Her face went pale.
“I’m being fired?”
“I did not say that.”
“Then…”
“I said do not leave.”
He turned toward the Regional Director.
“Conference room.”
“Now.”
The Regional Director nodded.
The Office Manager followed.
The receptionist stayed behind.
The CEO stopped.
Looked back at her.
“What is your name?”
She told him.
He nodded.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Three weeks.”
“Did you do anything wrong today?”
She looked terrified.
“I…”
“Think before answering.”
The receptionist swallowed.
“I almost called security without checking the credential.”
The Black CEO nodded.
“Why?”
She glanced toward the Office Manager.
The answer was obvious.
The CEO said:
“Stay available.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And write down what you remember before someone tells you what you remember.”
Her eyes widened.
Then she nodded.
The CEO entered the elevator.
The Office Manager stood beside him.
The Regional Director stood on the other side.
Nobody spoke.
The doors closed.
The elevator began rising.
Floor numbers changed.
The Office Manager finally whispered:
“I truly didn’t recognize you.”
The Black CEO stared at the numbers.
“I know.”
“I would never…”
He turned.
“Never what?”
She stopped.
The CEO waited.
“Treat you that way if you knew?”
The Office Manager looked down.
The elevator reached 37.
The CEO continued:
“That sentence will hurt you more than anything you did downstairs.”
She looked up.
“I didn’t mean…”
“I know exactly what you meant.”
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened to the executive floor.
The Black CEO stepped out.
“Conference room.”
They entered a glass-walled room overlooking Manhattan.
The skyline stretched beyond floor-to-ceiling windows.
Sunlight reflected from neighboring towers.
The Black CEO placed his notebook on the table.
The Office Manager remained standing.
The Regional Director asked:
“Do you want legal?”
“Yes.”
“HR?”
“Yes.”
“Security?”
“Yes.”
“Compliance?”
“Yes.”
The Office Manager stared.
“All of them?”
The CEO looked at her.
“This stopped being about me before I reached the elevator.”
She sat.
The Regional Director made calls.
The CEO walked toward the windows.
Traffic moved far below.
Tiny yellow taxis.
Buses.
People.
He remembered the first office.
No executive elevator.
No marble.
The printing shop downstairs.
He remembered carrying boxes himself.