are extremely intelligent, you were brilliant even in a job that you hated, you are creative, just listen to your dialogues and witticisms, I always saw how well you wrote already in college" Ross paused
"You are also convincing, look how convincing you are that you managed to make my sister fall in love with you" …. Ross said with a smile to lighten the mood, earning a small smile from Chandler, and continued, "In your previous job you showed responsibility by doing a very complicated job with a lot of people under your charge, to the point that they held you back, they didn't want you to leave" …
"Chandler, it's obvious that you've been a victim of workplace harassment by that crazy woman Priscilla, but also by the Agency, since they didn't do anything to listen to you and stop her, you have to go to a lawyer and file a complaint, make them pay for what they did."
While Joey joins in the advice to file a complaint, Chandler starts to run out of breath, sweats, his heart starts to beat hard and quickly,
Monica gets scared, tries to calm him down, while Ross decides to call emergency services.
