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Two Masseurs Say Boss Came On to Them

HOUSTON (CN) - A massage shop manager came on to two new hires and fired them both after they tired of her sexual advances, the men say in separate lawsuits.

Travis Wilson and Kevin Elliott sued Rivermark Holdings dba Massage Envy Atascocita in separate complaints in Harris County Court. The business itself is the only defendant in both lawsuits.

Both men claim that Massage Envy manager La'Crystal Kelly fired them after they rejected her advances.

In his complaint, Wilson claims that Kelly took him home on his second day of work. After a complicated work-personal relationship developer, Wilson says, she told him "that if he 'doesn't like fucking her, he can do his damn job as long as he has a job.'" Then, he says, he was fired.

Wilson claims it took Kelly only an hour after his first interview to send him a text message telling him "that she wanted to keep in touch with him privately."

He claims that Kelly hired him a couple days later, on Oct. 31, 2011, and immediately started sending him sexual text messages. He claims that he expressed concern about mixing business with pleasure, but Kelly told him she could separate the two and that she could maintain her professionalism at work if things did not work out.

"After Wilson had worked at Massage Envy Atascocita for approximately two days, Ms. Kelly invited Mr. Wilson to her home," the complaint states. "The two became intimately involved that evening."

But it didn't work out, Wilson says. He claims that Kelly entered his workroom between appointment expecting him to kiss and hug her. Wilson claims he told Kelly that he was uncomfortable with this, but she told him "that she was in charge, and the she was 'running the show.'"

Wilson says he tried to break off the personal relationship in November 2011, and gave two weeks notice when he realized that Kelly was going to fire him. The next day, Nov. 11, they decided to resume their personal relationship and Kelly put him back on the schedule, Wilson says in the complaint.

But a couple of weeks later, Wilson says, it was clear that the relationship was not working and he again tried to break it off.

"On December 2, 2011, after Mr. Wilson completed his 1:00 p.m. appointment, Ms. Kelly entered his workroom, shut the door, and once again rubbed herself against Mr. Wilson, asking 'are you sure you want to let this go?' Mr. Wilson replied, 'Yes' and left the room to dispose of the dirty sheets used in the last massage," the complaint states. "When Mr. Wilson came back to his room to prepare for his next appointment, Ms. Kelly was gone.

"However, Ms. Kelly accosted Mr. Wilson after his 2:00 p.m. appointment, yelling at Mr. Wilson that if he 'doesn't like fucking her, he can do his damn job as long as he has a job.' She also called him a 'deadbeat loser.' Therefore, Mr. Wilson prepared to leave the premises."

Wilson says he was fired after this 2 incident.

Elliott claims he started working for Massage Envy in October 2007. He says he was a good employee and received regular raises until Kelly was hired as his location's clinic administrator.

"Shortly after Ms. Kelly was hired, she began to make inappropriate advances of a sexual nature toward Elliott and made several requests for Elliott to date Ms. Kelly," the complaint states. "On several occasions, Ms. Kelly massaged Elliott's shoulders and rubbed his clothes in the area where she could rub his penis over his pants in the crotch area. Ms. Kelly also made comments of a sexual nature toward Elliott in an attempt to get Elliott to have sexual relations with her."

Elliott claims he told Kelly that he had a girlfriend and was uncomfortable with her advances. He says he was fired on Sept. 1, 2011, three weeks after Kelly started at Massage Envy.Both men seek actual and punitive damages for sexual harassment. Both are represented by Delana Cline, with Cline Ahmad, of The Woodlands.

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