Page 15 of Basil

Could this day get any worse?Magic words to think because it could and it did.

“Why do you think that?” I asked softly.

She exhaled heavily and then chewed on her lower lip. “Felix I get. He was head of HR at his previous company, so when you brought him here, it was someone capable. Kunal worked his way to this job. He’s been with you from the start and his reputation is good, and he doesn’t hang out with you socially.”

I waited for her to get to Drew.

“Drew”—she cleared her throat again, anxiously—“is not seen as competent.”

“What? You know she graduated top of the class?”

“That is academics. In the workplace, she has issues.”

“Come on, Jessie, that’s taking it?—”

“You asked, I answered,” she cut me off. “I’m only stating my opinion and what the water cooler conversations are. I’m not making any judgment statements.”

I was being unfair, and she called me on it. This was why I liked her so much. “My apologies. Go on.”

“Are you sure?”

I raised a hand. “Yes. I’m sorry I got defensive.”

She nodded. “The engineering team has some of the lowest engagement scores in the company. And frankly, Drew isn’t seen as a strong leader. This promotion won’t look like it was earned—it’ll look like it happened because you’re in a relationship with her. I’m sorry, but that’s how people are going to see it.”

I froze, my mind scrambling to catch up. I put my hands on my desk as if to ground myself.

“We’re friends, Jessie,” I said hoarsely.

She shrugged. “Not according to Drew.”

I fixed her with a look of pure disbelief. “What the hell does that mean?” My voice had risen an octave.

Jessie didn’t back down, which increased my respect for her by leaps and bounds. “She’s been telling peopletodayabout her promotionandhow you and she are getting together since you dumped your girlfriend. Look, Basil, this is a workplace and this professional and personal relationship mingling means that the gossip is sometimes off the charts.”

I was blown away.

Drew was my friend.My friend. I trusted her.

“I’m sorry, Basil, I know you’re close.” Jessie’s tone was measured. “But this reflects poorly on you and the entire leadership team. Drew’s team has a high turnover rate, her software releases are consistently delayed, and she’s struggling in her current role—she won’t be able to handle the COO job either, though that’s just my personal opinion.” She tilted her head, her tone thoughtful. “On top of that, she’s not well-liked—except by the small clique of friendsshehired. And again, those areher people. Not the company’s best.”

I founded Stratos five years ago while I was still in university. In two years, we got three massive contracts that put us on the map. The aeronautics market was a small one, and we were the preferred vendor for most of the big companies. We were looking at going public in the next few years. I had hired good people with experience. Our COO came from Boeing, our previous CHRO from Amazon. My goal was to not havefounder syndrome,and I promised myself that if I couldn’t handle the job of CEO, I’d hire someone to run the company and sit on the board instead of fucking Stratos up.

I thought I was doing well because the company was making a lot of money—getting a lot of attention in the market. Had it gone to my head?

A broken inhale slipped past my lips. “So, the perception is that Drew is moving up because of me.”

“Yes.”

I exhaled, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “I have a girlfriend.”

Yes, I did.

I wasn’t going to let Summer go.Fuck no!I’d go on my knees and beg her to forgive me. I wasn’t going to lose the one person who made me feel at peace, who didn’t make me feel like I had to run harder, faster, more—the woman who I knew would love and care for me even if Stratos failed.

I’d made a colossal mistake out of sheer arrogance—thinking I was right and Summer was wrong. Hell, I’d been waiting for her to apologize to me for walking out on the party. Talk about being a clueless dumbass!

“The rumor is that something happened at a party between you andDrew, and that’s why you broke up with Summer.”

---