Francis was the last to approach me. “Jubilae, I am so sorry that you had to experience that. I cannot believe Johnathan.” She shook her head. “To think that Cora sat there like the proud wife when he asked his asinine question until Mr. Brand put him out.”
Wait, what!“Johnathan and Cora are married? How did I not know that?”
“A lot of people don’t, because that is how they wanted it. She kept her maiden name for business purposes. I honestly think he was acting obnoxious because she didn’t get the position. I know for a fact that he didn’t apply. He tried to call you inadequate, but he was holding on to his VP title by a string,” she said with a giggle.
The things you learned after things popped off. “Wow, well, I hope you have a good weekend. Don’t forget to call my office to make an appointment with me.”
After she assured me that she wouldn’t forget, she left the room. I turned to see Robert with his hands in his pockets as he talked to Ferguson. I didn’t want to be nosy, but who was I kidding?
“Yeah, don’t be surprised if you get a bullshit lawsuit from buddy. He wanted to go back upstairs to get his things, but you know that wasn’t going to happen. Never let fired people back into the building. He bucked when we told him that his personal items would be mailed to him, so you already know how that went,” Ferguson said before his shoulders lifted toward his ears.
Robert tittered. “I’m not worried about that shit at all. There are cameras all around this building. This entire meeting was recorded, including his stupid ass question.”
He had a point. It was known that all of these meetings were recorded for posterity. “Are you going to leave the interaction with Johnathan in the recording?” I asked Robert.
His eyes tightened. “I am. If you’re willing to be an ass on camera, then I’m willing to let it be there for people to see later. Ferguson, make sure y’all keep an eye on his wife too. I don’t trust her ass either.”
Ferguson nodded. “I already let the team know that Cora Landing is now on our radar. Let me know if you need anything else, boss. You and Ms. Plates’s details are ready for the Cali trip next week.”
They exchanged a few more words before Ferguson left. Robert walked over to where our things were, grabbed them, then walked back to where I stood. “You ready for dinner, Ms. Plates?”
As I allowed him to place my trench coat on me, I asked, “You knew that Johnathan and Cora were married? How did you know and I didn’t? I worked with that lady for years.”
He chuckled. “Of course, I knew they were married. Their marriage is fairly new. I think they’ve been married three or four years now. Hell, if I wanted to be funny, I could have terminated both of them a long time ago. Our company doesn’t have a problem with fraternization, but you do have to report any internal relationships to HR which they never did. The lack of reporting is the violation, not the relationship.”
He paused after his statement. I wasn’t sure what to make of the pause, so I decided to fill it. “So, where is Mr. Brand taking me to dinner?”
The top of his lip curved to offer the sexiest smirk. “I’m taking Ms. Plates to a place where we can have peace and quiet to continue to get to know each other. Is that alright with you?”
California Love . . .
It was our third day in California, and a bitch was tired as hell. This president thing was not easy. The more employees that I met, the more I realized people didn’t think I deserved this position. Robert was serious about the disrespect thing, but people still found a way to put their toes into the water and not dive completely into the disrespect pool.
It was in the way that they asked their questions. They asked me questions to challenge not only my knowledge of the company, but of the pharmaceutical industry overall. When I answered every question with grace and elegance, the surprise was plastered on their faces while pride tattooed on Robert’s face. I was far from a slow leak. There was no way that I would have ever gotten as far as I was if I was.
I studied this industry from the moment I knew I wanted to go into it. I knew more about this company at my entry level interview than some of the executives knew now. When you were a Black woman with power, you had no leeway to not be damn near perfect. On top of me being a Black woman, I had the nerve to join the party late.
“Girl, I was about to chop that lady in her head when she said what she said. They clearly haven’t heard about your guard-baddie executive assistant.” Joy was revved up from her seat in the living room of my suite. When I asked her what the lady said, her head snapped in my direction where I was on the opposite side of the couch. “I don’t know and don’t care what the fuck that lady said. What I do know is how to read your expression to know that you felt disrespected. You felt disrespected bywhatever that chicken foot face ass lady said, and I felt like chopping her.”
I wasn’t going to do this with her tonight. “Girl, when are you going to your room? I think it’s about that time.”
She chortled. “Not you trying to put me out of your room so that your lil CEO boo can come over and chill. You don’t have to rush me.” She picked her phone up from beside her after it beeped. After she tapped the screen for a few seconds, she said, “I’ll be out of your hair in a second.”
I watched her move around the room. I ignored her comment about Robert. Yes, we’d chilled together every night since we had been here. We also had dinner together nightly, but our assistants were with us for dinner. When we chilled, we did just that, chill. My thoughts were cut off by a light knock on the door. I sat up, but Joy told me it was for her.
“Hey, baby,” Chance greeted before he pulled her into a hug and kissed her lips passionately. Once they pulled themselves apart, he turned his attention to me. “What’s up, Sis?”
My head tilted to the side. I wish I could have been surprised to see him, but I wasn’t. “What are you doing here, Chance?”
“Jubilae, you know I can’t go too long without my baby. Y’all got her on the other side of the country for a week and think I’m going to be alright.” Chance’s face drew back as if he questioned my sanity because of the question.
He stepped fully into the room, then closed the door. I stood so that he could give me a hug. Just as he hugged me, there was another knock on the door.Fuck!
I knewwhen I found out that the person I selected for the president position was not only a female, but a Black female that she would be taken over the coals. Just like I would be expected to prove my worth, so would she. I honestly had no issues with that, but there was a way to do everything. Disrespect would not be tolerated.
Johnathan Corelander’s verbal assault, as our company lawyer called it, was not a surprise, at least to me it wasn’t. A week after Jubilae’s announcement, his wife demanded to know why she wasn’t selected. That was not an answer that I was bound to give her.A more qualified applicant was selected.That was all her privileged ass would get from our human resources department.
When she received that response, she didn’t take kindly to it. Next, her husband sent in an inquiry about what the qualifications were of the newly hired president. Johnathan and Cora tried to hide their marriage, which was stupid as hell and made no logical sense as to why. It wasn’t as if they could have been fired for their relationship. There were plenty of employees that were in serious relationships.
