“Not just actresses,” Jo jumped in. “Any job in Hollywood.”
“And there’d be records,” Annabeth said. “Even if someone didn’t want to come forward, there would be records on each abuser. If a later victim comes forward, the organization—or whatever this is we’re dreaming up—can say, ‘Three other women have made such complaints about this man.’”
“That’s good,” Jo said. “Smart.”
“God, this thing would have to be huge,” Annabeth said. “It’d take so much money.”
“Good thing there isn’t exactly a dearth of that between the two of us.”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely,” Jo said with no hesitation. “I’d love to have you with me on this, but I’ll be doing it regardless.”
“I’m with you.”
“A friend has already put me in touch with lawyers who may be interested,” Jo said. “It’s going to take a lot of logistics, but we’ll get there.”
Her adrenaline pumped. She’d never been one to sit on the sidelines. Being productive was how she worked through everything. It was a lot easier to focus on starting this organization than on how angry she was.
—
She told Emma aboutthe project the next week.
“I’m doing more about this situation than just releasing the statement,” Jo said. “I’m happy to include you in that or work on it separately from you. Your level of involvement is completely up to you.”
Emma looked apprehensive. “What more are you doing?”
“It’s not clear yet,” Jo said. “Some sort of foundation, nonprofit—some kind of organization to support people facing sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood. It’s in the idea stage right now, but the plan is to include trained counselors, publicists who can work on the process of releasing statements and everything involved with going public, and lawyers to protect victims from threats and retaliation.”
Jo tried not to shift under the way Emma stared at her.
“Boss...” Emma trailed off. “Are you serious?”
“Of course,” Jo said. “It’s something that needs to exist, and I have the money and influence to build it. I have to.”
“Jo, that is amazing,” Emma said. Jo looked away. “That is just—it’s such a good way to use your money and celebrity. It’s a really great idea.”
“I wish it was something I came up with before this happened to you,” Jo said quietly.
“Well, I’m glad you’ve come up with it now,” Emma said. “It makes me feel like something good is coming out of this whole thing.”
Jo didn’t know how to take the compliment, so she moved on.
“There will be a lot of phone calls and meetings as this gets started,” she said. “I can deal with everything directly, if you don’t want to be a part of it, or—”
“I want to be a part of it,” Emma said. “And c’mon, I’m not going to make you set up your own schedule while you try to create a foundation from nothing. Even if I didn’t want to be a part of it, I wouldn’t stop doing my job.”
“You could,” Jo said, and Emma gave her a look. “Sexual harassment is a serious issue. If a part of your job made dealing with it worse, I would completely support you not doing that part of your job.”
“Jo, that’s ridiculous,” Emma laughed. “I’m your assistant. I’m going to answer your phone calls and schedule your meetings. I appreciate how much you’re willing to work with me on this but I’m not that fragile.”
“I don’t think you’re fragile, Ms. Kaplan.”
Emma shrugged at her. “Just let me do my job, boss. Especially because it sounds like you’re going to be pretty busy. Let me know whatever you need me to take care of for the organization, or whatever it’s going to be.”
Jo nodded. She should have known Emma would want to be a part of it, wouldn’t want to back down.
—