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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Fletcher walked intothe Wednesday executive team meeting with determination pulsing in his veins.
Daniel walked in with an equally determined look on his face.
Ah, this was going to be fun.
Hunter sat down and shot him a look as the rest of the executive team piled into the room.
Had he approached each of the team members over the past twenty-four hours? Yes.
Had Daniel done the same thing?
Yes.
That’s how this game was played.
Fletcher, however, was confident most of the team saw things his way, but one could never be sure until the game ended.
“Right, let’s get started,” Daniel said, nodding to Selena, his executive assistant, to pull up the agenda on the screen. “As you all know,” he said, shooting Fletcher a look, “we have a vote pending at the end of the meeting.”
He slowly raised his brows and held Daniel’s stare.
Don’t try to intimidate me, brother.
He may be the eldest of the Dufort brothers and in the CEO role, but that did not make him any more intimidating than either him or Hunter. The CEO role was a position, a job that required Daniel to make decisions and direct the strategy of the organization. When it came to policy and broader decisions, those were dictated by the entire executive team or the board.
Or both.
That was the reality of a listed public company.
Had Daniel owned the company outright, it would be a different story.
But he did not.
The meeting continued as usual, covering the sales update from Hunter, financials, human resources, and marketing. Fletcher shared his update and then it was time to discuss the policy.
“Anything else before we dive into the last point?” Daniel asked.
Everyone shook their heads, and the tension increased throughout the room.
“Good, then I think we can get straight to the point,” Fletcher jumped in. “As my brother pointed out, you all know what this is about.” He darted a look in Daniel’s direction. “It’s been ten years since we voted in the Anti-Fraternization Policy for employees and today, I am asking the group to revisit that.”
A few heads nodded, while others took awkward sips of water.
Everyone was well aware this was a confrontational subject between the brothers.
“I’ve done some research and in the United States, only three percent of organizations still have this type of policy in place.”
One or two people nodded slowly.
“That’s correct,” said Miranda, director of human resources. “I spoke to a few of my industry colleagues, and it appears there is little appetite for it with the increase of Millennials and Gen Y in the workplace.”
A few members of the team wrote that down.
“That may be so, but they don’t have the history we have at Dufort,” Daniel said. “I think we all need to look at the elephant in the room and realize from an employment reputation Dufort has struggled.”
Fletcher didn’t disagree... if it had been ten or even five years ago.
