“Shall we?” she asks, standing up and walking around the edge of her desk.
I dip my chin at her, letting her lead the way down to the boardroom, where I’ll be leading my first Board of Directors meeting. “We shall. Wednesdays are for winning over Board members.”
She chuckles, and I smile to myself too. This isn’t my first rodeo. At my old job, the Board of Directors loved me. They thought I could do no wrong. Every meeting turned out to be a victory lap, going over my most recent stats and reports. For some reason, that’s what I was expecting to be the case here too.
What I was not expecting was this board meeting to turn into a war zone.
Which it did.
Rapidly.
“You’re making a laughingstock of our business, Mr. Hurst. When we hired you, you assured us you were capable of taking on a business such as this and promised to drive our numbers to heights our competitors would not be able to reach. Not to mention your goals of easing Nexus into the hotel division. But so far, you’ve been nothing but a disappointment.”
I shift uncomfortably in my seat, feeling the weight of everyone’s eyes falling on me expectantly. I clear my throat and go for a pragmatic response. “This is simply a transition period, Elena. I’ve been here for only a week. Surely you can’t be gauging my performance already.”
The aged woman, Elena, head of the Board of Directors, purses her lips as she looks down her nose at me. “I’m simply bringing it to the attention of the rest of the board. You promised us one thing, and we’re not seeing the fruition of that yet.”
“Elena makes a good point,” one of the other board members—I haven’t had a chance to learn his name—adds in.He has a spreadsheet pulled up on his tablet. “I believe we should’ve at least seen some positive headway by now.”
A few of the other board members mumble amongst themselves. The older man passes around the tablet, and they take a look at the spreadsheet before sharing grave looks with each other.
“It’s only been a week,” I protest again, pulling on my necktie. All of a sudden, it feels like it’s strangling me. Is it hot in here? Sweat beads on my forehead. “I did send over my action plan to start in on acquiring some hotel properties. Did you not receive it?”
“We did. But after reviewing it, I am concerned that perhaps we made this decision too prematurely,” Elena says, looking awfully pleased at herself with this ambush. “I believe we may need to take another look at your contract. We did say you would be hired with a ninety-day probation, correct? Don’t get too comfortable here, Mr. Hurst. I don’t believe this is the right fit for you.”
Irritation, laced with a side of apprehension, travels down my spine and I find myself gritting my jaw maybe a bit too tightly. How could I be fucking this up so badly already? I want to do well in this position, and Iknowthat I can. But I won’t succeed if I’m not even given the chance.
“I think that’s enough,” Whitney says out of the blue, interrupting Elena in the middle of her rant. My attention snaps toward her, as does the rest of the Board.
“Excuse me?” Elena hisses. “It would be wise of you to know your place. Ms. Palmer, is it?”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. From my understanding, Whitney has been a part of this company for years. I can’t imagine Elena wouldn’t know her name. Whitney straightens in her chair and meets Elena’s gaze head-on, ignoring theobvious dig. “Yes, and you know that Mr. Peterson respected my opinion just as much as he did anyone else in this room.”
I hope my jaw isn’t hanging open in shock.
Whitney glances at me quickly before looking back at Elena and then staring down at everyone else at the table. “If Theo’s contract says ninety days, then I think it’s only fair that you give him ninety days to work through the transition period. That’s what Mr. Peterson would have wanted—for his successor to succeed. Not be burned at the stake within his first week of employing the position.”
The Board of Directors all watch her with grim expressions. Finally, Elena exhales and looks down at her wrinkly, manicured fingers. “I suppose you’re right, Ms. Palmer. Alright. Theo, you have ninety days to present us with a report of your short-term and long-term goals with the company. This includes your operational and marketing reports, as well as a risk management evaluation.”
“Of course,” I say before I glance over to Whitney, sitting next to me. She furiously scribbles down every challenge Elena is laying down on the table.
“You have until the end of your probationary period, Theo,” Elena says to me. I suddenly have the strongest urge to glower at the older woman sitting at the opposite head of the table. “If what you present to us is deemed not adequate, we will reevaluate.”
I nod my head at Elena, who still stares down her nose at me. Her face is pinched like she smells something bad, and her eyes are narrowed as she sizes me up. Finally, she pushes her chair back and looks around the room. “I suppose we’re finished for today.”
With three large strides, Elena exits the boardroom, leaving the rest of us in her wake.
My lips press into a thin line as I say goodbye to the rest ofthe board members. When everyone but me and Whitney are gone, I look over to my assistant and give her a tight smile.
“Well, that was fun,” I mutter.
She exhales sharply through her nose as she gathers up her folders and notepads. “I’m not sure that’s the word I would use for that. I’m sorry, Elena shouldn’t have jumped down your throat like that.”
I push back my chair and button my suit jacket back up. Whitney, materials in hand, follows my lead, and we leave the boardroom side by side. My office and her desk are just down the hallway.
As we walk, I try my hardest not to gaze at her next to me.
The events of that board meeting aside, she amazes me.
