Chapter 6 - The HR Inquisition
Z
By Friday morning, the agency was a war zone.
The news of Adrian’s resignation hadn’t leaked yet, but Marcus Vance’s revenge had. At 9:00 AM, an email arrived from HR requesting my immediate presence.
When I walked into the sterile, fluorescent-lit HR office, Brenda, the head of Human Resources, looked profoundly uncomfortable. Beside her sat an impossibly smug Marcus.
"Have a seat," Brenda said, gesturing to the stiff chair. "We are conducting a preliminary inquiry regarding a complaint of unfair advancement based on an inappropriate personal relationship with a superior."
I sat down, keeping my posture rigid. "I assume Marcus is the one making these allegations?"
"The source of the complaint is confidential," Brenda recited mechanically. "But we have witness reports of you and Mr. Kane engaged in intimate conversation at the gala, as well as an incident where your daughter was given unsupervised access to his executive suite."
I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. Unsupervised access? They were playing with blocks.
"My daughter had an emergency childcare lapse," I stated clearly. "Mr. Kane generously offered his office while I pitched the Bellamy account—a pitch that secured this agency millions. As for the gala, we had a conversation. If talking to the CEO is a fireable offense, half this building should be empty by noon."
Marcus leaned forward. "It's the nature of the relationship. It compromises the integrity of our review process. You bypassed protocol to get the Bellamy credit."
"I bypassed you," I corrected, glaring at him. "Because you tried to steal my team's work. This isn't about ethics, Marcus. It's about your bruised ego."
"That's enough," Brenda intervened. "Pending an investigation, we are placing you on paid administrative leave, effective immediately. We must ensure a neutral work environment."
Paid leave. They were pushing me out. If they sidelined me now, they could easily assign my accounts to someone else—someone like Marcus.
"You can't do this," I said, my voice shaking with suppressed rage.
The door to the HR office swung open with enough force to crack the drywall. Adrian stood in the threshold, looking like a storm about to break.
"Brenda," he said, his voice lethally calm. "Why is my leading Creative Director being harassed in your office?"
Brenda blanched. "Mr. Kane, this is a confidential HR matter regarding an ethics complaint—"
"A fabricated complaint," Adrian interrupted, stepping into the room. He didn't look at me; his eyes were locked on Marcus. "Marcus, your desperation is becoming embarrassing. You filed a grievance claiming a conflict of interest."
"Because there is one!" Marcus sputtered, standing up. "You're sleeping with your subordinate!"
May you like
Adrian didn't blink. "I am not sleeping with her. And she is not my subordinate."
He tossed a thick manila envelope onto Brenda's desk. "Those are the signed partnership papers for my new agency, Kane & Associates. Effective as of my resignation an hour ago, she is my co-founder. Which means she doesn't work for you anymore. And as my final act as CEO of this company, I am terminating your employment, Marcus. For cause."
