Confronting Todd
Chapter 09 - Confronting Todd
Todd arrived at the formal meeting Reyes had arranged, visibly nervous despite an obvious attempt to project his usual confidence, straightening his blazer in a gesture that now read as pure defensive habit rather than genuine composure.
"I want to understand what this meeting is actually about," he said, once he'd settled into the conference room Reyes had rented for the occasion, neutral ground away from the building itself.
"We're here to discuss a documented pattern of tenant harassment spanning your seven years managing the Lindmoor Apartments," Reyes said, sliding the compiled binder across the table.
Todd's eyes scanned the first page, color draining slightly as he recognized the volume of what had been compiled against him.
"These are exaggerations," he said, though his voice lacked conviction. "Tenants complain about property managers all the time. It comes with the job."
"Six formal statements," Grace said, "describing a consistent pattern of threats and humiliation, disproportionately targeting elderly tenants and single parents. Combined with email records showing your corporate supervisors explicitly approved this approach as a cost-saving strategy."
Todd's composure cracked.
"I was doing my job efficiently," he said, voice rising slightly. "Ashford wanted low vacancy rates and on-time payments. I delivered that."
"By threatening an elderly woman recovering from surgery that she was a 'liability,'" Grace said. "By humiliating a single mother in front of her toddler over a payment delay caused by an ex-partner's failure to pay support. That's not efficient management, Todd. That's cruelty you've been allowed to practice unchecked for years."
Todd's jaw tightened, defensiveness giving way to something more desperate.
"You can't fire someone with my experience over a few disgruntled tenants," he said. "I'll find representation. This will look like retaliation for the incident in the hallway, nothing more."
"The incident in the hallway is a single data point in a much larger, well-documented pattern," Reyes said calmly. "I'd strongly advise against pursuing a wrongful termination claim, given the volume and consistency of the evidence we've compiled."
Todd sat back, visibly deflating as the reality of his position settled over him.
*Quiet moment: Grace watching him process, for the first time, that his years of small cruelties had finally caught up with him in a way he clearly hadn't anticipated when he'd woken up that morning still confident in his own untouchability.*
"What happens now," Todd asked finally, voice smaller than Grace had ever heard it.
"Your employment is terminated, effective immediately, citing this documented pattern," Grace said. "I'd also strongly encourage you to reflect seriously on how you've treated the people whose homes you were responsible for managing."
Todd's face flushed, humiliation and anger warring visibly across his features.
"This isn't over," he said, standing abruptly. "I'll be speaking with an attorney of my own."
"That's your right," Reyes said evenly. "Though I'd recommend reviewing the documentation thoroughly first."
Todd left without another word, the door closing harder than necessary behind him.
Once he'd gone, Reyes turned to Grace.
"That went about as well as these confrontations typically do," he said. "He'll likely make noise for a while, but the documentation is solid enough that I doubt he'll actually pursue formal action."
Grace exhaled slowly, some of the tension of the past few weeks finally beginning to loosen in her shoulders.
May you like
"What's next," she asked.
"Now," Reyes said, "we formally address the tenant complaints with the housing authority, ensuring this pattern gets a permanent record, and we make sure the building's future management looks nothing like its past."
