“You would have thought you murdered someone on camera or something,” Marlina shakes her head.
“She sounded like she was being murdered,” Todd says, looking at his phone, and Marlina giggles.
“Ha ha, very funny,” I say. “Are you okay, Marlina?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asks, confused. Marlina is a full-time college student and still works full-time. She is a hard worker, so we let her do her schoolwork here when she has time. That seems to help her a lot, and she still gets everything done that she needs to. “Ohhh. You think because I saw them tag team you that I’d have a problem working for y’all.”
“I would have worded it differently,” I laugh. “But yes.”
“Nah, girl. I’m okay. I live with four other guys who like to party on the weekend. I see shit like that all of the time,” she says. “Way hotter with you four than my roommate’s drunk friends, though.”
“Right,” I say, laughing. “Well… want to come to the meeting? We will probably need help keeping notes.”
“I got you,” she says with a smile as she picks up her laptop. I step into my office and set my stuff down before grabbing what I need. The guys go to their office and do the same thing. When I come out, everyone is waiting on me.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Are you?” Lance returns my question.
“No, but I’d like to just get this day over with. Hiding in my office won’t help anything.”
Satisfied with my answer, we walk to the conference room. When I open the door, everyone turns and looks at me. “Good morning,” I say kindly. No one returns my greeting, but a few greet the guys.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Mitch says flatly. The guys, in turn, do not greet him, but they do glare at him.
“Marlina, just have a seat anywhere,” I say.
“I’ll sit beside you,” she says with a smile as she sits beside where I have my laptop sitting. Dean and Lance stay standing. Dean is leaning against the wall behind me while Lance is still by the door. Mason sits to my other side and points for me to sit. Todd takes a seat beside Marlina and sits back to observe.
“Okay,” I say. “This is not a normal meeting, so I don’t have anything for you all. Marlina has our day clear, so we have as much time as you all need. We just need to have an all-staff meeting at some point.”
“Who is he?” Mitch asks Mason, talking about Todd.
“Todd Richards. He is a friend of ours and a lawyer,” I answer.
“He’s a criminal defense lawyer,” Lewis adds.
“I am also a corporate lawyer,” Todd says. “I have been working with Ms. Graves and her business partners since the day they named the business. I handle all legal issues professionally and privately.”
“So first of all, I want to clear up some confusion that is being spun by the media,” I say.
“We’d prefer to hear it from them,” Mitch says, interrupting me.
“Everything she has to say is coming from all of us,” Mason says. “She is running the meeting today.”
“First, understand that we are under no obligation to explain anything to anyone. Our private lives have nothing to do with this company. We are explaining because we think it’s important that you be able to trust the person you are investing in,” I say. “I have known Dean, Lance, and Mason my entire life. We have lived together for almost a decade now. No part of that was forced or coerced. We are in contact with the hotel manager, and we are taking the proper steps to find out who placed the camera. When they are found, they will be charged.”
“Being charged doesn’t change what almost ten million people have seen them do to you,” Mitch says. I narrow my eyes at him, and I can feel Todd looking at me.
“What exactly did they do, Mr. Jones?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“You are talking about this video, but do you know what the content was? You haven’t even said anything other than everyone saw it, while also blatantly ignoring me multiple times. So, I am assuming you have seen it entirely if you are forming an opinion,” I say. “Raise your hand if you’ve seen the entire video.”
Of the fifteen people in the room, all but three raise their hands. Mitch is among those who watched it entirely. “What is your point?” Mitch asks.
“How long was the video?” I ask Todd as I stand up. I’m getting angry, and the longer I sit here, the more likely I am going to boil over.
