Page 120 of As a Last Resort
I had imagined myself a million different ways in the city, but no matter what it looked like, it never fit.
“You know, I had an old man on our floor last night.Drunk as a skunk.Mean ol’ thing.You know what he told me he needed?A liter of vodka and to get the hell outta there.That man didn’t needno vodka.He needed a few hours of withdrawal and a swift kick in his rear.”
I could see Mabel on the floor in her nurse’s uniform, giving hell to some poor guy as he cowered underneath her shaking finger.
“Sometimes we have no idea what we actually need.But oh, we think we do.That’s the fun part.We just need to put one foot in front of the other, and one morning we’ll wake up and the answer will be waiting for us like it was there the whole time.Sometimes we see the same thing we’ve been looking at every day, but all of a sudden it looks different.”
I hoped she was right.Because every way I looked at it, my heart was broken.
36
SAMANTHA
Robby’s eyes narrowed in on me through my phone screen as I made my way to the subway.“What’s this I hear, you’re making analternative recommendationto the board?Spill it, Leigh.What’s going on?”
“I just have a different view for this place that doesn’t include neon slides and racetracks.”Bodies slammed into me as people ran past me down the stairs to catch their train.
“Glenn’s going to be pissed.He’s at his annual Hackers Cup, which he always comes back in a bad mood from anyway.You didn’t run this through him.Or me, for that matter.”
“Well, first off, I don’t need to run things by you.This has been my project for the last month.And second, let’s call it a surprise.”
“Glenn doesn’t like surprises.”Yeah, no kidding.“Is this because I got the promotion?Listen, I tried to call you and give you a heads-up multiple times.This doesn’t mean things have to change.I know how valuable you are to Glenn and the company.To me.”
“Did that Florida sun soften up your heart, Robby?”The train pulled up and the doors opened.
“I’m serious, Samantha.Can we meet up?You’re heading to the office, right?Do you need help?I don’t want you to dive into the shallow end and break your neck.”
“I don’t think your definition ofhelpis what I’m looking for.”
“Listen.I get that I’ve been a bit—”
“Obnoxious?Shady?Inappropriate?”
“I was going to say,hard to handle.Look, Leigh, I know going home was hard for you.But you also know I understand the home thing better than most because of the issues with my dad.Bottom line, you know what you’re doing.You’re good at your job.Let me help, please.As a peace offering.”
“I’ll think about it.”I was tempted.He seemed genuine, but I had to put everything I had on the line for this last swing for the fences moment.
“I just don’t want—” I hung up as I stepped through the subway doors.His text came through ten seconds later as the train lurched forward.
ROBBY:I’ll meet you at the office.
Or I’ll put all the mice I bought
in your house instead;)
The conference room was littered with papers, coffee cups, and take-out containers.We had been heads down sifting through numbers the entire day and night.My chest still felt like it was torn in two, but the distraction of work was at least keeping a complete meltdown at bay.
We had a basic outline of recommendations and the beginning structure of the box development plan, but it was still missing something I couldn’t put my finger on.My eyes burned.
“It’s as good as it’s going to get.”I face-planted on the desk.
“It’s better than anythingthey’vegot.”Ivy nodded at Robby.
“I can vouch for that.”Robby leaned back in his leather swivel chair and rubbed his eyes.
“What do you think Glenn’s going to do when he finds out you’ve joined the dark side?”
“Hey, I’m not wearing your team jersey or anything.I’m just going to sit back and watch, knowing I did everything I could to help you not drown.”
