Chapter Eleven
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It wasn’t the best night of her life, but it was way up there. Top five, at least. They shut down the club. On the ride home, reunited with Ivy and Victor, they rolled down the windows, blasted the car radio, and made up lyrics to songs they didn’t know. But it was the quiet moments with Quinn that stood out in Kya’s mind, every conversation, every look, every touch. The next day, to keep from reliving the experience obsessively, Kya kept busy. She took Lucky out on long walks, washed dishes, did laundry, all the while nursing a migraine. Finally, after dinner, she collapsed into her favourite chair in her bedroom for a check with the Girl Decoded community. She was met with a flurry of LinkedIn notifications. What could’ve happened since she’d checked in last? What had she missed?
A few clicks later, she had an answer: an accusation of fraud levied against her on TikTok. Obviously, a case of mistaken identity! She wasn’t the only Kya Reid on the planet. She tapped the link to the video, ready for a good laugh.
Girlfriend was let go last week! FIRED!
TikTok user @LexyT blurted the words while touching up her make-up.
Kya had been fired from Ex-Cell and kept right on posting as if nothing had happened. That was the crux of the accusation. Her behaviour was sketchy, at best. To call her a fraud was outrageous! Judging from the comments on her latest post, her community was eating it up.
Kya shrivelled inside. She hadn’t meant to mislead anyone. Honestly, she hadn’t given it much thought. The plan was to get a new job (a bigger, better job to rub in Alek’s face) and make a grand announcement. Until then, the plan was to gloss it over, cover it up, pretend it never happened. So, yes, maybe, under those limited circumstances, she was a fraud.
Oh, Jesus.
Then, without warning, her mood flipped to rage. What was she supposed to do, post her termination email online the second she got it? Who was this Lexy T person to question her? No, really, who exactly was Lexy T? News travelled fast in her world, but this woman’s story was too contrived to be true. When had she joined her group, anyway? Kya had an engaged community and could usually spot her followers by their handles or thumbnail photos.
She didn’t have to do too much work to find out. She logged into her account, combed through her followers. Among the newest followers were Quinn, who’d joined as a joke, and Lexy Tanner. Kya had likely admitted her to the group in one of those intense moments while she waited to learn why she’d been locked out of her account. It was as if she’d joined simply to confirm the thing she already knew. But how had she found out? No one in their right mind would drop Kya’s name to impress a hot guy – a hot girl, maybe – a guy, never.
Who was she, then? On LinkedIn, Lexy Tanner was a life coach in the Bay Area. On TikTok, @LexyT dispensed life advice and sold a four-part course on how to ‘glow up and get the life you deserve’. On Instagram @LexxxxyT posted casual photos with friends at bars, at brunch, at karaoke, and one of her dear friends, a core member of her ‘gang’, was none other than quiet, unassuming, salt-of-the-earth John Riley. There he was in each photo, pink-faced – he could never handle his liquor – his toothy grin toothier than ever. John was indiscreet, a quality that she’d appreciated as he would keep their little group informed of all the office gossip. John had told Lexy the news. Or, more realistically, John had put her on blast on his group chat the instant he’d learned of her termination.
None of this made her feel any better.
Kya folded over, her head between her knees. And that’s how her big brother found her, a moment later, when he popped his head through the doorway to ask if she was up for gelato for dessert.
‘What’s wrong? What happened?’ Adrian cried. (This was becoming a habit.)
Kya handed him the phone with all the incriminating evidence. He thumbed through it, watched Lexy T’s video, and combed through the comments section. Adrian was the type to sweat the small stuff, and she could not have loved him more for it.
Hugo came around for a follow-up. ‘Gelato, yes or no? It’s melting.’
‘I’d love some.’ Kya tried to sound upbeat, only her face was streaked with tears, and she failed miserably.
‘Sweetheart, it’s just dessert,’ Hugo said, confused.
‘Kya was called out for not telling her LinkedIn group that she got fired,’ Adrian explained quietly.
‘Called out by who?’
‘A life coach in the Bay Area.’
‘Sounds like they need to get a life,’ Hugo said. ‘Did they expect you to hold a press conference?’
‘I scheduled out a few posts,’ Kya said. ‘So, on the surface, it looks like I’m still working and everything is fine.’
Hugo shook his head. ‘You do too much, Kya.’
‘I know!’ she wailed. ‘But now I don’t know what to do.’
‘Block the haters,’ Hugo said. ‘What else?’
Kya was considering the deceptively simple plan when Adrian spoke up. ‘Address it head-on with a short video response,’ he said. ‘Confirm that your employment was terminated while you were away on a trip, and you planned to inform the community as soon as you got back.’
‘I didn’t, though,’ Kya said. ‘I never planned on telling them.’
‘Yes, you did,’ Hugo said, sharply.
Adrian sat at the corner of the bed. ‘Kya, you’re reeling now, but eventually you would have done the right thing. Don’t beat yourself up. Besides, you’re not the only person in this situation. People will relate.’
‘And if they don’t?’ Kya asked.
‘If they don’t, you can tell them where to go,’ Hugo said.
Kya looked from one to the other. They were both right.
Adrian recommended she post her response on TikTok. ‘Hit them where they hit you. Show them that you’re unafraid.’
‘I’m not on TikTok,’ Kya said.
‘Are you serious?’ Hugo asked, astounded. ‘Not even for the guy who chops wood?’
‘I’m not into guys,’ Kya reminded them. There was no lumberjack exception.
‘I’m on the app,’ Adrian said. ‘It’s not all dance challenges and men chopping wood. My followers have questions about cosmetic surgery. I share the pros and cons.’
Hugo pulled up Adrian’s profile on his phone. He had, to date, one million followers worldwide.
‘Are you kidding me with this?’ she cried. Adrian, a social media star? Kya was truly reeling now.
‘You need to branch out,’ Hugo advised.
‘There’ll be time enough for that,’ Adrian said. ‘Let’s get to work on that response. I don’t want this to fester overnight.’
‘Okay.’ Kya wiped her face with the back of her hand. ‘Give me a chance to find my tripod.’
‘I’ve got a studio set up in my office. Let’s head over.’
Kya rolled her eyes. Of course he had.
‘First, you need concealer,’ Hugo added. ‘Go take care of that. I’ll put away the gelato for later.’
It took three takes before Kya came up with something halfway decent, which she scrapped. It was tough keeping her voice controlled, her emotions in check. Finally, she quit trying and just went for it. The result was raw but effective.
Audio Transcript: Response to Fraud Accusation
Hi guys. It’s Kya, creator of Girl Decoded, a LinkedIn group dedicated to encourage young women to find success in tech. If you’ve followed me awhile, you’ll know how hard I worked to get my foot in the door of one of the leading companies and how much pride I took in my job. Unfortunately, last Thursday I was let go.
Someone took the time to post a video on this app, calling me a fraud, because a few scheduled posts rolled out before I had a chance to process the news. This is to set the record straight.
I’m not a fraud – or a liar. I’m deeply embarrassed, that’s all.
I dedicated years to a company that thought nothing of firing me the minute I stepped away from my desk.
Want the truth about a day in the life of a girl in big tech? It’s gruelling, all-consuming. It’s long hours, sometimes breakfast, lunch, and dinner at your desk. Weekends lost to deadlines. Projects scrapped with no explanation. Sparking with co-workers on ideas that never make it out of the email inbox. It’s commuting home and already dreading the next day. But the next day could be the best yet. A new discovery, a smart collaboration, or a change in direction could be just the thing to get you over the slump. Working at Ex-Cell was exhilarating and maddening. Romanticizing my time there was one way to deal with the stress.
This was a terrible blow for me. I raged and cried. I had an epic pity party. Now it’s time for me to get some perspective. A job isn’t everything, and I need to figure out who I am without one.
I still don’t know what the future holds. When I do, I’ll check back in.
Bye for now.