Go directly to the CEO suite and speak to Aubrey.

Executive Assistant

“Sit down, please, Will.” Aubrey gestures to one of the chairs across from her desk. Only they’re not immediately across; they’re really more a waiting area for Nolan King’s office than an apparent vantage point for a dialogue with his secretary. You wonder for a moment if that’s what’s intended, if you’re being sent right to the King himself, but his office door is open and there’s no one present. So, at her invitation, you seat yourself some twenty feet away, folding your hands in your lap uncomfortably.

“You know, we really need to talk to him about leaving his computer on and his door wide open,” you begin, chuckling light-heartedly in what you hope comes off as an oh that big galoot! kind of way.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to be slipping past me,” she assures you. Aubrey does not return your smile. Not only that, she manages to nullify yours.

You feel exposed. This large waiting area, and you’re holding a conversation at this distance, where anyone could walk in. Maybe it should make you feel safer, but really, it takes you back to the night before, skulking through corridors and praying there won’t be anyone around the next corner. There’s a broad window behind Aubrey’s desk. Thin gray clouds refract the sunlight every which way, so even with the sun high in the sky, she’s almost a silhouette. It doesn’t help your unease.

You wait for her to speak. She called you up here, after all. Only she seems to be doing the same thing. The tension could dam a river. You’re not going to be the one to break it though. Are you in trouble? About to be fired? About to be sent to 7 for some horrible punishment? Does she know about Ingrid and the blowjob? The stolen code? What you overheard with Brooklyn?

What the hell is she waiting for?!

Your breathing is quickening. Say something, Aubrey. Call me out. Lob your accusations and see what you can make stick. Rub your hands together and muahaha like the supervillain you sounded like last night. Throw your coffee at me, for crying out loud! Just stop sitting there, staring at me, torturing me! SAY SOMETH–

“Will?”

Suddenly she’s beside you. Right beside you, actually, in an adjacent chair. You shake your head; it feels heavier than normal. Dull. “Sorry, Aubry. I… I don’t know. Whoa.”

She smiles and pats your forearm. “Deep breaths. Did you have your lunch break yet? Maybe you should get a little food in you. Here, I think I have half an egg salad sandwich in the mini-fridge. I was going to have it as a late lunch, but to be honest, I don't even like egg salad.”

“Huh? No, I ate. I mean, I’m fine. I just… Sorry. I… Sorry.” Wow. Why not just write your guilt on your forehead, smooth talker?

“Don’t sweat it. Look, would you rather come back later? I’m handling a few administrative tasks this afternoon, but I can pause them at need.”

“No.” Your voice regains some firmness. “Now is good. I’m with you. So… you called me up. What can I do for you?”

“It’s about last night,” she begins. “As I’m sure you assumed.”

“Right. Of course.”

“You know what I’m referring to, yes? That incident with Ms. Diamond?”

In an instant, the tension drains out of you. Is that all she wanted? “Of course. I mean, what else? Not every day I have my car torn apart.”

She nods. “I should hope not. Now I want to assure you that Mr. King takes the situation very seriously. He personally interviewed the woman – I suppose ‘interrogated’ is a better term – and assured me that it appears to have been a case of a woman with, needless to say, serious psychological issues. She confided that she had tried to attract your attention by acting out, and when you understandably didn’t engage, she… well, she had a bad day.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“Quite – and rest assured, I’m not downplaying your experience, neither the financial damages nor any trauma that may have resulted from it. We have terminated Ms. Diamond, obviously. That said, we want to be frank with you, Will. It’s Mr. King’s preference that this incident not rise to the level of criminal prosecution. It is absolutely your right and your decision, and if you feel otherwise, we will provide our support to your claim. However, Mr. King is not at all a fan of negative publicity, as this would surely be. Nepotism hire assaults a handsome young contractor… it’s a bad look.”

“So… you want me to help you sweep this under the rug? Aren’t you worried she’s dangerous?”

“A lot of people are dangerous. Should we make it Monarch’s business to police all of them? We’ve blocked her from the premises, and don’t have any reason to anticipate her causing you or the company any further difficulties.”

“What about being a danger to herself?”

Aubrey takes a slow breath. You’re sure she isn’t excited to see you digging in your heels, but if she’s upset, she keeps it from her features. Except for that breath. “As I said, the company will support you whatever you decide to do, but Mr. King did pass on his personal preference. Even if you were a full-time employee rather than a contractor, you would be well within your rights to disregard his preferences.” She leans in closer and adds, in a conspiratorial tone, “I know I do from time to time.”

“I’ll bet you do, Aubry. I’ll bet you do.”

She sits back up. “Now, while you consider that issue, I’d like to address a separate matter that concerns you and Monarch, one entirely unrelated. If that’s all right with you, that is.”

Uh, oh. Here it comes. “Yeah, that’s fine. What’s up?” you ask as innocently as possible.

“Before I say anything else, I do want to acknowledge what transpired last night.”

Put up a front. Keep her on the defensive. “You mean before or after your psycho employee attacked me?”

“After,” she responds evenly. “And I think you know what I mean, and it denigrates us both to pretend otherwise.”

“Fine. You want to speak plainly, let’s speak plainly. This is about what happened on 7. Yeah?”

“What else would it be about.”

“So? Yes, I went in – to test the security, security that you and Nolan should have told me about in the first place. You don’t have to share what you’re developing with me. But when I leave here, this place goes on my resume as a place I helped make secure. When your company gets breached because the CEO can’t close his door or log off his machine, or because your staff can’t be bothered to hide secure passwords – transmitted to their very unsecure cell phones, no less! – over lunch with a non-employee… I’m not going to sit back and let the company be mismanaged into digital oblivion. I’m just not, Aubrey. So yell at me, fire me if you want, but I was doing you a favor last night. And you’re welcome.” A hell of a ballsy lie about where you acquired the code, but it’s better than the truth by leagues.

Incrementally, the thinnest of smiles sneaks onto her lips. “Well said, Will. Well said. However, I might urge you to rein in your indignation. I didn’t ask you to meet with me to scold you. I don’t do scolding. If Mr. King wants a nag at his disposal, he’ll need to put out an ad for one because I simply will not.

“I am glad to hear you confirm your noble intentions for what might have appeared as an ignoble intrusion. However, what you explained was already my – and Mr. King’s – assumption. Why else would a tech security consultant go probing around in R&D for but to verify the security of our technology?”

“Yeah,” you reply, perhaps a bit too aggressively. “Obviously.”

“In fact, Mr. King is quite impressed, and on his behalf, I would like to offer you a permanent job at Monarch Innovations. You know our network, you know our people, and most importantly, you know never to stop pushing. Now I understand you’re fresh out of another gig, and perhaps were looking to enjoy a little freedom. We respect that, and we’re willing to compensate you. Very generously, I think.”

“You… want to offer me a job? Because I broke into 7?”

“Yes, Will. I want to offer you a job.”

For the second time this meeting, you feel dizzy. It doesn’t last long, though. After all, you’re not an idiot. “Wait. So you want to hire me so I won’t press charges against Brooklyn.”

“I told you before, this is an entirely separate matter, and also that even an employee would not be beholden to Mr. King’s preferences in such a circumstance.”

“Yeah, but… that’s what you’re doing, right? I’m not complaining or accusing. I only want to be clear.”

“Ms. Diamond has been released. You are free to pursue charges, if you wish. Mr. King would like you to let us handle this ourselves. You were caught red-handed breaking into 7. We forgive that. I would like to offer you a job with a very competitive compensation package. These are all facts I am presenting to you. I do not mean to imply any connection between them, but you may infer what you wish.”

It’s total bullshit, of course. Still… “How competitive are we talking?”

Wordlessly, Aubrey rises to her feet and retrieves a piece of paper from her desktop. It’s a contract, you quickly surmise. A contract, for you. You peruse, looking for the golden figure, but she quietly insists you take your time, peruse it thoroughly, standing over you all the while.

Holy shit. A company car with an assigned spot right near Mr. King’s in the front row. Management level right off the bat, supervising several of their IT staff members. Health, vision, dental, and more PTO than you had in three years at your old job. A corner office, not the glorified closet you’ve been toiling in, and on the floor above Amy’s.

And then you see the salary.

“Holy shit,” you say out loud this time. “Aubrey, this can’t be right. Your figure here, this is… this can’t be right.”

“We’re asking you to do the same work you’re doing as a consultant. I merely analyzed the pay for the term of your contract and extrapolated it to a year-long position. Is it insufficient? This is only our starting offer, mind you.”

“Nope! Nope, plenty sufficient,” you blurt hastily. You could kick yourself for giving away your negotiating chip, but you’re not sure you could be that greedy anyway.

“So you accept?” she asks, a note of hopefulness in her voice.

You should. Hell yes, you should. For this much money, you’d have been junking that old care in a month’s time anyway. The crazy bitch could have destroyed your whole garage and it would be more than covered by all this. And yet…

“I don’t get it. All this to protect some random security guard? Help me understand this.”

Aubrey leans in. “We need you, Will. You’ve only scratched the surface of the depth of that need, but Mr. King believes, as I do, that you could play a vital part in the future of Monarch Innovations. Whether or not you seize that opportunity… that’s up to you.”

“I, um… I think I need some time to think it over.”

“Do you?” She folds her arms dubiously. “If you accept, we can have your assistant move you into your new office this very afternoon.”

“Assistant? I didn’t see anything about that.” All of our managers have their own assistants, though some lower level people do have to share. If you accept, you would have one all to yourself. In fact, I believe we have someone you already know all ready to go.”

“You… you do? Can I ask who?”

“Of course. You remember Jenna, don’t you? I believe you met almost right where you’re sitting now, if I recall.” She gestures to the open doorway to Nolan’s office.

“I… yeah. Yeah, I remember, all right. She… made an impression.”

“Very good. So there you have it. Sign that contract, and she’s yours. Along with all the rest.” Aubrey extends a fountain pen you hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “All you have to do is say yes.”

Decision time! This vote is free and open to ALL readers! Cast your vote here.

Your choices:

• Say yes.
• Say no.