Carpe Diem Ch. 04

Josh had requested, and received, permission to respond to the firm's interim report.

At 2pm, the meeting convened with eight Board of Directors, Frank - the current CEO, Chip - the VP of Marketing, Josh - the VP of Product, as well as the VPs of Engineering, Operations, and HR. Also present were the two lawyers who were conducting the investigation into Josh's conduct.

After the usual administrative tasks, the Board Chairman called for a "special session" to deal with a personnel matter. The department heads and their support staff all left the room.

That left the Board members, Frank, Josh, the two lawyers and the Head of HR, a middle-aged woman with an officious demeanor.

At the start of the session, Josh requested that Amanda be allowed to attend the special session. She wanted to attend, he explained, had first-hand knowledge of the events in question, and therefore was essential to the proceedings.

Without objection, the Chairman ruled Amanda could attend the meeting. She came in wearing a handsome vintage wool suit and carrying a leather case.

The two lawyers from the law firm began by laying out their case. As expected, the bulk of their presentation centered around Amanda's texts and photos. As they spoke, images were shown on a huge video screen behind them.

They presented a chronology that spanned from the plane flight, through four days at the hotel. Methodically, the lawyers laid out the accumulated evidence:

"Mr. Hamilton admits to making intimate contact with Ms. Butterfield while ostensibly helping her to her seat."

Behind them, on a giant screen, an image of Amanda's text on a cell phone read: "We're getting along famously -- drank tons of wine and talked for hours on the plane - then he looked down my shirt and nuzzled my boobs."

"Mr. Hamilton advised Ms. Butterfield to wear this micro bikini, which he purchased on his company credit card, in the adults only section of the hotel spa."

Projected behind them were multiple images - a photo of Amanda in the micro bikini, her ample breasts pouring out from all sides; Amanda's text reading "I forgot my suit - he talked me into buying this"; and a shot of Josh in a white spa robe holding a glass of champagne and smirking at the camera.

"Mr. Hamilton then 'insisted' Ms. Butterfield to move from her hotel room to his executive suite saying he had made a quote "executive decision" unquote."

On the screen, Amanda's text read "my reservation got screwed up so im staying in Js suite - he said Im afraid I must insist." A smiley face sat incongruously next to it.

"And in said suite, Ms. Butterfield was forced to wear this lingerie, to sleep in the same bed as Mr. Hamilton, and to perform oral sex on him."

Again, an image of Amanda in a sexy outfit and a text reading "J just told me to put this on and give him a bj"

"And lastly we have a video clip from the hotel's security video camera of Mr. Hamilton and Ms. Butterfield in the hotel's rooftop pool having intercourse."

On the screen, a frame from a grainy video appeared. It showed two figures, both naked, in a hot tub at night. The male figure was standing behind the female figure, entering her from behind. He seemed to be mid-thrust, his butt flexed and his pelvis pushed forward. The woman was arching her back and throwing her head back. She looked like she might be screaming.

The photo caused a ruckus among the board members. They were murmuring and shaking their heads. Frank hid his face in his hand.

"OK, that's enough," Josh said, standing.

The lawyers closed their presentation.

"Are you finished?" the Board Chairman asked. "If so, then Josh the floor is yours."

"Yes," one of the lawyers said. "We wanted to provide photographic evidence in case Mr. Hamilton tried to claim that he had not engaged in sexual congress with Ms. Butterfield."

"That isn't necessary," Josh said calmly. "I'm not making that claim. In fact, I'll happily stipulate that Ms. Butterfield, Amanda, and I are engaged in a romantic relationship. That relationship began during our recent trip to Zürich and it's still going on."

He turned to Amanda.

"And it's my sincere hope that it continues for the rest of our lives."

Amanda smiled broadly, her hand covering her mouth.

"You see," Josh said, taking the floor, "Amanda and I didn't have an affair during our recent trip to Zürich. We fell in love. A deep and abiding love."

He walked to the front of the room.

"But I want to be clear. We weren't spending our days in Zürich cavorting like a couple of sex-crazed teenagers. We were working. We were working hard to ensure our European launch would not only meet its goals, but exceed them."

"We also met multiple times with representatives from Armani to pitch them on becoming strategic partners. And, thanks to Amanda's incredible work, we succeeded. The most prestigious fashion house in the world is now a premiere supplier, with full co-marketing rights, and just in time for our European launch and scheduled IPO."

The board members were murmuring again, turning to each other and nodding.

Josh began projecting his laptop on the big screen.

"Let's take a look at the metrics to see how we did. As you can see, satisfaction and launch readiness scores are off the charts. And, as you can see from these survey results..."

Josh advanced through his slide deck.

"...we got scores of 90-95% satisfaction which is extremely high for these kinds of events. How did we achieve these results? A laser focus on preparation and execution. Amanda and I committed ourselves to ensuring that every attendee left fully trained, highly motivated, and with a strong sense of team cohesion. As you can see from the verbatims, we were successful on all fronts."

Pull quotes filled the screen with effusive praise from attendees.

"Josh and Amanda did a spectacular job preparing us for the upcoming launch!"

"I have 100% confidence of a successful European launch with Amanda and Josh providing guidance and expertise."

"Thanks to the comprehensive training, we have everything we need to launch successfully."

"With Josh's leadership, I'm confident our launch in Europe will be a huge success."

"We also received an email from Lorenzo Mancini, the Armani executive with whom we met. He wrote:

I'm happy to report that leadership here is very enthusiastic about our partnership so that Armani is known not only as the premier haute couture fashion house in the world but as the most sustainable one as well. Please extend my warmest regards to Ms. Butterfield and tell her she is always welcome to visit us in Milan when she is in Europe.

"So, our four-day trip to Zurich wasn't some boondoggle. It was a rigorous exercise in training, launch readiness, and operational excellence. We were able to check every box, achieve every goal, and land the single the most strategically important partnership in our company's history. Yes, Amanda and I became romantically involved. But that was incidental to the progress we made in advancing the goals of this company."

The board members were all listening intently. Then, Josh turned to Amanda.

"And now Amanda will take a closer look at the lawyers' presentation," he said.

Amanda stood and walked to the front of the room. She and Josh made eye contact momentarily before he took his seat. It felt just like Zürich.

"Thank you. Mr. Chairman, board members, Frank, for the opportunity to speak. Before we get to the substance, I want to ask the lawyers a few questions."

She turned to the lawyers.

"First, were any of the text messages between Marie and myself sent during working hours Zurich time?"

"No, they were all sent outside of working hours. Sometimes in the middle of the night."

"So, there wasn't a single message that could be construed as an indication that we were neglecting our professional responsibilities."

"No, there wasn't."

"In fact, did you discover anything whatsoever that Mr. Hamilton and I did, or didn't do, to suggest we were in some way shirking our responsibilities?"

"No, we didn't."

"Now, in your presentation, you showed the excerpts of the text messages I wrote. But you didn't provide the context, did you?"

"We provided the information we thought was most relevant to the proceedings."

"Did you though? Because I recall there was some relevant information that you didn't provide."

Amanda opened her laptop and began presenting on the big screen.

"For example, you said I wrote that during the flight Mr. Hamilton and I 'drank tons of wine and talked for hours on the plane - then he looked down my shirt and nuzzled my boobs'."

"Now that paints a pretty damning portrait. Drunkenness, voyeurism, lechery. What you didn't mention is what I wrote immediately after my rather lame attempt at humor. This is what I wrote: 'Actually, I slipped and he caught me. I'm such a klutz!'"

She looked at each of the board members to let this sink in.

"That puts things in a whole other light, doesn't it?"

She pressed a key to go to the next slide.

"Then, you cite another text about buying a swimsuit so I could use the spa and pool. Immediately after the text you showed, Marie asked: 'was he perving you?' And what was my response? I said: 'Not at all - he's a gent.'"

"A direct question to me by my best friend, 'Was he perving you?' Or, translated, 'Are his intentions dishonorable?' And my honest response? 'Not at all. He's a gent.'"

"Why didn't you include this part of the exchange in your report?"

Amanda was on a roll now. She was speaking confidently, making eye contact with everyone in the room.

"The fact of the matter is I never, I repeat never, felt in any way coerced, manipulated, pressured, or harassed by Mr. Hamilton. In any way. On the contrary, I felt respected, supported, and empowered by him. He inspired me through his example and trusted me to step up in ways I didn't even know I could. He was a leader in every sense of the word."

She made eye contact with the board members throughout. They were riveted, hanging on her every word.

"And then there was this text. I have to admit I'm a bit embarrassed it. Now, in the light of day, it seems ... juvenile."

J just told me to put this on and give him a bj -- how's YOUR day?

"But I want to put this one into context as well. I was texting a good friend. I was trying to be funny. Also, this was written late in our stay. Josh and I had become close, we'd developed a real affection for each other, an intimacy that frankly I've yearned for in my relationships."

Amanda looked at the women board members now.

"You know how it is when you find someone who truly puts your needs before their own? Well, right before I wrote this text, Josh had given me the best ... well, let's just say ... he had been the most generous lover. He had brought me to the peak of ecstasy ... over and over again ... without any regard to his own fulfillment. I've wanted to meet a man like that my whole adult life. And now I had not only met him, I'd fallen in love with him. And he seemed to love me back."

Amanda's eyes were getting misty, her voice cracking. Some of the board members were visibly moved.

Amanda turned to some of the male board members.

"Anyway ... I asked him, what could I give you in return? How can I please you? What could I do ... to give you the ultimate pleasure?"

One male board member gulped. Another loosened his tie.

"Because, after all, that's what he had given me. And I was determined ... to do anything ... whatever he wanted ... to give him the greatest, most powerful ... experience ... of his life."

Amanda bit her lower lip and let out a sigh. The board members were shifting in their seats and coughing.

"I wanted to give you the full context of these texts. So you'd understand where I was coming from when I wrote them."

She walked to the front of the room.

"Now, I want to turn to the question of the complaint itself."

She addressed the two lawyers.

"The texts and photos you cited were private messages between Marie and myself, were they not?"

"Yes."

"Were they exchanged on the company network or on devices owned and operated by the company?"

"No, they were sent on personal devices and on a personal message service. Snapchat, I believe."

"So, if someone else provided these texts and photos to you, without our permission, that would be problematic, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, that would be an invasion of your right to privacy."

"And if that other person happened to be an employee of ReSale.com, they would be in violation of the company Code of Conduct, wouldn't they?"

"Absolutely. It would be an invasion of privacy and therefore in violation of the code of conduct."

Amanda walked back to where she had been seated at the table.

"Now, I can state unequivocally that I didn't provide any texts or photographs to be used in a whistleblower report. Nor did I authorize anyone else to use them."

She reached into her satchel and pulled out a piece of paper.

"And on this document, Marie LaBianca also attests that she never provided these communications, nor authorized anyone else to do so."

The board members started murmuring again. Amanda handed the paper to the person next to her to pass around the room.

"In what form did you receive the texts and photos?"

The lawyers leaned towards each other, whispering.

"It's a simple question," Amanda said. "Were they on paper, digital?"

"They were transcribed into a document."

"But you must have seen the original texts and photos, right? You wouldn't just take someone's word for it."

The lawyers were whispering again.

"We received a video showing the original texts and photos."

"A video of the original? That's seems odd. Well, we'll get back to that."

Amanda walked to the front of the room, thinking.

"Now, who would you say has the most to gain from the accusations against Mr. Hamilton?"

"I don't know how to answer that question," the male lawyer responded.

"Are you aware that Mr. Hamilton is in line to be ... well, to get a major promotion."

Frank, the CEO, glanced around the room.

"Everyone here is aware of the impending announcement," he said. "You can speak freely."

Amanda nodded.

"Thank you. Are you aware that Mr. Hamilton is a frontrunner to be the next CEO?"

"Yes, we're aware."

"Is there another ReSale.com employee who is also being considered for that role?"

The lawyers looked at each other, muttering.

"I believe that Chip Taylor is also a leading candidate for the CEO role."

"Doesn't it stand to reason then that Chip Taylor would have the most to gain from a report that damaged Josh's reputation?"

This was Amanda's first misstep. There was a break in the logic of her argument.

"Hold on," the head of HR interrupted. "You can't make accusations against fellow employees without evidence. It doesn't matter how in love you are."

"Mr. Chairman," Amanda said, "I believe I do have the evidence."

The Chairman adjusted his glasses and spoke.

"Ms. Butterfield, we've given you a lot of latitude and you've made an impressive case. But we won't tolerate the besmirching of a fellow employee based on speculation."

"But it's not just speculation," Amanda insisted. "Please, give me a half hour more to make my case."

The head of HR interjected.

"Really, is this fair? To circulate rumors about Chip when he's not even in the room to defend himself?"

"She's got a point, Greg," said another board member.

Things were getting out of control. Amanda could feel Josh's chances slipping away.

"I have a suggestion," Frank, the CEO, said. "If Chip is still in the building, let's include him. We can give Amanda a time limit of, say, thirty minutes to complete her presentation."

The Chairman looked left and right. Other board members were nodding.

"Very well," the Chairman said. "See if you can get Chip and we'll start again in ten minutes."

During the break, Josh caught up with Amanda in the kitchen.

"You're doing great," he said. "No matter what happens, I want you to know how I'm grateful I am."

She gave him a look.

"You're not going wobbly on me, are you?"

He chuckled.

"Not a bit. Two strikes. Bottom of the ninth. Love our chances."

Amanda shrugged.

"Just trying to muster a rally here. At least send it to overtime."

Josh nodded.

"You mean extra innings."

She looked at him vaguely.

"Yeah," she muttered. "That too."

After the break, the group reassembled in the conference room. This time, Chip was sitting between Frank and the head of HR.

"Let's get started," the Chairman said, bringing the room to order. "Ms. Butterfield, you have the floor."

"Thank you, Chairman," Amanda said, rising from her chair and walking to the front of the room.

"The issue at hand is the provenance of the whistleblower report. We've established that neither Marie LaBianca nor I provided our messages or photos for the complaint. The question, then, is who got those private messages and how?"

"Mr. Taylor, Chip," Amanda said, turning to the Marketing VP, "how did you come to be involved in the launch event?"

Chip turned to the Board Chair as if to ask whether he should answer. The Chairman nodded.

"I was supposed to attend the launch event in Zürich but had to drop out at the last minute due to a family issue."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Amanda said. "I trust everything is okay now?"

"It's fine," he said.

Amanda knew Chip had taken Marie to the Warriors game on Wednesday night so she suspected the family issue was a ruse.

"When you determined you couldn't attend the event, what'd you do?"

"I talked to Frank and he suggested I recommend someone else to go in my place."

"Did Frank have someone in mind?"

Chip looked over at Frank who was looking at him stone faced.

"No, I think he thought I'd recommend someone from the Marketing team."

"But you didn't recommend someone from Marketing, did you?"

Chip gave Amanda a smirk.

"No, I recommended you."

Amanda walked to where Chip was sitting.

"Why is that?"

"Because I thought you'd do a good job," he said, glancing at the board. "And I'm always looking for opportunities for the women on the team to gain valuable experience."

"Isn't it true that you wanted me on that trip because you thought it might be a good way to make Josh look bad?"

"Hey, don't pin that on me," Chip said, smiling. "He was responsible for making himself look bad. Not me."

Amanda looked at him icily.

"Have you ever referred to me as 'the classy bitch with the killer body?'"

There were murmurs amongst the board members.

"I don't think this is an appropriate line of questioning," the HR exec said. "What does this have to do with the matter at hand?"

"It goes to character," Amanda said. "Did you ever call me that?"

"Not that I can recall," Chip said, turning to the board members. "I always try to treat women on the staff with the utmost respect."

Amanda shot a skeptical look at the board members.

"Were you aware that I was texting regularly with a member of your team, Marie LaBianca, during the week of the launch event?"

"I may have been vaguely aware," he said.

"Just vaguely? I have a signed statement from Marie saying you came by her desk several times a day asking for updates."

"You could have been emailing each other, I didn't know you were texting."