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Personnel training was boring. But Leela needed to get virtual human resources training done for Bennett personnel. Being a consultant didn’t exempt her. She’d come into the office early this morning with hopes of getting it done before she met with her first client, but the Bennett server kept kicking her off the platform. She’d been on the phone with the helpdesk for thirty minutes.
“Are you local,” the man who’d been trying to help her asked.
“Yes, I’m a few miles down the road,” Leela replied.
“Maybe it would be better to come into the building.”
Leela sighed. She hadn’t planned to go to Bennett International again. She was there the other day. She didn’t want people to think she was stalking Kiefer. Even if he was completely stalkable. She logged off and turned her attention to her own business, working on the details of an upcoming wedding. She liked weddings more than Sienna, so she’d begun running social media ads for the wedding planning aspect of her business. Even though it was important to her that every client received her best effort, Leela knew she wasn’t quite an expert in weddings yet, so she painstakingly went over every detail of the plan for each wedding.
After finishing her work for the day, she drove to Bennett International and went to human resources. They set her up in a cubicle and she began the training modules. HR was nowhere near the eighth floor, so she wasn’t going to run into Kiefer.
Her attention was focused on the computer screen as she meticulously went through the training material. She didn’t want to fail the check-in quizzes she was having to answer along the way, not getting the right answers made her have to rewatch the associated video all over again.
As she worked, she overheard hushed voices coming from the adjacent cubicle. The more she listened, the more she recognized the voice. It was that Marie woman from the other day. She had a distinct high-pitched quality to her voice. Leela wondered what she was doing here, but then realized she might be doing the same training. Maybe this was one of those companies where everyone was on the same schedule to get annual trainings completed.
“He shouldn’t have been handed the job. There were better-qualified candidates, people who know what they’re doing. It’s pure nepotism,” Marie said with a disparaging tone. “The only reason he has the job is because he’s a Bennett.”
She was talking about one of the Bennetts...in their own building. Girl, that took nerve.
“They don’t usually practice nepotism,” the other person said. “Believe me, I handle the new hire files.”
“Well, believe you me that’s what this is. Kiefer’s a nice guy, but the man has documentary experience. It’s barely adjacent to what he’s doing right now. And the only reason we even have anything greenlit is because he finally has someone reading scripts. Look how long he’s been here. It’s not budgetary. Bennett Television is flush with cash.”
Leela’s brow furrowed, and her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she strained to listen. Marie’s words didn’t sit well with her. She knew Kiefer had worked hard to prove himself in the role.
“I’ve heard he’s a micromanager,” the woman said.
“A micromanager who fires off emails with bad spelling,” Marie added.
Heat rose in Leela’s chest. What a nasty thing to say.
“Bad spelling. That’s not good.”
“Of course not. He’s a VP, not a janitor and no shade to janitors because I doubt their spelling is as bad as his, but you get my meaning.”
The other woman grunted. “Why doesn’t he use spellcheck if he can’t spell?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure he has the same squiggly red lines under his text that we all do.” Marie laughed and the other woman laughed with her.
They were laughing at him. Leela’s frustration boiled over.
Marie continued, her voice dripping with disdain. “It’s horrible. I’m embarrassed for him.”
Leela’s anger simmered beneath the surface. She had always been fiercely protective of Kiefer, especially since they’d become friends. To hear someone speak so negatively about him stung as sharply as a bee.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Leela stood, her sudden movement intentionally noisy so as to make her presence known.
Marie jumped, clearly startled by Leela’s sudden appearance. She stammered, “L-Leela, what are you doing here?”
“Working, like you should be.” Leela looked at the other woman. She recognized her as Mrs. Hammond from the human resources department. She kept her voice low but didn’t hold back the intensity. “And is this what human resources does, gossip about executives?”
The woman stiffened. Leela didn’t care how uncomfortable she was. She was completely out of line.
“By the way,” Leela said directly to her, “I’m the reader Kiefer hired.”
Her stiffness deflated into worry.
That’s right, you’ve been talking about the wrong employee.
“I need to get back to the office. It was good to see you, Marie. Leela, let me know if you need help with anything.”
“Oh, sure. You’ll be the first person I ask for help.” She rolled her eyes and then folded her arms over her chest. “Marie, we need to talk.”
Marie bit her lip. She was clearly uncomfortable after getting busted gossiping about the vice president of her department.
“I overheard what you were saying,” Leela said, her tone laced with anger. “That’s not fair. Kiefer works hard for his division.”
Marie shifted uncomfortably in her chair, realizing she’d been caught. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said weakly.
Leela’s eyes bore into Marie’s. “This is not about upsetting me. It’s about giving credit where it’s due. He’s a good leader. Look how he handled the negotiations in Canada. I watch the industry news, there are other companies up there who still don’t have their people working again.”
“I didn’t say he couldn’t do the job. I said there were better qualified people. Nepotism is a thing.”
“Bennett International is a public company, but Bennett Television is still family owned. They can hire who they want, including Bennetts.” Leela plowed on. “It’s disappointing to hear this kind of gossip from someone he respects so much. I’m sure he thinks it’s reciprocal.”
Marie looked down, chastened. “I guess I was frustrated about not getting that promotion myself.”
Leela sighed, her anger softening into understanding. “I get it, but tearing down someone else won’t lift you up.”
Marie nodded; remorse evident in her expression. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said those things. I hope you won’t tell him.”
Leela dropped back into her chair. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She knew if she had employees talking about her, she would want to know. She’d definitely want the HR person dealt with. Marie didn’t hang around to find out her intentions. Leela heard the clicking of her stilettos on the wood floor as she exited the HR space.
Leela’s heart was heavy with the weight of what she’d overheard. How many other employees were talking about his spelling. Was he the joke of Bennett Television? Leela had received emails from him. He didn’t make gross errors. Sometimes he mixed up homophones and his there/their/they’re and the like, but overall, it was the kind of thing lots of people messed up when they were working fast. That’s what she’d hoped people perceived it as, but now she realized, it was not.
Leela had to talk to him. He had to know he was being judged in this way. He had to do something about the reading issue before everyone in his division was laughing at him. She hoped it wasn’t already too late, but how did she approach this? She didn’t want to tell him when he was already so sensitive about it.
Leela had to work hard to finish the training. She’d been doing well until Marie’s nasty words broke into her peace.
***
KIEFER HUNG UP FROM his video conference meeting seconds before Rose buzzed his phone to let him know Leela was waiting for him.
She entered and he could see she was out of sorts...probably tired. Leela wore her emotions on her face or at least she did with him.
“You look worn out. Let me guess...the social media and confidentiality training. It’s scary stuff.”
“No,” she said sitting.
“Did a client cancel a job?”
She shook her head.
“There’s a new Thai place on Main Street on the other side of City Hall. Why don’t we go, and you tell me over dinner.”
Leela didn’t respond. He was still getting used to her facial expressions, but he realized she wasn’t tired. She was unhappy and maybe a little angry. “Is something going on?”
She sat forward in her chair. “I’m going to say this.” She took a deep breath and released it. “I overheard Marie gossiping about you.”
Kiefer put down his pen. “Go on.”
“She was talking to someone about the fact that you were unqualified for the job.”
“Oh, that little thing.”
“Kiefer, seriously, she was being nasty. Accusing your family of nepotism.”
He stood and walked around to the front of the desk where he sat on the corner. “Well, it might have been.”
“But unqualified.”
“Leela, a lot of people feel that way. It’s okay. I can take it. Once I prove myself, they’ll shut up.”
Leela grunted. He wasn’t sure what that meant, because he wasn’t used to her sounds either.
“Does it matter that she was talking to someone from human resources?”
He considered that for a moment. “I think that’s different.” A gossipy HR person was a problem. “I guess I should mention it to the HR director. Maybe she can send out a general warning without naming the person.”
“Why shouldn’t the person be named?”
“Because everybody in this place needs their job.”
Leela folded her arms over her chest. “Then they should behave professionally.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“You’re a vice president, Kiefer. You know what to do.”
She was right. He did. “Okay. Who was the HR person? I’ll talk to them and maybe after I spook them, they’ll do better.”
“Her last name is Hammond.”
He nodded. “I promise, I’ll call down there and deal with it.”
Leela stood. “As for the Thai, do you mind getting takeout? I’m not in the mood to sit in a restaurant. I’m going to go home and walk the dogs.”
“Okay,” he said. He could see her annoyance deflated some, but not completely. “Text me what you want.”
“I will.” She pulled her purse on her shoulder.
Kiefer wanted to kiss her. There was something sexy about her temper in this moment, perhaps because it wasn’t directed at him. “Don’t worry. I’m a big boy.”
“I know.” Leela’s face relaxed some. “But I didn’t like it.”
He smiled a little. “I’m glad to know I have an ally.”
“I’m sure you have lots of allies, but you have enemies too.”
“I prefer to focus on the positive.”
Leela did not look inspired by that reply, so he added, “People talk about their bosses, Leela. It’s a thing. I’m sure you’ve had some words to say about someone who supervised you.”
She dropped her head, and he lifted her chin. “Okay, that’s true, but hearing those nasty words from Marie was upsetting. She smiles big in your face.”
“With you watching my back, I can see I no longer need to be concerned.”
Leela smirked. “You weren’t upset in the first place.”
“I’m a master at masking my emotions. People have been talking about my family since I was a kid. I’m used to it and Marie’s right; I got the job because Ethan wanted to give me something. There are better qualified people.” He stroked her cheek, but he still hadn’t wiped worry lines from her forehead.
“There’s something else.”
She let out a long breath. “I was wondering if you’d thought anymore about being tested.”
Her question about dyslexia testing hit him in the chest, momentarily stealing a little of his bravado. Her previous words echoed in his mind. Have you ever considered getting tested for dyslexia? What you’ve described sounds very similar to his experience with words.
She loved to read, so a little wave of uncertainty washed over him. Would she respect him less because he would never do the same? “Is there a reason you’re asking me that right now?”
“I... I noticed you had a few errors in the email you sent out this morning.”
“I used spellcheck.”
“They were homophones. Spellcheck wouldn’t catch them.”
He pitched an eyebrow and walked back around to the other side of his desk.
“Maybe let Rose do a check for you. I’m sure that’s probably her job anyway.”
He shrugged and dropped in his seat. That stung a bit. He knew he wasn’t perfect but hearing it did bother him. “I’ll think about it.”
Leela nodded. “I’ll text you what I want to eat.”
He nodded. “Do that.”
She left. Taking some of the uncomfortable air from the room, but not all of it. Kiefer scrolled through his emails and looked at the email he’d sent to all staff this morning. It only took a few seconds for the text to shift on the page. He found the two words Leela was referencing in her plea for him to get help. He’d intended to use “their” but used “there” and the word “sail” was not the right choice for a transaction. Both were embarrassingly familiar mistakes. He could see them now, but he couldn’t then, even after proofreading his email three times. He cursed under his breath and fell back against his chair, picked up the phone and placed the call one of his parents probably should have made. When the woman answered, he said, “Hello. I struggle with reading and spelling. I think I need testing.”