…”Jake Morrison, a senior account manager at Brightline Media. Your direct competitor.”
The CEO, Richard Hale, looked at his daughter, Kayla. She was staring at the table, her face red.
It came out slowly. Kayla had been dating Jake for two months. He’d told her he could help her “look like a genius” in her new role and asked her to send him our client reports so he could suggest improvements. She thought it was romantic. She didn’t realize he worked for Brightline until the client’s lawyer said it out loud. The “reporting error” she’d blamed on me had happened because Jake gave her a template that didn’t match our client’s data.
“He told me he was a freelance consultant,” Kayla whispered. “I didn’t know.”
The client’s representative was calm but firm. They were reviewing their contract. Brightline had already approached them with a proposal built on our confidential numbers.
Then Richard did something I didn’t expect. He turned to me in front of everyone and said, “You warned me she wasn’t ready. You were right. I’m sorry I called you jealous.”
I spent the next two weeks fixing the damage. I worked with our legal team, called the client every day and helped them prove the leak to their own board. Brightline faced a lawsuit, and Jake was fired.
The client renewed its contract, on one condition: I would personally manage their account as the new director.
Richard agreed. Kayla was moved to a junior account role, and to my surprise, she asked to work on my team. She said she wanted to learn the job properly this time.
She’s been with me for a year now. She’s sharp when she pays attention, and she’s learned to ask questions before sending anything to anyone. Last month, she handled her first small client by herself. She came into my office afterward and said, “Thank you for not giving up on me, even when I deserved it.” Then she brought me coffee, which is something her father has never done once in fourteen years.
