Page 124 of Code of Heart
And right beneath that…fear.
Levi smirked.You wanted outrage and humiliation, Tyler?Sorry. Not today.
Tyler opened his mouth to speak, but Levi casually lifted a finger, cutting him off with the simplest, most dismissive gesture imaginable.
Wait your turn.
He casually took out his phone, swiped open the camera app, and adjusted the angle until every single person in the room was in view.
“Gentlemen,” he addressed the security guards smoothly, “Would you mind stepping a little to the left? I want to make sure we get everyone on camera before I start recording.”
The guards exchanged wary looks but shifted obligingly. The Board members squirmed. Tyler’s eyes darted to the journalists, his confidence starting to fracture.
With a satisfied smile, Levi hit record.
The screech of Tyler’s chair echoed through the room as he shot to his feet. “Turn thatoff!” he barked, pointing furiously across the table. “You don’t have my consent—or anyone else’s—to record this meeting!”
Levi reclined back in his chair like he had all the time in the world, a smug smile that was pure provocation played on his lips. His voice was taunting and dripping with careless confidence.
“Actually,” he said, angling the phone to zoom in on the surveillance signs posted clearly on the walls, “you all waived that right the second you walked into this building. As you can see, this entire space is under constant video surveillance.”
He turned the camera back on Tyler, his smile sharpening into something dangerous. “And since you haven’t voted to fireme yet, I’m still an employee, and fully entitled to my legal workplace accommodations under the Citizens with Disabilities Act.”
He let that hang for a moment before dropping the bomb.
“And since we’re talking about accommodations,” Levi kicked the sarcasm up a degree, his voice cool and razor-sharp, “let’s not forget that I’m dyslexic. Officially diagnosed. Permanently protected. And I am fully entitled to record meetings for my personal reference. It’s in my file, Tyler. Would you like me to read it aloud for you, or would that be too ironic?”
Tyler’s face flushed an ugly shade of red. His mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Levi leaned forward, the humor vanishing like a switch had been flipped. His gaze turned lethal, and when he spoke, his voice was razor-sharp and impossible to ignore, slicing through the room like a drawn knife.
“And I’llneverforget that Board meeting two months ago,” he said, his glare pinning Tyler like a bug under glass. “When I reminded you that your job didn’t give you the license to interfere in our operations. How you lost your badge access after tailgating an employee into a restricted area, or how you tried to coerce my developers into altering the code to collect personal data.”
He turned the phone deliberately toward the reporters.
“I have the official meeting minutes if you’re interested. Would you like to know what this man said to me that day?” Both journalists fidgeted, eyes bright with anticipation. Levi savored the moment, then delivered the fatal strike.
“I told him if he was that desperate to be a developer, he should apply for the job. His response?” Levi paused for effect, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous purr.
“I’d be happy to send you my resume, but…I wonder if you’d be able to read it efficiently without someone to help you. We all know how difficult it is for you to do something so simple.”
Gasps rippled through the room. The reporters’ pens flew across their notepads. Even the security guards exchanged a disgusted look.
Levi sat back slowly, eyes glittering with cold satisfaction. “And since we’re laying all our cards on the table…” Levi ticked his fingers off one by one.
“One—You’ve harassed and discriminated against me for my disability.”
Tick.
“Two—You conspired with a now-former employee to deliberately orchestrate a data breach that miraculously hit the media before I even learned of it.”
Tick.
“Three, and perhaps most damning of all, someone leaked explicit photos of my wife in the middle of a vicious assault thatjust so happenedto break at the exact same time as this data breach. And wouldn’t you know…it all conveniently coincides with this little coup d'état you’ve been planning for months.”
Tick.
The room was deathly silent, the faint hum of cool air passing through the vents echoing loudly through the room.
