Cazmir #4
Me running things kept a lot of shit in check, but that didn’t stop the daggers from being thrown my way. The office had become noticeably colder since the truth came out.
Conversations got quieter when I walked up.
People exchanged looks when they thought I wasn’t paying attention.
Even Bree spent most of the day pretending she was busy while finding every excuse possible to walk past my office.
I ignored her the entire day, and judging by the increasing frustrated looks she kept shooting in my direction, it was driving her absolutely insane. Good.
The rest of the Wolfpack were still in their roles too, minus Ysis.
Lauren was still handling social media. Nia was still doing what Nia did.
Kayla was still raising hell whenever she felt like it.
They could all be mad at me if they wanted to.
Truthfully, it didn’t matter. As long as they came to work, did their jobs, and continued helping this company make money, I couldn’t care less how they felt about me personally.
Meanwhile, I was still trying to figure out how the hell I was going to explain to my father what Kade and Yayo now knew.
At this point, the game of telephone had to end.
Secrets had already done enough damage and grown men needed to start having grown men conversations before somebody else got hurt.
The problem was my father wasn’t exactly the type of man who enjoyed being cornered, and Kade definitely wasn’t the type of man willing to let shit go unanswered.
Which meant sooner or later those worlds were going to collide. The only question was whether I could get in front of it before they did.
I wrapped up the second important meeting of the day and headed back to my office.
Between the expansions, acquisitions, and new contracts we were bringing in, there never seemed to be enough hours in the day anymore.
Every time we opened one door, three more opportunities appeared behind it.
The growth had been incredible to witness firsthand and honestly, it made me understand why Kade had become so obsessed with building this company in the first place.
One of the ideas I had pushed heavily for was an internship program geared toward young scholars who were genuinely passionate about technology and aspired to build careers in the field.
Too often companies wanted experienced talent but refused to invest in creating it.
That never made sense to me. The goal wasn’t just to hire people.
The goal was to develop them. Give them real-world experience, expose them to industry leaders, and equip them with the tools, knowledge, and confidence they would need to thrive long after their time at Myles Tech came to an end.
The pilot program had generated thousands of applications from all over the country.
After months of reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and narrowing down candidates, we’d selected twenty interns from different cities and states to participate.
Each of them had been assigned to departments that aligned with their strengths, interests, and long-term goals.
Some were placed in software development, others in operations, marketing, compliance, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
The hope was that by immersing them in different areas of the company, we’d create future leaders rather than just future employees.
While every candidate brought something valuable to the table, one young man in particular continued standing out every time I reviewed the files. Kairox Veylor.
The second I opened his application, I knew he was different.
His major in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Systems combined with a minor in Business Administration immediately caught my attention.
Most applicants excelled in one area. Kairox excelled in several.
The deeper I dug into his background, the more impressed I became.
The kid had graduated at the top of his class, maintained an impressive portfolio of independent projects, and demonstrated a level of passion for technology that couldn’t be taught.
You either had it or you didn’t. Kairox had it, and every recommendation letter described him the same way:
Driven, focused, innovative, and relentless.
The type of person who didn’t wait for opportunities but created them.
What really stood out to me though was his vision.
During the interview process he spoke less about getting a job and more about building a career.
He wasn’t looking for somewhere to collect a paycheck.
He was looking for a place to grow roots and become part of something bigger than himself.
By the time our conversations ended, he’d made it clear that Myles Tech was where he wanted to be.
After discussing it with Kade and Marcus, we all came to the same conclusion.
The kid deserved a shot. I scheduled a private meeting with him and within a matter of days we decided to fly both him and his girlfriend, Aurielle, to Memphis ahead of his official start date.
We wanted him to see the company firsthand, meet leadership, tour the facilities, and get a feel for the culture before making a long-term commitment.
Relocating your entire life wasn’t a small decision, especially for young people just starting out.
Using the relocation stipend already built into the program, we arranged accommodations and transportation to make the transition as smooth as possible. If Kairox was willing to bet on us, then we were willing to invest in him.
I saw a lot of myself in the kid. He was hungry and ambitious, trying to prove he belonged in rooms people assumed he hadn’t earned. If everything went according to plan, Kairox Veylor wasn’t just walking into an internship. He was walking into the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Excuse me Mr. CFO...can we talk?” Bree knocked lightly against the open office door, breaking my train of thought.
“Not right now, Bree. If it’s not about work, I honestly don’t have time.
” I stood up and walked toward the filing cabinet to put away some important documents, deliberately giving her my back.
Truthfully, that was probably the smartest thing I could’ve done because the woman looked too damn good today.
Her dress hugged all the right places, her hair was laid, and she smelled so good I could catch it from across the room.
The problem was she knew exactly what she was doing.
“Then when?” she stepped further into my office. “You know you can’t ignore me forever, right? I fucked up. I get it. But at least try to understand what I was feeling.” I slid the file into the drawer before turning around.
“We have an intern flying in today and right now, that’s my focus. There’s a time for business and a time for personal, and trust me, we will deal with the personal.” That seemed to catch her attention. “In the meantime, let’s focus on the tasks at hand, shall we?”
I cocked my head slightly and gave her a look that made it very clear the conversation was over.
Or at least I thought it did. Bree thought she ran shit.
She thought because she was outspoken, honest, and willing to say whatever popped into her head that everybody else had to operate on her timeline too.
The woman wasn’t shit but loud and wrong half the time.
We weren’t discussing this on her terms. The ball wasn’t in her court anymore.
It was in mine. And right now I had too much shit going on to stop everything and help her clear her conscience.
“Alright, Cazmir. That’s the way you wanna handle this?” She folded her arms across her chest. “You wanna be on my shit list? So be it. Just remember you started it and I’m gone finish it.”
“Brenae.”
“Aht aht.” She held up a finger. “You drew your line, so stand on it baby. Don’t even worry about it. You good.” That sly little smirk spread across her face before she turned around slowly and walked out of my office.
Bree was a goddess in her own right and she damn well knew it.
I blew out a long breath and shook my head.
Women were a fucking trip. If she thought I was about to start kissing her ass because she decided to weaponize her attitude, she had another thing coming.
The crazy part was she probably believed she was winning too.
Nah. I was gone show her better than I could tell her.
The rest of the day passed by surprisingly smooth.
A few meetings ran over schedule, a couple department heads needed approvals, and Marcus called twice about some security updates, but otherwise things stayed relatively calm.
I checked in with Kai shortly after he landed to make sure everything was going good and that he and Aurielle had gotten settled into their accommodations without any issues.