Page 41 of Savage Suit

The few women in high-ranking positions report the casual and disgusting way the female anatomy is discussed, and the strict dress code women must abide by, whether salaried secretary or hourly wage temp. One former female employee, whose call to me prompted my investigation and speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed the negligent reprimands handed out because of gender.

“If a skirt was an inch too short or heels a half-inch too high by company standards, they wrote us up.” Through tears, she describes the emotional toll it took on her. The stress led to binge eating. “By the time I left, I’d gained twenty pounds. In the end, I don’t think I was pretty enough to be a part of Keegan Enterprises. If you’re a woman, over twenty-five, overweight, and a brunette, you don’t stand a chance.”

Another former employee, a sister in arms, says, “The worst part is how intentional the low percentage of female employees is.”

An investigation revealed many women who scored interviews with the company but waited an unprecedented amount of time before anyone met with them. If anyoneevercame. Most women gave up and walked out.

“Keegan created an elaborate plot to prevent women from being promoted or hired at the executive level,” a former hiring manager informed me. “It was a hostile environment under his father and grandfather, but when he took over, it became toxic.”

Records reveal Keegan Enterprises and its many subsidiaries has never given a woman a title with decision-making powers. Discrimination laws make it illegal to reject potential employees based on race, creed, or gender.

Mr. Keegan formulated a simple workaround.

“He instructed us to be late for the interviews or no-shows,” another former HR executive explained.

His assistant, herself a former employee, said, “When there are openings at a Keegan company, interviews are easy to arrange. Man or woman, if your application is complete, your references check out, and you’re qualified, a meeting will be scheduled. Once an applicant’s gender is identified, the shenanigans begin. They book other meetings that interfere with interviews. Conference calls too important to miss. Any number of reasons.”

The indefatigable scheme is a testament to Mr. Keegan’s derelict character. The delays are always business related, easily proven if questioned.

“How many hours would you wait to interview for a job with ten other applicants?” the whistleblower asked. “Two? Three? Six? Everyone has their limits. The moment you walk out, you’re no longer in the running. No one has told you to leave. You’ve done it on your own free will. You aren’t sent away because of your sex. The few women who wait are sent home disappointed. It’s so sad. He’s Noah Keegan, so he gets away with it.”

Noah Keegan must be stopped.

His nonfeasance as head of a multinational conglomerate is wildly unprofessional, incredibly selfish and, frankly, heartbreaking. Such a significant company is committed to roadblock women’s career advancements. For years, rumors of Noah Keegan’s misogyny and intolerance of women in the workplace have swirled around. His behavior is no longer a rumor. It is now a proven fact.

By the time I finished the article, my blood was boiling. How dare that damned reporter? How dare she think she had a right to judge the happenings in my company based on fucking lies? I threw my phone down onto the table and, losing my appetite, pushed my lobster roll away.

Exaggerated versions of the truth or outright falsehoods polluted the exposé. But the public would not care about misleading statements. No one would give a fuck that KMG was my mother’s brainchild. Going public as a controlled company washeridea. Without her, Keegan Enterprises would’ve crashed and burned in the decade after my father became CEO. That truth didn’t fit the article’s narrative, however.

Unfortunately, there were also undeniable truths, including the fact some fuckhead in my company documented the goings-on. Everyone had signed a non-disclosure agreement. I could sue the fuck out of every employee, current or former, who’d agreed to an interview.

Worse, Ingrid Warrington and her ‘sources’ had omitted how my mother had handled the company’s global reach.

Picking my phone back up, I fired off a text to Nicholas.

I just finished reading it. CollectJeremey, Andrew, Michael, Tina, and Megan. All of you meet me in my office to discuss our next move. I’m on my way right now.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket before getting my wallet. Tossing two twenties on the table, I stood, happy I opted to sit outside so I didn’t have interruptions as I stormed off.

We had to nip this in the bud before it spiraled out of control. It wouldn’t be long before other news outlets picked up the information from Ms. Warrington’s article. She had published it this morning, and, five hours later, it was a trending topic. If we didn’t proclaim Ms. Warrington’s accounts false or launch a counterattack, Keegan Enterprises would be in deep shit.

As asked, everyone I summoned awaited me in the same room I’d met with the Amage brothers. They were all muttering in hushed tones, various devices and papers littering the table’s surface.

“Noah,” Nicholas greeted, his monotone as emotionless as his expression.

“What progress have you made?” I didn’t waste time on pleasantries.

I positioned myself at the head of the table, directly across from my brother, who stood next to his red-headed wife, Tina. She was a part of that 16.1 percent of women hired by my father.

For obvious reasons, I hadn’t wanted her in the company. Then, when I took over, I’d given her two weeks’ notice. Nicholas and I had almost come to blows during his vigorous campaign on his wife’s behalf.

He hadn’t swayed me. Listening to her keynote speech at a conference we’d attended made me realize she was an asset to the company. Letting her go would’ve been foolish. Besides, Nicholas and Tina were the poster children for separating work and personal relationships.

Even though she’d kept her job and even though I praised her and told Nicholas how wrong I’d been to contemplate terminating her, he held a grudge. He was waiting to strike back in retaliation. Unlike Claude Amage, no one could remove me by an accumulation. I owned sixty percent of Keegan Enterprises. However, there were certain divisions where Nicholas could establish a quorum without me. They had been minor branches of Keegan Enterprises, so it hadn’t mattered to me, such as Kee-Tel, our communications subsidiary.

Now, Kee-Tel had been presented with an opportunity that could make it a formidable force in the industry. I intended to buy out some shareholders to give me the majority I needed. That move wouldn’t happen until next year. In the meantime, Nicholas could wreak havoc with my plans for Kee-Tel if he found a way to repay me for almost forcing his wife out.

If I hadn’t wanted Tina in the company, she wouldn’t have been. As usual, he wouldn’t entertain my worries about her safety. He’d also pointed out her position as the president of Kee-Tel required some travel, but not enough for such concern. As for the effects on her health that I’d mentioned, he’d waved them off. She was young and healthy. For whatever reason, I adhered to my parents’ wishes that none of my siblings discover Mother’s heart attack.