Page 23 of Basil

“You should give her a raise,” he suggested. “I’m most disappointed in Felix. I know the man, think he’s a friend, and he gotthatdrunk at a company meeting? It’s unacceptable. He’s the CHRO. Allowing this kind of behavior to persist—participating in it—is offensive. He’s supposed to enforce standards, not degrade people. And the way Drew”—he frowned, giving a slight shake of his head—“spoke about Summer, about your relationship—it’s wildly inappropriate, especially given that we’re promoting her. I’ll tell you this now, this undermines her credibilityand yoursif you go through with the promotion.”

Nothing he said surprised me. I’d thought all this through.

“What are my options?” I asked.

Greer gave me a measured look. “Legally, they need to get a warning, for starters. If they misbehave again, you documenteverything,and then we can fire them with minimal risk. On the other hand, these are senior executives, so we expect a higher standard of behavior.”

“How much damage have I done blurring the lines between friendship and professionalism?”

He shrugged. “That’s a tricky spot, isn’t it? But people become friends with their colleagues; it happens everywhere. But, yeah, that’ll cost you in dollars.” He held my gaze. “If you want a clean break, you’ll have to buy them out.”

I clenched my teeth, like hell, I wanted to give them money. “And if I don’t?”

“They stay. They continue to behave like assholes and poison the company. And that?” He gestured to the laptop. “Makes you complicit in their past and future bad acts.”

Terms like crossroads and wake-up calls are clichés for a reason. Everyone experiences them. So, here I was at a crossroads, my wake-up call still spinning my head.

Greer’s voice softened. “Look, Basil. You built this company. It’s a damn good one, or I wouldn’t work here. But it’s time for you to decide what kind of leader you want to be.”

I already knew, but I asked him the same question because I valued his opinion: “What are my choices?”

“You be the CEO of the company and lead us all. Or you stayfriendswith people like Felix and Drew, who, in my opinion, if they don’t apologize and promise to change behavior after they see the video are not worthy.”

I nodded. “I appreciate your candor, Greer.” I pushed the laptop aside and met his gaze. “So, here is my plan, let me know what I can or can’t do legally.Andlet’s draft exit packages.”

“I’ll make sure it’s airtight. So, what’s your plan?”

I told him, and he helped me navigate it legally so I didn’t fuck up any more than I already had.

11

CLEANING OUT MY CLOSET

BASIL

Iclosed my office door behind me. I’d told my assistant that we shouldn’t be disturbed. This was Felix and my regular one-on-one so he wasn’t thinking anything of it.

“I have several agenda items that?—”

I cut him off. “I need you to see something before we get into it.” I didn’t waste time. I opened my laptop, pressed play, and turned the screen toward him.

The room filled with the sound of his voice—loud, slurred, arrogant. Felix flinched as the video played, every single word, like nails scraping across metal. I played all the videos, one by one, and by the time they were over, he was pale.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, rubbing his face with both hands.

I waited for him to get a hold of himself. I met Felix for the first time at Data Structuring 101, eight and a half years ago. We were friends almost instantly. A year ago, I hired him because I knew him, trusted him, believed in him.

After a long silence, he released a weary sigh. “I was drinking too much. I behaved like an asshole—no, worse than that, I was a complete piece of shit.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I can’t even believe I said that. I—” He met my gaze, shame in his eyes. “Basil, I—fuck, man, I’m so sorry. That was wrong.Completely.”

“Why?” I asked simply.

He let out a scoff. “Why go after Summer?”

“Yeah. She’s nice. She’s good. What did she do to you?”

He shrugged. “Nothing. She didnothing. You’re right, she was always nice and polite. She…even in the video, you saw how she handled me? With grace. Everyone in the group thought she wasn't right for you and…I just went with it.”

“I was happy with her, could you not see that?”

---