Page 13 of Forty, Flirty & Fired

One day. I think about the file I'd studied before the Innovatech takeover, the one showing Ms. Gallo's retention statistics. The one the board had ignored.

"And the latest post from our friend @MizzByteMyAlgos?"

Emma's expression sours. "Gone viral. Again. Theirtakedown of tech company wellness initiatives is everywhere. The meditation cushion thing especially-"

"Alexander." Gerald Matthews appears in my doorway, jaw tight. "A word?"

Emma escapes, leaving me to deal with what promises to be the first of many board confrontations about my newest hire.

"The woman is a liability," Gerald starts.

"The woman has a name." I keep my voice level. "And she's already saved us millions in retention costs."

"She's unpredictable. Dangerous." He moves to the window, his reflection ghosting against the rain-streaked glass. "Just like your mother was dangerous to your father's company."

My hands clench.

Gerald knows exactly which buttons to push.

Dickhead was on my father's board too, watched our family company implode when my mother chose her new life over her responsibilities.

“I’m not aware that Ms. Gallo is anything like my mother, Ger.”

"No?" He turns. "A strong-willed woman with her own agenda, pushing for changes that could destabilize everything we've built? Sounds familiar to me."

"Let me be clear." I step into Gerald's space, using my height advantage. "My personal history isn't relevant to this discussion. What is relevant is that we're hemorrhaging talent, and Ms. Gallo is stopping the bleeding."

"For now." Gerald doesn't back down, but his throat bobs. "Until she decides to use everything she learns against us. Like that damned blogger is doing."

I circle my desk, letting him stew in the silence. Twenty years of building Drake Enterprises has taught me when to push and when to let anxiety do the work for me.

"The board meeting starts in ten minutes," I say, straighteningmy cuffs. "I assume you'd like to voice your concerns there?"

"This discussion isn't over, Alexander."

"It never is with you, Gerald."

He leaves, and I give myself thirty seconds to breathe. Just thirty. Because that's all the time a CEO can afford to waste on doubt.

My intercom buzzes. "Mr. Drake? Ms. Gallo is here with the preliminary interview data."

Perfect timing. I straighten my tie - a dark green silk that feels smooth beneath my fingertips. “Send her in."

She enters like she owns the place, which would be annoying if it weren't exactly what I hired her for. Her curly hair is in a tight bun today, the strands stretched tight. Her suit today is charcoal gray, and she's wearing heels that put her almost at shoulder height to me.

She looks…nice. So far, she always looks nice.

I remind myself that I didn’t rehire Mackenzie Gallo for her looks.

I straighten my tie.

But then again not hiring Ms. Gallo for her looks doesn’t mean I don’t notice them.

"The data you wanted." She sets a tablet on my desk. "Though I suspect you already know what it shows."

"Do I?"

"You didn't just happen to have my retention statistics memorized at the gala." She meets my gaze, challenge clear in her brown eyes. "You'd studied them. Before the takeover."

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