Dixon: Italiano's. 30 minutes?
Yeah, it's definitely not a date if he is only giving me thirty minutes. I pull up the Uber app and request a driver. I scramble to my bedroom closet, and pick out a simple black dress and heels. Nothing fancy, one I usually wear to work. I don't have much time to do something with this awful hair of mine, so I throw it up into a high bun and call it good.
My phone dings and I grab my bag and head downstairs to find my Lexus waiting for me. “Italiano's please. Appreciate you getting here so fast.”
Me: On my way.
I try to calm myself on the way to the restaurant, but I can't help my thoughts from running away. What if the company does go under? Her feelings for Dixon wouldn't be against the rules. Although, I am not sure there is actually anything in the employee handbook about dating within the workplace.
I hand the driver a twenty dollar bill for a tip for getting me here on time and walk in with grace. The restaurant is bustling, so I scan the room until my eyes fall on Dixon, hunched over a table with a phone in his hand, and a look of deep concentration on his face. He glances up at me when I approach and breaks into a relieved smile.
He jumps up to give me an embrace, then gestures for me to take the seat across from him. The waiter comes right over, not wasting a moment, and takes my order before scurrying away.
Dixon leans back in his chair and gives a heavy sigh. His eyes are wide with apprehension as if he is about to explode. “So I did it,” he says with conviction. “I told my family about my father stealing designs.”
My mouth drops open with surprise. “Wow… how did they take it? As shocked as I was, I can’t imagine your mother’s reaction.”
He nervously ruffles his hair with one hand. “Yeah, everyone was taken aback by the news. It’s so out of character for him, but I think I made the right decision to stand by my principles no matter what choices he made.” His face softens as he adds, “He may hate me for life, but that doesn’t mean I should cover his tracks. He raised me better than that.”
Though George has certainly made his fair share of mistakes, he can take pride knowing that he raised Dixon to be a morallystrong man. Standing up for your convictions takes courage though, especially when you have to face family members who may not agree with you.
He exhales a shaky breath and runs a hand through his hair. His eyes are downcast. Fear is radiating off him, but also a deep gratitude.
“It's all out in the open now,” he says. “I just wanted to thank you for supporting me through this disaster. I know it's been difficult, and I appreciate you being open to listening to me.”
My own smile widens in response. His trust is touching, and I reach out to squeeze his arm.
“You're welcome,” I say. “We'll get through this.”
The server brings our food and we start to dig in. Somehow, I forgot to eat lunch and being here has my stomach grumbling. “You are a wonderful man. Many people would have covered for their father, but you didn’t.”
“Why should I? All my life he has told me to never forget my morals, but it seems like he wanted to forget all that because it was him. The way he looked at me when I told my family. Like I was a monster.”
“You are anything but... and don't let him make you question yourself.”
Dixon's eyes lock on mine and for a split second, I think there is definitely something more going on here.
“It's not easy to find an honest person anymore,” he says.
I nod, my cheeks growing warm. He's right.
“So, what now?” I ask. “We need to figure out how to move forward and start creating a plan of action.” Dixon nods in agreement before taking another bite of his food. We discuss the way he's feeling toward his father and whether or not there is any potential for reconciliation down the line.
We both start to plan out the next steps. We brainstorm ideas on how a formal apology can be issued. To truly make amends,it's important that George understands the enormity of his actions and takes responsibility for them while making an effort towards reconciliation with those he wronged. We talk about setting up some kind of compensation or restitution fund so that people impacted by the theft could have some recourse. There is a a formal investigation into any designer who interviewed with Legacy since inception to confirm that no one else's designs were used without permission.
Dixon takes notes while I talk passionately about ways we could expose this situation without completely destroying George's reputation; finding a balanced middle ground somehow between compassion and justice so that everyone feels comfortable with where we end up.
Facing this kind of challenge takes courage and a clear plan of action.
“I think that before making any decisions,” I say slowly. “It would be best to talk it through and figure out all the different possibilities.”
I take a long sip from my water glass then set it down firmly on the table, trying to give him strength with that small gesture of determination. “What are our options? Who might potentially help us - people inside the company perhaps? If they know about his involvement in stealing designs?” I continue on with more questions until we both come up with ideas concerning how move forward and create a plan of action which will hopefully lead us towards resolving this dilemma in an ethical way while maintaining justice for everyone involved.
We come up with some potential recommendations and solutions, but we both know that it'll take much more than a few ideas for this to get resolved fully. In the end, I suggest that George writes out an official apology. After discussing all options thoroughly Dixon agrees and begins to craft a formal letter ofapology on his father's behalf based off our conversations about what should be included in the document.
The final draft consists of various elements designed specifically by us: He expresses personal remorse over his involvement in stealing designs from designers who put their hearts into their work; acknowledges how wrong he was whether intentional or not; apologizes multiple times for any harm caused; pledges to never make such mistakes again in thought or action—and promises restitution where appropriate as well as coming forward with applicable details regarding anyone else potentially involved.
This is only just scratching the surface but it's an important start — one which takes courage but also demonstrates humility by admitting wrongdoing and showing others genuine respect.
