“Because I gutted my last company.”
“Because you fired over half your staff and I feel you gearing up to do it again,” I said.
“And you think I’m going to fire you, is that it? Why you keep avoiding me and why you’re so upset with me right now?” he asked.
“I’m not upset.”
“I’ve been with plenty women. You’re the definition of upset.”
I turned my eyes away from him and drew in a deep breath. I enjoyed this banter and this side of me a little too much. It wasn’t comfortable, and I loved it. It was risky, and my heart was pounding with the thrill of adventure. What in the world was happening to me? I needed to finish this drink and get out of here.
“I wouldn’t chug your drink so quickly,” Preston said. “You might have to sit here and wait it out.”
“I took an Uber here. I’ll get one back,” I said.
“Where’s your car?” he asked.
“At my apartment.”
“So you live in an apartment? Where in Philly do you live?” he asked.
“I’m not telling you where I live,” I said, snickering.
“What if I need you for something?”
“Then you can call me,” I said.
“I’d need your number for that.”
“It’s in my file. But you can always leave a message on my office phone and I’ll get back with you once I get into work,” I said.
“You really don’t like me, do you?” he asked.
“I really, really don’t,” I said.
“It’s more than my prior history with another company though. This is more than just your job.”
“Preston Walker, from what I’ve read about you, there are men on death row with more integrity than you. You’re a playboy that bounces from girl to girl who screws around with people in your own company. You fire people with no reason, slash wages for those you don’t fire, and you expect women to crumble at your feet. The only reason you’re currently still talking to me is either because you’re sizing me up to keep my job or you’re wondering why I haven’t thrown myself at you yet.”
“Why can’t I be doing both?” he asked.
I scoffed as I brought my Manhattan back to my lips. I drank down the last of it as Preston sat back in his seat. He lifted his arm and signaled to the bartender for another drink, but when I glanced over at his glass I saw it was still full.
“Oh, no no. I don’t need another drink. What I need is to go,” I said.
“Just sit and relax. You’re not losing your job. So far, no one is. But, if you’ll let me, I’d like to tell you why I did fire all those people.”
I was intrigued enough to take the new drink set in front of me and listen to his story.
“I told you guys in the company-wide meeting that I would treat this like a new case. I fired over half the staff at Viking and Hills because I found that many of those in higher positions were embezzling funds.”
“Wait, are you serious?” I asked.
“Yep. But I knew if it came to light, the company would be over. And the company did a lot of good work. Not just in realty, but with their ethics policies. I wasn’t ready to let those go, but I needed to make a point. So, I fired everyone who was embezzling and everyone who knew about it but didn’t report it.”
“You made a statement to the rest of the staff that you wouldn’t tolerate it without exposing them,” I said.
“Viking and Hills did, and still does, excellent work overseas. They donate quarterly to charities that focus on building schools and digging clean water wells in third-world countries. A couple of the smaller charities would’ve had to halt entire projects until they found alternative funding. I wasn’t going to let them pay for Viking and Hills greedy mistakes.”