I watched that clip three times, he said. 47 minutes. Baby in a stroller. Chemical cart right there. I was 8 ft away the whole time. Camera doesn’t show that. He leaned back. Security also mentioned Mr. Tolbert was in the building that night.
Hadley’s stomach dropped. Here’s my problem. Gil went on. Tolbert’s contract renews at the end of the month. It’s 40% of my business. If they cut me over this, 11 people lose their jobs. Darla is one of them. He took a single typed page from a drawer. But if the boss let that baby in himself, he said quietly, then it’s not our liability. It’s his.
He slid the paper across the desk. Hadley read the first line. I, Hadley Rowan, state that Mr. Jude Tolbert gave me permission. She stopped reading.
“Sign this and you’ve got your shifts back Monday,” Gil said. “Don’t sign it and I’ll have to make this right some other way.”
Hadley didn’t sign. She folded the typed page in half, set it back on Gil’s desk, and stood up. I was 8 ft from my daughter, she said, and he never gave me permission for anything. He didn’t even know I was there.
Gil looked at her for a long moment. Then he shrugged like a man who had already planned for this. By Monday, every one of her shifts was gone from the app. She filled out an application at a hotel laundry on Cumberland Avenue, another at the Food City on Broadway. She wrote neat answers in every box and smiled at every manager like she wasn’t scared.
On Tuesday, Jude called. I heard about your shifts. He said, “The company has an employee assistance fund. It could cover what you’ve lost until… No, Hadley.” Gil Varner wanted me to sign a paper saying you let my baby into your office. Her voice was calm. I didn’t sign it. And I’m not going to take your money either. I’m not for sale and neither is the truth.
He was quiet on the line.
