What happened at your last company? He asked her then. She had not talked about this, not with him, not with anyone at Meridian. The official version was that she'd left for personal reasons, which was true in the way that a building is technically still standing after you've knocked out half the walls. I built a campaign, she said, for a major retail client.
18 months of work. It was the best thing I'd ever done professionally. I know that sounds arrogant, but it's just true. I was genuinely proud of it. She paused.
3 weeks before launch, someone above me changed the core data we were using without telling me. Plugged in numbers that were projections, not actuals, and didn't flag it. The campaign launched, the numbers didn't hold, the client pulled out, and my director needed someone to have been the one who made the mistake. She looked at her food. I had the email chain.
I had the version history. I had everything. It didn't matter. They fired you. They made it impossible to stay.
Different kind of firing. She picked up her fork. I had two choices. Take the blame. Keep my job.
Go to work every day knowing everyone thought I was the person who killed the biggest account they'd had in 3 years. Or leave. You left. I left. And your apartment?
She exhaled. Lease was up. I was going to renew it. I had the deposit. I had the first month.
I was 3 weeks from signing when everything went sideways. She shook her head. By the time I landed at Meridian and had a paycheck coming in, I'd been at extended stays for 4 months. I was, she stopped. I was trying to look like I had it together at work.
It's exhausting, honestly. Looking like you're fine. Marcus looked at her across the table. Nobody who works with you has any idea, he said. That was the point.
I know. He paused. I didn't have any idea either. And I'd been watching you at work for 8 months. Something about that landed differently than she expected.