Then she reached into her portfolio again.
CHAPTER 2
This time she removed the badge.
A black card with silver lettering.
VICTORIA MATTHEWS
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
She placed it on the marble counter beside the cleaning supplies.
Then she stared at it.
She had spent six months negotiating to buy this company.
But she had not purchased a building.
She had not purchased a logo.
She had not purchased a balance sheet.
She had purchased responsibility for nearly eight hundred employees.
And she had just been ordered onto her knees by the head of Human Resources.
Victoria picked up the badge.
Not yet.
She slipped it back into her portfolio.
Then she looked toward the closed door.
“Let's see what kind of company I just bought.”
And she walked out.
Pinnacle Solutions occupied twenty-three floors of a glass-and-steel tower in downtown Chicago.
The company developed enterprise software, cybersecurity systems, and cloud infrastructure for major corporations.
Its annual revenue exceeded a billion dollars.
Its website described the culture as:
INNOVATION. INCLUSION. EXCELLENCE.
Victoria had read those words before buying the company.
Now she wanted to know whether they meant anything.
She stepped through the revolving doors at 9:07 that morning.
Nobody recognized her.
Exactly as planned.
Employees hurried through the lobby carrying coffee.
Some talked loudly into phones.
Others walked in groups.
Victoria watched.
She noticed who greeted the security guards.
Who didn't.
Who held doors.
Who expected doors to be held.
She watched employees cluster around the coffee machines.
One group was almost entirely white.
Another group was primarily Black and Hispanic.
Another consisted mostly of younger Asian employees.
The groups rarely mixed.
That didn't prove discrimination.
But it told her something about the culture.
Then she noticed Richard Keller.
He stood behind the security desk.
Fifty-two years old.
Operations Director.
Expensive suit.
Gold watch.
Permanent expression of irritation.
He was lecturing a security guard about an access badge.
“You don't let anyone through without verification.”
The guard nodded.
“I understand.”
“Then act like it.”
Richard turned.
His eyes landed on Victoria.
He studied her.
Her blazer.
Her portfolio.
Her shoes.
His expression changed.
Not curiosity.
Classification.
Victoria recognized it immediately.
He had already decided what she was.
Maintenance staff.
Richard walked toward her.
“You must be with the new cleaning service.”
Victoria smiled politely.
“I suppose I am.”
“Maintenance office is sublevel two.”
“I was hoping to familiarize myself with the building.”
“That isn't protocol.”
Richard checked his watch.
“We have standards here.”
Victoria said nothing.
“The building needs to be spotless today.”
“The new CEO is coming.”
He emphasized the word CEO.
Victoria almost laughed.
Instead she asked:
“Do you know much about the new CEO?”
Richard smiled.
“Not much.”
Then he lowered his voice.
“But I hope they're practical.”
“What does that mean?”
He shrugged.