THE ART OF MAKING HIM BEG

My RULES, MY COMPANY

Nina had barely settled at her desk when Helen Price dropped a thick folder in front of her.

“Welcome to the madness.”

Nina glanced at the folder. “Should I be worried?”

“Only if you value your peace of mind.”

Helen pulled out a chair. “I've arranged access to the communications department, recent press coverage, and the complaints we've received since Adrian's interview went viral.”

“Good. I want employee complaints separated from customer feedback.”

“They're already organised.”

Nina opened the folder and began reviewing the reports. Several customers had threatened to stop doing business with Kingsley Enterprises, while others questioned the company's treatment of its employees.

“Has Adrian made any public statements since the interview?”

“Not officially.”

“Has he posted anything online?”

Helen hesitated.

Nina looked up. “What did he do?”

Helen opened Adrian's social media account on her tablet and showed her a recent post.

Some people confuse accountability with cruelty. If you don't like high standards, perhaps you're in the wrong industry.

Nina stared at it.

“He posted this after signing the contract?”

“Twenty minutes ago.”

“Did you approve it?”

“No.”

“Did anyone?”

“Apparently not.”

Nina closed the folder.

“Where is he?”

“His office. Nina, please try to handle this professionally.”

“I intend to.”

She picked up her phone and headed down the corridor.

Adrian was on a call when she entered his office. He pointed towards a chair and continued speaking.

“No, I want the revised figures today. If the supplier can't meet the deadline, find another one.”

He ended the call.

“Miss Williams. What brings you here?”

Nina held up her phone. “You posted this.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“That's not a business reason.”

Adrian leaned back in his chair. “It's my personal account.”

“Your name is on the company's buildings, and your face appears in its advertisements. The public doesn't separate you from the business simply because you decide a statement is personal.”

He stood and walked towards the window.

“Are you here to manage my reputation or monitor my phone?”

“Both, if you keep giving me reasons to do so.”

His head turned sharply.

“You've been here less than an hour.”

“And you've already created another problem.”

“I haven't insulted anyone.”

“You've implied that people who disagree with you aren't capable of meeting professional standards. That's a terrible message to send when you're trying to convince the public that you respect your employees.”

Adrian returned to his desk.

“What would you have me do? Apologise for expecting people to work hard?”

“No. I'd have you stop treating every criticism as a personal attack. You can maintain high standards without dismissing everyone who questions you.”

“And if I disagree with your assessment?”

“I'll explain the consequences. You're free to make the final decision, but I'm not going to pretend a bad decision is a good one.”

He studied her for a moment before picking up his phone. After reading the post again, he deleted it.

“There. Are you satisfied?”

“Professionally, it's a start.”

“Try not to sound so surprised.”

“I wasn't aware you'd done anything surprising yet.”

She collected her phone.

“Nina.”

She stopped at the door.

Adrian appeared to notice that he had used her first name, but he continued without comment.

“I expect a preliminary report before the end of the day.”

“You'll have it.”

“And I expect you to be available when I need you.”

“You have my professional contact details. For everything else, there's an office schedule.”

He gave a short laugh.

“You really don't make anything easy, do you?”

“Only the things that need to be done properly.”

She left before he could respond.

---

By midday, Nina had identified a problem that required more attention than Adrian's social media habits.

Several employees had complained about how their managers handled concerns about workloads and performance expectations. Some reports were routine workplace grievances, but others suggested that employees who questioned decisions were being dismissed without proper consideration.

Nina printed the relevant complaints and took them to Helen.

“Have these been addressed?”

“Some were referred to the appropriate departments. I'll need to check the others.”

“I want confirmation before we make any public promises about listening to employees.”

Helen nodded. “I'll look into it.”

At three o'clock, Nina sent Adrian her preliminary report. She recommended reviewing the complaints before releasing a public statement and advised him to avoid further comments until the company understood the full situation.

His response arrived six minutes later.

Come to my office.

Nina grabbed her notebook and went.

Adrian stood behind his desk, reading her report on his tablet.

“You're suggesting we speak to employees before responding publicly.”

“Yes.”

“That will take time.”

“Less time than making promises we can't keep and creating another controversy.”

He placed the tablet on the desk.

“You've been here one day. How can you already be questioning how this company treats its employees?”

“I'm questioning the complaints, not making accusations. There's a difference.”

“Do you believe everything people write in an email?”

“No. That's why I'm asking for the reports to be investigated instead of ignored.”

Adrian walked around his desk.

“My company has thousands of employees. We can't investigate every complaint that comes through the door.”

“I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to review the complaints that directly relate to the issue we're trying to resolve.”

“And if they're exaggerated?”

“Then we'll establish that through the evidence.”

He looked down at the report.

“And if they're justified?”

“Then your public response needs to reflect what the company is prepared to change.”

Adrian remained silent before picking up his phone.

“Helen, arrange a meeting with the relevant department heads tomorrow morning. I want a summary of the complaints and the actions taken on each one.”

He ended the call.

“Tomorrow morning. I won't delay the campaign indefinitely.”

“Neither will I,” Nina replied. “I'll prepare the questions.”

He pointed towards her report.

“And don't make assumptions about my company before you've seen the evidence.”

“That's precisely why I need access to it.”

Nina left his office.

---

That evening, Chloe found Nina on the sofa, scrolling through the notes she'd taken during the day.

“Well?” Chloe asked. “Did the billionaire survive?”

“Barely.”

Chloe laughed. “What happened?”

“He posted another statement that could have made things worse. I convinced him to delete it, and now we're reviewing employee complaints.”

“Did he argue with you?”

“Several times.”

“And you still have your job?”

“So far.”

Chloe placed a takeaway menu in her lap.

“You need to stop looking at that laptop before your brain resigns.”

Nina closed it. “Let's order dinner before I have to think about another report.”

Her phone rang before Chloe could respond.

Helen's name appeared on the screen.

“Hello?”

“I've finished checking one of the complaints,” Helen said. “There's a problem.”

Nina sat upright. “What kind of problem?”

“One employee submitted a formal complaint several weeks before Adrian's interview. It was marked as resolved, but her follow-up email suggests that nothing changed.”

“What was the complaint about?”

“Management conduct. She says her supervisor ignored repeated requests for help with an unreasonable workload and threatened to question her performance when she complained.”

“Was it investigated?”

“That's what I'm trying to establish. The record says it was closed, but there's no clear explanation of what action was taken.”

Nina opened her laptop.

“Send me the original complaint and the follow-up. I want to compare them with the closure report.”

“I'll forward everything tonight. The employee is still with the company, and I've asked her to attend tomorrow's meeting.”

“Has Adrian seen the complaint?”

“Not yet. I wanted to verify the records first.”

“Good. Let's establish the facts before we draw conclusions.”

After ending the call, Nina opened the documents Helen had sent. She read the complaint, checked the dates, and compared the employee's follow-up with the company's official response.

The paperwork raised questions, but it didn't prove that anyone had deliberately ignored the employee.

Nina made a note to request the department's records the following morning.

Chloe appeared beside her with two plates of food.

“Please tell me you're not working through dinner again.”

“I'm nearly finished.”

“You said that yesterday.”

Nina closed the laptop.

“Fine. I'm done for tonight.”

“Good. Because I refuse to spend the next six weeks listening to you complain about Adrian Kingsley while doing absolutely nothing to escape him.”

“I'm not complaining about him.”

Chloe gave her a pointed look.

“Right. And I can cook better than you.”

Nina laughed and reached for her plate.

---

The following morning, Nina arrived early for the meeting with Helen and the department heads.

Adrian entered a few minutes later and took the chair at the head of the table.

“Let's get started. Helen tells me we have employee complaints to review.”

Nina opened her folder.

“We have several reports that need clarification. I'm not here to accuse anyone. I need to understand what was reported, what action was taken, and whether the original concerns were resolved.”

One department head shifted in his seat.

“All complaints are handled according to company procedure.”

“Then the records should establish that,” Nina replied.

Helen distributed the documents.

They began with the routine complaints. Some had been addressed, while others required follow-up. Nina asked questions, recorded the answers, and identified gaps in the paperwork.

When they reached the complaint from the previous month, the room grew quiet.

The department head cleared his throat.

“That matter was closed.”

“Who authorised the closure?” Nina asked.

“I believe it went through the usual process.”

“Can you confirm that?”

“I'll have to check.”

Adrian looked at him.

“Then check. I want an accurate answer, not a guess.”

The man nodded and wrote something in his notebook.

Nina turned to Adrian. “Until we know what happened, I recommend that we avoid making any claims about how the company handles every employee complaint.”

Adrian's expression tightened.

“We're not going to let one unresolved report define the entire company.”

“I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying we should resolve the report before making public claims.”

He held her gaze.

“Fine. Helen will follow up with the department. I want the findings as soon as possible.”

The meeting continued for another twenty minutes before Adrian brought it to an end.

As the department heads filed out, he motioned for Nina to remain.

When the door closed, he faced her.

“You've made your point. The complaint will be reviewed.”

“Good.”

“But I want something understood. You were hired to repair my reputation, not to turn every internal disagreement into a company-wide investigation.”

Nina gathered her papers.

“And I was hired to protect your reputation. I can't do that by ignoring information that could undermine the entire campaign.”

“I'm not asking you to ignore anything.”

“Then give me the access I need to do the job properly.”

Adrian's jaw tightened.

For a moment, she thought he would dismiss her again.

Instead, he picked up the folder containing the complaint and handed it to her.

“You'll have access to the relevant records. But I want a report on my desk before you make any recommendations about how we respond.”

“That's reasonable.”

“Good. Then we're finished.”

Nina took the folder and headed towards the door.

“Nina.”

She turned.

“Don't make me regret hiring you.”

She met his gaze.

“Then don't make me regret accepting the job.”

For once, Adrian had no immediate reply.

Nina left his office with the complaint folder under her arm, determined to find out what had happened before either of them made another public mistake.