Chapter 16 #2
"She presented a fairly detailed report," he continues, his brow creasing for a moment as if he's working out how to frame what happened today, "on your management and the functioning of the business development department.
She was very specific about the importance of working in harmony with the team and updating methodologies that haven't been used in years when it comes to bringing in new clients. "
Diane finally drops her gaze and picks up the papers from the desk.
She reads the first few paragraphs until the words start to blur.
She knows the feeling well—it's fury climbing up her throat at a speed that scares even her.
She's about to set the documents down when her eyes catch the phrases "rotation of the director" and "fresh ideas. "
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" she asks, calm, even as the acid eats through her from the inside.
"The short version is that she's proposed we move you to another department and bring in someone more current in your place," the partner says, shrugging as if he were talking about the weather.
"Frances is a consultant, and her job is to identify where we can improve—especially now that the Delacroix Group is watching our every move to make sure our merger doesn't have any loose ends. "
"You didn't understand my question, Samuel," Diane presses, shoulders tight. "What I want to know—"
"Right, yeah, you want to know how this affects you, don't you?
" He places both hands flat on the surface of his desk.
"That depends on what decision management makes, which is exactly why I called you.
We have the meeting in half an hour, but I'll tell you right now exactly what's going to happen. "
Diane's mind turns into a cave full of hundreds of voices echoing off the walls.
She hears her father's, trying to wear her down.
Her mother's, playing the part of the invisible woman.
Her sister's— no. They can't put her through the humiliation of simply throwing her out.
She has fought until she bled to make a name for herself.
She's followed every rule she memorized when she was old enough to understand that breaking them meant she wouldn't make it—and above all else, she's buried her personal life, because being a woman in a man's world is hard enough, and being a lesbian makes it considerably harder.
"The board will approve having you develop a pitch to bring in a very elusive client—one we've been chasing for a while now," both of them look at each other; they both know it's a small tech company founded two years ago that has turned into a monster.
"We'll apply the same framework to Frances.
We're not putting you on trial—we're evaluating your methodologies.
According to the consultant, there are newer approaches that outperform the old ones, so we want to see them in action. "
Diane isn't entirely sure she heard that right. A competition with Frances? It's absurd.
"Since I've been running this department, I've brought in more clients than at any other point in Whitestone's history," she says, lifting her chin, sure of her record. "Being measured in some competition feels pathetic. Whose idea was this?"
Samuel raises a hand and tilts his head.
"It's the proposal I'm taking into the meeting, and they're going to accept it," he checks the time on his watch.
"Let's be honest, Diane—we're both too old for this kind of nonsense.
I don't like you. You're arrogant and rude.
But you're also brilliant, and you're a woman who never quits.
I've spent a lot of years here, at the university, and some time in private banking.
I've never met anyone as efficient as you, and your results are damn near perfect. "
Diane stays quiet. There's nothing she can say to that.
"Some of your methods are questionable at times, but they work—and this is a consulting firm, not a charity. Whitestone wants to make money, and you deliver. It's that simple."
"I don't like you either, but here we are," she says, spreading her arms for a moment. "So if you all know my work delivers, why keep this circus going?"
The partner narrows his eyes and shakes his head. This woman is impossible.
"As I said, Delacroix wants to make sure we are what we promised to be, and as you well know, words don't carry much weight around here," Samuel adds, gesturing as he speaks.
"There are reports, revenue charts, new client numbers—you know the drill—and if Frances hands over a report saying you're too outdated to keep running our most important department… "
He leaves the last sentence hanging, and Diane finally understands the full picture.
It isn't just about the consultant reporting what she sees to management.
The merger itself could be damaged by whatever she chooses to put in her documents.
Frances came to Whitestone to do a routine job and found prey, a knife, and a way to make her bleed.
Samuel stands up and reaches for his jacket, which until now had been draped over the back of his chair. He puts it on slowly and buttons it up.
"Wait for an email with the details," he says, looking her directly in the eyes. "Give it everything you've got, and land that client."
Samuel walks to the door and leaves his office.
Diane stays in the chair for a few seconds, still, with a rigidity that makes her body ache, and when she finally manages to stand, she does so with the absolute certainty that she will close that deal no matter what it takes—even if it's the last thing she ever does.