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“Is everyone here?” Clary asked.
Everyone glanced around, while some looked over their shoulders.
“As of today,” Clary said, “Hayes Security will take over as our security team.” A surge of murmurs rose. Many of them just looked at each other in disbelief. “The rest of you—if you want—will get to keep your jobs. You’ll be offered a new contract. Three months probation, and you’ll take orders from the Hayes Security team. Hector.” She scanned the faces for the security team leader. “You’re dismissed.”
Andrea moved forward and gave Hector a white envelope, one of the twenty-eight she had in her hand.
Hector opened his mouth to speak, but Clary didn’t give him a chance.
“I have made it clear that you are not to allow Hugh Eolenfeld back into this building, and you have repeatedly ignored my orders.” She turned her attention to the rest of the staff, casting a sweeping glance. “All of you have, but I believe that leaders should take the blame.”
“I—”
“Before the rest of you decide to stay,” she continued, cutting Hector off, “know this: letting Hugh Eolenfeld into this building will result in immediate dismissal. Not following my instructions will result in the same.”
“You can’t possibly—”
“I can,” she said, cutting off Hector.
“You’re firing me one week before Christmas?”
Clary nodded. “It is one week before Christmas. And because you had no direct involvement with the fake account openings, I’ll offer you a chance. You have until lunch time to decide if you can actually do the job I require of you. If you think it’s asking too much of you to keep out the person who destroyed the reputation of EB Co. and stole from half a million hardworking families, then pack your things and leave. If you decide that you need this job, you have until lunch time to come up with a good, compelling reason—backed with evidence—to convince me to let you stay. It will be on grace basis, and you’ll also be on probation. Any questions?”
Someone in the back raised a hand.
“Yes? Go ahead.”
The man looked around to confirm that he was the only one who raised his hand before asking, “Do the rest of us need to come up with a compelling reason?”
“No, but let me make this clear. This is me extending grace to you. None of you are in my good books. I’m giving you a chance to show you’re actually capable of doing your job, but whether you get to stay past your probation? That’s up to you. Any other questions?” She nodded when no one raised their hands.
“This is ridiculous.” Hector threw the letter on the floor and stepped forward. “Do you know how long I’ve been working here?”
A wave of murmurs erupted, and three more men stepped forward confrontationally.
Andrea stepped forward, but Clary raised a hand to stop her.
In her heels, Clary was at the same height as Hector. She matched his steps and glared right back at him. “Do I look like I care about that? I’ll let this slide, but raise your voice again, and I’ll have you thrown out.” She stepped to the side so everyone could see her. “The public is demanding blood. I’ll do everything I can to protect the people under me. If you choose to throw your lot in with Hugh, then get ready to bleed.” She turned back to Hector. “Don’t mistake my mercy for weakness.” She turned to the three other men. “Do we have a problem?”
The bravado of the men dissipated.
With another scan, Clary turned and headed back into the elevator. “Choose whose side you want to be on. Andrea will come back to collect your resignation letters—if any—and arrange for new contracts for those who wish to remain.”
This time, when the elevator door closed, she didn’t relax. Because she suspected the security team could see her.
“You did great,” Andrea whispered. “Next up, HR department.”
* * *
HR department.
When Clary got to the HR offices, the ten-person department was gathered around two desks, all looking at their phones while having a heated discussion. “Good morning.”
All ten heads jerked up, eyes wide.
Gasps and several uneasy ‘good morning’s broke out.
“This is Andrea Lowe. She’s my new assistant.” When Clary was trying to get a contract for Andrea, she’d realized it would be much faster to simply get the firm’s lawyers to print out the contract instead of going through HR. “You don’t know this,” she said to Andrea, “but a female staff member attempted suicide because of continued harassment from her manager and a few other male staff.”
