With her mouth stretched into a thin line, she glared at me. I didn't know if it was because I took control of the meeting or because I didn't fit the image she had in her mind. I reached for a tea cake and sat it on my saucer. If I kept my mouth full, then I couldn't answer her questions, and she couldn't make further assumptions about me or my relationship with Garrett.
I glanced at my wrist. Fifteen more minutes.
"Do you have any advice or lessons learned that you'd care to share?"
Nic took on a determined look. "I had to learn to step on anyone that stood in the way of what I wanted. Nice women never make it far. I would not be a nice woman. I learned never to hesitate to go beast mode on anyone that stands in the way of what I want." Her mouth tilted up at one side with a smirk of malicious amusement.
Well, that was weird.
She stared at me—challenge written all over her gaunt face. Reading her non-verbal cues, she was itching for a fight. Why? I wasn't exactly sure. I knew that it didn't matter if we had a physical or verbal fight, Nic would give me a run for my money. I believed she could kick my ass.
"Thank you, Nic. I appreciate you taking time for me. The tea service was delicious." I gathered my portfolio and rose from the sofa.
"I look forward to the monthly status report." Remnants of her smug smile remained.
Oh shit. In the excitement of this week's twists and turns, the status meeting slipped my mind.
"Yes. It will be informative."
Jasmine
The Wilmette boardroom was Dynex's sole executive-only boardroom. A large mahogany conference table sat in the center of the glass-enclosed space. I'd arrived thirty minutes early to add last-minute fixes to the presentation and distribute handouts. I had fifteen minutes to spare, so I jotted key talking points and mentally ran through events.
Notoriously, the meetings with the executive committees were massacres. Garrett and I escaped being sliced the hell up because he understood the attendees and could predict their questions. My experience with the executive team wasn't as extensive, and that worried me. Though I'd performed hundreds of status updates, I was facing my most combative audience ever.
One-by-one, the attendees entered the conference room. Three minutes after the scheduled time, Jeff walked into the room followed by Nic . . . and Junior? The other chiefs immediately jumped up to shake their hands while I searched for a plausible explanation for my manager's attendance. Junior never attended these sessions in person. He was so lazy that he dialed-in from his home office in Atlanta or called for an update after the meeting.
I held my hand out to greet him and wondered which version of Parker Wallace Junior would appear today. Would he possess a backbone? Or would he be a spineless amoeba sucking up to the client?
After initial pleasantries, I took my place at the podium and began the presentation.
"Why don't we get started? This afternoon's aim is to give an update for Project Orion. As usual, please ask questions during the presentation." I paused for a beat and continued. “This week, the application security and processes team completed the analysis of the software data flows."
Nic dramatically flipped the status report over, scanning the document.
"I'm disappointed to see that there are no details regarding the breach. Is that on your agenda?" she asked, not acknowledging that she interrupted me.
"Garrett Hamilton and Hunter Reeves managed and resolved the breach. They can provide more insight on the root cause. I’ll schedule the time on your—"
"No. We want the details from your perspective."
Now, I was beyond annoyed. She'd taken control of my meeting. Once I was over the initial affront, it hit me. This was a fucking setup. My heartbeat sped up, and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My career required walking on a metaphorical tightrope where diplomacy and solution-based approaches were the only way to make it to the other side. I took a deep breath, tucked in all of my emotions, and put on feet of clay.
"Working alongside Austin and Chace, I looked at the system logs and reviewed the network settings. Austin and Chace found the door the hacker accessed and closed it before locking them out. I was another pair of eyes in the room."
"No. No. Here's what we need to know. For the past five weeks, we've had at least fifteen pairs of eyes scrutinizing our network. Why didn't the Wallace team find this in advance?"
"The audit does not include a deep look into the specific security areas. However, if that is an area that you'd like to inspect, Lilah and I can arrange a meeting to understand the objectives and develop a propos—"
"Why did we have to come to you to get this set up? You should have presented this option the first time we had a breach." Nic glared at me through slit eyes.
This was the third interruption, and it infuriated me. No matter how I answered, Nic would spring another question. She attempted to trip me up and make me look bad in front of leadership. In front of my boss! He's supposed to be the mediator in these conflicts. I expected him to string together a diplomatic approach to bring us back on the topic. Instead, he sat like a bump on a log.
I looked around the conference table for a friendly face. There were only three reactions—avoidance, sympathy, and anger—emotions opposite of what I needed. I needed an ally, someone who could give me a gentle nod of encouragement that I could readjust and take back control of the meeting.
Out of all the people in that room, Nic was the person I needed to impress the most, and I'd failed. Miserably. I could kiss the partnership goodbye. I would be lucky if they didn't send me back to the mom and pop companies. Junior would never let me lead another major client.
The glass walls closed in on me, sucking the air out of the room. A painful knot formed in the center of my chest. I felt as if someone had reached in and squeezed my lungs until there was no air left. Tears gathering in the corners of my eyes burned, yet I refused to let them fall.
I'd trained myself for this. Hell, a few weeks back, Garrett had tried to pull the same shit, and I'd handled it with such strength and grace. Now, I was back in that exact situation, and I fell apart.
In a perfect world, I would have unleashed a fury on Nic that would have rivaled the Mother of All Bombs used on the battlefront. I was smart enough to know that any vehement response would have been further ammunition for Nic's tirade. I wouldn't have looked big and brave; I would have come across as weak and defensive.
Nic stared around at the other leaders before finding Junior's gaze.
"We hired ER Wallace because of your firm's reputation. We expected professionalism and experience. This feels like incompetent leadership. I demand a suitable resolution. It's important that the Dynex team understand Wallace's role and what processes you will put in place to prevent this from happening again. If you can't do it, several other firms are dying to take your place."
"Yes, Nic. I’ll work with Jasmine and Lilah to develop a proposal. Or, if you prefer, one of our Senior Engagement Leads who specializes in Incident Response can draft it," Junior drawled.
"I would feel much more comfortable if the senior person took care of this." She took a deep breath. "Parker, I trust that you will do what is necessary to ensure that your team does not put the IPO in jeopardy."
"I-I-I'll put together a small committee and develop a summary of the activities leading up to this."
Well, that answered it. I had pathetic Junior in the room.
"I think that we've given the Wallace team several action items. There's nothing more that I wanted to discuss. Jasmine, I want to make sure that you've captured the action items and decisions. Do you mind reviewing?" Nic asked sweetly. Her eyelashes fluttered. I wanted to reach over and slap her face.
"Mr. Wallace will engage a senior lead to develop an incident response plan. Second, Mister Wallace will appoint a committee to document the incident's root cause and the response from the Wallace team." The knot in my chest also affected my voice because it sounded tinny and light.
"We're done."
And like that, the executive team left the room with spineless jellyfish, ass-kissing Junior running behind them. Some manager. He could have stuck around to see if I was okay.
This wasn't good. This meeting was a setup. I couldn't gauge if Junior was a part of this or if Nic's actions blindsided him. Never in my life had I felt so alone. I felt like I failed the team and misrepresented our successes. I let Nic get in my head.
Defeated, I walked into the conference room with an aggravated expression and slumped back in my chair.
"How did it go?" Lilah asked as her smile faded.
"Not good. It was an ambush, and Junior was there. We haven't talked since the meeting. I don't think he's happy. I need to get out of here. Are you ready to leave?"
"Don't you think you should wait for Junior to return?"
"No. My career is over."
"Over? You aren't thinking of quitting?" She paused for a minute. When I didn't answer, she grabbed her purse. "Let's go."
Lilah and I slid on our flats and solemnly walked two blocks to our favorite restaurant for dinner. The café sat on the top floor of an old industrial building which housed a furniture store. The quaint café was an oasis in a vast retail space.
We sipped glasses of Prosecco as I brought her up to speed on the meeting.
"Junior picked today, of all days, to pop up. I don't think it was a coincidence. This morning, Nic invited me for tea. She served Earl Grey from a bone china teapot with cabbage roses painted on the side. She even displayed little finger sandwiches. It was lovely until she started talking crazy. She mentioned Garrett several times before going on a tangent about not letting someone get in the way of what she wants. Now, I think she did that to throw me off and let my guard down before she went in for the kill. The sad part is I don't know what I did to her."
"That's odd. Have you talked with Garrett about this?"
"I haven't. He has so much on his plate, the last thing he needs is me adding to it. Speaking of Garrett, during the status update, Nic grilled me on the breach."
"Why? That wasn't our responsibility."
"I know! She believed that we should have caught it during our audit review and raised the issue as soon as we learned of it. Now, Junior will bring in a leader to perform an incident analysis. We need to prepare ourselves to sit on the committee with him."
"Jazzy, something hinky is going on. Remember Allyson? The financial analyst they fired? In the last two days, she's reached out to me several times. I didn't answer because of potential conflict of interest. I gave her my number so we could go out for drinks sometime, but judging from the number of phone calls, I don't think she wants to go out for a martini. I'll call her. Could be nothing or something huge. Whatever it is, I got your back."
"Miss Carmichael, do you have a minute?" Parker poked his head in the conference room.
"Of course." I grabbed my iPad and followed him to a neighboring empty conference room. I turned back to look at Lilah, and she gave me a wink and thumbs up.
This was the moment that Lilah and I spent last night preparing for. We were up until the wee hours of the morning practicing talking points for my update with Junior. I felt confident and prepared to turn perceptions of me and my performance.
I sat at the conference table across from him, and he pointed the remote control to the large monitor, briefly fumbling while starting the Skype teleconference. I figured that he was pulling in the Senior Engagement leader to discuss the incident analysis effort. I pulled up the timeline of events on my iPad and mentally prepared myself to discuss.
The face of Wendy Hill, the manager of HR, filled the screen. Personnel matters were the only reason for HR representation at this meeting. Best case, I would get a formal reprimand. Worst case, they would escort me out. I prayed for the former and not the latter.
Parker pulled off his glasses. His hand trembled with nerves as he wiped with an optic cloth. He stared at the laptop screen and began his spiel. "Miss Carmichael, this has been a hard decision. We've changed our organizational structure. ER Wallace has a culture committed to client satisfaction. I had a long and informative conversation with Nic Sewell and Jeffrey Cagle. The Dynex team is unhappy with the services we've provided under your leadership. Unfortunately, Nic's complaints caught the attention of Mister Wallace. In addition, there were allegations of impropriety with one executive, which was deemed a distraction to you, him, and the team."
He avoided direct eye contact as he continued to read.
"Several members of the executive team had questions about who managed the team. Because of these issues, it's necessary to sever our working relationship." He looked at the wall behind me and slid a manila envelope to my side of the table.
My stomach clenched as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. They fired me.
Wendy pasted on a strained smile. She smiled when my life and career were falling apart? I immediately wanted to punch her in her annoyingly smug face.
They had no grounds to let me go. My performance evaluations were above average. Wendy's smile faded as if she had heard my thoughts.
"Georgia is an at-will state. ER Wallace may terminate employment at any time and for whatever reason. We've prepared a platinum package, comparable to what we offer most senior level executives. We think it is acceptable and reasonable. Please review the paperwork with your attorney and respond within seven days."
My attorney? I've spent my entire life around attorneys, yet I didn't have a single person who I could call on for legal representation. Until this point, I didn't see the need to have one. My family couldn't know that I didn't have a job, and I wouldn't ask my father or Jackson to review the agreement. I suppose I could reach out to Alexandra for advice.
"You may continue to stay in Chicago for the rest of the week to wrap up any remaining administrative items such as turning in expense reports. Building Security in Atlanta will pack up your office and ship to your home. I assume your address is correct?”
I stared at the yellow envelope in disbelief.
"Yes. My address is current." My voice was softer and far more vulnerable than I wanted.
"Best of luck, Jasmine." Wendy nodded before the Skype session disconnected.
"I'll wait outside the Skokie room. I'll give you a moment to pack up and say your goodbyes. I'll take your laptop."
Shit. I had to walk in the room filled with ten people I'd grown fond of and explain something so deeply personal and humiliating. Goodbyes didn't come easy to me. Junior intended to embarrass me and show the team what could happen if they didn't follow orders.
I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I ignored him and pulled out my iPad to text Lilah.
Grab my purse and work bag and meet me in the lobby.
I stood and faced Junior, who hadn't looked at me all day.
"Lilah will meet me in the lobby."
Junior led the way to the elevator and pushed the call button. He shifted anxiously from side to side before he extended a hand. I stared at his hand and tightly clutched the manila envelope against my chest.
"Come on, Jasmine. I wish you well. I know that you will land somewhere."
What happened with "Miss Carmichael" asshole?
I met his words of encouragement with silence. What did he expect? A hug and thank you? He couldn't have possibly thought that I would be eager to be civil after he unceremoniously fired me.
The ding noting the elevator's arrival broke the silence. The doors opened, and inside stood a Dynex security guard. Are you fucking kidding me? A formal escort was unnecessary and downright cruel. I would never wild out or behave in a way other than a consummate professional. I nodded a greeting and stepped onto the elevator. The heavy doors closed off my previous life.
I was fired. Without a job. I failed.
I glumly followed behind the security guard to the other side of the metal detectors.
Lilah rushed from the elevator bank carrying the requested items
. She plopped the bags on the floor and clutched my forearms and surveyed me from head to toe. I was so deep into my thoughts, I barely acknowledged her approach.
"Are you okay?" She took my hand and intertwined her fingers with mine.
"I'm fine. I gotta get out of here." Avoiding eye contact, I untangled my fingers from hers.
"Where are you going?"
"Anywhere but here. I'm going to Garrett's."
"Okay. Text me to let me know you made it safely. I love you."
I nodded and walked through the revolving door. City noise, idling engines, and honking horns blared in my ears, shaking me from my daze.
The mid-morning sky was now gray; the temperature had dropped ten degrees in the two hours since I'd arrived. I shivered a little when the late summer, lakefront breeze whooshed through me. Hooking my purse on my shoulder, I pulled the ends of my navy cashmere cardigan closer and raised my hand to flag a cab.
"Ontario and Dearborn, please,” I spoke to the driver and rested against the seats. He floored the gas, launching us into traffic, taking me faster and faster away from my past and directly to my future.
Jasmine
I tumbled out of the car where Garrett stood waiting and fell into his arms.
"Lilah texted that you were on the way. Are you sick?" Concern painted his face as he looked me up and down. "Are you okay?"
"I'm not okay. They fired me."
His chest fell, and he wrapped me in an embrace as we walked inside the building lobby. I inhaled his male scent as we walked to the elevator and were whisked to the top floor of his building. He didn't let me go until we were in the quiet and solitude of his condo.
"Parker called me into one of the conference rooms. I thought we would sync up on yesterday's meeting and discuss the next steps. Well, color me surprised when he started a teleconference with the director of Human Resources. He explained the company evaluated staffing levels and found there was too much fat in middle management. Because of recent reports of client dissatisfaction, they fired me."
It's a Work Thing Page 16