Lilah and I slid on our flats and solemnly walked two blocks to our favorite restaurant for dinner. The café sat on the top floor of an old industrial building which housed a furniture store. The quaint café was an oasis in a vast retail space.
We sipped glasses of Prosecco as I brought her up to speed on the meeting.
"Junior picked today, of all days, to pop up. I don't think it was a coincidence. This morning, Nic invited me for tea. She served Earl Grey from a bone china teapot with cabbage roses painted on the side. She even displayed little finger sandwiches. It was lovely until she started talking crazy. She mentioned Garrett several times before going on a tangent about not letting someone get in the way of what she wants. Now, I think she did that to throw me off and let my guard down before she went in for the kill. The sad part is I don't know what I did to her."
"That's odd. Have you talked with Garrett about this?"
"I haven't. He has so much on his plate, the last thing he needs is me adding to it. Speaking of Garrett, during the status update, Nic grilled me on the breach."
"Why? That wasn't our responsibility."
"I know! She believed that we should have caught it during our audit review and raised the issue as soon as we learned of it. Now, Junior will bring in a leader to perform an incident analysis. We need to prepare ourselves to sit on the committee with him."
"Jazzy, something hinky is going on. Remember Allyson? The financial analyst they fired? In the last two days, she's reached out to me several times. I didn't answer because of potential conflict of interest. I gave her my number so we could go out for drinks sometime, but judging from the number of phone calls, I don't think she wants to go out for a martini. I'll call her. Could be nothing or something huge. Whatever it is, I got your back."
"Miss Carmichael, do you have a minute?" Parker poked his head in the conference room.
"Of course." I grabbed my iPad and followed him to a neighboring empty conference room. I turned back to look at Lilah, and she gave me a wink and thumbs up.
This was the moment that Lilah and I spent last night preparing for. We were up until the wee hours of the morning practicing talking points for my update with Junior. I felt confident and prepared to turn perceptions of me and my performance.
I sat at the conference table across from him, and he pointed the remote control to the large monitor, briefly fumbling while starting the Skype teleconference. I figured that he was pulling in the Senior Engagement leader to discuss the incident analysis effort. I pulled up the timeline of events on my iPad and mentally prepared myself to discuss.
The face of Wendy Hill, the manager of HR, filled the screen. Personnel matters were the only reason for HR representation at this meeting. Best case, I would get a formal reprimand. Worst case, they would escort me out. I prayed for the former and not the latter.
Parker pulled off his glasses. His hand trembled with nerves as he wiped with an optic cloth. He stared at the laptop screen and began his spiel. "Miss Carmichael, this has been a hard decision. We've changed our organizational structure. ER Wallace has a culture committed to client satisfaction. I had a long and informative conversation with Nic Sewell and Jeffrey Cagle. The Dynex team is unhappy with the services we've provided under your leadership. Unfortunately, Nic's complaints caught the attention of Mister Wallace. In addition, there were allegations of impropriety with one executive, which was deemed a distraction to you, him, and the team."
He avoided direct eye contact as he continued to read.
"Several members of the executive team had questions about who managed the team. Because of these issues, it's necessary to sever our working relationship." He looked at the wall behind me and slid a manila envelope to my side of the table.
My stomach clenched as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. They fired me.
Wendy pasted on a strained smile. She smiled when my life and career were falling apart? I immediately wanted to punch her in her annoyingly smug face.
They had no grounds to let me go. My performance evaluations were above average. Wendy's smile faded as if she had heard my thoughts.
"Georgia is an at-will state. ER Wallace may terminate employment at any time and for whatever reason. We've prepared a platinum package, comparable to what we offer most senior level executives. We think it is acceptable and reasonable. Please review the paperwork with your attorney and respond within seven days."
My attorney? I've spent my entire life around attorneys, yet I didn't have a single person who I could call on for legal representation. Until this point, I didn't see the need to have one. My family couldn't know that I didn't have a job, and I wouldn't ask my father or Jackson to review the agreement. I suppose I could reach out to Alexandra for advice.
"You may continue to stay in Chicago for the rest of the week to wrap up any remaining administrative items such as turning in expense reports. Building Security in Atlanta will pack up your office and ship to your home. I assume your address is correct?”
I stared at the yellow envelope in disbelief.
"Yes. My address is current." My voice was softer and far more vulnerable than I wanted.
"Best of luck, Jasmine." Wendy nodded before the Skype session disconnected.
"I'll wait outside the Skokie room. I'll give you a moment to pack up and say your goodbyes. I'll take your laptop."
Shit. I had to walk in the room filled with ten people I'd grown fond of and explain something so deeply personal and humiliating. Goodbyes didn't come easy to me. Junior intended to embarrass me and show the team what could happen if they didn't follow orders.
I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I ignored him and pulled out my iPad to text Lilah.
Grab my purse and work bag and meet me in the lobby.
I stood and faced Junior, who hadn't looked at me all day.
"Lilah will meet me in the lobby."
Junior led the way to the elevator and pushed the call button. He shifted anxiously from side to side before he extended a hand. I stared at his hand and tightly clutched the manila envelope against my chest.
"Come on, Jasmine. I wish you well. I know that you will land somewhere."
What happened with "Miss Carmichael" asshole?
I met his words of encouragement with silence. What did he expect? A hug and thank you? He couldn't have possibly thought that I would be eager to be civil after he unceremoniously fired me.
The ding noting the elevator's arrival broke the silence. The doors opened, and inside stood a Dynex security guard. Are you fucking kidding me? A formal escort was unnecessary and downright cruel. I would never wild out or behave in a way other than a consummate professional. I nodded a greeting and stepped onto the elevator. The heavy doors closed off my previous life.
I was fired. Without a job. I failed.
I glumly followed behind the security guard to the other side of the metal detectors.
Lilah rushed from the elevator bank carrying the requested items. She plopped the bags on the floor and clutched my forearms and surveyed me from head to toe. I was so deep into my thoughts, I barely acknowledged her approach.
"Are you okay?" She took my hand and intertwined her fingers with mine.
"I'm fine. I gotta get out of here." Avoiding eye contact, I untangled my fingers from hers.