CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Candice
I spent the rest of Sunday finalizing my report for Monday’s wrap-up meeting with Stan and the rest of the Goldman team. The discrepancies in the old P&Ls kept nagging at my brain, but I managed to brush them aside long enough to finish the report.
The report was all sunshine and unicorns.
There was nothing there that would cause an issue with the acquisition going forward.
The red flags had been lowered, now it was full speed ahead.
I patted myself on the back for a job well done.
The one thing I couldn’t brush aside was the fact that I missed Tanner terribly. I was amazed at how close I felt to him after our brief time in Tucson. I’m not saying that I’m in love, mind you. I’m just saying that he was constantly on my mind. I hoped that I was on his mind, too.
We didn’t talk at all over the weekend, but I knew he was super busy in Atlanta. And the undefined status of our relationship prevented me from calling him every two minutes like I was dying to do. I didn’t want to frighten him away, but I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t want to hear from him either.
It was the age-old single girl dilemma.
Do I call him or wait until he calls me?
But what if he doesn’t call me?
What do I do, oh dating gods?
What do I do?
I decided that it was within modern dating etiquette to send a few short texts, adequately spaced out over the weekend so I wouldn’t sound too needy.
His responses were short and to the point.
Super busy.
In meetings.
With Henry.
Getting lap dance from stripper …
Getting blowjob in limo …
Okay, I made those last two up, but sometimes that’s where my jealous imagination ventured. I forced those thoughts out of my head and focused on work.
Tanner would call soon. I just knew it.
I’d hear his voice and know everything was all right.
I went to bed around midnight on Sunday with all my work done. The wrap-up meeting with the Goldman team was at ten the next morning.
I was going to knock their socks off.
* * *
I dropped my purse and briefcase behind my desk, then pried the lid off the cup of black coffee from the shop downstairs and fired up my computer.
Immediately, a message from Stan popped onto the screen.
Please come to my office as soon as you arrive. Stan.
I sipped the hot coffee and stared at the message for a moment. It wasn’t unusual to have inner-office messages waiting for me when I arrived, but this one popped up even before I was logged into the company network.
I slowly lowered the cup to the desk and clicked the login button on the screen. My fingers trembled as I typed in my user name and password and hit Enter.
I swallowed the lump that was in my throat as I read the words that flashed back at me from the screen.
Account Restricted. Contact System Administrator.
“What the fuck…” I typed in my user name and password again, pounding my fingers against the keys as if I thought that would do the trick. It was like hitting an elevator button over and over thinking it would get the elevator there faster.
I held my breath and hit Enter.
Account Restricted. Contact System Administrator.
I slowly withdrew my hands from the keyboard.
My fingers curled into my palms.
My heart began to race.
I struggled to keep the tears from welling in my eyes.
I knew exactly what was happening.
My god, how could I have been such a fool.
* * *
When I got to Stan’s office, his secretary escorted me to a conference room. She ushered me in and closed the door.
Stan was sitting at the conference table with his hands folded neatly in front of him. He had a nervous look on his face. He motioned for me to sit across from the table from him.
There was a sour-looking older lady sitting next to Stan.
Next to her was serious-looking man with salt and pepper hair and a Brooks Brothers suit.
I pegged them immediately.
She was from human resources and he was from legal.
They were all there to fuck me. And not in a good way.
Stan introduced them as if we were meeting at a cocktail party. “Candice, this is Mrs. Nelson from Human Resources and Mr. Griffin from our legal department. They both looked at me without saying a word.
“What’s up, Stan?” I asked, forcing a smile that didn’t want to be there. Stan cleared his throat and clenched his hands together until the knuckles turned white.
“Candice, it’s come to our attention that during your trip to Tucson you engaged in certain activities that… well… quite frankly, are not acceptable as proper conduct for a Goldman & Stern employee.”
There it was.
I had literally fucked my way out of a job.
I tried to hold the smile, but it was no use. It melted from my lips like a snowman on a hot day. I did the only thing I knew to do. I played dumb.
I said, “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”
The lawyer chimed in. His tone was brisk, like a prosecutor questioning a witness. “Miss Carlson, while you were in Tucson did you engage in sexual relations with Tanner Wright, CEO of Wright Enterprises?”
I suddenly knew how Bill Clinton felt when he was caught banging Monica Lewinski in the oval office.
I did not have relations with that woman, Miss Lewinski…
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand why that’s anyone’s business…”
“It’s a simple question, Miss Carlson,” the lawyer said with a dismissive shrug. “Did you or did you not have sexual relations with Tanner Wright, CEO of Wright Enterprises and a client of Goldman & Stern, while you were in Tucson. Just answer yes or no.”
I blinked at the woman from HR. She was looking at me like she’d caught me banging her husband in her bed. It was a look of disgust and disbelief.
I leaned in to her and said, “Do I have to answer these questions? Don’t I have rights under the EEOC or something?”
“I’m afraid the Equal Employment Opportunity rules are not pertinent in this situation, Miss Carlson,” she said, looking down her nose in judgment at me. “Just answer Mr. Griffin’s question, please.”
I glanced at Stan. He was studying his hands on the table. He wouldn’t look up at me. I set my jaw and looked directly at the lawyer.
I said, “Yes, while I was in Tucson I was involved in a personal relationship with Tanner Wright.”
The lawyer’s eyes went around my face. I could see the corner of his mouth twitching. This was kind of turning him on a little. Douchebag.
He said, “You were involved in a sexual relationship.”
“Yes.”
“Yes what, Miss Carlson?”
I took a deep breath as my career vanished before my eyes.
“Yes, Mr. Griffin. While I was in Tucson I was involved in a sexual relationship with Tanner Griffin, CEO of Wright Enterprises.” I gritted my teeth at him. “Is that good enough for you.”
“It is,” Griffin said with a nod.
“In that case, we have no choice but to terminate your employment immediately and have you escorted from the building,” the HR lady said. She blew out a heavy sigh, as if she’d been holding her breath the entire time.
“Stan, you can’t let them do this,” I said, desperation creeping into my voice. “I’m the best analyst you have. Stan? Talk to me.”
Stan finally looked up and shook his head. It was that moment that I knew all was lost.
“I’m sorry, Candice, but your actions have put Goldman & Stern -- and our relationship with Wright Enterprises – in a very precarious position. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.”
The lawyer stood up and opened the conference room door. A burly security guard was standing at parade rest outside the door.
The lawyer nodded to me and said, “Escort Miss Carlson to her desk and see that she retrieves only her personal property, then show her out of the building.”