Page 5 of Out of the Shadows
His gaze is steady and unwavering, and bright with challenge. It’s a good answer and if I were him, which I’m very glad I’m not, I’d have likely have made the same decision. But it’s still an omission, a doctored CV.
“So, you decided to just lose a few months? What else has been lost from your career history?” I wave a hand over the desk top, as though a physical copy of this CV lays between us. I don’t give him time to answer. “A CV which, at best, massages the truth. Can you give me one good reason why I would ever want to work with you again?”
His eyes remain steady, but his skin has drained of all colour.
“No, but then I can’t think whyIwould ever want to work withyou.”
Confident and brash. I’d liked that in him, when he worked for me, until his confidence had turned into cockiness and brash had become arrogant. Now, it’s my turn to take the time to answer and I really don’t know if, or how much, he’s sweating in the hot seat I’ve attempted to put him in.
“I agree. If I were you I’d be asking myself the same question and just like you I wouldn’t be coming up with a good answer. ButI’vean answer foryou, one which addresses my own question, which you have failed to do.” I lean forward a little more. “I’ve been brought in to steer this ship away from the very rocky coastline it’s heading towards. I need to have complete trust and confidence in my team, and I don’t know if I can ever have those in you. Maybe it would be better for all parties if you seek an alternative position. Outside of Cleaver Jackson and the wider Kingsbury Group.”
Cosmo leans back into his chair, but he’s not retreating. Tilting his head to the side, he studies me. If I thought to shock him, it’s not worked.
“I’ll admit, I did think of resigning. The surprise of seeing you walk into the boardroom prompted a knee-jerk reaction. Understandable I would say, given the circumstances. But then I thought, why should I resign? And what solid grounds have you got for sacking me? Okay,” he says, shrugging, “so I left off my time with your company, but I’ve more than proved my worth since then. I work hard and I’m ambitious to do well in the industry. You said it yourself, I’ve got an impressive CV. And I don’t want to leave even though I might have considered it for, like, five minutes after you pitched up. Who could blame me? I came here for a reason, and as far as I can see that’s not changed. I knew the firm was in trouble, but I was prepared to take both the risk and the challenge. You’re not the only one who wants to stop the ship from sinking.”
And there it is again, that tiny upward tilt of his chin. If this were any other man, I’d be impressed. A solid gold CV, a lack of fear in taking a leap… With anyone else I’d be hanging on tight to them. But this isn’t anybody else.
“Very altruistic of you. But I can’t help but fear for Cleaver Jackson’s safety, not with your history of almost running ships aground.”
Bright red patches stain his cheeks.
“Why don’t we stop pissing around?” He leans forward, the movement sharp and confrontational. I’m not used to this, not when it comes to any kind of business dealing.
Nobody’s challenged me like this in years, and it feels personal because it is personal. He’s got no damn right to do this, not when it comes to the fuck up he made and the trouble he caused. He should be cringing, backing down, apologising and pleading to me for his job. Pleading? No, he should be begging. But he’s doing none of those things as his unfaltering gaze meets mine, the only clue he’s not in control as much as he wants to make out is the crimson patches colouring his cheeks. As much as I want him to cower, I like that he’s not doing any of those things.
“You blame me for what happened—”
“Of course I blame you. All you needed to do was forward the documents to the vendor. To the Chairman of the company I was buying. Do you remember?” I spit out at him. “I entrusted you with a simple task. It’s all you had to do.”
“And I tried to tell you at the time, just as I’m trying now, I was given the wrong email address by that lazy secretary you had. Gina.”
“Don’t blame somebody else. You screwed up, Cosmo. You sent a confidential document to a bloody competitor. Somebody I’d had bad dealings with in the past. Straight into his PA’s inbox. Your carelessness could have scuppered the whole deal, a deal I’d spent blood, sweat and tears on. All RWM’s competitive advantage would have been wiped out at a stroke. My reputation would have been in the mud, and my company would have been a laughing stock. Who the hell would entrust their investments to a firm which could make such a fundamental error? Thank god it happened on a Friday afternoon before a bank holiday weekend, and nobody of any influence was around to see it.”
“You got it recalled.”
“Yes.” I throw my hands up in despair. “But that’s not the point. The tech department got it back and confirmed it hadn’t been opened, but more importantly they covered our tracks — your tracks. How could I trust you after that?” I jerk forward, almost jutting my face into his. “Would you have trusted you if you were me? Would you have let you continue in your job?”
“Maybe not, but there’s one thing I would have done if I were you, and that’s listened. But you wouldn’t, you never gave me the slightest chance to explain. Yes, I sent the document out, but I went to Gina for the address just as you asked me to. What reason did I have to query it? None. Don’t you think she was partly to blame for what happened?”
He’s shaking his head and looking at me with a mix of bitterness and undisguised contempt.
“I loved my job, I loved working with you. Just getting an interview, I thought I’d made it. I worked hard to make sure I never gave you any reason to doubt my competence because I knew I’d got a chance in a million.”
“I’d never before had cause to doubt Gina.”
Cosmo shrugs, as a bitter smile twists his lips. “She was smart enough to cover her own tracks, leaving me to take all the shit. Could say I can’t blame her, except I can. Maybe if I’d been a blond and had legs up to my armpits I’d have stood more of a chance.”
His words hit me like a gob of phlegm full in the face. We stare at each other across my desk, neither of us backing down. In the silence of my office, the white noise of my anger screams in my head.
“What did you say to me?” I rasp.
He jumps up from the chair, pushing it back with enough force it almost topples over.
“You heard me, so why bother to repeat it? You made your mind up about me five years ago. What I said then and what I say now makes no difference. Why wouldIwant to work for an arrogant prick who’s got no faith or trust in me, and who’s so bloody sure he’s right?”
If I touch him there’ll be sparks. I should throw him out on his arse for what he’s just said. But what I should do and what I actually do are two different things.
“Why should you work for an arrogant prick like me? Because I’m the best in the business and we both know it. If you’ve finished throwing your toys out the pram, I’ll expect you at your desk at eight sharp in the morning. For now, get out before I throw you out.”
