“As I’m sure you’re aware. Client attorney relationships are explicitly frowned on here at Kyle, Roy, & Associates. The optics alone could question the integrity of our very foundation.” I knew that the reason why he couldn’t say “forbidden” was because he would be a complete hypocrite. I had heard the stories of him sleeping with his clients wife, and his current wife used to be one of his secretaries. Since he was a straight white man, none of this was “frowned upon”, and they reworded multiple company policies to make sure he wasn’t implicated in anything.
“Yes, sir. I’m aware?—”
“I wasn’t finished!” My eyes snapped shut as I dug my top teeth into my bottom lip.
“As I was saying. What you did was completely unprofessional and out of line. I would think someone assharp wittedas you would know better.” The face he made when he said “sharp witted” was almost enough for me to have my nigga drive over here and smack the fuck out of him, but I played my role, clearing my throat before I spoke again.
“Yes, and I would like to start off by saying that the moment anything became unprofessional between Mr. Andrews and I, was the moment that I recused myself from the case, and reported it to HR.” I said, reciting the only half lie that I needed to tell throughout this whole ordeal.
“Is that so?” he asked with a quirked brow, looking to Soleil to confirm my statements.
“That’s correct,” Soleil noted, giving him the exact date and time when I came into her office right after Chase and I had our meltdown, and told her that I stepped down due to the evolution of our relationship. I know he said it wouldn’t blow back on me, but at that moment, I was happy that I covered my own ass.
“But you never told me directly, even when I specifically asked you why you chose to step down… why is that?” he asked, annoyance peppered all over his face.
“Mr. Kyle, it’s been brought to our attention that Ms. Lewis expressed to you that she was uncomfortable taking his case inthe first place, but was urged—by you—multiple times, and even had her job security threatened. She took the case out of fear for her job, but the moment she felt unsure of her ability to perform, she reported it to us. Ms. Lewis is in no way obligated to share details of her personal life with you—romantic, sexual, or anything of the sort. She completed the correct course of action as detailed by you in the employee handbook,” Soleil said with a polite grin. He looked from her to me with a scowl, then sat back, taking a beat with his pale hands clasped together in silence before he spoke again.
“I guess that’s good to know, because you were actually selected by the board of trustees for partner consideration,” he blurted out like he couldn’t stand the taste of the words. My face contorted into the nastiest frown as his audacity damn near knocked me off my feet. Per tradition, anytime an employee at Kyle, Roy, & Associates was presented the opportunity, there was usually a big fanfare. Oliver would take them out to dinner at the fanciest restaurant in New Dawn and break the news to them over the finest steak, bourbon, and cigars that the city could offer. This motherfucker just threw that shit in casual conversation like I was expected to jump for joy. Luckily for me, that made everything that I was about to do that much easier.
“So, let me get this straight. You planned on telling me that when I walked in here… butstillopened by berating me about the Chase situation?” I asked.
“I just wanted to have everything out in the air for this new beginning.” The more he spoke, the more he looked like he wanted to curl up and die. I for one would have fucking loved to watch his stale, conniving, slimy ass take his last breath right then, but I also had to get my shit off first.
“No, that’s not what you wanted. You wanted to put me in my place. The board is forcing your hand in this, and you wanted it to be clear to me, that thiswasn’tyour choice. Well, let me do us both a favor Oliver—I don’t accept your offer, and would like to counter with my terms for resignation.”
“You… want to resign?” he asked, damn near falling out of his seat.
“Yes, under the following terms—a double sided NDA, I don’t speak about my time here, and no one here can release any information about it in the future.”
“Done,” he said quickly with a nod.
“I’m not finished.” I smiled sweetly. “A full payout of my vacation time and sick leave, as detailed in the company handbook.” As shitty as the place was sometimes, the benefits were amazing, and I had enough vacation time saved up to live off for at least six months if my Plan B fell through.
“And in addition to that, I would like a severance package,” I said with a sweet smile.
“Including?” he asked with a blank stare.
“Dissolution of the non-compete agreement, and a settlement of two.”
“The dissolution is fine—I don’t know too many people who would be tripping over themselves to hire you at this point—but a settlement? Absolutely not.” I almost went in on his ass for the slick ass remark, but I went on.
“If you refuse the terms, we may be forced to handle this in court, which is fine with me, but I would think that you wouldn’t want this in the public eye.”
“Lawsuit? Under what grounds?”
“We can start with the multiple incidences of sexual harassment, and racial discrimination that I’ve suffered at the hands of this company. I reported each one to HR and was told that you signed off on each one, but no changes have been implemented to protect me or any other employees from future occurrences. I know I’m not the only one, so you might want to get that under control before it takes the whole company down—Actually, I think three is more appropriate,” I said with a raised brow and the most condescending smirk I had in me. When his pale face turned the color of smoked salmon, the petty in me did a little victory dance.
“Threewhat?Because certainly you’re not asking for three million dollars frommycompany?”
“You can take it from your personal account for all I care, just as long as the check is run through HR and addressed to me,” I shrugged.
“Oh, you must be on drugs! The best you’re getting is your time back, and the non-compete, and you should be thanking me for that. You’ve been nothing but a headache from the moment you stepped foot in this fucking place.” Spit flew from his mouth as he flew into a rage. I just stood there looking at him with a deranged smile on my face. If I didn’t get my money, I planned on swinging on his ass, knockingallthat shit over, then taking him to court. He slammed his hand on his desk in anger before he continued. “All your special accommodations and D.E.I. bullshit! You aren’t even worthy of being a mail clerk atmyfirm, let alone a partner and the only reason you’re here now is to look good on paper!”
“Mr. Kyle,” Reagan said in shock as Solei stood there with her own angry expression. Solei was Hispanic and Reagan was a proud lesbian, so I’m sure that D.E.I. bullshit ruffled their feathers as well. It would be wise of him to exercise his right to shut the fuck up, but the man in front of me had never been wise, only privileged. I let him ramble on about how we were lucky to even have our jobs as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Then I hit the play button and the sounds of the accidental phone call that I overheard blared through the room.
His face went ghastly white once he realized what was happening, and judging by the disapproving looks on Solei and Reagan’s faces, a conversation was severely overdue for Daddy Kyle, who still had majority share in the company.
After the idiot butt-dialed me, he didn’t even have the common sense to disable the record feature on his phone. Imagine my surprise when I opened my phone to see an audio recording and transcripts of the two of them demeaning everything from my weight, gender, race, and even how I chose to wear my hair.
