Page 22 of Lesbian CEO
“You mean Mark and Anthony? Yes, I’ve spoken with them already. They said we can’t afford it, but I’m telling you, Toni, you need to find a way to afford someone else.”
She stares at me, and I’m smart enough to read between the lines. Hillary is being overworked and she’s thinking about leaving the company.
Shit.
“I don’t want to lose you,” I tell her.
Her eyes soften. “You’re the best boss I’ve ever had,” she explains. “And the pay here is great. You’re super generous. It’s just that we’re trying to grow. I know that every company has growing pains, but we’re drowning here. We all are.”
“I know.”
“Do you have a plan?”
I don’t.
I don’t have a plan.
I don’t know what to do next. I’m not a business guru. I’m not Jessica. I’m not as smart as she is or as capable. If I’m being honest, I’m not even sure if I really did make the right choice in launching this company. We’re a private security firm that helps people in the area keep their computers and personal devices safe. We install their security software, we help them remove viruses from their computers, and we teach cyber security safety classes. We do all of those things, and it’s not enough.
My stomach twists as I wonder what I’m supposed to do next. I wish – not for the first time, and not for the last time – that my parents were around to help me out on this one. Mom and Dad always seemed to know what to say. Even if their answer was “figure it out, Toni,” they’d say it in such a kind and loving way that everything would be fine.
Now, I’m not so sure.
Now I feel lost.
LUNCH IS A TURKEY SANDWICH I brought from home. Mark comes in during my lunch hour and leans in the doorway.
“You can come in,” I tell him.
“Are you free?”
“Yes.”
“We need to talk.”
“Sure thing.”
Mark struts into the room acting like he owns the place. Confident, charismatic, and not even thirty, he feels like he’s on top of the world. As a finance guy, he kind of is. I’m lucky to have both Mark and Anthony on the team. They’re both go-getters. While I trust Anthony with every ounce of my financials, Mark is the one who is aggressive. He knows exactly how the budget works and how we can reel it in and improve it.
He also rarely makes office visits, so I’m not sure why he’s here.
“What’s on your mind?”
“It’s that Tweet from the other day. The one about Jessica.”
“Right. What about it?”
Jessica and I made an agreement not to tell anyone that our joint statement was an outright lie. The only people who know that we met with Piper are Patrick and Hillary – our assistants. We’ve agreed to keep things between the four of us, and Hillary and Patrick are both completely trustworthy. Neither one of them would ever say anything to betray our trust. I know that we can count on them.
But Mark is a wildcard. I trust Mark with my company’s money, but the two of us don’t share personal life details. I know he’s got a girlfriend. I know he dislikes birds. I also know that he recently bought a house and has been renovating it on the weekends.
Beyond that, I don’t know.
Do I want to know?
Mark eyes me suspiciously as he slides into one of my guest chairs. The chairs are outdated, I know. Like many things around the office, they’re sort of falling apart. I don’t generally meet with clients in here, so the chairs are just more items on an ever-growing list of things that need to be replaced and upgraded.
“Do you know who made the Tweet?”