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The coffee machine was very nice and produced wonderful coffee. While we waited, I checked with Marcie. Emily was doing fine. They were watching some Disney movie that I had never heard of. Not that it mattered. Marcie was a God send. I made a mental note to give her more time off.
“You know,” the leader said, “I suspected something was up when Josh started doing database searches. He’s not the most computer-savvy man I know.”
“So, you tracked him, right?”
He smiled. “When you think something bad is about to happen, you hedge your bets.”
“Good. Keep hedging.” I glanced at my watch. “I need to catch the CEO before he leaves. Send me a text if you need me?”
“Be happy to.”
I hurried to the elevators and rode up to the top floor. Doak’s secretary was putting on her coat.
“Is he still here?” I asked.
“Yep, and I think he would be happy to see you.”
“Tell me, is he too angry?”
“No, I don’t think so. Some of the top people, who were giving him a hard time earlier, have called to say they’ve been taken care of. That is a good thing. Trust me, everyone who gets to this floor is paranoid. If the wrong thing happens, they’re on the street.”
I waved and headed into the inner office. Doak was looking out the window at Lake Michigan.
“I fired Josh,” I said.
He turned, his face unreadable. That would be an asset in a poker game.
“Can I ask why?”
“He is responsible for a number of glitches in our personnel system. When he learned I had to stay home with my daughter, he decided he could do some sabotage and get me fired.”
“You’re sure about this?”
I nodded. “I have IT reversing the actions as we speak. By morning, all should be well.”
“You fired him?”
“I didn’t have much choice. I’m from North Carolina. You find a snake in the yard, and you get rid of it…one way or another.”
“I see. Long-handled hoe?”
“Exactly. No need to get too close, even if it’s not venomous.”
“I guess I should have expected this. He was pretty bummed when he didn’t get the VP position.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. But, there is no guarantee that I’ll answer it.”
“Did you hire me because I’m a woman?”
He shook his head. “No. You were the best candidate we had, and that includes Josh. I’ll tell you a little story. I like Josh. He’s a funny guy and a decent golfer. We used to play some together. After a round, we could go into the men’s locker room and drink a brew or cocktail, something. We’re sipping a beer one afternoon, and he gets a call. It’s his wife who wants to know if he’ll be home in time to go to dinner with some neighbors. From the conversation, it’s clear that Josh doesn’t really like the neighbors. And he would rather have another drink with me. So, he tells his wife to call the neighbors and tell them he has a touch of the flu. They can’t make dinner. Now, that’s a lie. He was fine. His wife was fine. He simply didn’t want to go. If you think about it, it’s not much of a lie, but it’s a lie. He didn’t have to lie. Lord, he’s an adult. If he doesn’t want to go to dinner, he doesn’t have to. The lie was unnecessary. It was something you did in high school when your buds were going to the reservoir to drink beer, and your girlfriend wanted you to come over and study. Josh should have outgrown that. Or, if he didn’t, he shouldn’t have told the lie in front of me.”
I nodded. “Remind me never to fib in front of you.”
“Don’t lie unless it makes a big difference.
I smiled. “I have to get back to the techies, and that’s the truth.”
