Before I could respond, my phone rang.
Harrison.
Four minutes later, my career at Apex was apparently over.
Nolan let me sit with that for a minute.
Then he asked, “Did you get that termination in writing?”
“Not yet.”
“Approved leave?”
“Yes.”
“In writing?”
“Yes.”
“Hand-off records?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
I looked at him.
“Why are you asking like an attorney?”
“I’m not.”
He reached inside his blazer.
“But I do know something about badly managed talent.”
He placed a business card beside my plate.
NOLAN DRAKE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
VANGUARD SOLUTIONS
I stared at it.
Then at him.
Vanguard was not simply a competitor.
They were the competitor.
In three of our largest sectors, Vanguard and Apex fought for the same clients, recruited from the same universities, and appeared in the same industry reports.
“Huh,” I said.
Nolan smiled.
“That’s usually a more dramatic reaction.”
“I’m processing.”
“Take your time.”
“You knew who I was.”
“Not when I asked for the table.”
“But after.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t say anything.”
“You were eating dinner.”
I looked at the card again.
“You said you’d heard my name.”
“I have.”
“How?”
He took a sip of water.
“We’ve tried to recruit you.”
I stared.
“No, you haven’t.”
“Twice.”
“I would know.”
“Executive search firms.”
I thought back.
There had been messages.
Recruiters.
Vague opportunities.
I deleted most without responding.
“A firm contacted me about a role in Boston.”
“That was one.”
“My mother lives here.”
“We would have kept you here.”
I laughed once, stunned.
“What was the second?”
“Last summer.”
I remembered an executive recruiter leaving three voicemails.
I never called back.
“Harrison said competitors were trying to disrupt the team.”
Nolan’s expression changed.
“Of course he did.”
The waiter set down our entrées.
Neither of us touched them.
Nolan leaned forward.
“I’m going to say something you may not like.”
“Tonight seems built for that.”
“You think Apex made you valuable.”
I said nothing.
“They didn’t.”
I looked at him.
“They gave you a platform. You created the value.”
“That sounds like a recruiting pitch.”
“It is.”
At least he was honest.
“We’ve watched six accounts grow under your leadership.”
“My team’s leadership.”
“Good answer.”
“It’s true.”
“I know. Which is why I’m interested in how you build teams.”
He took the card and turned it once between his fingers.
“I’ve spoken to three executives who specifically mentioned you without being prompted.”
“Who?”
“I’m not giving you client names over dinner.”
“Fair.”
“They trust you.”
“That doesn’t mean they’d follow me anywhere.”
“No. And you should never assume they would.”
That answer made me trust him more.
Nolan continued.
“But people notice where competence lives.”
He looked toward my phone.
“And Harrison just told you he doesn’t.”
I stared at the dark screen.
“What exactly are you suggesting?”
“A conversation.”
“About?”