Fireball by Lainey Davis

Author:Lainey Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lainey Davis

CHAPTER TWENTY

Samantha

INVASIVE VINE? PITTSBURGH Tech Startup CEO Too Flighty for Lasting Fame

Isaiah Childers, Forbes correspondent

“There is no bottom.” I stand by Audrey’s desk and take off my shoes. My mom used to do that when she got home from work—take off her high heels and drop them inside the front door and just dive in to whatever disaster awaited her, whether that was peed sheets to wash or the frenzied clutter from getting three kids out the door for daycare in the morning.

Audrey raises a brow at me when I set the shoes next to her desk. “You okay? Wait. I can see that you’re not. Let me start again.” She looks up to Logan and Shane, who are cringing around a print copy of Forbes magazine. Audrey stands up and places her hands on my shoulders. “We love you. And we’re a team here at Vinea. And we’re going to figure out a solution to this.”

The feature story about me has run in today’s edition, and the reporter did not paint a flattering picture. Shane looks particularly irate as they stare at the magazine. “I hate this part where douche canoe calls you flighty and distracted,” they say. “If you were a man, this would probably be a glowing analysis of you managing multiple irons in multiple fires.” Audrey snorts.

Logan bites her lip. “This doesn’t seem to have been edited very well,” she says. “There are no quotes from your major early investors. No interviews with anyone from the board. It’s like he wrote a day in the life piece but only captured the stressful parts of your day!”

I take a deep breath and squat down to pick up one of the shoes. And then I bang the heel of it on the polished concrete floor a few times while roaring in frustration. The heel snaps off the shoe and Shane gently plucks the ruined footwear from my hand, shaking their head. “Sam, let’s be solution-focused.”

They look up at Logan, who takes a deep breath and sits down on the floor next to me. Shane and Audrey follow suit, just sitting on the floor in their fancy work clothes while I noisily fall apart. I might be able to handle an article slamming me on a normal day, but not after getting rejected and not when we’re on the cusp of bombing our IPO. I look at Logan, hoping she will come through with some good news in the face of this very public shaming.

She pats her thighs. “Okay, so most important is we’ve got growth and profits out the wazoo. From a numbers perspective, we are golden.” She raises her brows and nods at Audrey. Audrey raises her brows and claps her hands.

I shake my head. “This article was supposed to prop me up as the leadership beacon the company needs to forge ahead. Our board is going to want…I don’t even know.” I start rubbing my temples.

Shane pats my shoulder with the hand that is not holding the shoe.

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