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Marching over to the balcony, I noticed the employees waving up at me. I acknowledged them half-heartedly and barged right into his ‘new’ office. As soon as I barged in, my eyes fell upon the pictures on the wall which he’d put up. His face met mine before I felt small arms wrap around my leg and sweet words filled my ears “Thank you for having us move here. I like the lake and the big waves.” Warmth filled me as I looked down at the small girl holding onto my side. Reaching down I ran my hand over her soft hair and memories filled my head of the times I spent braiding my hair to look perfect.
The adorable girl’s face with bright blue eyes, cherry red lips and natural pink cheeks that aligned perfectly with her skin tone, it hit me. This man cheated on his family with me in Colorado, and in return I gave him a job. I smiled at Miles’s daughter’s direction, and she released me from that warm embrace and went back to watching a cartoon on the TV.
Not wanting to alarm the little girl, I asked him in the coldest tone I could gather, “Can I speak with you in private?” I felt beyond pissed now, something which could be mistaken for being hurt. He gave a smug look as if he was unaffected with my tone and followed me to my office.
“Can you give us a minute Drake?” Miles requested in a humble tone, which reflected his calmness.
I snapped, “Drake is my assistant; you don’t tell him what to do,” talking at him, and not to him. This behavior was unacceptable and he was just like every other slimy man who tried turning me into a home wrecker. Drake left nodding to the order, which pissed me off more.
“What the hell are you doing?” Before I could even get the words out, he flipped the fog switch on the windows to give us privacy.
Trying to control my voice, only to fail, I gritted, “You have no right to give anyone instructions. You have not even signed the offer letter…” before I could finish with my angry outburst, he pressed his lips on mine hard. They felt soft, and I could feel his fingers making their way under my shirt. I couldn’t resist and kissed him back before collecting myself and pulling away. “No, you are my employee.”
Miles put his hands in his pockets, observing my anger. “I’m sorry that I wanted you to have the day off. Drake and Tibby work for this company, in which I’m the CEO. I signed my offer this morning with HR, and my start date is today. Your old CEO already contacted the news. I got wind of it late last night that she would smear your name and the company, so I wanted to bring a positive move within the company from a PR standpoint.”
Moving towards the chair in the conference table I demanded. “How do you know that?”
He just chuckled as that was already a question I knew the answer to.
I still felt that hurt, that betrayal and after thinking for a moment I said, “you’re my employee, and I don’t date cheaters.”
His face went cold, almost confused. “I’m guessing you didn’t review my offer… and conditions,” he moved towards the door.
His words were a blow, “what?” I inhaled a breath, “What do you mean conditions?”
“You should review the offer letters your employees sign.” He disappeared through the door. Not chasing after him, I walked over to the phone and called the HR department.
“HR, how can I help you?”
“Yes, get me Miles Calvin’s offer letter.”
A pause was on the other side, and I hated waiting. Finally, just as I went to hang up the line the voice relayed, “I’m sorry, Miss Dash, we don’t have one on file.” Confused I paused before responding but she quickly corrected herself. “Oh wait, yes, I’ll send it over now”
“Thank you, and in the future, all executive offers need to go through me.” Hanging up the phone, I heard the email chime in.
Dear Miles Calvin,
Forever Fitness Company is offering you the position of Chief Executive Officer with an effective date of 5/31/2021. Your compensation package is attached. You will be provided with a company vehicle, phone, laptop, and security system passcodes.”
Skipping the rest, I went to the attached compensation package.
Forever Fitness has accepted the following additional request to your offer of employment. We are offering you a 10% of bonus of the company profits, which will be donated in your name to Breast Cancer Awareness. We also agree to the additional details outlined on page six. The donation will be made quarterly, and terms of this contract are at-will.
My heart fluttered and I could feel my face turning red. Flipping through, I spotted that page six wasn’t in the attachment. This is so odd. Where is page six of this offer? Did the board review the conditions?
My office door opened, and Drake approached sitting in front of me. He folded his hands in his lap and opined. “You always said you would be honest with me, and all you ask in return is that I’m honest back.”
Bending back in my chair, I could see on Drake’s face something was wrong. Drake and Tibby had been the only people in my life I could trust. I was adopted as a child and thrown to the wolves at 18 on my birthday, three months before my graduation date. Drake went to my school as well, and he allowed me to stay with his family. After school, we parted ways for five years. When I showed up with Forever Fitness in Forbes as the fastest-growing company in America, he reached out. He had a dark past, homeless, begging for a job. Within seconds I took him in, and he has been by my side ever since. Shrugging off those thoughts, I sat with hands folded showing I was ready to listen to him. He started with his soft tone, “You have been not yourself lately. Snapping at people, showing anger issues, and most of all forgetting to have fun. Miles knows this business. Promise me you will let him drive this business and focus on the entire corporation.”
I looked at him for second and as soon as he looked me in the eye, I started to look elsewhere, anywhere where I wouldn’t have to see him. He sighed, “You have seven other businesses under the umbrella. All of them have CEOs that you trust. Emotionally attached to your first business, you struggled to let go. Jamie was the third CEO you fired in less than a year. Promise meyou will find a way to make this work so you can find happiness.”
Taking in his forward and honest words, my heart started to hurt. He was right. I was tired, burnt out, and most of all, needed this advice. “Drake, I’m sorry if I have acted this way. It was not intentional, and I promise I will find everything in my power to make this work. As long as he is not having sex on my conference table.”
Drake burst out laughing, “you handled it like a pro.”
I joined in with a chuckle, “it’s crazy the things that happen.”
Drake and I joked about the incident for a few more moments when I suddenly remembered what had been on my mind before Drake’s complaint, “Hey Drake, do you know why page six is missing from Miles’s offer?”
