Bryce
“I don’t think you know what you’re asking. These are uncharted territories you want to navigate. It’s never been done before in this business. I’ve looked at your proposal and it does have some merit. You have a lot of balls coming in here on your first day to demand anything.” Mr. Jacobs was in attendance and was taking everything he heard from the Board of Directors to heart.
“I hate to use this card, but she will defect to a different company and take her expertise with her. You don’t want her working for the enemy. She knows trade secrets. There’s nothing preventing her from using those against us. We are the benchmark for those guys who don’t have a lot left at the end of the month. It’s logical to think these other companies might take a similar approach.” The debate was heavy handed and I could tell there were still many who didn’t approve of my methods.
“This is absurd. I should have made her sign some kind of contract and nondisclosure agreement. I always thought we would always be on the same page. I can’t imagine a worse case scenario. Having her working for the enemy will put us in a terrible position. Your suggestion is the kind of radical thinking I’m looking for.” He was going to have to be the voice of reason in a din of loud voices of dissension.
“I don’t think she’s going to come back unless we sweeten the deal. We implement my changes and offer her a sizable bonus to stick around for at least a year. A couple of weeks more vacation time will help her to see you value her input. She has been instrumental in bringing this company the exposure it has needed over the years.” I had stuck around to put together examples of what her hard work had accomplished.
Everybody was allowing Mr. Jacobs to pose the questions. They whispered their concerns into his ear and he parroted them back to me.
“We will take everything you have said under advisement. The Board of Directors has a hard time knuckling down to hostage tactics. I will do what I can to dissuade their opinion. I didn’t realize what kind of contribution she made. This is impressive for you to dig up this dirt against us.” Mr. Jacobs had a glint in his eyes and I think he wanted to rectify his miscarriage of justice.
“I’m going to implore you to make the right decision for the business. I can do this without her, but I can do it better with her. She knows the pitfalls and the personalities of those investors. Charlotte tells it like it is. It’s the reason why people trust her with their life savings.” I could only hope the information on our dating situation wasn’t going to be revealed. It was up to Mr. Jacobs.
It was possible to negate everything I said by making it personal. The proof was in the documents which I had placed in their hands. They would be a fool not to take advantage of a valuable resource.
“I don’t need further convincing. I’ve always been a big proponent of Charlotte’s. I brought her up in this company. I told them they made a mistake by hiring you. I was overruled, but I did go on the record to say it was a mistake to pass her over for the promotion. Going to bat for her is unorthodox. You must feel pretty damn strongly about this.” I wouldn’t have been in front of them with my hat in my hand pleading my case otherwise.
“I would think the main thing would be for all of us to work together. The key is to know how valuable a person is by their accomplishments. Charlotte has gone above the call of duty too many times to count.” I could see that my opinion and conviction was swaying them, but they needed something else to drive the point across.
The silence was deafening and I could literally hear a pin drop from across the room. I had to make this work for the sake of the company and my personal life. Losing her over this petty business wasn’t going to happen. I could never pick career over the love of my life. It was ludicrous to believe that I couldn’t find a compromise.
They were huddled together like football players on the field before making a play. They kept looking over at me trying to intimidate, but I was cool as a cucumber. I had laid out the facts and made my case. They would be fools not to take advantage of Charlotte’s intellect and savvy.
They were stuffy and still living in the past where this was a boys club. It was all about the bottom line. My proposal was a little embellished. It was meant to make t
hem see how much money could go flying out the window without her.
I was standing and showing my leadership qualities by confronting them. Charlotte had a backbone, but she had to be pushed right to the edge before showing it. I learned the hard way that life wasn’t going to hand you anything. I found myself fascinated by their decision-making process.
They finished conversing and turned their attention back to me. There wasn’t one woman among them and that was the way they liked it. They knew their day in the sun was coming to an end. They were fighting it every step of the way and doing everything they could to keep the club banned of women.
“Anybody else in your shoes would have wanted to make his mark. I still see big things in your future. We’re going to need more time. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but there are issues. I don’t think it’s appropriate to get into them here.” The smirk on his face told me his influence was far-reaching.
“I wouldn’t take too much time. You didn’t hear it for me, but I’ve heard through the Grapevine there are companies already attempting to poach her out of our stable. I can see her taking the most lucrative offer. Time is a commodity you don’t have.” I was stressing the urgency and I could see each one squirming in their chairs.
“We will get back to you post haste.” Mr. Jacobs was dismissing me from the room and I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.
There was nothing that I could report back to Charlotte without giving her false hope. I had done everything I could and it was up to them to make the right decision. I nodded politely and backed away until I could feel the doorknob pressing up against the small of my back.
I slipped out silently and closed the door behind me. They knew the value she brought to the company. I was fully aware of how the old man thought of her. It was a simpatico kind of relationship. She didn’t need anybody to hold her hand and could make those tough decisions. I had come in on the heels of her hard work. It wasn’t fair, but I couldn’t praise her virtues without something to back up my claim. It was a long night and the examples I found made her look like the second coming.
I didn’t show it in the room, but I was nervous with droplets of perspiration running down my spine. I had to find her and convince her to give it a little more time. I had given her the blueprint of what working together could be like. Christening the very table the old men sat around was something that we guiltily smiled about.
She was in my office and wasn’t going to budge. I had to admire her tenacity. She must’ve known I was never going to throw her out by bodily force. She still wasn’t very happy. I felt the icy chill of her stare coming from across the room.
“I’ve been on the phone all morning. Half of my clients have assured me they will go with me to whatever firm I jump ship to. I was subtle and used my connection to them to feel them out. You can take this list and shove it down their throats.” She had a detailed account of 20 different clients with a wide range of money they entrusted the company with every year.
“I will leak this information anonymously using the water cooler rumor mill. You must know the right person to talk to.” I went around to the other side of the desk to see her teasing me with the way that she was crossing her legs.
“I can get the information in the right hands. In the meantime, I think last night proved how we can mix business with pleasure. There’s a part of me that believes you were placating me. The other part knows that you would never do anything like that. It would be a good idea for you to close the door and pull the blinds.” She shifted and gave me a reason to have my eyes come out of my skull.
“I don’t know what you’re suggesting Mrs. Robinson. Are you trying to seduce me?” She removed her feet from her heels and brazenly struck a match to my libido by massaging me in a not so subtle way.
“I don’t know why we have to wait to test out this new arrangement. Last night nobody was here to interrupt. Today the danger of getting caught is turning me on. I purposely wore something easily accessible.” The black panties had no crotch and I could see the lips winking at me from underneath her skirt.
“You do drive a hard bargain. I don’t know how you expect me to walk over to the door to lock it when you are doing this. The staff knows we are burning the candle at both ends. The only thing that’s going to ruin this is you. I know how vocal you can be.” Her screams made me have one eye open in bed gripping my pillow desperate to hear her in the throes of ecstasy.