Chapter 465 - The Setup

Chapter 465: Chapter 465 - The Setup

"So you’re telling me I have to accept the sports position?"

Roxie stared at Graham Voss across the conference table, wondering how many different ways the man could explain the same ridiculous proposal.

"We believe it’s the most appropriate arrangement under the circumstances," Graham answered.

"The circumstances being what, exactly? Because the last time I checked, your investigation cleared me."

"Roxie, we’ve already discussed this."

"And I’m still waiting for an explanation that makes sense."

Beside her, Elena Park closed the folder she’d been reading and placed it on the table.

"My client is declining the reassignment under the terms you’ve presented."

Graham frowned. "Ms. Park, we’re offering her continued employment with the same compensation and benefits."

"You’re asking her to accept a significant change in her professional responsibilities, with no definite date for returning to her previous position. The company has also provided no documented performance-related reason for the change."

Roxie almost smiled.

God, she loved this woman.

She’d hired Elena with Karen’s suggestion before leaving for Italy.

Caldwell assured her that the sports assignment would only be temporary. Something to keep her on television while the controversy died down.

Apparently, his definition of temporary was considerably different from hers.

"Look," Roxie said, leaning forward. "I have nothing against sports journalism. We have excellent reporters in that department, and I respect what they do. But I’ve spent years building my career in evening news. You’re asking me to walk away from that because somebody made up a story about me sleeping with my boss."

Harrison Caldwell shifted in his seat.

"Roxie, nobody here is accusing you of misconduct."

"Then why am I the one being punished?" She almost asked them what punishment do they have for Mr. Caldwell.

Graham sighed. "The company has to consider audience perception."

"Oh, here we go again."

"Public confidence is particularly important in evening news."

"And apparently, the public will trust me more if I’m talking about basketball?"

Daniel Pierce, the head of news programming, cleared his throat.

"Sports has a different audience, Roxie."

She turned toward him.

"Does that audience have some special immunity to gossip?"

Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it.

Wonderful.

At least someone had finally run out of excuses.

Elena adjusted the documents in front of her.

"Your internal investigation found no evidence supporting the allegations against my client. She’s maintained strong ratings and has no disciplinary findings. We’re requesting that she be reinstated to her previous position."

Graham exchanged a glance with Daniel.

"That isn’t possible at this time."

"Why?" Elena asked.

"The network has already made programming arrangements."

"You mean Veena," Roxie said.

Daniel nodded. "Veena has been performing well as interim anchor."

"Of course she has. She’s excellent at her job. I recommended her for weekend coverage two years ago."

Nobody seemed particularly interested in that information.

Roxie leaned back, rubbing her forehead.

She’d returned from Lake Como the previous evening, exhausted from the flight and still furious about everything that had happened with Zac. Now she was sitting in Crestline headquarters, listening to four executives explain why she couldn’t have the job she’d worked years to earn.

What a wonderful fucking week.

"Let’s be clear," Elena continued. "My client is willing to discuss temporary programming arrangements. However, we need a specific review date, protection of her contractual rights, and written confirmation that this reassignment is unrelated to any finding of misconduct."

Vivian Lowe from Human Resources nodded.

"We can certainly provide written confirmation of the investigation’s findings."

"And the review date?" Elena asked.

Graham leaned forward.

"Ninety days."

Roxie looked up.

"Ninety days?"

"An initial ninety-day assignment, followed by an evaluation."

"An evaluation of what?"

"The situation surrounding the network and your professional standing."

She stared at him.

"So I’m supposed to spend three months covering sports while you wait for strangers on the internet to find somebody else to gossip about?"

"That’s an oversimplification."

"Then explain what happens after ninety days."

Graham pressed his lips together.

"We’ll determine whether returning you to evening news is appropriate."

"Based on what?"

"Several factors."

"Which are?"

"The network’s requirements, audience sentiment, programming considerations..."

Roxie laughed.

"You have absolutely no intention of giving me my job back."

Harrison immediately interrupted.

"That’s unfair, Roxie."

She turned toward him.

"Is it? Because you’ve been telling me everything will be fine since this whole thing started. Meanwhile, my face has disappeared from the promotional screen downstairs, and Veena is sitting in my chair."

Harrison looked uncomfortable.

For a moment, she almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

He was still the CEO. His wife was still enjoying her expensive lunches and charity events. The company was still making money.

Roxie was the one whose career had been rearranged because Evelyn Caldwell couldn’t handle a rumor.

Elena placed a hand near Roxie’s folder.

"We’re prepared to pursue the remedies available under my client’s contract if the company insists on implementing the reassignment without adequate protections."

The atmosphere changed immediately.

Graham sat straighter. Vivian began writing something, and Daniel glanced toward Harrison.

Roxie had to suppress a smile.

"We’d prefer to resolve this cooperatively," Graham said.

"So would we," Elena replied. "But cooperation requires terms that adequately protect my client."

Harrison rubbed his forehead.

"Perhaps we should discuss the other opportunity."

Roxie frowned.

"What other opportunity?"

Daniel opened another folder.

"We’ve been considering a new digital interview program, and we believe Roxie would be an excellent person to lead it."

She stared at him.

"A digital interview program?"

"Yes. The parent company is looking to expand its original content on YouTube. We’d like to produce a series featuring interviews with celebrities, athletes, musicians, actors, and other prominent personalities."

Roxie glanced at Elena before looking back at Daniel.

"And what does that have to do with my evening news position?"

"We’d offer it as an additional opportunity alongside your sports assignment."

"An additional job?"

"A chance to develop a program under your own name."

Roxie looked at the document Daniel pushed across the table.

Digital Celebrity Interview Series: Pilot Development Proposal.

She began reading.

Six episodes. A three-month production period. Interviews released through the company’s digital platform. Performance assessed through views, audience retention, subscriber growth, and advertising potential.

The premise itself wasn’t terrible.

Roxie had always enjoyed interviewing people. She’d even discussed the possibility of hosting a long-form interview show with Harrison years ago, back when she was still working toward her evening anchor position.

But that had been a serious television project.

This looked considerably less impressive.

She turned another page.

Then stopped.

"Two thousand dollars?"

Daniel nodded.

"That’s the production allowance per episode."

Roxie looked at him.

"You’re giving me two thousand dollars to produce a celebrity interview show?"

"The company will provide equipment and technical personnel."

"What technical personnel?"

"A producer, a camera operator, and editing support."

"How many editors?"

"We’ll assign someone according to availability."

"And who’s supposed to find the guests?"

"Your producer will assist with invitations and coordination."

"Assist?"

"We expect you to participate in securing interviews as well."

Roxie stared at the document again.

Oh, this was fucking ridiculous.

They wanted her to convince recognizable celebrities to appear on a program nobody had heard of, with a production budget that barely covered basic expenses.

And she was supposed to manage it while learning an entirely new role in sports journalism.

She looked up.

"You’re setting me up to fail."

Graham’s expression tightened.

"That’s a rather negative interpretation."

"Then give me a positive one."

"We’re offering you a chance to demonstrate your value to the company in a different format."

Roxie laughed.

"My value? I’ve worked here for six years. I have awards sitting in my office, and my evening news ratings were consistently strong. How much more value am I supposed to demonstrate?"

"Roxie," Harrison said.

"No, seriously. I’m curious."

Graham folded his arms.

"Your previous accomplishments are appreciated. But the current situation requires flexibility from everyone involved."

Everyone?

Roxie glanced around the conference room.

She was fairly certain nobody else was being asked to give up their position.

Daniel leaned forward.

"Think of this as your chance to build something new. If the program performs well, we can discuss expanding it."

"And if it fails?"

Graham answered before Daniel could.

"Then we’ll have to consider what opportunities remain appropriate for you."

There it was.

Roxie stared at him.

He’d said it so casually, as though they were discussing an ordinary business arrangement. But she understood perfectly well what he meant.

They were giving her a program with limited funding and practically no promotional support, then expecting her to produce impressive results.

If she failed, they’d have another reason to question her future at Crestline.

And if she grew tired of the humiliation and resigned?

Well, that would certainly make their lives easier.

She glanced at Harrison, waiting for him to say something but he sat like a statue, mostly avoiding her eyes.

Apparently, his promises were easier to make when the other executives weren’t in the room.

She looked toward Elena.

"Absolutely not."

Her attorney was still studying the proposal.

"Elena?"

"Give me a moment."

Roxie frowned.

What?

She’d expected Elena to reject the ridiculous offer immediately.

Instead, her attorney began asking questions.

"Who owns the rights to the program?"

Daniel looked slightly surprised.

"The parent company."

"And does Roxie retain her existing salary while producing it?"

"Yes."

"Will her participation affect the ninety-day review of her reassignment?"

Graham hesitated.

"We would consider all relevant professional performance."

Elena made a note.

"We’ll need that separated. Her sports assignment and this digital program should have distinct evaluation criteria."

Roxie stared at her attorney.

Why the hell were they discussing evaluation criteria?

This entire proposal was insulting.

Elena continued.

"How many episodes are guaranteed?"

"Six," Daniel answered.

"And what minimum production support will the company provide?"

They spent another several minutes discussing the budget, equipment, and staffing arrangements while Roxie sat there wondering whether her attorney had completely lost her mind.

Finally, she leaned closer.

"Elena," she whispered through clenched teeth. "What are you doing?"

Her attorney glanced at her.

"Getting the details."

"I don’t want the details. I want them to take this ridiculous offer and shove it somewhere."

"Roxie."

"What?"

"Let me finish."

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

Elena returned her attention to the executives.

"We’d like a short recess to discuss the proposal privately."

Harrison nodded.

"Of course."

The two women left the conference room and headed toward an empty office nearby.

The moment Elena closed the door, Roxie turned toward her.

"Please tell me you’re joking."

Elena placed the folder on the desk.

"About what?"

"That YouTube show! They’re practically handing me a shovel and asking me to dig my own grave."

"I understand why you think that."

"Because that’s exactly what they’re doing!"

Elena sat down.

"Then we need to be careful about how we respond."

Roxie stared at her.

"You want me to accept it?"

"I want you to consider accepting a properly negotiated version."

"Why?"

"Because right now, Crestline is offering you continued employment, a temporary reassignment, and an additional professional opportunity. We can challenge the fairness of those arrangements, but rejecting every proposed alternative outright may complicate how the company characterizes your response."

Roxie crossed her arms.

"So I’m supposed to cooperate while they humiliate me?"

"You’re supposed to protect your career and your contractual position."

Elena opened the folder again.

"If you participate under clear written terms, we establish exactly what resources the company promised, what standards they set, and whether they actually gave you a reasonable opportunity to meet them."

Roxie frowned.

"And if they don’t?"

"Then we’ll have documentation. If they later use the program’s performance to justify adverse employment decisions, we’ll be in a better position to challenge how those decisions were made."

That caught her attention.

Elena continued.

"I’m also negotiating a guaranteed review of your sports reassignment, protection of your compensation, and separation of the digital show’s performance from your existing professional record. Your participation should preserve your rights, rather than require you to surrender them."

Roxie looked down at the folder.

"So you want me to let them think I’m accepting their little challenge."

"I want you to make an informed decision after we secure terms that protect you."

"And actually produce the show?"

"Yes."

"With two thousand dollars?"

"We’re going to negotiate better production support. And if they refuse to provide enough resources, that needs to be documented as well."

Roxie rubbed her forehead.

God, this was exhausting.

She could already imagine the executives watching her struggle to secure guests. Every rejected invitation, every disappointing episode, every embarrassing view count would probably give Graham another reason to congratulate himself.

"They want me gone," she said quietly.

Elena studied her.

"That’s possible. But their motives are something we’d need evidence to establish."

Roxie let out a bitter laugh.

"Trust me. I was sitting right there. I saw their faces."

"Then give them every reason to regret underestimating you."

Roxie looked at her.

For a moment, she said nothing.

She hated the offer. Hated the tiny budget, the vague promises, and the expectation that she should feel grateful for being allowed to work.

But Elena had a point.

Walking away would give the executives exactly what they wanted.

And Roxie had spent too many years building her career to surrender it because Graham Voss decided she was inconvenient.

"Fine," she muttered.

Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Fine?"

"We negotiate. But I want proper equipment, actual production support, and a guaranteed six episodes. I’m not filming celebrities in my living room with Angela holding a phone."

Elena smiled.

"That’s a reasonable starting point."

"And I want the ninety-day review in writing. If they decide I can’t return to evening news, they need to explain why."

"Agreed."

Roxie looked toward the door.

"And I want them to know I’m doing this because I choose to. Because if they think I’m going to thank them for this bullshit, they’re going to be disappointed."

Elena stood.

"Then let’s get back to work."

Roxie still had no idea how she was going to make the show successful. Hell, they hadn’t even agreed on the terms yet.

But if Crestline thought a ridiculous budget and six episodes would be enough to make her quit, they had seriously underestimated her.

But she was absolutely certain of one thing.

She was going to make that bastard work a hell of a lot harder to get rid of her.