“Those couples aren’t dating the CEO,” Alex pointed out.
“No, but if Ina is a department head and not Dane’s direct supervisor, the power dynamic is significantly different. She’dhave her own team. Yes, Dane is the CEO, but there is nothing in the bylaws that says it’s against policy.”
Patricia and Alex exchanged a long look.
“It’s not perfect,” Alex said finally. “But it’s better than the current situation.”
“I’ll certainly sleep better at night with that arrangement,” Patricia said. “But we’ll be watching closely. Any sign that this relationship is affecting business decisions and we revisit this conversation. Are we clear?”
“Crystal clear,” I said. “Norma, open the position. Post it internally. If Ms. Lavin applies and is the best candidate, offer it to her.”
“Dane, you don’t get to be involved in the hiring decision,” Alex said. “Norma handles it.”
“How about you back the fuck off, Alex? You’ve already gotten everything you asked for.” I smiled at him. “With respect.”
He grumbled under his breath but didn’t say anything, just gathered up his stuff and left with Patricia. When they were gone, I sank back into my chair and took a deep breath.
“That could have gone worse,” Norma said. “I think Alex is taking a shine to you.”
“Really?”
She laughed. “No.”
I sighed. “Well, I don’t think the job matters. Ina quit.” The word came out hollow.
Norma went very still. “What?”
“She told me she’s done. I told you she wasn’t going to wait around for a stupid investigation. So your solution doesn’t matter because she’s not going to take the job.”
“Oh, wow.” Norma nodded, impressed. “Good for her.” I shot her a look and she held up her hands. “I just mean, that woman has some stones on her, walking away from a job like thisbecause she didn’t want to deal with all our bullshit. She might be the smartest employee we have.”
“Had.” I spun in my chair, looking up at the gray ceiling. “It’s no longer a conflict of interest because we’re no longer together. That’s what I should have told them, right? That’s what would have made this easier?”
“You told them the truth.” Norma’s voice was calm. “That also took courage.”
“Open the position. Offer it to her. Let her decide what she wants to do. I’ll stay out of it.”
Norma nodded. “I’ll make it so.”
She left, and I sat there alone in the conference room, staring at nothing. My eyes felt gritty after not sleeping the night before. I was twisted up inside.
And I knew I had already lost her.
I went back to my office and found Keith waiting by my desk. He was the last person I wanted to see. His meddling had torpedoed my entire life. We had been friends for years, but I wasn’t feeling too friendly to him right then.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely concerned or just being nosy. “No, Keith. Everything is not okay. And you’re a big reason why.”
“Hey, I was trying to help.”
“You were mad Ina liked me instead of you,” I said, shaking my head. “You wanted to cause problems for us over some high school jealousy, and I’m having a hard time remembering why I ever put up with your bull shit in the first place.”
“That’s not true,” he said. “I wasn’t jealous of that nobody.”
I nodded toward the door. “Get out of my office.”
“Dane, you know I’m only looking out for you. You were all twisted up over that woman.”
