“Threatening the person saving your company. Bold strategy.”
The next morning, I presented a recovery timeline to Octavia. Five days to full restoration, with critical systems prioritized. She looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes.
“The board is meeting this afternoon,” she said. “They want answers.”
“I’m sure Garrison has plenty of those.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“This was your system. You bear responsibility, too.”
“My system worked perfectly for seven years. It failed the moment someone decided they knew better than its architect.”
Later that day, I was summoned to the boardroom. Twelve executives sat around the table with Octavia and Garrison at one end. I was directed to a seat at the opposite end, physically positioned as the adversary. Ellis, the board chairman, spoke first.
“Miss Ardan, we understand you designed the infrastructure that failed.”
“I designed an infrastructure that operated flawlessly for seven years with zero unplanned downtime. It failed when Director Lowry overrode the core operating principles despite documented warnings.”
Garrison interjected.
“The cycling protocol was outdated technology. Every major competitor uses always-on architecture.”
“Every major competitor has triple our hardware replacement costs and double our energy consumption,” I countered.
Ellis raised his hand.
“The question before us is simple. How do we prevent this from happening again?”
“You restore the original cycling protocols,” I said.
“Or we modernize properly with redundant always-on systems,” Garrison argued.
A board member leaned forward.
“What would that cost?”
“Around seven million for hardware upgrades, plus increased operating costs of roughly two million annually,” Garrison said confidently.
“And to restore Miss Ardan’s system?”
“Zero additional cost. The hardware is designed for it.”
The room fell silent as they processed this. Ellis cleared his throat.
“Miss Ardan, would you step outside while we discuss?”
In the hallway, I paced, running calculations in my head. The outage had already cost them at least ten million in lost business and client compensation. My forty percent fee would be significant. After twenty minutes, I was called back in.
“We’ve made a decision,” Ellis announced. “We’ll be restoring your cycling protocol for now, but transitioning to a hybrid system over the next six months. We’d like to offer you a three-month contract to oversee the transition.”
I hadn’t expected that.
“My consulting rate is triple my previous salary, plus the fee already agreed upon for the emergency response.”
Ellis slid a contract across the table.
“We value expertise, Miss Ardan. Even if some failed to recognize it.”
Garrison’s face was a storm cloud. Octavia looked resigned.
“I’ll need to review the terms,” I said, taking the contract.
“Of course. In the meantime, please continue the recovery efforts.”
