Chapter 33
Gunnar
This meeting was a farce, one I didn’t have time for.
It seemed obvious that Jay had ambushed Zaila.
According to Paloma and Vivian, Jay been at lunch multiple times with our former social media director, Lydia Flores.
Still, I couldn’t walk out of this meeting—not until I fully understood the board’s issue with Zaila and the media backlash with Jeff.
Protecting Zaila was my priority, even above the franchise.
That realization gave me a moment’s pause, but then I decided I’d finally found my happiness, and I would not let anyone destroy it.
Dammit. I’d just signed off on the press release about Zaila and me, and instead of celebrating that happy news with lunch in my office, I was neck-deep in this shitshow because I’d been overly confident in thinking I’d handled Jay.
Clearly I had not.
As if I’d conjured him, Jay stepped into the boardroom, fidgety and sweaty, with seemingly the entire third floor behind him.
Tim led the group, his cheeks flushed. “Mr. Evaldson, Jay needs to speak to the board for a moment, please,” Tim said.
Even his clipped voice showed an anger I wouldn’t have believed possible from the mild-mannered graphics director.
“We’re in the middle of a meeting,” snapped Don Rosenfeld, the president of a large regional bank and my oldest director.
“Which is why you need to hear this directly from the acting social media director,” Tim said firmly. “It will be enlightening and should speed up the review process.”
I would never have expected Tim, of all people, to interrupt a board meeting, but clearly, whatever Jay had done made it necessary in his mind.
I studied Jay, wondering why I hadn’t fired him.
Well, I couldn’t do all that work myself, and at first I’d needed to maintain distance from Zaila—and now I wanted time with her.
Both those reasons had now come back to bite my ass.
“You really should hear what he has to say,” Tim said, wiping his upper lip. “Especially since it has to do with the board’s desire to censure Ms. Monroe for activities she never took part in.”
With that, the board erupted.
“What?”
“How do you know that?”
“Why is everyone so captivated by this young lady?”
The questions flew around the room, fast and furious, but I kept my gaze firmly on Tim, and he met my eyes when he spoke again.
“Some individuals inspire loyalty because of their actions. The team has made it clear that they will not let this go because Zaila is one of those people. I didn’t just miss her this past week… ”
I gritted my teeth, jealousy rearing its ugly head.
“…I found the quality of what we produce to be lacking while she was out on bereavement leave. Notably, that’s the timeframe of the posts in question, while her laptop was on her desk.” As Tim laid out the details, Jay flinched, his expression pinched.
“I’ve noted that our social engagement is down by half, outside of Jeff’s posts,” Silas Whittaker noted.
“That’s because Zaila is the best at navigating our accounts,” Tim explained. “And while she created most of the content that ended up on Jeff’s pages—”
“So she was a cheat?” Don asked.
I wanted to punch him, but I remained in my chair…barely.
“Jay, why don’t you explain exactly what happened last week while Zaila was on bereavement leave?” Tim said, nodding for the other man to step forward.
Jay shot Tim a poisonous look before he met my gaze.
“I was the acting media lead, and I overrode HR so I could access Zaila Monroe’s login information.
I posted to Jeff’s account, making it look like Zaila was favoring him.
I adapted Zaila’s pre-written content and hashtags and set up a schedule like she usually does for posting.
That was wrong of me, and I take full responsibility for the breach.
Ms. Monroe has acted with integrity throughout her time here.
She led the charge in correcting our team culture and protecting our brand. We should thank her, not question her.”
I leaned forward. “Lydia Flores, the former social media manager, was involved in this scheme?”
Jay swallowed. “Y-yes. It was her idea.”
“Because?” Tim prompted.
Jay sighed. “She was jealous of Ms. Monroe’s relationship with Mr. Evaldson. She was also seeking retribution for what she saw as Zaila getting her fired. And, well, Jeff is a distant relative, so she was angry about his treatment by the team as well.”
“You’re telling me that all this hassle—all these distractions—were because of petty jealousy?” Silas asked.
Jay gave a stiff nod.
Silas ran his hands down his face. “Christ. I just… That’s awful. And you let Zaila be the scapegoat.”
Jay gave another nod.
“That’s slimy,” Don muttered. “You’re done here. I refuse to allow the destruction of someone’s reputation because you were butthurt.”
We all blinked at Don, who was close to eighty, for a long moment. He shrugged. “My grandkids taught me the slang. Seemed appropriate.”
“Very,” Tim muttered.
“Well, I think this meeting has been sorted,” I said, rising from the table, buttoning my suit jacket. “Which is why I’m going to have my HR department work diligently through the staff to ensure such an issue doesn’t resurface.”
“You definitely need to get the staff’s act together, unless you want it impacting the team’s performance,” Silas warned. “We have enough trouble there already.”
I met each set of eyes around the table before I met Tim’s, then Jay’s. “You have my word that I’ll handle everyone’s issues with speed and efficiency. Jay, as Mr. Rosenfeld noted, your services are no longer required.”
Jay swallowed as a strangled sound issued from his throat.
“We haven’t decided if we’re censoring you yet,” Don informed me.
“Considering that has to be unanimous, and I’m voting no, it’s already decided,” Silas said.
I nodded his way in thanks. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” I announced. “I have some details to iron out with the team.”
“The Jeff issue is long overdue,” Silas added.
“That’s my first order. Tim, tell Zaila I’ll be down to talk to her as soon as I can.”
“Security led her out of the building ten minutes ago,” Tim said.
“What?” I scrambled toward the door.
“Jay insisted she be removed,” he explained.
I ground my teeth, frustration pumping through my veins. Now that Jay Welks was no longer employed, I had to get rid of Jeff Cross and his cancer on the team, but all I really wanted was to find Zaila.
Soon. As soon as I managed this clusterfuck, I’d find my way to her arms.