I arrived at the agency twenty-five minutes later.
I told myself I would be in and out.
My daughters' photographs.
My notebook.
The mug.
Nothing else.
I didn't want to see Gavin.
I didn't want to hear another speech about responsibility.
And I certainly didn't want to ask anyone for another chance.
But when I walked through reception, everyone looked up.
People who had ignored me earlier were suddenly interested in where I was going.
Nina stood from her desk.
"She's inside."
I nodded.
Then I looked through the glass wall.
The woman from Route 18 was standing beside the conference table.
She looked completely different.
Her silver hair had been brushed.
She wore a dark jacket.
And she was standing upright, speaking quietly with two men in suits.
I recognized one of them.
He was a senior representative from Halston Capital.
The other was carrying a leather folder.
Gavin stood across from them.
He looked pale.
The woman turned toward the door.
Then she saw me.
Her face changed.
She smiled.
And she walked straight toward me.
"Christopher?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
She reached for my hands.
"I'm so glad you came back."
I didn't know what to say.
"How are you feeling?"
"Much better."
"Good."
She looked at me carefully.
Then she said, "You saved my life."
I shook my head.
"I just stopped."
She smiled.
"Exactly."
I glanced toward the conference room.
"What's going on?"
She followed my gaze.
Then she looked back at me.
"My name is Eleanor Halston."
For a moment, I didn't understand.
Then I recognized the name.
Eleanor Halston.
The woman who had built one of the largest investment organizations in the country.
The woman whose photograph appeared in business magazines.
The woman who had spoken at universities about leadership and responsibility.
I looked at her again.
"I didn't recognize you."
She laughed softly.
"That was probably a good thing."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because you helped me before you knew who I was."
I didn't know how to respond.
I had stopped because someone needed help.
That was all.
Eleanor seemed to understand.
Then she turned toward Gavin.
"Now, would you explain something to me?"
Gavin straightened.
"Of course."
She pointed toward the cardboard box Nina had placed beside my desk.
"Why is Christopher carrying his belongings?"
Gavin cleared his throat.
"Mrs. Halston, there was a misunderstanding this morning."
Eleanor looked at him.
"What misunderstanding?"
"Christopher missed an important presentation."
"Because he was helping me."
"Yes, but—"
"But what?"
Gavin looked uncomfortable.
"We lost the account."
Eleanor waited.
Then she asked, "And?"
Gavin hesitated.
"I terminated his employment."
The room went quiet.
Eleanor stared at him.
"You fired him."
"It was a management decision."
"For stopping when I collapsed."
Gavin tried to explain.
He talked about deadlines.
Clients.
Business obligations.
The importance of being dependable.
Eleanor listened without interrupting.
Then she asked him a question.
"If your mother had collapsed beside a road, would you want someone to stop?"
Gavin opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Eleanor continued.
"What if it were your wife?"
He looked down.
"And if it were your daughter?"
Gavin said nothing.
Eleanor turned toward the two men standing beside her.
One of them opened the leather folder.
Then she said something that changed the entire conversation.
"Halston Capital has been considering an acquisition of Mercer & Field."
I stared at Gavin.
He had never mentioned it.
Not once.
Eleanor continued.
"The preliminary valuation was eighteen million dollars."
The number seemed impossible.
Eighteen million.
For the company where I had spent four years working late nights and weekends.
Gavin stepped forward.
"Mrs. Halston, that process is confidential."
"It was."
The past tense caught everyone's attention.
Eleanor looked at the man holding the folder.
He closed it.
Then she said, "We are ending negotiations."
Gavin went completely still.
"What?"
"Halston Capital will not proceed with the acquisition."
He stared at her.
"You're making this decision because of Christopher?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"No."
She paused.
"I'm making it because of you."
Gavin looked confused.
She explained that she had reviewed the agency's financial records.
She had examined employee retention.
She had looked at client satisfaction.
And she had discovered something she hadn't expected.
Christopher Bennett had been responsible for a significant portion of the company's success.
I stared at her.
I hadn't known that.
Neither, apparently, had Gavin.
Eleanor turned toward me.
"How long have you worked here?"
"Almost four years."
"And how many campaigns have you led?"
I gave her an estimate.
She nodded.
Then she asked Gavin how much revenue I had helped generate.
He didn't answer.
One of Eleanor's associates checked a tablet.
"Approximately thirty-one percent of retained client revenue over the previous three years."
I felt my face grow warm.
I hadn't known the number.
I had simply done my job.
Eleanor looked back at Gavin.
"Yet you fired him for stopping to help me."
Gavin tried to defend himself.
He said the situation had been emotional.
He said he had made a decision under pressure.
He said he was willing to reconsider.
Eleanor listened.
Then she said, "You don't get to call something a mistake just because it becomes expensive."
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Gavin.
For years, I had wanted him to recognize my work.
I had wanted him to say I was valuable.
I had wanted him to understand what I had sacrificed.
Now he was standing in front of me, trying to reverse a decision he had made less than two hours earlier.
And I realized I didn't want his approval anymore.
He turned toward me.
"Chris, we should talk privately."
I shook my head.
"No."
His expression changed.
"What?"
"I said no."
He stared at me.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Christopher, I can reverse the termination."
I looked at the box beside my desk.
The photographs.
The notebook.
The mug.
Everything I had brought into that office because I thought I belonged there.
I looked back at him.
"I don't want you to."
The silence was immediate.
Gavin seemed unable to understand.
"But you've worked here for four years."
"Yes."
"You can't just throw that away."
I picked up the box.
"I didn't."
He looked at me.
I continued.
"You did."
I returned to my desk.
Nina helped me gather the last of my things.
A few coworkers came over.
One apologized for staying silent when Gavin fired me.
Another said I deserved better.
I thanked them.
I didn't blame them.
They had been afraid.
I understood that.
But I also knew I couldn't spend the rest of my life waiting for people to become brave.
When I finished packing, Eleanor was still standing nearby.
She watched me carefully.
Then she asked, "Would you be willing to meet with me on Monday?"
I looked at her.
"About what?"
"Work."
I almost laughed.
"I'm in advertising."
She smiled.
"So?"
"You invest in companies."
"We also hire people."
I didn't know what to say.
She handed me a business card.
I looked at it.
Halston Capital.
Executive Office.
I had never held a card like that before.
"I don't know finance," I said.
Eleanor nodded.
"That's fine."
"I don't know how to run an investment company."
"That's also fine."
I looked at her.
"Then why do you want to meet with me?"
She answered without hesitation.
"Because you know how to make decisions when nobody is watching."
I stared at her.
She continued.
"That matters more than you think."
I put the card in my pocket.
Then I looked toward the conference room.
Gavin was standing alone.
For the first time since I had known him, he looked uncertain.
And I felt something I hadn't expected.
Not happiness.
Not revenge.
Relief.
I had spent four years trying to prove that I belonged in that office.
Now I was leaving it without needing anyone's permission.
I carried the box toward the elevator.
Eleanor walked beside me.
Before we reached the doors, one of her attorneys hurried toward us.
He looked worried.
"Mrs. Halston."
She turned.
"What is it?"
He glanced at Gavin.
Then at me.
"We have a problem."
Eleanor's expression changed.
"What kind?"
The attorney lowered his voice.
"Confidential acquisition documents were accessed last night."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"From where?"
He hesitated.
"From this office."
The elevator doors opened behind us.
Nobody moved.
Then he showed us the device identification from the internal computer.
I looked at the screen.
My name appeared.
CHRISTOPHER BENNETT.
I stared at it.
"That's impossible."
Gavin looked at me.
And for the first time that day, he seemed genuinely afraid.
Source: kaylestore.net
Click here to continue reading: PART 3: Someone Had Used My Name to Steal Confidential Documents, and the Boss Who Fired Me Suddenly Began Begging Me Not to Touch My Laptop
The Morning My Boss Decided a Stranger’s Life Was Worth Less Than a Business Deal, and I Finally Learned What My Loyalty Was Worth
Part 2 of 13
