Page 30 of Forty, Flirty & Fired

"The feedback also shows a clear pattern of gender bias in meetings." I force myself to focus on the data, not on how Alex's jaw clenches at this information. "Women's ideas being attributed to male colleagues, women being interrupted or talked over, women having to repeat suggestions multiple times before they're heard..."

"This is hardly unique to Drake Enterprises," Gerald dismisses.

"True." I smile sweetly. "But most companies don't have recordings of it happening."

That gets everyone's attention.

"Several employees submitted audio clips from virtual meetings," I explain, enjoying the way Gerald's face pales. "Would you like to hear the greatest hits compilation? I particularly enjoy the one where Sarah from Engineering has to repeat her solution four times before Brad realizes it's brilliant and presents it as his own."

"That won't be necessary," Alex says quickly. "I think we get the point."

"Do we?" I turn to face him fully. "Because this isn't just about hurt feelings or political correctness. This is about efficiency, productivity, and talent retention. Every time a good idea gets ignored because of the speaker's gender, every time a manager creates an artificial bottleneck, every time someone has to waste energy navigating toxic workplace dynamics – that costs you money."

The room falls silent except for the soft sound of Barbara typing furiously on her tablet.

"What do you recommend?" Alex asks, and something in his voice makes me look at him sharply. He's watching me with an intensity that should be illegal in professional settings.

"Full transparency overhaul." I pull up my proposal. "Flat information structure. Open documentation. Clear attribution protocols for ideas and contributions. And..." I take a deep breath, "a complete audit of meeting dynamics, focusing on gender-based interruptions and idea attribution."

"Absolutely not," Gerald sputters. "The liability alone?—"

"Is nothing compared to the liability of maintaining discriminatory practices," Alex finishes. "Do it."

"Alex," Barbara warns, "the shareholders?—"

"Will be thrilled when our productivity metrics improve." He stands, buttoning his jacket. "Ms. Gallo, my office. We need to discuss implementation details."

I follow him out, very aware of Gerald's glare burning holes in my back.

In his office, Alex closes the door and immediately loosens his tie. "That went well."

"Did it? Because I think Gerald's plotting my murder."

"Gerald plots everyone's murder. It's his hobby." He drops into his chair. "The audio clips?"

"Exist." I perch on the edge of his desk because all the visitor chairs are covered in reports. "And they're damning."

"Like the salary data?"

"Worse." I meet his gaze. "These aren't just numbers, Alex. These are real people being systematically undermined."

He doesn't comment on my use of his first name. Instead, he stands, moving to the window. "You really think a complete overhaul is necessary?"

"I think..." I choose my words carefully, "that half measures won't fix this. Real change requires real commitment."

"Like having dinner with your nemesis to discuss strategy?"

My heart definitely doesn't skip at the memory of Alex Drake’s hand wrapped around mine as he helped me into the car outside of the restaurant. "That was a business dinner."

"Was it?" He turns, and suddenly the office feels very small. "Because I remember also letting ourselves get a little personal, too. It wasn’t just all shop-talk.”

“That was research." I grip the edge of his desk. "Know your enemy, remember?"

"Is that what I am?" He echoes my words from days ago. "Your enemy?"

"You tell me." I stand, needing to move. "One minute you're backing my proposals, the next you're questioning my methods. One day you're firing me, the next you're hiring me back. One night you're having dinner with me?—"

"And the next I'm wondering why the anonymous bloggerstarted posting about Drake Enterprises' toxic culture right around the time you started changing it."

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