Page 4 of It Started with a Sunset
Deja scribbled in her notebook. “I’ll get some ordered and sent to the hospital, and I’ll get a card we can all sign.”
Tess nodded in agreement.
“No,” Summer said, “we should take them to her. All of us.”
Brock scoffed. “She’s in the hospital, recovering from something that would’ve killed her if they didn’t do surgery. She needs peace and quiet to recover.”
Summer met his eyes. “No, she’ll want to know that we care about her.”
“She’ll know that we care because of the card and flowers.” If Brock was in the hospital, the last thing he’d want was everyone showing up and seeing him in recovery. “Pavani doesn’t need half a dozen people crowding into her room, making her feel like she is supposed to be working. We should let her rest.”
Summer shook her head. “You are heartless. We are each other’s work family, and neither Pavani nor her husband have family nearby. Do you know why a hospital has visiting hours? Because peopleneedvisitors to keep their spirits up so they recover more quickly.”
“Do you know why hospitals have quiet hours? Because peopleneedpeace and quiet to recover from all the people thinking they wanted visitors all day.”
“Okay, you two,” Tess said, annoyance ever so slightly breaking through her normally professional tone. “I will be talking to Pavani over the phone later today. I’ll find out if she wants visitors or not. Now let’s focus on the meeting.Chop, chop!Summer, Brock, and Deja—you have one minute each.”
The meeting finished quickly, but he could still feel some exasperation coming from Summer that was aimed in his direction. Whatever. He was right. Pavani wasn’t going to want a crowd.
“Summer, Brock,” Tess called out as everyone was heading back to their desks, “I need to see you in my office right now.”
And suddenly, he and Summer were on the same side as they walked down the hall toward Tess’s office, taking deep breaths, clearing their throats, and sharing worried glances that maybe they pushed things too far this time.
Showing her usual perfect posture and professionalism, Tess sat down behind her desk, so both Brock and Summer moved to sit down in the two chairs in front of it. Before he got a chance to sit, though, Tess said, “Will you shut the door, please?”
Oh. That was not a good sign. He did as he was asked and then took a seat.
Tess placed her tablet on the desk in front of her and then moved it to the side, lining it up exactly parallel to the sides of the desk. Then she took a breath and looked at both of them. “I’ve got a full morning, so I’m going to cut right to the chase. Having Pavani out of commission at our busiest time of the year is definitely going to be a challenge, and we’ll have to get creative with our solutions.”
Oh, that was what this was about. Brock relaxed his tense shoulders and rested back into his seat.
“Summer, you and Pavani normally work together on the Aquamoose Tracks overnighter. It’s too big of a job to do solo, so Brock, I would like you to partner up with Summer.”
Both he and Summer sat forward in their chairs and called out “What?!” nearly simultaneously.
“It makes no sense to have us work together,” Summer said. “We have opposing opinions on everything.”
Brock nodded. “I’m over financial aid, not events. And I’m theassistant director. Why didn’t you come to me to discuss options and brainstorm what might work best?”
Tess placed her arms on the desk, fingers coming together and interlocking, looking like the picture of calm professionalism—the opposite of what Brock felt just then. “Because I want you to do it, and I knew you’d say no if you were in on the deciding.”
“Remember how great freshman orientation went last week?” Summer gave the slightest breathless laugh like she was hoping that acting like this plan was no big deal would convince Tess to tweak it, but she wasn’t really pulling it off. “Elle and I worked so well together on that. It would make the most sense for the two of us to work together on Aquamoose Tracks. This kind of thing is right up her alley.”
Tess shook her head. “I have Elle taking over some of Pavani’s other responsibilities, even though her plate was pretty full already with the open houses, Sterling Scholars, and details for all the other events we’ve got coming up.”
“What about Everett?” Brock asked.
Tess let out a rushed exhale that was part sigh, part impatient huff. “Listen. We’ve been talking about mixing things up for the event, right? Aquamoose Tracks always makes the biggest difference in the number of applications we get and is the number one biggest factor in a student deciding to come to Lake Baldwin State. This first overnighter at the end of the month sets the precedence for the five other overnighters we’ll run this school year. You two have chronically opposing opinions? Great. I think that’s exactly what this event needs—two people who will challenge the way things have been done.”
“But—” Brock started, but didn’t get any further before Tess cut in.
“Do you think you’re not up to the task, Mr. McMillan?”
Of course he was. And she must’ve seen it written all over his face because she didn’t even wait for an answer before she turned to Summer.
“And you, Ms. Graham?”
“I can make the event rock no matter who I’m doing it with.”
