Snapshot (Lessons in Love Book 2)

There are two minutes before my meeting is supposed to start and nobody is here in the conference room. Dex was supposed to meet me first, but I would not be surprised if his prior meeting ran late. I suppose I need to get used to him being tied up.

One pleasant surprise in this room is the large espresso machine resting on the built-in countertop and shelves. One of my many underappreciated talents is actually knowing how to work an espresso machine, thanks to my brief time as a barista. I’ll admit, in a day and age where there’s a Starbucks on every block, knowing how to work an espresso machine is a pretty useless skill, but finally, here is my moment to shine.

Maybe I can win over the board by making everyone a perfect latte. Except there’s no milk… Okay, fine. Americano then.

I try to flick on the power switch, but it doesn’t turn on. After toggling it on and off to no avail several more times, I contort my body, bending over the counter. My feet come off the ground as I try to examine the small slit between the back of the machine and the wall, in case it’s come unplugged.

“That’s really just for show,” says a woman’s voice from the meeting room entrance. Planting my sensible heels back on the ground and straightening my skirt, I turn to see a young, tan woman leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed. “I saw you through the window, and it looked like you were struggling. That machine is décor. It won’t turn on for you. I just made a pot in the breakroom down the hall, though. You’re more than welcome to partake.”

She gives me a pitiful smile. Her thick, dark hair is braided neatly to the side. She’s wearing a form-fitting navy business dress that accentuates her generous curves.

I point to the little espresso cups that are flipped over and lined neatly next to the machine. “A little deceiving. Why have cups here if you can’t actually make coffee?”

She laughs. “I’d need a whole day to explain to you the pointless things we have to do at this office. Are you new here?”

“Yes. New and clueless, apparently.” I cross the room with my hand outstretched. “I’m Lennox. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Spencer. I’m the coffee-copy girl.”

I screw up my face in confusion. “The what?”

“The coffee-copy girl.” She sighs. “I think it started off as a joke. But now I’m pretty sure it’s on my actual personnel file. Some of the managers around here have a funny sense of humor.”

“Being?”

“I’m sort of stuck in a forever internship. My freshman year, I took a paid internship as an office assistant. My job was to make copies. I’m graduating this coming spring, so a few months ago, I made my pitch for an official role. My manager, Casey gave me a fifty-cent an hour raise, then promoted me to copy and coffee girl. Super condescending.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I was warned that this entire office was filled with middle-aged men who know more about cigars than their jobs.”

She chuckles. “Pretty accurate. There are a few exceptions…”

This woman’s smile is genuine, though. Unlike with Kat, the hairs on the back of my neck are unbothered. I sense no danger here.

“Such as?”

“Well, the former CEO, Dottie Hessler, was incredible. I finally got the nerve to schedule a meeting with her. I was going to go above Casey’s head and ask about getting a job on the marketing team.”

“But you’re still getting coffee? She didn’t agree?”

Spencer drops her head. “She passed away a few weeks ago. My meeting was scheduled for next week, actually.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

She shrugs. “Just wasn’t meant to be. I’m not worried about it at the moment. Right now, we’re all mourning. If the office seems a little gloomy, that’s why. Dottie will be sorely missed. She was the kind of CEO who would hold doors open for entry-level employees and actually ate in the lunch cafeteria with us. That was her thing. She always tried to be around and approachable.”

I’m not remotely surprised to hear this about Dottie. “That’s really nice.”

“Yes, and I don’t mean to make the leadership team sound awful. Casey’s a douche, and unfortunately, I report to him. But the other department heads are great. I don’t know who you report to, but most of them will do a monthly career mapping meeting with you. My advice for you here is to speak up and ask for what you want. There’s a lot of opportunity to climb, and if they know you’re hungry to grow, they’ll help you. What department did you say you’re in?”

After that article was released, I assumed everybody at the company already knew about me in the worst way, but I suppose not everybody subscribes to gossip media. Not to mention there was no picture with the article. “I report to Dex Hessler.”

“Ah. Lucky.” She winks. “Total dreamboat. He’s fantastic eye candy. He used to never be here, but I’ve seen him at headquarters a handful of times since Mrs. Hessler passed. Actually, your boss is here today. I saw the entire exec team in some big meeting upstairs.”

My stomach drops. “What time is it?”

“Ten-forty.”

I grumble. “You said upstairs?”

“Yes. All the executive meetings are on the fourth floor.”

“Shit. I need to be at that meeting. I thought it was the third floor.” I swear Dex said third. Dammit.

“Oh, come on, I’ll take you. Stairs are a little faster if you’re late.” She leads the way down the hall. After climbing the stairs at warp speed, and banking a sharp left, Spencer points to a large meeting room with windows for walls at the corner of the hallway. I can see Dex sitting at the head of the table with an empty chair beside him. Fuck. So much for good first impressions. The entire board and executive team are already seated, eyes fixed on a PowerPoint presentation projected on the board behind them.

“Thank you, Spencer,” I say, moving toward the glass door.

“Wait, Lennox, may I ask you for a little favor?” she asks in a hurry.

“Sure.”

“If you get a chance to talk to Mr. Hessler, would you mind putting in a good word for me? Spencer Riley. I think I’m going to give it a few months and then see if I can apply for the marketing team again. Casey would never approve a transfer. I’m the only one who makes his coffee right, apparently. So, I need his boss to sign off. It’d help to have a good reference.”

I smile at her. “I like your odds.”

Dex

I press my lips together, trying my best not to laugh as my poor wife sneaks in late to the leadership meeting. She pushes open the door slowly, so as not to interrupt our CFO, Casey. He’s droning on about call center efficiency and how they’ve managed to increase our profit margins by a whole percent thanks to first-call resolution. Unfortunately for Lennox, the door needs a hearty coat of WD-40 and creaks miserably as she pushes against it.

With every tiny step she takes forward, the door wails. Eventually, she must decide, “fuck it,” because she hurls the door open with gusto and scurries to the chair right next to me.

Casey continues talking, but now all eyes are fixed on Lennox.

“Sorry to interrupt, but may I have the room?” I ask.

Casey nods, abruptly ending the presentation no one was really paying attention to, and then takes a seat across the table.

“I’d like to introduce everyone to my wife, Lennox.” There’s a low murmur of awkward “hellos” and “welcomes.”

Normally, Lennox approaches everything she does with what I’d call blind ferocity. Complete confidence even when she’s ill-equipped. But right now, her knee is jiggling so hard she’s shaking her chair. The only time I’ve seen her nervous like this is the first time she went scuba diving in the ocean. I place my hand on her leg under the table, gently squeezing and massaging until I feel her quad relax.

“Everyone in this room is aware of the complicated nature of my grandmother’s intentions with the future of this company,” I continue. “Lennox has graciously agreed to step into the role of CEO in the interim. I’ll be in the role of president until she feels comfortable handing her shares back over.”

I’m expecting smiles…maybe some encouraging nods, but as I look around the room, it’s clear why Lennox is so nervous. We’re met with scowls, pinched eyebrows, and shifted gazes. Reading a room is half my job, and every warning alarm is going off, telling me this is bad.

As something of a peace offering, I’m eager to brag about Lennox’s quick cunning with the Luxe Adventure cruise solution. “Lennox, would you like to tell the team about your plans to reestablish Luxe Adventure?” I nudge her shoulder.

She clears her throat and leans forward like she’s speaking into a mic on a witness stand. “No, thank you. It’s probably best you explain.”

Okay, so everyone is uncomfortable. It’s normal with a shift in leadership. It’ll be fine. I had the same fears after Grandma’s funeral, and I wasn’t sure how my new team felt about me.

“Obviously, this is completely confidential, and we’ll follow up with more details, but Lennox inspired the idea of drawing in a new source of revenue by using our upcoming itineraries as ticketed concert experiences. We’re partnering with some artists from Visionary Record Labels, and I’d love to see marketing concepts in A/B testing by⁠—”

“We have an idea as well,” Dean Walsh, Hessler Group’s COO, says. “Sorry to interrupt, but if you don’t mind, we all got together and found a loophole we wanted to run by you.”

I raise my eyebrows. I’m not exactly the tyrannical type of leader, but since when does my team eagerly talk over me when I’m making an announcement for a new endeavor that I expect them to see through?

“Okay, go for it.” I lean back in my seat. “Are you presenting?” I ask Dean.

Dean smooths his hands over the top of his hair. “Um,” he says, glancing across the table, “It was kind of a group discovery. Does anybody else want to hop in?”

The room is silent, and now the nervous throat-clearing and awkward exchanges of looks are starting to irritate me.

“Somebody speak up…now.”

“Dean, you brought it up. Go ahead,” Hank barks out. I’m also relieved that Hank, our most senior advisor, is in the room. He’s the closest thing I have to a mentor. He was Grandpa’s close advisor, then Grandma’s…now mine.

“Hank, what’s going on?” I ask.

He turns his attention to Lennox. “Mrs. Hessler, it is a pleasure to meet you. May I offer you the warmest welcome to Hessler Group. How incredibly rude of us not to begin with that.” He glances around the table, throwing dirty looks like daggers at several advisors and executives. “Please understand that I have nothing to do with, nor want anything to do with the bullshit that Walsh is about to spew.”

Another rumble of disapproving grunts and mumbles surfaces and by now my patience is completely gone. I slam my fist on the table in a fashion similar to my grandpa when he was agitated. “Get to it,” I snap, making Lennox jump beside me.

Dean nervously blurts out, “We found a loophole. After we saw the um…article from BuzzLit and discovered you were married, we kind of figured based on the contents of the article that perhaps the newest Mrs. Hessler wouldn’t feel she was the best fit for leadership at the company.”

Lennox’s eyes lift, a glint of irritation in the corner of her eye. Dean struck a nerve. She hasn’t said a word thus far, but now she speaks up. “You don’t even know me, and you’re going to make assumptions about how I feel?”

Dean looks at me expectantly, but he must be confused as to where my loyalty lies.

“That article was outrageously exaggerated,” I say calmly. “It exploited a very private conversation. Surely, you’re not trying to ostracize my wife based on a pathetic gossip column.”

“That’s exactly what they’re doing,” Hank grumbles.

“Hank, please. You’re the only one in disagreement.” With a sharp exhale, Dean continues, “There’s a clause in the company policy that if the stakeholders can prove illegal activity by the CEO within the company, we can dismiss them from their position. The majority shares will default to the next eligible Hessler heir…” He gestures to me with an open palm. “Hence, you.”

“I don’t know what you’re accusing me of, but I haven’t committed any crimes,” Lennox says defensively.

“But your father has,” another exec, Jensen adds. “It wouldn’t be so farfetched. The apple not falling too far from the tree.”

“What the hell did you just say?” Lennox’s voice drops to an icy whisper.

I inhale and exhale, feeling my temper bubbling back up to the surface. Before I can speak, Dean hops in to clarify. “We’re not suggesting Mrs. Hessler is already involved with any wrongdoings. Sorry for the misunderstanding,” he says, shooting a nasty look at Jensen. Everyone is tense, fighting amongst themselves and apparently attempting to stage a coup against my family. “We’re simply suggesting that if Mrs. Hessler would sign an affidavit admitting to something along the lines of embezzlement, bribery, any sort of fraud, with your status, she’d get a little slap on the wrist from the SEC, if that. No real consequences, and then it’d absolve the ownership issue we’re having. You could take your place as CEO.”

“She could stop embarrassing the company and risking all our jobs,” Jensen adds.

My normally feisty, quick-with-a-rebuttal wife has her head hung and for the first time in my entire time knowing Lennox, I see her cry. A single tear drips down her cheek and she makes no move to remove it. I watch it cradle her cheek and fall onto the table, leaving a tiny splash mark. Another joins it. Then another. I clench my jaw as my stomach twists. The heat rises in my body.

“Jensen,” I ask, “what’s biting you in the ass right now?”

He shakes his head. “We’ve all worked really hard to get to where we are. We plan on retiring comfortably here. None of us want to see this company take a nosedive because of Dottie’s lack of good judgment in her late age. We’ve all been thinking it since the reading of the will, and we’re trying to protect you, Dex. This is a solution and nobody wants to see Mrs. Hessler hurt. But even with a record, she’ll be fine. Unlike us, she’ll never need to actually work again.”

Jensen pulls out a manilla folder and passes it down person by person until it lands in front of me. “Here’s one option. That’s an admission for Mrs. Hessler to sign, saying she established an offshore account. Just a couple million dollars taken under accounting’s nose and put into a private holding. All just staged. We can bury the documentation. No one outside this room has to know, but it’ll serve the purpose of the necessary legalities for the transfer of ownership. We could be done with this today⁠—”

“Enough,” I interrupt. I glance over the document and I’m further enraged. Part of me was hoping this was some sort of twisted hazing and somebody was about to jump out and say “Just kidding,” then proceed to give Lennox the proper welcome she deserves. But no. This document is boilerplate, and at the bottom…a line ready for her signature.

“You’re fired,” I say simply. Jensen’s jaw drops.

“I…I…” he stammers.

I lift my eyes ensuring he sees the seriousness in my expression. “End of discussion. Leave my meeting. I’ll let HR know you’re stopping by for your severance arrangement.”

“On what…what grounds?” he manages, looking around the room. But nobody wants to meet his gaze.

“Loyalty. It’s something I require on my leadership team. You showed your hand; I’m showing mine. Get the fuck out, Jensen. Don’t make me repeat myself. Find your hard-earned retirement at another company. It won’t be here. Let me be explicitly clear with everyone in this room that I am a team with my wife. Disrespecting her is disrespecting me. I have zero tolerance for it.”

After the shock wears off, Jensen rises and storms out of the room. I tuck the document back into the manilla folder, then lift it up and let it fall on the desk with a heavy thud. “Whose idea was this?” I ask. Nobody responds. Leaning back in my chair, I add, “I could just start firing you all one by one until somebody fesses up.”

Hank clears his throat. “Dex, let’s take a breath. You made your point. No need to go on the warpath. It was a senseless suggestion. Now we can move on, unless anybody else would like to make their opinion known?” He raises his brows and looks around the room.

There’s a quiet knock at the door, and then it pushes open. The young woman who brought Lennox to the meeting room pokes her head through. “I am incredibly sorry to interrupt, but Mrs. Hessler, you just got a call from home. It’s important.” They exchange a glance, and the woman at the door pumps her eyebrows. “Extremely urgent matter. They need you right now.”

What? What calls are Lennox getting at the office already? And who is this woman? As far as I know, Lennox doesn’t have an assistant.

Obediently, Lennox rises, smoothing down her skirt. She looks around the room, then her eyes land on me. She gives me a tepid smile before turning her attention back to the leadership team. “Well, as much as I’d like to say it was nice meeting you all…I’m not a liar. Nor a criminal. Have a good day.”

With that, she slips out of the room. I watch her disappear down the hallway through the glass walls. Her hips sway side to side as she power walks to keep up with the woman who freed her from the meeting. The way I’m watching her walk away reminds me of the bar the very night I asked Lennox to marry me.

She had no idea the shitstorm I was pulling her into. Did I?

I thought I’d go to my grave never seeing Lennox cry…

But marrying me was the thing to push her over the edge.