Page 26 of Game Change

“Excuse me, Ernestine?” I say. She stiffens and something flashes in her eyes. I hope it’s fear. “What did you say?” She looks around like a deer in headlights.

“I’m afraid now’s not a good time, Mr. Kincaid,” Brynne says. I see Ernestine exhale, probably in relief at being saved by Brynne.

So, she’s going with formal. My uncle says that the office is casual, and everyone is friendly. He’s bragged about picking the right people who fit into the non-toxic corporate culture he’s built over the years.

“Nevertheless, I’m asking. It will only take a few minutes.”

“Well, unfortunately, I have a call.” She looks down at her wrist, which has no watch, and says, “Right about now.” She walks past me with her head held high, leaving me with a very hostile Ernestine Gunner.

“I have to check on the lunch order,” is all she says before she walks out, too.

I grab a chair, drop myself on it, put my head in my hands, and wonder how my life just got derailed in a matter of minutes.

There’s got to be a way to salvage this. I haven’t waited this long to meet a woman like her only to let it slip through my fingers through no fault of my own.

I still want her. If not for this horrible twist of fate, we’d be finalizing our plans for tonight right now. I’m certain we would spend every night together because there’s no way I’d let her out of my sight.

“Paddy Cake,” I hear my uncle say from behind me. I don’t bother looking up or responding. This mess is all his fault. “Why are you sitting in here by yourself? Come on. I want to go over a few things before the meeting.”

He taps my shoulder and tells me to follow him to his office. I finally will myself to get up. An office door opens when I walk down the hall, and Brynne steps out. She looks at me, then down the hall at my uncle’s back. She looks back at me but quickly walks out of the office and goes in the opposite direction.

So much for that important phone call she had to take.

The next half hour consists of my uncle explaining how the office works, expense reports, salaries, and protocols. I listen with half an ear as I think of a plan to salvage this. There has to be a way I can keep my job as Uncle Milton wants and get the girl. There must be a way for all three of us to be happy.

If Uncle Milton wasn’t sick, I’d resign and walk away, but I can’t do that to him. He’s been more of a father to me than my own father. There was never a time when he wasn’t there for me, even if he always added an element of chaos. His heart has always been good, and I understand his need to have a Kincaid in charge.

It’s embedded in our DNA. He might be more laid back and open-minded than most members of our family, but he’s still a product of his upbringing, and in our family, it’s Kincaid first.

“Let’s go,” he says and stands from his desk. “You can’t take this office until I’m dead, and I fully intend to beat this thing, so don’t get any ideas. I always show up early for my meetings. Everyone will see me in front of the room as they trickle in. I don’t want that to change in my absence. That’s how your grandfather did business. That’s how your father did it, and that’s how we will do it. It’s casual here, but I want you to dress up. You’re the head of Kincaid Architecture now, and I don’t know what those beach bums did in San Diego, but we’re not going to do that here. No flip-flops and swim trunks in the office.”

We’re the first ones in the large conference room, and I stand with him at the head of the table. He’s not going to sit down, and neither am I. We stand so everyone will have to look up at us.

Slowly, the room fills with employees. The only ones I recognize are Brynne, Ernestine, and the receptionist who introduced herself as Clover. Everyone gives me quizzical looks and side glances as they walk in—everyone except Brynne and Ernestine, who are scowling at me. I smile at Brynne, but she crosses her arms over her breasts and looks away. So, I guess I know how this will go, but I’m still not giving up on her or us. Not yet.

Uncle Milton starts the meeting, and when he announces me as the new head of the company, the room goes eerily silent. Everyone stares at me—everyone except Brynne, who is now stoic and looking down at the table.

A young woman raises her hand when he opens the floor for questions.

“I thought the job was going to go to Brynne.” It’s not a question. It’s a statement of fact, which means the entire office expected Brynne to have this role, not the stranger.

“Well, we’ve gone in a different direction,” Uncle Milton says. “We still value everything Brynne has done, and she—”

“Does that mean she’s leaving?” another young woman asks, clearly horrified by the thought. She whips her head around so fast that some of her hair hits her in the face. “Brynne, did you quit or—”

“No, Tammy,” Uncle Milt says. “Brynne is not going anywhere. She’s still a valued member of the Kincaid Family.”

“So, he just gives his nephew the job,” I hear this Tammy whisper to the middle-aged black man beside her. He nods and eyes me up and down.

“Brynne is going to help with the transition, but instead of the head, she will be second in command.” Well, that’s news to me. None of the conversations we had ever mentioned a second in command, not that I mind that, but it’s obvious my uncle is making things up on a whim.

There are more rumblings, and frosty stares ensue—all except for a couple of older men who seem to nod in approval of the news. Once there are no more questions, I stand and introduce myself to the room.

“I’m Colin Kincaid,” I begin, “and I’m happy to be here.” I feel her eyes on me while I speak. They’re as frosty as can be while shooting fire all at the same time. I’m fucked, and not in the way I was hoping. “I have a degree in architecture from UC Berkeley and a Master’s Degree from USC. I have a wealth of experience in—”

Chapter 15

Brynne

---