Page 3 of The Dangers of Daydreaming

Emotionally, though? I was ready to stand, throw down my figurative gauntlet, and demand to know why I wasn’t being handed the position. Even if Shannon hadn’t essentially promised it to me last week, I was a perfect fit. Right? Not only had I been with the company for years and proven my worth that way, but it was common knowledge how much I read. Heck, I’d started an unintentional lunch book club after getting so many coworkers in on my favorite novels. Had I ever seen Gary enjoying a book on his lunch break? No.

Sure, I didn’t know Maybe-Bryn enough to say if she was just as qualified, but she was brand new. And now I had to compete against them both for my perfect job? I was simultaneously incensed and depressed. I needed baked goods and a new book.

“Take some time to think it over,” Shannon was saying. Maybe-Bryn had stood. Gary was pushing to his feet. Shannon handed out a packet of papers to each of us. I was the only one still sitting. My body was lead, and I didn’t know if I could lug it and all its newly accumulated depression from the chair. “And let me know by the end of the day. If two of you want to scout the same location, we’ll give priority by seniority.”

Shannon gathered up her things and left the room as I endured the latest gut punch. Gary had me on seniority, so he would get first dibs if we wanted to go to the same place.

IfI took the challenge. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Not because I was a sore loser—I was, but that’s not why I wasn’t sure I wanted to go on thistrip. No, the real reason was that aside from being a little shell-shocked by the turn of events, I, Lucy Sinclair, top performing travel agent… had sworn off travel.

I was cursed. After she got back on her feet, Mom and I had spent almost a decade traveling together—at least one vacation a year—but a pattern had emerged.

February 2020: California. Wallet stollen, had to expedite a new ID to get back on the plane.

July 2021: London. Food poisoning landed me in the hospital with severe dehydration.

October 2022: New Orleans. Hair caught on fire from a stray Mardi Gras parade sparkler, had to rock a bob cut for a year, and it didn’t look good on me.

The list was longer than that. Trust me, you don’t want the gory details. I’m pretty sure a vacation led to my parents’ divorce, even. Maybe they'd have been fine if I hadn’t gone with them.

Basically, I’d given up on travel. It wasn’t worth the risk anymore, but it didn’t matter too much. I spend my days planning trips for clients down to the last detail, so I still feel like I’m traveling now. Plus, Utah is a great place. Tons of national parks. Lots of sights to see. Cool events. Nice history. It's wonderful—why would I need to go anywhere else? Not to mention that the best escape is into a good book, of which I read many, so I really was well-traveled... just not literally. But rather literature-ly.

I did have a passport—it was company policy to keep one up, and they covered the cost. They also often sent agents on travel tours; I just never go.

My phone buzzed in my purse, reminding me of twenty minutes before, when it had embarrassed me at the start of my promotionmeeting. If I weren't so close to crying, I might have laughed. But the vibration jolted some life into me, and I shot to my feet, grabbing my purse and the papers. I blinked a few times, trying to erase the residual dejected expression from my face, then I ducked out of the conference room, avoiding eye contact with just about anyone until I got back to my office.

Officewas a generous term. It was practically a cubicle, but it had a window and a door, so office was the title it got. And now, as I closed the door behind me and dropped into my chair, I was so grateful for the personal space. My head fell onto my desk.

I was an idiot. Clearly, I had taken Shannon's excitement regarding giving me theopportunityto gain a promotion as excitement togiveme the promotion. And as I pulled out my phone, which had just buzzed again, and read the name of the group message that had been going off, another wave of embarrassment swept over me. My cousins had been texting away in ourCheaper Than Therapytext thread.

Dani: Good luck today, Lucy!! You’re going to crush it!

Avery: You’ve got this!

Chloe: Lucy, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again… They would be idiots not to give you the job!

Sadie: Can’t wait to celebrate your promotion with you!!

Poppy: Your horoscope says that when you open your heart to new adventures, the universe is waiting to pave the way for them to find you.

Huh. That last one felt a little too much like Poppy’s “inner eye” had seen this whole thing coming. Too bad I didn’t have that skill.

I shook my head. My thumbs hovered over the messages, torn between admitting my stupidity and just ignoring the messages for now.

Admittance won out. I needed to talk to someone about this mess.

Lucy: I didn’t get it. Apparently, I wasn’t getting a promotion… I was getting entered into a promotion competition. I’m so stupid. They want to send me to—

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