Page 33 of Heartless

“Why am I meeting her for lunch again, and why couldn’t she make this meeting?” I ask, looking up briefly from my iPad.

“She attended a diversity and inclusion training this morning and won’t be available until one to meet with you. She has a very comprehensive plan to enhance our inclusion initiatives.”

“Enhance?” I scoff. “We need to throw out the old one and create a new plan altogether, Neha.”

“I know, and that’s where she comes in. She has a strategic plan that we can implement, and it still takes some of the core components of our existing plan and builds on those. She says we have great building blocks, but we just didn’t build them out properly. With all the allegations we’ve faced in this last year on discrimination, she’s the perfect person to fill this role, and I’m excited about what she’ll bring to the table.”

“And what’s her name again?” I ask absentmindedly.

“Michelle. Michelle Watson.”

I nod.

“She’ll be here within the next hour, Onyx. I need you to be nice and pay attention. She’s going to be a valuable asset to this company, and I’m sure that you’ll be amazed at what she has to say. Michelle’s very bright and talented.”

“I’m sure she is,” I say distractedly. “How are we coming along on our cross-training program?”

“Wonderful.”

“We are?”

“No, I’m referencing how well you are at changing the subject, Onyx,” Neha says with a pointed gaze at me.

Those dark brown eyes always seem to be able to see right through me. Sometimes, I wonder if she can read my mind. Smirking, I reply, “I have five minutes before my next meeting. And if you have me scheduled to meet with Michelle in an hour, I need to hurry up and get to that meeting. So, I need to get the tedious items out of the way and focus on the most important matters. You know this, Neha.”

“Mm-hmm,” she mumbles. “The cross-training program started two weeks ago, and so far, we haven’t had any complaints. A few suggestions, but they were very insightful and helpful.”

“And our succession plan? I know that we identified there needed to be some changes in our potential successors. How are we coming along with identifying those new successors for the executive roles and developing their KSAs?”

“We have identified new successors for Nicholas, Jaylen, and Mia’s roles. However, we have not begun the process of training those employees.”

“Did Nick, Jay, and Mia sign off on the plan to train their successors?”

“Nicholas and Mia have, but Jaylen hasn’t yet. He just returned to the country yesterday, and he’ll be in the office tomorrow.”

I nod.

“Our succession plan will go a long way to removing the barriers to internal advancement, and I’m confident that Michelle’s new plan will contribute to that by ensuring that weeliminate any implicit biases. You have homework,” she says, standing and dropping files on my desk.

“What’s this?” I ask, looking up at her.

“The succession plans for each of those roles. You still haven’t read them or signed off on them yourself.”

I smirk at her. “I promise to have them to you by the end of this week.”

“Sounds like something I heard last week,” she says with a smirk, walking to the door.

“You have my word, Neha.”

She straightens out her tan pantsuit, smoothes her inky black hair which is pulled into a tight bun into place, and nods before leaving my office.

Turning to my iPad, I pull up my next meeting.

“Hey, baby. How are you feeling today?” I ask when Meadow’s face comes onto the screen.

She shrugs and pulls a hand through her long, tangled curls.

“I’ve been better,” she says softly.

---