When?

by Jenny Thompson

should she have known

the second her boss added her on Snapchat

and began sending silly disappearing memes?

should she have known

when he volunteered to swing by her house

and help her to set up her new grill?

should she have known

when the messages started to get a bit edgy,

a casual sex joke sent to a ‘cool’ girl?

should she have known

when he began to share secrets and gossip

about her coworkers and their salaries?

should she have known

when he jokingly, such a prankster that one,

sent her risque Halloween costume ideas?

should she have known

when she saw his frown at her laughing rejection

of a post-conference drink in his hotel room?

coworker’s condemning eyes say surely she knew

sometime before her boss put his hand 

on her ass like it belonged to him.