Chapter 54
Chapter Fifty-Four
Harmon
I’ve never been nervous in a meeting in all my life. Not a single time. Not even my first one. I knew nerves were for the weak, and I was even worse about that then than I am now.
But today… Today is a big day. Huge. And my nerves are a wreck.
Across from me is Gerard, my lawyer, and Whitney, head of HR.
We’re awaiting Oliver’s arrival. He has no idea I’m in here, and I hope being blindsided is going to stress him out.
It’s the least of what he deserves. Security is on standby, but we don’t want them in sight yet so it doesn’t cause Oliver to lash out.
He knocks on the door, stepping into the room.
“Morning, I—”
His cheeriness dies the moment he lays eyes on me, but Whitney is already up and shutting the door. Taking control.
It’s a good thing I have two solid people at my back today. I couldn’t do this otherwise.
“Thank you so much for meeting with us today, Mr. Belford. We have a few important things to discuss,” she says, giving him a tight smile.
“Mr. Belford, I have to let you know that this meeting is being recorded. You don’t have to respond but you are expected to listen,” Gerard explains.
“As an employee, you have a fiduciary obligation to act in the best interest of Stone Timeworks.” He slides a document across the table, toward Oliver.
He hasn’t taken a seat yet, he’s just standing there, staring.
“We have evidence that proprietary design files and internal communications were shared with an external party without authorization.”
I watch Oliver carefully, trying to read him. Will he explode at any moment or take it all in? I already know the team found and spoke with Oliver’s partner in this mess. He’s already being dealt with.
“Perhaps you should take a seat, Mr. Belford,” Whitney says. He blinks a few times, glancing at her. She gestures to the seat, and he drops into it like a rebellious child.
Gerard continues. “You accessed and transmitted company information using non-secure personal devices.” He slides him another document. “Including information sent outside approved channels.”
Gerard folds his hands together, staring at Oliver expressionless. Oliver is looking at the papers as if they will have the answers for how to get out of this. The joke is on him; there is no way to get out of this.
“We are also aware that you leveraged confidential information obtained through your role here as personal assistant to Harmon Stone in an attempt to influence company leadership.” He pauses, then adds, “Including threats of reputational harm.”
Whitney speaks next. She adds, “Your conduct toward an employee constitutes a violation of workplace ethics and our harassment policy.”
Now it’s my turn. And words have never felt so good.
“Your employment at Stone Timeworks is terminated effective immediately, Mr. Belford.”
Gerard slides over the final packet of papers.
“This includes notice of termination for cause, enforcement of your nondisclosure agreement, and a cease-and-desist.” He clears his throat, then adds the final blow. “We are referring this matter for further investigation.”
The room is quiet. We can all see the gears turning in Oliver’s head. There is sweat dripping down his temples. Before the meeting, we discussed possibilities here. Including violence, which is why security is right around the corner.
Oliver looks up, anger in his eyes, directed right at me.
“You want this public?” he grounds out.
Before I can answer, Gerard jumps in. “Any attempt to disclose confidential or misleading information will be considered retaliatory and will expose you to immediate legal action.” Gerard smirks. “You no longer control the narrative here, Mr. Belford.”
Right on cue, the doors open and in walk the security guards. They’re big guys dressed in slacks and polos. The most basic but professional uniform possible.
“We’re here to escort you out, Mr. Belford.”
He stares at the papers, looks at us, then at security. His jaw drops, flopping up and down like he wants to respond, but can’t. He knows he’s screwed. He knows he messed up. It’s all hitting him and I won’t lie… it’s satisfying to see.
“This—no, this is… this is crazy!” he says, getting to his feet. Security moves in before things get out of control..
“Come on, sir. Let’s go.”
“No!” he shouts, jerking back and tipping over the chair. “Do you know who he is? Do you know what he does?” he shouts, pointing at me.
Security grabs him, and he tries to fight them off. He kicks and screams and tries to punch. I get to my feet, straightening my tie and walking toward him. He stops the moment I’m a few feet from him.
“You mistook my silence for weakness, Oliver.” I pause, then add.
“You were very wrong.” I jerk my head toward the door and security uses his shock to their advantage and drags him out of the office.
Heads pop out of doors, looking both ways, surprised by the ruckus, but when they see me, they go back into their offices, knowing they’ll hear all about the drama soon enough.
And if they’re smart, they won’t spread it any further than this hallway.
I stand in the doorway of the conference room, begging my heart to calm down. Gerard comes up beside me, standing tall and confident.
“You know this will become public,” he says.
“We will handle it.”
He puts his hand on my shoulder, coming into my view. “You could have told me sooner. I would have made sure this didn’t happen.” I raise a brow. “You’d be surprised how many gay men in power get blackmailed by little twats like him. Happens more than you think.”
I huff a humorless laugh. Gerard was aware of me going to the club now and then, but I never got into more detail than that. I was too scared.
“Hindsight,” is all I say.
He pats my shoulder, then turns down the hall. Oliver’s shouting is long gone.
“Onto the next one,” he mumbles, and I turn and follow him.
The board of directors for Stone Timeworks are a group of wonderful people who have always had my back.
People I could imagine being friends with if I lived that sort of social life.
They always have good input and fair opinions.
They’re good people. But this meeting is still intimidating, because I did something wrong.
I messed up and now I have to admit it and apologize.
When I enter the room, everyone else is already in here. The members, the lawyer, and HR.
“I want to thank you all for showing up today,” I begin, standing at the head of the table but not sitting.
I can’t. I’m too antsy. “This will be a quick meeting, but it’s extremely important to me.
” I look around the room and have approval from everyone staring back at me.
“I need to disclose a personal relationship that intersected with my professional responsibilities. It was consensual, disclosed internally, and governed by legal agreements. Out of abundance of caution, I’m placing it on record. ”
There. It’s said. The hard part is done.
Whitney adds, “The relationship was reviewed under company policy. Safeguards were implemented, including recusal from oversight and contractual protections. There is no evidence of misconduct of abuse of authority. The employee was never a direct employee of Mr. Stone.”
No one says anything; they listen and think it over.
“I take responsibility for ensuring it does not compromise the company,” I add.
“Are we exposed legally?” Byron, one of the longest standing members, asks.
He’s an older man, early seventies, if I had to guess. Thick white hair and mustache.
“No. Appropriate safeguards were in place,” I say.
“There are no legal issues that will affect the company,” Gerard adds.
“Has the employee raised any concerns?” Sheila asks.
“The employee was never the problem here,” Whitney says. “The relationship was consensual, as Mr. Stone stated. There were outside factors that heightened the issue.”
No one else says anything, so I add, “I know this is a lot—”
“It’s just unlike you, is all,” Derek adds.
“I understand, and it’s why I wanted to be transparent.
I want to be as honest as can be, which is why I am going to say that I have a horrible headache, and I am beyond stressed with this entire situation.
I would appreciate it if we could discuss any matters pertaining to this next week at our regular meeting.
I can assure you I will also be more prepared then, as today is my first day back in the office. ”
They look around, some sharing shrugs. No one looks like they hate the idea of it.
“There’s no problem with that,” Harold says.
“If anything comes up, you can reach out,” I say.
“To any of us,” Whitney adds. “We are all available to deal with this situation in the best possible way. We are not hiding anything and will be fully transparent, but it has been a long and stressful day for all of us.”
Everyone around the table looks satisfied. It’s the best possible outcome for the day. And now I can finally breathe.