Page 95 of Emergency Exit
Harper stood up to look outside her cubicle. D-Boss was hurrying her direction.
“Emergency, Will Robinson!”
“Who’s Will Robinson?” asked Harper, confused.
“I…” Donald hung his head. “Stupid sci-fi show reference. Disregard. The deadline for the certification on the class.”
“It’s not until January,” said Harper. She’d had to wade through a twenty-eight-page document to find the information, but she’d double and triple-checked.
“I just talked to Cece. She said they changed it but only updated it online. We’ve got until the thirty-first.”
“Oh jeez,” said Harper.
“Yeah, I’m pulling the team into Conference Room B. Let’s get a sit-rep and strategize. I don’t want anyone working over the break, but we need to know what we’re looking at.”
“Meet you there,” said Harper.
“If you see Sam before me, tell him to get in there!”
Donald strode off to spread his bad news, and Harpergathered her laptop and phone. She thought the deadline was doable but would mean bumping other work. Hopefully, Donald saw the priorities list the same way she did.
The conference room was already crowded by the time she got there. The noise of so many voices was overwhelming, but it wasn’t just the volume. It was the anxiety. The team was freaking out. Harper squared her shoulders. She could do this.
“Hey, everyone,” she yelled. “Let’s calm down, grab a pen, and write top priorities on the whiteboard. Let’s just make sure we know what’s standing between us and completion.”
By the time Donald got to the conference room, Harper had them mostly settled and working through a problem tree. They worked steadily through the afternoon, and by the time it was time to go home, Donald looked relieved.
“Thanks, Harper,” he said as she packed her bag. “It’s been really great to have you on the team. After the New Year, let’s move you onto a team lead track.”
Harper stepped out into the chill evening air and took a deep breath. It had been a long day, and she was looking forward to an evening in with Ash—she couldn’t wait to tell him about her potential promotion. It wasn’t a huge step, but it was still substantial, particularly after only being at the job for such a short time. At the thought of Ash, she reached for her phone. She’d felt it buzz during the meeting but hadn’t remembered to check the messages.
“Harper!”
Harper jerked in surprise at hearing her name. A man approached carrying an umbrella and earning annoyed glances from the other people using the sidewalk as they had to avoid the broad and dripping brim.
“Cooper?” Harper stared at her ex in confusion. “I thought you went home.”
“I didn’t come here for you!” he snapped. “I’m here for work.Don’t be so arrogant.”
“Um...” Cooper was standing outside her building in the rain. Thinking he was there for her didn’t seem like an arrogant conclusion. Why did he always make these odd logic errors? As she pondered the question, she realized that they weren’t errors. Cooper was trying to make her feel inferior.
“Look,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I know things haven’t been good since the unfortunate incident. I think we both said some things that we didn’t mean.”
“We broke up,” said Harper.
A black Mercedes pulled up to the curb.
“But I’m willing to give you another chance.”
“A what?” Harper had difficulty processing anything with his hand on her shoulder. She desperately wanted him to stop touching her.
“Harper?” said a woman, getting out of the Mercedes. She wore a hat and trench coat like she was in some black-and-white spy movie.
“Uh... Emma?”
Harper used Emma’s presence as an excuse to pull away from Cooper. She looked into the car and realized that Stephanie was behind the wheel. The sisters really did look alike.
Emma opened the door to the backseat. “We need to talk. Get in.”
