Monday Night
We screened all four episodes. I watched Luke’s reactions, but he could be a cipher sometimes. When it was over, I asked impatiently, “Well?”
“I’m no expert in this stuff.”
I nodded.
“But I liked it. It was clear, convincing, and warm. And accurate as far as I know.” Luke was a pilot. He owned a couple of small planes, and he knew a lot about flying and aviation.
“Not unprofessional?”
“Not at all.”
I frowned. “Then what’s the deal? She knows that corporations are marketing themselves to consumers as partners and buddies these days. She understands the benefits of social media.”
Luke stood up, went over to my credenza, and took out a bottle of bourbon. He poured himself a shot, then came back to the couch. “It could be one of a million things, Ellie. Delcroft is a huge company. I mean, the frigging CEO advises the president of the United States on technology and national security. Anyone high enough to be in the corporate suite is sitting on top of a cauldron simmering with envious sycophants.”
I stared at him.
He checked himself as if I’d just noticed a stain or tear in his shirt. “What is it?”
“What did you just say?”
“That Delcroft is a simmering cauldron of people who all want the top job.”
“No. The part about advising the president on technology and national security.”
I didn’t wait for his response. I slid the video back to the head end and started watching it again. Midway into the second segment was where Hollander had started to have problems. I paused the show, reviewed my notes, and backed up a few seconds. We were in the middle of a fast-paced montage. I advanced slowly. Then I found it. It was only a one-second shot, but there was Gregory Parks, the “consultant” at Delcroft’s trade show booth at McCormick Place. He was sitting in the audience listening to Hollander speak. I paused the show.
“This guy. She saw this guy.”
“So?”
I told him about how he’d been hanging around the trade show, and the arctic reception Charlotte had given him. “Of course, she’s that way with most people, I’ve discovered.”
“So?” Luke repeated.
I fast-forwarded to the next segment and slowed it down. I checked my notes again, found the time code I’d jotted down at the point Hollander got upset. Sure enough, there was another shot of Parks, this time examining the model airplane at the booth.
“This is it! This is why she was so upset. I’d bet my next bottle of wine on it.”
Luke leaned forward, hands on his knees. “You don’t know that. You just can’t make an assumption.”
“I think I can. She didn’t like the dude. It was clear.”
He folded his arms. “Okay, let’s say you’re right. What can you do about it?”
“Go back and ask her why she hates the guy. Tell her we’ll delete every frame of him from the videos. I don’t know. Beg.”
“Sure, babe. She’s certainly going to forgive and forget after what she did to you today.”
I straightened up. “Then I’ll go over her head.”
“Not good.”
“Why not?”
“You have no leverage. None at all. This is a company that hires three- and four-star generals when they retire. You’re just a grain of sand, comparatively speaking. If you want my advice, I think you should find a new client. There are plenty of other companies in Chicago.”
“But—”
“Ellie, if you make trouble for them, they’ll make even bigger trouble for you. They probably have your dossier already.”
“They do. They did a background check on all of us.”
Luke spread his hands. “Well, all it takes is a new report from them about your conduct, your professionalism, maybe even your politics…”
I cut him off. “And I’m screwed.”
He nodded.
“That’s creepy. You make it sound like we’re living in a country like Russia. Or China.”
Luke drank his bourbon.
We were both quiet for a moment. Then I said, “Well, then, if the mountain won’t come to Muhammad…”
“Ellie…” He was quick with his reply. “Don’t even think about it. Promise me.”
I smiled, leaned over, and kissed him. “You’re right, of course.”