Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
KAYLANI
“Shit, where is my laptop?”
I looked around the car while sitting at the red light but realized I’d left it at the office and smacked my palm off the steering wheel.
“Fucking, Mondays.” Closing my eyes, I prayed for patience. “The trailer was already supposed to be on the road.”
Normally, I wouldn’t bother going back. But Nathaniel had sent through emergency changes to the new whiskey line rollout, and I needed to complete them while I was away at the show.
Grabbing my phone I sent Corey a message.
K: Hey are you sure that everything is packed? I won’t have time to double check.
C: Yup. I used the sheet you gave me and both myself and Coach double checked. And Frank has the trailer hooked up and ready to go.
I slumped in my seat.
K: Okay, tell Frank to head out. I need to return to the office. I’ll catch up.
C: Okay.
The light went green and I turned right to head back to work. “Call Goran,” I said to my car.
“Lani? Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, I just forgot my laptop at work and need to go get it. The trailer is heading out, can we just meet at your place and go from there?”
“Sure. The SUV is packed and I’m ready to go whenever you arrive.”
“Okay.” I sighed the sound louder than I’d intended. The stress of the show was already getting to me.
“Lani, breathe.” My lips curved up and did as he said. “Don’t rush, everything is going to be fine. I love you.”
He always made me feel better. “Love you too.”
We hung up and I took a steadying breath.
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot of M.F. Corp and stared up at the glowing red sign. Mikhailov Family Corporation. A massive F-U to our father.
Nathaniel had chosen the company name deliberately. It was subtle. Anyone who wasn’t privy to the constant drama and the rifts behind the scenes wouldn’t think anything of it.
But Father had blown his stack when he saw the sign for the first time.
I parked in my spot and went inside. The security guards sat behind the desk, watching me. I waved as I scanned my badge.
“Ms. Mikhailov, is everything okay,” Patrick asked.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “I rushed out earlier and forgot my laptop in my office.”
“Do you want someone to go with you?”
“No, I’ll only be a few minutes. But thank you.”
I liked both guards. They were always professional and had never treated me like I was less than any of the other Mikhailov’s who worked here.
In the elevator, I swiped my card again and rode up to my floor.
It was late enough that the building was quiet, but not so late that it was empty.
My team was still working. We had a new project with a painfully particular customer, and I had them refining my concepts so we could present the options to Nathaniel the moment he was back.
The doors slid open onto the hallway. During the morning, it felt cheery and welcoming. But now with most people gone for the day, the silence had turned ominous.
I grabbed my laptop from my office and was relocking the door when I heard laughter from the project room. At first, I thought it was my team working. But the more I focused, the more I noticed something in their tones was off, and I moved closer.
My shoes made no sound on the narrow runner stretched over the marble floor. I slowed, listening closely before stopping altogether. The door was open a crack, and I recognized my project manager’s voice.
“She’s a stuck-up bitch,” Crissy said.
I hadn’t heard what started the conversation. But I was pretty positive she was talking about me.
Ken spoke next. Never quite brave enough to choose a side, but creative when it came to his graphic designs.
“Does anyone know where Queen Kaylani went?”
Crissy snorted. “Who the hell knows. Probably off galavanting again. Must be nice to disappear whenever you want. Shrug off all the responsibility on the team.”
Rob chuckled. “Yeah. Wish I could take a spontaneous week off and still keep my job.”
“I think it’s great that she’s trying for the Pan American team,” Deb said quietly. “Wouldn’t it be cool to see her on TV?”
I had never pictured Deb, who barely said two words, to be the one to defend me, but I appreciated it.
Vanessa sighed dramatically. “Yeah, okay, fine. I get that she’s been working toward that since before she started working here. But it’s frustrating. We’re here busting our asses, and she’s never around when things get hard.”
“I mean,” Ken said, hesitating, “she is Nathaniel’s sister.”
Crissy laughed outright.
“Exactly. Let’s stop pretending she earned the director title. She got inserted into the position solely because of her last name. What is she, like twenty? What experience does she even have for this role?”
“At least it’s not because of who she’s fucking,” Rob said.
I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to march in and punch him.
“No, this is worse. Flings come and go. But she’s Nathaniel and Titus’s baby sister. You really think that they’d ever take our side if there was a disagreement? No, of course not,” Crissy spat, the disdain in her tone over the perceived nepotism was loud and clear.
Anger and humiliation coiled low in my stomach.
Rob leaned back in his chair. Through the narrow crack in the door, I could just make out his arms hooked behind his head.
“Six months working under Dimitri and suddenly she’s running an entire division. Come on. There are people in this room with a decade of industry experience.”
“And she doesn’t even have a real background,” Ken added.
“No degrees to speak of. No long-term corporate track record. Just a high school diploma from a fancy boarding school that probably let her get away with whatever she wanted and didn’t care about her grades.
I mean, seriously, who names a school Wayward? ”
I’d told Nathaniel that making me their boss was a mistake. He didn’t listen. He said I had a great eye and head for business, and he only wanted those he knew he could trust in leadership roles. He even gave me a seat on his board.
And now my fears had come true. With the exception of Deb, my team didn’t follow me out of respect. It sounded like they hated me.
“Agreed,” Vanessa said. “I’ve been working my ass off since I was eighteen just to get sidelined. If my last name were Mikhailov, I’d be unstoppable too.”
Crissy’s voice sharpened. “This is favoritism. Plain and simple. We should go to HR.”
Rob perked up. “Seriously. Unfair treatment. Conflict of interest.”
“Guys,” Deb tried again, “this is getting out of control. Kaylani hasn’t done anything to us. She’s been a nice boss, and gives us credit for our work. I’ve had two bonuses already.”
But they were on a roll, feeding off each other now.
I recognized this type of dynamic. Pack mentality. I’d seen it a lot in the mean girl circles at Wayward.
Ken scoffed. “Sure, but what would you have gotten if you were in charge? It doesn’t matter. HR won’t touch this. Who are they going to take the grievance to? Her brother? Or her other brother?”
“Then they’re cowards,” Crissy snapped. “She shouldn’t be managing us. If she wants to prove something, she should be here working beside us.”
Vanessa gasped. “Oh my God. Did you guys see this meme?”
“No. Let me see,” Crissy said.
My blood went cold.
Crissy laughed, then Rob and Ken followed. I pictured the phone being passed around the room.
Rob was the first to speak. “Holy shit, that’s bad. But man, she has nice legs.”
“Eww…pig. Now that’s an HR complaint,” Vanessa shot back.
Deb sucked in a breath. “Put that away. What if that was one of you?”
Crissy’s tone turned vicious. “Dancing on a table like she’s above us…untouchable? Please spare me. She acts like nothing she does affects those around her. Our head marketing director, ladies and gentlemen.”
Ken lowered his voice. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Nathaniel fires her for this. It’s humiliating for all of us. It’s not right.”
Crissy grunted in agreement. “It’s embarrassing, and I’m tired of it. I think I’ll look for another job. One that appreciates me.”
The door creaked as I pushed it all the way open.
Five heads snapped up.
Silence crashed into the room like a dropped plate.
Ken went pale. Rob straightened. Deb blushed and looked down. Vanessa fumbled her phone and nearly dropped it. Crissy’s mouth fell open, frozen mid-breath.
I walked in calmly and set my laptop bag on the conference table.
No one spoke.
I made sure to look each of them in the eye before speaking.
“If I’m the topic of tonight’s meeting, I should probably be present. Don’t you think?”
No one moved.
“What? You have nothing to say now? You all seemed very comfortable discussing me and my last name a moment ago.”
Crissy lifted her chin defensively. “We’re just saying what everyone’s thinking.”
“I’m sure you are. So let me clarify a few things. I did not ask for this position. I was offered it because Nathaniel needed someone he trusted not to bleed this company dry while smiling through it.”
Crissy snorted. “That’s—”
“No,” I said calmly. “You don’t get to interrupt me.”
The room went very still.
“I work long hours. I’m never off the clock and take calls at all times from customers and my boss. Brother or not he expects the best. I manage crises you don’t even hear about. And when I’m not physically here, it’s because I’m doing exactly what I was hired to do—manage clients personally.”
I glanced at Vanessa’s phone.
“As for the meme…yes, I went out. It was on my own time. I made a mistake. I’m certain I could find equally damning photos of each of you if I dug for them. Would you like me to do that?”
No one answered.
“And if any of you believe a meme disqualifies me from leading this division, you are welcome to bring that concern to HR.”
I paused and let my words settle before continuing.
“But before you do…” I leaned forward slightly. “Ask yourselves something. If I weren’t a Mikhailov, would you be this angry? Or would you just be mildly annoyed that none of you got the job?”
Silence.
I picked up my laptop and turned for the door then stopped and looked back.
“If any of you believe I don’t deserve this role, then outwork me. Outperform me. Outthink me. But don’t confuse absence with incompetence. I’m damn good at my job.”
My gaze shifted to Deb.
“When I get back, I’m booking a meeting with you, Deb. Thank you for speaking up.”
She nodded, nibbling her bottom lip.
“As for the rest of you, in case the name on the door didn’t make it clear, I am in charge. If you don’t like it, quit. I’ll have you replaced before your chair has time to cool. But don’t ever speak about this company or me like that again while you work inside these walls.”
I walked out without waiting for a response.
The hallway swallowed me whole as I marched for the elevator. My heart raced, but my hands were steady.
Strength was easy. I had been groomed for moments like that. It came naturally, sharp as a knife with a clean, decisive cut.
Respect was harder.
Respect had to be earned every single day from people who already believed I didn’t belong.
I rolled my shoulders as I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.
They could hate me.
They could resent me.
But they would never talk about me like that again.
That was for damn sure.