The CIO’s assistant puts a meeting on Carolina’s calendar for nine o’clock. It overrides two other meetings scheduled in the same slot, but C-level execs don’t look for openings in your calendar, they create them.
When Carolina walks in, she sees that Sandra is wearing her signature eight-hundred-dollar buckle pumps. “This won’t take long,” she begins.
Carolina scans her face for clues. Good news, or bad?
“As you’re aware, the Board and the CEO have tasked me with reinventing the way we devise and utilize our information systems. I’ve been instructed to disrupt. Reinvent. Define the future.”
A gas bubble climbs Carolina’s throat. She wishes Sandra would skip the word salad and deliver the main course.
Sandra stands and picks up her laptop, returning to the table with it. “The Board has approved a second phase of employee cost reductions. This time, however, we’re offering voluntary severance packages.”
“Voluntary?”
“Yes. Wall Street usually loves a layoff but if we announce a second round so soon on the heels of the last, we risk the appearance of financial instability. By making them voluntary, we can spin the reductions as a continuation of our previous efforts.”
“So, you’re going to offer layoff packages and see who takes them.”
“Voluntarily, yes. They’ll further reduce costs while weeding out employees who are less committed to our mission. Research always shows that highly committed teams are able to do more with less.”
There’s that phrase again. Carolina glances at Sandra’s luxury-clad feet. “You need to exclude my team.”
“Excuse me?”
Carolina knows she should hold her tongue but chooses not to. “My team is responsible for one of the company’s most important initiatives and we’re stretched thin. Everyone has been working overtime since the last round of layoffs. We’ve managed to reassign and streamline the work as much as possible, but if I lose any more of my resources, something is going to give. That’s the bare truth of it.”
“Believe me, I hear you.” Sandra’s sympathy appears strangely authentic. “But leadership believes we have transferable internal resources to help you fill the gap.”
“No, you don’t.” Again, Carolina knows she’s crossing a line by being so blunt, but if she doesn’t speak up now, this pie-in-the-sky idea will gain credence and momentum. “First of all, the skill set required for members of the MAVERIK project is highly specialized. Most were external hires to begin with, specifically because we didn’t have the skills in-house.”
Sandra doesn’t interrupt, which Carolina takes as a green light.
“Second of all, how do you know who’s going to leave? My team leads are working fifty and sixty hours a week. What if they decide they’ve had enough and take the package?”
“Then that becomes an issue we’ll have to deal with.”
“Exactly. A big issue.” Carolina can no longer sit in her chair. She stands up and begins to pace. “And an avoidable one. I mean, what you’re proposing is like leaving the front door open and then wondering why your TV disappeared.”
Sandra does not stand. “I understand your concerns, but on balance, the Board believes this is the best approach.” Her voice is so calm Carolina suddenly sees the truth behind this meeting—Sandra intends to strangle her objections now so that by the time Carolina walks out the door, she has no option but to support the layoffs.
“So that’s it, then?” she says. “We just wait to see who decides to grab the money and run, then deal with the consequences?”
Sandra nods. “And I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that this information is to be kept confidential until the official announcement early next month.”
“No, thank you.” Contrary to Emma’s accusations, Carolina doesn’t have a problem saying no. The real problem is that people don’t listen when she says it. “I don’t need a reminder.”
Her hand is already on the doorknob when Sandra says, “Oh, by the way. Your name came up in a meeting with Mark’s team yesterday.”
Shit. “Oh, yeah?” Only a rookie assumes that when you get name-dropped in the CEO’s office, it’s good news.
“Carlton Willis stopped by and sang your praises.”
“Oh, nice. I thought that was Carlton I saw in the lobby.” Her tone is light despite the conversational boulder Sandra just dropped on her foot. Carlton Willis is a tech billionaire who behaves as if his money affords him the right to inject his bizarro-world political views into the national debate. Carolina knows better than to believe a single word that escapes the man’s mouth, and not just because he made his fortune selling tax software but now espouses eliminating the IRS.
And while there’s a lot to hate about Carlton Willis as a public figure, Carolina’s disgust of the man is all personal. What he did to Emma is something no one in her friend group likes to talk about.
What she told Sandra was true, however—Carolina had seen Carlton in the lobby yesterday, flanked by a beefy security guard and a female colleague in heels so high they ought to be redlined by the World Health Organization. They made eye contact. He smiled. She walked away.
So why had he name-checked her to the company’s top brass?
Carolina says, “Is there some sort of partnership or development project in the works?”
Sandra replies, “Something like that.” Her “Cheshire cat” grin tells Carolina it’s not like that at all.
This day just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser...