Page 2 of Miss Manage

But if I’d thought not getting my promotion would be the only bomb of the day, I’d have been wrong.

“And we’ll need you to cut five percent of staff in the next three to four weeks,” Reggie added casually, as if he were discussing lunch options.

“Layoffs?”

Ronald checked his watch, clearly more interested in the time than the subject under discussion. “Juniper adds five hundred to our fifteen hundred employees. With any merger, there’s redundancy, and now is the perfect time to trim the fat.”

Actually, the perfect time would have been before the merger, when severance could have been built into the deal and expectations set up front.

The weight of it pressed against my chest like a stone. I understood business and had made hard calls before, but letting people go was the part of leadership that never got easier. “I’ll do what’s necessary to ensure a smooth transition,” I replied calmly.

“As any good future CEO would.” Reggie’s words landed less like a compliment and more like a subtle reminder the position wasn’t mine yet.

The meeting wound down with a few final notes on the merger. At last, the brothers stood, handing me a thick folder, the detailed contents of which I knew I’d spend the next twenty-four hours studying. Wendall walked me out, and the ride down to the twentieth floor together was heavy with silence.

In a small conference room, he closed the door behind us. “I wish I could’ve warned you.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “You owe me no favors, Wendall.” Even if he’d known for weeks, I would never have expected him to break confidence regarding the deal or decision on the CEO position.

Still, the ache was there. After years of sacrifice, of clawing my way toward being the first woman to hold the top job for Arrow, I still wasn’t done climbing the rungs on the ladder. But I didn’t have the luxury of licking my wounds. Not now.

I straightened in my chair. “Let’s talk Juniper. What details can you share?”

He nodded, relieved by the pivot. “Most of it you’ll find in the report, which includes biographies on each employee. You’ll want to focus on your three leaders, who will all be here on Monday for onboarding and orientation. Then you’ll want to travel to London as soon as possible to learn more about their operations there.”

“I assume the three Juniper leaders will all be applying for the CEO position?”

“Probably, although in my opinion your biggest competition is Gabriel Chambers, the COO at Juniper who will retain the title for now since you’re now acting CEO. He’s relocating here.”

Terrific. Not only was the CEO role temporary, they’d already backfilled my old one. Efficient, if nothing else. Then again, if I didn’t end up keeping this position permanently, did it matter? It wasn’t as if I had any intention of going back to COO.

I flipped to Gabriel Chambers’s bio page and blinked at the photo. Corporate bio pictures were supposed to be functional and boring, not thirst traps. Yet there he was looking like he’d trademarked “Sexy Businessman” with his chiseled cheekbones and clean-cut looks.

“He’s smart, ambitious, and he’s been in the industry about as long as you have.”

Wonderful. Not only was he the poster child for CEO, he had the credentials.

“But he’s not you.” Wendall leaned forward, voice steady. “He lacks your people skills, your intuition, and your patience. That’s what sets you apart. What you have in common is you both like a challenge, so expect him to be one. He could’ve coasted as COO at his father’s company, but instead he carved his way up through some of the toughest firms in the industry.”

His last name clicked. “His father is Gerard Chambers of Chambers Technology?”

Wendall nodded, a grin tugging at his lips. “Indeed. Makes you wonder why father and son couldn’t work together, doesn’t it? Gerard’s not getting any younger, so I was surprised when Gabriel went all the way to London to take the COO job at Juniper last year instead of stepping into Chambers Tech.”

Interesting, but hardly shocking. Working with family would be tough no matter the dynamic.

“I appreciate the insight.” I took a calming breath. This was a lot for one day. But none of this was Wendall’s burden. This was his last day before his well-earned retirement. “I’m surprised they didn’t ask you to stay on through the merger.”

He shook his head. “They know you’ve got this, Charlotte. Juniper’s leadership team will be here next week.”

One week didn’t give me a lot of time to prepare, but I’d manage.”

“Do they know about the layoffs?”

“Not yet. Cuts are a very unfortunate side effect of this merger.”

“Very.” My pen tapped against the Juniper report, the numbers staring back like my most important homework assignment. Fifteen hundred and ten Arrow employees. Five hundred and sixty more from Juniper. Over a hundred jobs to cut. “I’ll start by looking at the lowest performers and go from there.”

“I have no doubt you’ll make the right choices.” Wendall’s gaze softened. “My greatest pleasure in two decades here at Arrow has been the last nine years working with you. There’s no one more qualified to be my successor.”

I appreciated his vote of confidence more than I could ever convey. “Thank you, Wendall. It means a lot coming from you.”

I deserved this promotion. I’d earned it.

But I had my work cut out for me.