Page 62 of As a Last Resort
“Robby doesn’t have any experience whatsoever with cities like Oakstone.There would be no sound reason he’d put him as lead on that project, unless…” My voice trailed off.
“It gets worse.”
“How could it possibly get worse?”
“Robby’s coming to Florida.”
Something didn’t click.Why would he be in Florida?
“I thought you just said Robby’s on Oakstone.”My words were slow and steady.
“He is.But it doesn’t start for another six weeks.That’s when the city approved funding.Glenn’s sending him down to… help you out.”
“Help me out?”She was silent.“As in,superviseme?”
She spoke slowly and carefully.“While what happened on the company Zoom call will make for a great story once this is all said and done, Glenn’s got twenty million riding on this.”
“So he thinks I’m jeopardizing the contract because my mother interrupted a call in her bikini.”
“Not in so many words, but yes.If that had been a client call, or someone from the board had been present, it wouldn’t have been as entertaining.And there’s one more thing.”
“Just stop talking,” I pleaded.
“He’s staying with you.”
The line went silent.I looked over at the single queen bed with the sand dollar–printed duvet that sat in the middle of the room.This had to be a joke.
“Before you ask, I already called the Starfish and they’re completely booked up.So are all of the other hotels and rentals on the island I’ve checked so far.Apparently there’s anational high school football showcase, or something equally absurd, happening this weekend.”
“He cannot stay in this room with me.”
“The lady at the front desk assured me the couch is a pullout.”
“This is completely inappropriate.”
“Obviously.Can you stay with your mom?”
“After this morning’s pleasant interaction, most definitely not.”I was not about to turn around and ask my mom for a favor.“I’ll figure it out.”
The pieces all came together at once.I knew what this meant.Robby got pulled onto the Oakstone Springs project over me, when I’d already worked on it for weeks.It didn’t even start up again for over a month, which meant I’d be done with the DD in Florida in time to jump back on it.Robby being sent down to chaperone me because my boss thought I wasn’t being as responsible as I should be with the project could only mean one thing.
“He already knows, doesn’t he?Who the promotion is going to?”The words stuck like syrup coming out of my mouth.
“Don’t let your mind go there,” she warned.
“The decision’s already been made and he just hasn’t told me.”The thing I had been chasing, that I had been enduring the entire state ofFloridafor, was gone.
“I haven’t been able to confirm anything.”
“But you thought the same thing.”
“No announcement has been made, but it crossed my mind.”She paused.“The board still has to vote.It’s not solely Glenn’s decision, and to my knowledge, they don’t know about the yellow polka dot bikini call.”I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes as Ivy continued.“I know Glenn is smarter than that.I think it was a ‘right time, right place’ kind of a decision.It really doesn’t make sense to pull you off the Rock Island DD when you’re already halfway through, right?”
“You’re not convincing me.”
“He’s just a safety net, Samantha.Glenn has seen your reports so far.You’re doing a great job.A better job than what Pugglepuff would do.Rock Island is a bird in hand for us and he probably just wants to make sure it stays that way.Oakstone Springs is still a bird in the bush.They’ve already flaked out once.Doesn’t make sense to pull you from something that’s a sealed deal to put you back on a project that may flake out again.”
I heard half of what she said.All I could think of was that Robby was going to get the corner office and the title.And I wasn’t.
