Page 56 of The CEO's Sweetheart Deal
I enter my office and start pacing, already working out everything I’ll say to Halston, Jack, the board… and Alice.
Especially Alice.
Naomi appears in the doorway. "Cole is on line one, and I'm having HR send up the Rooted Pantry files."
"Thank you." I pick up the phone on my desk. "Cole."
"What happened?" he asks immediately. "I thought you two were?—"
"Jack and Halston authorized layoffs at Rooted Pantry while I was gone. Half the staff, including Sydney."
"Shit," Cole breathes. "Alice?"
"Found out as soon as we landed. She thinks I planned it this way — kept her distracted in San Diego while I gutted her company." My voice breaks slightly, and I clear my throat. "She doesn’t even want to see me right now.”
"That's… unfortunate timing."
"You think?" I rub my temple, feeling a headache coming on. "I need you here when I meet with Jack and Halston. Which is…” I check my watch. “Now. I want the legal perspective on reversing these terminations."
"On my way," Cole says, and I can hear him already moving. "But Oscar… you never actually rejected their proposal."
The reminder stings because he's right. I never officially shot down the plan — I just kept putting off the decision, hoping for a better alternative. And my hesitation created the perfect opening for them to act.
"I know," I say quietly. "That's on me."
As I hang up, there's a knock at my door. Jack and Halston enter, looking far too composed for men who should feel at least a little bit of remorse. Instead, they look smug.
Halston is carrying a folder, which he sets on my desk. "The redundancy paperwork, as requested," he says, sliding into one of the chairs opposite my desk without waiting to be invited.
Jack follows suit, adjusting his tie. "Oscar, I know this is upsetting, but if you look at the numbers?—"
"I don't give a damn about the numbers," I cut him off, remaining standing. "What I care about is that you two implemented major staffing changes without my authorization."
"With all due respect," Halston says, leaning forward, "you never rejected the proposal. You said you wanted time to review it, and we gave you that time. Nearly three weeks of it."
"Three weeks is not an approval!"
"Perhaps not explicitly," Jack concedes, "but you've never hesitated this long on similar restructuring plans before. We assumed your silence was tacit approval, especially since you were… unavailable."
There's something in his tone when he says "unavailable" that makes my blood boil.
"Choose your next words very carefully," I warn him, my voice deadly quiet.
Halston clears his throat. "What Jack means is that we proceeded based on precedent. Every acquisition we've made in the past five years has followed this exact playbook. Cut redundant staff, consolidate operations, boost short-term profits."
"Rooted Pantry is different," I insist.
"Because of your new girlfriend?" Jack asks, raising an eyebrow.
Before I can respond, Cole enters the room, nodding briefly to all present. "Gentlemen."
"Perfect timing," Halston says dryly. "We were just discussing the influence of personal relationships on business decisions."
"We were discussing," I say through gritted teeth, "your unauthorized actions that have jeopardized our newest acquisition."
"Jeopardized?" Jack scoffs. "We've improved it. The cuts will save nearly a million dollars in the first year alone."
"And cost us what in built-in knowledge? What in–”
