“Is everything okay?” I ask. He still hasn’t spoken, but he really does look beat up about something. I know he was with Gavin last night. Maybe a rugby match gone bad?
“Not really,” he finally replies. “Do you feel safe here, Olivia?”
My eyes dart around the room like I might find some sort of weapon.
“Yes?”
“I mean at this company. Atmycompany.”
“Oh. Of course, I feel safe.” I’m starting to wonder if this is a new style for our quarterly reviews. I’ve heard of other companies in the Bay Area letting employees review their leadership. Maybe I got picked by the random generator.
“Look, I promised Gavin I would wait to talk to you, but I don’t want to lose any more sleep over this. I need to know exactly what happened with Mitch, and why you didn’t feel comfortable coming to me or to HR.”
I see red.
He promisedGavin? Gavin promisedme. What the hell is this, some sort of ambush? Gavin trying to save the dayagainand failing miserablyagain?
“I’m not sure what Gavin told you, but nothing happened with Mitch. And there’s nothing I need to talk to HR about. I’d really just like to get back to work.” I stand.
“Liv,” he says quickly and pauses. “Please.”
When I sit back down, I cross my arms over my chest, hoping it sends the right message.
“Can we talk as friends for a minute?” he continues. “Just forget this is my company. Our roles don’t exist.”
“That’s not exactly easy to do but sure.”
“Did you know I have three sisters?” he asks, catching me off guard. I shake my head. There’s very little I know about Daanesh outside of work. “When Gavin told me how Mitch has been treating you, all I could think about was them. Two arestill in school but the oldest, Sana, she just started working as a data scientist for a company in Dallas. If I knew her job was threatened for anything other than performance, I’d be livid. And I don’t want anyone working for me that feels otherwise. I just want to make it clear that I will never condone misogynistic behavior, and you should never be afraid to come to me if something like that happens.”
He nods his head, announcing my turn to speak.
“I appreciate you saying all this, I do. But it doesn’t change anything.”
“Why not?” he asks.
“Okay, let’s just play this out.Hypothetically. Because I have not made a complaint and I don’t plan to.” I let my eyes flare. “But let’s say I tell you Mitch is threatening me, harassing me, being inappropriate, whatever. What do you do then? You fire him, I assume?”
“Yes.” Daanesh thinks this is the response I want, but he still doesn’t get it.
“So, then what happens to me? I get a new boss?”
He nods, shrugs, like of course I would. No big deal.
“Great. Now I have a new boss who knows I got the last one fired. That sounds like a great start to our relationship. Mitch will be gone, and sure, people might talk about him, but he’ll move on to another VP role somewhere else, no problem. I’ll be the one living with the rumors. The girl who got the VP of sales fired. People will love to speculate about what happened; if it was really even his fault at all. Maybe I’m just too sensitive or couldn’t take a joke. If I ever do get promoted, it’ll be because the company is scared of a lawsuit, or hell, maybe it’s because I started sleeping withyouto get what I want.” He shudders at this. It’s nice to know where he stands, but it still doesn’t change anything.
“The rumors will be endless, and I’ll hate it here even more than I do working for Mitch. Eventually, I’ll leave, and start over at the bottom somewhere else. Tell me if any part of that scenario sounds like a win for me.”
He swallows thickly. “I don’t know if that’s exactly how it would go, but I see your point. You’re really not going to work with me on this? You don’t want Mitch gone? I’ll do everything in my power to not let it affect you.”
I take a second to think about it. “Of course I want him gone, but not like this. Not because of me. All I want right now is to do my job and make some magic happen, all on my own.”
“If this is about the promotion you’ve been working toward, I?—”
“Nope. Don’t even say it. I do not want to win that way. Can you please keep this between us?”
He nods and something about his expression makes me want to believe him.
I stand up and leave the room before he can dangle any more carrots in front of me. Because I don’t want his help, or Gavin’s or anyone else’s.
