“No, Devon, and I’m not going to. Nothing ever actually changes.”
“This one is different,” Devon urged. “The new CEO, Vivien Carter, just took over officially. She’s already fired three senior executives for what she’s calling ‘culture violations.’ She came from nothing. Built a tech empire worth $3 billion from scratch.”
Rebecca laughed, sharp and ugly. “Came from nothing. Right. Let me guess, another diversity hire playing the victim card. Another person who checked all the right boxes and got handed everything on a silver platter. I’m so tired of these people getting promoted over those of us who actually work for it.”
“These people? What people exactly, Rebecca?” Devon’s jaw tightened.
“People who get ahead because of quotas, not qualifications. People who cry discrimination every time they don’t get what they want.”
Devon’s voice went tight. “Maybe she actually earned it. Maybe she worked harder than anyone else.” He pulled out his tablet. “Her name is Vivien Carter. She’s 38. Sold her company for $3.2 billion and used that money to buy controlling interest in Skyidge. And her first priority is ‘Protecting vulnerable passengers, especially children, from discrimination and abuse.’ She’s auditing every employee complaint from the last five years.”
Rebecca grabbed her roller bag. “Good for her. Doesn’t affect me. I do my job.”
Devon’s eyes widened as he scrolled. “Rebecca, you’ve had 14 complaints filed against you over eight years. This internal memo I just got copied on says she’s looking for a pattern of systemic discrimination against passengers of color. She’s terminating people with patterns. You have 14, Rebecca.”
“Those were misunderstandings! None of them went anywhere!” Rebecca’s face was red.
“The union protects you from unfair termination. It doesn’t protect you from termination for cause, and a pattern of discrimination is cause. This new CEO, she’s serious. If you have even one more complaint, one more incident, you’re done.”
“I’ve survived five CEOs, three restructures, and more difficult passengers than you’ve probably served in your entire career,” Rebecca sneered. “Some new executive isn’t going to change anything.”