"I'm not kidding, Norma," I said as I moved toward the office door and shut it firmly. "There are things going on here that could seriously affect the entire company, and I need your help getting to the bottom of them. You cannot tell anyone what we're doing. Do you understand?"
"Why, you're serious, aren’t you?" she asked, suddenly getting serious, too.
"I am," I nodded. "Can I trust you to keep this confidential?"
"Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit," she said. "Of course I can, darlin'!"
"You really have a way with words," I laughed, thankful that she had lightened the mood a bit before I shared the secrets with her. "Norma, it's come to my attention that Sloan is working with my brother to destroy Baby Steps and sell individual pieces of it to foreign investors. Last night, I found out that they're getting ready to make a deal with the Chinese to buy our warehouse operation and ship it over to one of their factories."
"You have got to be shitting me," Norma said as she stared at me with her mouth open. "That skinny, little Miss Know-It-All is trying to ruin all the hard work you've put into this company since your father died?"
"Yes, and my brother," I said as I watched her expression go from shocked to downright angry.
"Well now that gets my goose!" she swore under her breath. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to lay a trap for them and catch them in the act, but I'm going to need your help," I said. I explained the plan and told her what she was going to do. When I was done, Norma smiled and gave me the thumbs up.
"I'm on it, boss," she said as she returned to her command center out front.
A little while later, I heard her saying good morning to Sloan and knew that my plan was going to work. If Norma was onboard, then we were going to be just fine.
"Good morning, Jack," Sloan said as she crossed the room and set her handbag on my desk as usual. She was dressed in a tight-fitting suit. It had grey pinstripes with a bright red blouse underneath the jacket and impossibly high, black patent-leather stilettos on her feet. She looked like a cross between a Wall Street CEO and a high-end dominatrix, and I was fairly certain it was exactly the image she wanted.
"Good morning, Sloan," I said, smiling as I offered her coffee, which she turned her nose up at. "How's business?"
"It's damn good this week, boss," she said, flashing me a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I've got quite a few appointments with possible distributors, and I
think that the Upper West Side is going to be a great place to market Baby Steps package deliveries. I've got meetings with a few of the condo boards, and we're going to discuss making Baby Steps the supplier for families in each of the buildings."
"Friends in high places," I said as I watched her lie.
"Indeed," she smiled. "So, what do we need to discuss this morning?"
"I'm going to need you to turn in all of your order sheets this morning before you leave," I said, dropping the bomb.
"Oh, haven't I given those silly things to Norma already?" she said, laughing lightly as she brushed off the request.
"No, you haven't, so before you leave this morning, I'm going to need you to turn them all in," I repeated.
"Darling, I know you like to run the business with an iron fist," she said moving closer to me so she could run her fingers down my arm as she playfully smiled. "But I don't have the silly paperwork with me. I'll have to turn it in later."
"I'm not backing down on this, Sloan," I said as I removed her hand from my arm. "There are some questions about the orders we're getting ready to fill in the warehouse, and I need you to provide evidence that those orders are actually on the books."
"Well, I don't have the paperwork," she said in a brittle voice that let me know she was angry. "It's not my biggest priority, Jack. You know that. I've been brought onboard to ensure that we have orders coming in, and I've done that. The paperwork is your warehouse manager's job. What's her name? Lora? Linda?"
"It's Leah," I said smiling knowing that I was getting to her. "And it's not her job. It's your job. I'll need you to sit down and fill it out before you leave this morning. Norma will get you the forms you need, so all you need to do is fill in the blanks. I'll contact the clients and have them sign the documents."
"I can't be expected to remember every client's order, Jack!" she protested. I could see her brain frantically working to try and find a way out of her lies.
"Then write down the names and phone numbers of every order you've taken, and I'll have an assistant call and double check the order," I said calmly.
"Jack …" she warned. "This is just not something I feel like I need to do."
"Well, I'm the CEO, and I do feel it's necessary. So you'll sit down and do it," I said sternly. "I'm not arguing with you, Sloan. I'm running a business here, and you need to comply with my directives if you want to remain employed."
"I don't know what's gotten into you, but this is an ugly side that I've never seen before," she said narrowing her eyes. "I resent being treated like a common sales person when I'm bringing in some of the biggest clients Baby Steps will ever have."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Sloan," I said, holding her gaze as I held my ground. "But I expect all of the sales people to maintain their paperwork so that we can make sure the orders are being filled properly. You are no exception to the rule."