Marcus stared at the silver nameplate in front of me as though the letters might rearrange themselves if he waited long enough.
MAYA — FOUNDER & CEO.
His outstretched hand slowly fell to his side.
Jennifer closed the boardroom door behind him.
The soft click sounded much louder than it should have.
“You can take a seat,” she said.
Marcus moved toward the nearest chair, but the leather portfolio beneath his arm slipped.
It struck the floor, sprang open, and scattered copies of his résumé beneath the table.
No one rushed to help him.
Three nights earlier, he had watched my family reduce my career to a joke.
Now he crouched beneath my conference table gathering pages that carried my company’s logo.
When he finally sat down, his face was still pale.
“Maya,” he said quietly.
“I didn’t realize this was your company.”
I rested my hands beside his interview folder.
“You told my family you worked with real CEOs every week.”
Marcus Williams, our head of HR, lowered his pen.
Jennifer’s expression remained professional, but I knew her well enough to see the anger in the tight line of her mouth.
Marcus Porter glanced from one of them to the other.
“Easter got out of hand,” he said.
“Lauren was joking.”
“Were you joking when you agreed with her?”
His jaw shifted.
“I was trying to keep the peace.”
That answer almost made me smile.
At Easter, keeping the peace had apparently required helping my sister humiliate me while the rest of the family watched.
He straightened his tie and tried to recover the polished confidence he had carried through the door.
“This is obviously a personal conflict,” he said.
“You shouldn’t be interviewing me.”
“You’re right.”
Relief flashed across his face.
I turned toward Jennifer.
“Please record that I have a personal connection to the candidate through my sister.
I’ll recuse myself from scoring and from the hiring decision.”
Jennifer entered the note on her tablet.
Marcus leaned back slightly.
He seemed to think the danger had passed.
Then Jennifer touched the screen, and his résumé appeared on the wall behind me.
One sentence had been highlighted in red.
Led and personally closed a $38 million national hospital network agreement.
Jennifer folded her hands.
“Mr.
Porter, before we discuss the position, we need clarification.
Your former employer confirmed that the hospital agreement was led by another executive.
Their records show you supported two regional presentations but did not negotiate or close the contract.”
Marcus blinked.
“That’s a matter of interpretation.”
“Their legal department did not interpret it that way,” Jennifer said.
He shifted in his chair.
“I was part of the team.”
“Your résumé says you personally led and closed it.”
“Resumes summarize.”
Marcus Williams looked up.
“They shouldn’t fabricate.”
The first crack appeared in Marcus Porter’s practiced expression.
