Rick
“Don’t get mad at me boss.”
I looked up at Caroline and didn’t know where she was going with this. When someone said such a thing to me though, I didn’t think that it was going to be a good thing.
“What?”
“Promise you won’t be mad at me. Just remember that I am just the messenger.”
I told her that I wouldn’t get mad at her, but I really wanted to know what the problem was that made her approach me in such a way. It couldn’t be that bad, could it?
“What?”
“I just heard from the rumor mill that you are going to be called in front of the board about your conduct.”
I chuckled a little bit and relaxed slightly. There were a lot of things that the board wanted to talk to me about, but they never had enough proof to get anything done. They had ideas of what I was and wasn’t doing, but it was all rumors and conjuncture.
“Why didn’t you say so Caroline? You had me really worried for a minute there.”
She didn’t seem to get why I was so relaxed and she finally asked me what I was grinning like an idiot about. I tried to explain to her that everything was going to be okay, but Caroline didn’t share my relief at all.
“It is about you and Claire. I have a feeling that you are going to want to watch yourself on this one. There have been several inquiries made to some of the other staff. I am not saying that anyone is going to say anything, we all love you here, but if you have something that is going on, it needs to stop right now and we are going to have to hope that something is not able to be proven.”
I felt like this was coming out of nowhere. I had come to work today expecting just another day. I hadn’t expected to hear all of this and even though Caroline was just the messenger, I could see why she wanted assurances before she said anything. I was angry with her, even though I knew she had nothing to do with it. I was pissed off and I wanted to take it out on someone. The fact that it was about Claire and most likely true made it one hundred times worse.
“Thank you Caroline. Was there anything else?”
She was looking at me as if I was going to lose it any minute. I wanted to, if that was not clear, but I was going to hold it together. I had a feeling that the peace in my life wasn’t going to last long, but I hadn’t thought that it would have anything to do with Claire. I hadn’t even secured her in the way that I wanted and now I had to answer to whatever it was they had heard. The board was the bane of my existence half of the time and I had a feeling that this was going to be one of those times. Something bad was going to happen, I just had a feeling.
I sat and stewed until the appointment. It could have been many things that was a matter. Namely, it could be that I had given her too big of clients too early on. She had proven to be a damn good consultant though. Maybe it was the fraud she had uncovered with the last few companies we had done. It could have been a lot of things, but I never expected it to be about us.
***
“I am sorry Sir, can you please repeat yourself for the record?”
I looked to the older woman that I couldn’t remember her name. I had hired on all of these people in one way or another, how strange to be in front of them now as if they were my firing squad.
“I do not understand the question.”
“We have reason to believe that you have become romantically involved with one of your employees. I have given you the name and the times in which this was supposed to have occurred. We would like you to confirm or deny these allegations for the record.”
I felt like I was in court and I really didn’t know what to say. I would at first glance say no. I certainly hadn’t gotten her in bed and to me that was a romantic involvement. This kissing and light petting that we were doing was not. It was on its way there, but not yet. I was still trying to get it to be something else. What business did they have knowing my personal life anyways? As far as I was concerned, it was none of their business.
“I don’t see how this is relevant to anything that has to do with the company.”
“We are here to make sure of the stockholder’s interest and the viability of the company.”
I just shook my head and smiled. “I am the company. It is my name on the checks that you pick up every week. It is my name on all of the dividend checks that they all spend at the end of each quarter. So I will ask again how what I do on my free time has anything to do with my company?”
I told myself that I had to keep my cool, but the more I explained and the more I really thought about it, the more upset I became. They were treating me as if I was some sullen child that didn’t know any better. I knew exactly what was going on and I didn’t like it. I was not going to let these people dictate what I did and didn’t do. They were here because I hired them. I wished then that I hadn’t gone public with the company. Then I would not have these henchmen to answer to.
“You can see that since you are an integral part of the company, your actions can have dire consequences.”
“What if you are sued for sexual harassment? It wouldn’t be the first time that a woman had done this.”
It was Phil Colton speaking now and I knew that he was speaking from experience.
“This is not that kind of situation Phil. We are not even to that level and I am certainly not harassing this girl. Do you have any proof or is this all wild accusations? I do not have time for this. I have a business to run.”
“The CEO setting himself up for litigation is always the company’s business. You hired us to make sure that everything runs as it does now. We cannot do that if there is a question of what you are doing on your off time. Without you on your best form, there is no company.”
“Remember that when you talk about this company like it is separate from me.”
“We have proof Rick. We have pictures of the two of you together, on and off the clock. Would you like to argue and contest it now?”
The older woman used to be one of my favorites. I had always liked the blunt manner that made it easier to deal with her. She just said it how it was and that was that. It was a breath of fresh air compared to everyone else that told me what I wanted to hear. I can’t say that I felt that way now. Now I wished she would just sit there and nod her head. That is what I paid her for in the end.
“I do not know what kind of pictures that you would have, but we haven’t been intimate, not yet anyways.”
“You realize that sexual harassment can be far less than sexual intercourse?”
Again Phil was piping in his concerns and I still had a feeling that it was merely a projection of his own troubles. This was not a situation like that at all. This was different and my anger bubbling up to the surface was not helping anything. I closed my eyes for a minute so that I could take a few breaths. That is what I needed and when I opened them back up, I felt a calm go over me.
“I will consult with my lawyer before I say anything further.”
“This needs to be addressed immediately Rick. We will reconvene tomorrow at the same time and we expect answers. You will need to prove to us that this situation is not a liability. If it is, the company will need to distance itself from you and we will have to find someone else to run things for a while. No one is contesting that you are the company Rick, but now it is the publics as well and it is our duty to safeguard the stockholder’s interests.”
I gave a curt nod before I left. I had a day to figure this out and I was stumped on what to do. I was going to have to call Mary down at my lawyer’s office and see if I could squeeze in a consultation. It was embarrassing when I considered what I would have to sit across from the straight-laced woman and explain, but there was nothing that could be done about it. I was going to have to figure it out one way or another and Mary was always there to help me when the problem was just too big or out of my expertise. This was a little of both and I was hoping that she would be able to add some sanity to an insane moment in my life.
***
“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”
Mary shrugged her shoulders and waved me off like it was no big deal. The fact that I paid her a lucrative hourly rate to bounce ideas off her was most likely one of the reasons she could make time for me. I had made the woman thousands of dollars in the past and it looked like I might be ready to do it again if I had to fight the board for my own company. Sandra Brown had made it clear what would happen if I didn’t have answers when I met with them tomorrow. She was only safeguarding the company, but it made it no easier to stomach.
“So what can I do for you Rick? Are you ready to expand again? I have a great friend that works in real estate.”
“No, no, nothing like that.”
She put her pen and paper down. “Oh, so not about the business?”
“Sort of.”
Her brow went up and I knew it was because I was being so vague about everything. It wasn’t like me to be this way, but there was a part of me that didn’t want to come out and say it. It was embarrassing and no matter how delicately the subject was broached, it was still a subject that I didn’t necessarily want to get into.
“Okay, well don’t leave me in suspense Rick. What is going on?”
“It is of a delicate matter.”
“That is why I am on retainer, for all of that. What is up?”
The older raven-haired woman was poised at the edge of her seat and I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to disappoint. She was on retainer and we had been through worse together, but it was the first time that I felt so vulnerable. It was literally the last thing I wanted to say to her or anyone else, but I didn’t have a choice.
So I laid it all out to her and I waited for her to crack a smile or tell me I was an idiot. I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. More importantly, I wanted her to figure out a way to have it all and to have no repercussions. It was a tall order.
“How do you feel about this girl?”
That was the first of many questions and then there was the silver lining. She always knew exactly what to do and this time was no different. It was a leap of faith, but what else was love anyways?