Chapter Ten

AS WE ALL gathered in the conference room, anxiety shot through me. Surely, George was going to announce who got lead. Would I have heard from him if it was me? My gut said probably, but still I hung on to the hope that maybe it would be a surprise for everyone. My coworkers talked and whispered and laughed around me. Some sat, nonchalant and relaxed, in the pattered blue chairs that lined the dark brown conference table. Others were glancing around like me, quiet, eyes narrow.

David was tapping at his phone, not a hint on his face as to whether or not Chelsea’s prediction was right. Meanwhile, Chelsea was straightening her pleated red skirt and talking loudly to Priya about some TV show, with lots of “Can you believe it?” and “He’s going to regret it.” I hadn’t the slightest clue what they were talking about.

I gave up scanning faces for signs of my future lead and stared out the blinds instead, the street seeming whitewashed-bright compared to the fluorescents inside. My fresh cup of coffee warmed my hands, and I willed the warmth to calm me.

Finally, George cleared his throat, and we quieted.

“First of all, thank you everyone for all the hard work you have put in the past several weeks. Your performance numbers look amazing, and I could not be prouder of my team.”

I tried really hard not to roll my eyes. Chelsea and I met gazes, her with an eyebrow arched into her curls. Yeah. We felt the same way about that.

“But I am happy to announce to you all that David has accepted the position of Project Management Lead.”

Well, there you go.

“For those of you who may not know, he has three years of experience with us, and over four more years of project management at his previous employer…”

I raised my coffee to my lips as many of my colleagues clapped and voiced their congratulations, the hot liquid helping me stay calm and still.

“He got it!” Chelsea whispered, her dark mascara and eyeliner enhancing her wide eyes as she leaned my way.

“You called it!” I whispered back, trying to play the part of the gossiping coworker but so utterly not feeling it in my heart today. The news was making my stomach churn. I was happy for him, of course. It was always good to see someone advancing in their career. But fear of my inadequacies swirled within me, sourly mixing with my failure with Rachael into a nasty soup, mucking up my thinking and my peace.

And George was still talking. “… and I am confident that David will excel in this role. As he transitions into this position, his workload and responsibilities will shift, and I’ll be working with you all to help everything go smoothly. For example, with my guidance, David will be stepping in as a consultant with most strategic accounts, including Eve Industries and Houndoor. And be sure to wish him luck when MagiCorp holds a site visit here in a few weeks.”

I frowned. Surely Georgie meant wish him and Ann luck, right? Because I would be presenting my audit? I had to ask Chelsea what she thought he’d meant.

The rest of our meeting crawled by with routine corrections and procedure announcements, and finally, we departed in an eruption of rustling fabric and the clanking of chair arms against the table. I hustled to catch up with Chelsea.

“I was really hoping you’d get it,” Chelsea mumbled, and her belief in me stayed the confusion threatening my demeanor, if only for a few extra moments.

“He’s going to be a good lead,” I said. And I meant it, despite my bitterness.

“You’re right. He’s much better at communicating with clients than I am.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” I countered, but she didn’t react. So, I took her pause to ask the question burning a hole through me. “Do you think George meant not to mention my presence at the MagiCorp site visit?”

Chelsea cocked her head, her curls bouncing as we continued down the hall. “I didn’t notice that he didn’t mention you. Maybe he didn’t mean anything by it. He was talking about David’s duties after all.”

Great, I was being paranoid. I nodded as we reached my cube, and she gave me a sympathetic shrug before taking her leave.

It took my entire cup of coffee for me to refocus on my work, just in time to get up and grab another one. And by the time that one was gone, I was fighting both my concentration and the caffeine for what was probably the tenth day in a row.

Finally, I couldn’t deny my questions, questions only George could answer, especially after today’s meeting. He hadn’t yet offered a new time for our one-on-one, so I opened up a new email window.

Composing emails like these was so damn hard. I was intimidated enough that my fingers hovered over the keys much longer than actually typing at them.

Hi George,

I’m hoping you have a few minutes sometime this week to talk about the MagiCorp audit and how David’s role change may influence it.

Thanks for your time,

Ann

Was that too direct? God. It was fine.

I hit Send and buried myself in client emails for a grand total of fifteen minutes until my concentration splintered apart and the anxiety ball in my chest grew large enough to steal all semblance of calm.

So, of course, I fled to Facebook. A post in the Ani-min Move group caught my attention—the third legendary cat, Lorelai, was available for raiding now, and raids were popping up across the city.

In fact, there was a raid in half an hour at a high school close to home. If I used my lunch break to give Franny a midday walk and go to the raid, then I could stay late at work and end the day feeling like I accomplished something.

I tapped on the chat to sign up and saw that Rachael had just commented she’d be there. My heart flipped into my throat. I couldn’t go now, right? But I couldn’t avoid her either, not unless I wanted to stop playing Ani-min altogether.

No, I wasn’t going to change how I lived my life. So, I grabbed my lunch and left.

 

MY HEART WAS hammering as I let Franny out of the back seat of my car and we stepped into the sunshine, her leash in one hand and my phone in another. We crossed the street next to the school, the raid point spinning slowly on my phone’s map a few dozen paces away.

This park was a wide expanse of lawn, the edges of the high school on one side and a tree-lined walk on the other, separating the park from houses. After a summer of horribly hot temperatures, big swaths of grass were tinted dry-brown. But still throughout the remaining green was the occasional dandelion, its yellow bloom comfortingly familiar.

Rachael sat in the middle of a smattering of the flowers, a plaid blanket underneath her and a spread of Taco Bell wrappers before her. She had settled some ways from the street, apparently still within range of the raid spot.

I hesitated, but then Franny noticed her and barked happily.

When Rachael looked up, her eyes went wide. I hunched my shoulders and waved my phone, hoping it was enough of a justification. She nodded and beckoned me over.

But…should— Franny pulled at her leash, making my decision for me. We stopped right before Rachael’s blanket.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she said smoothly.

“Fighting a big cat seemed like a better alternative to emailing clients.”

Rachael chuckled softly, and the sound was so sweet and gentle it made me weak. “I’m glad Franny’s getting this little break too.”

“Still have to put in those hours.”

“Connor misses her.”

I miss you too. Even if it had only been a few days. I forced a smile, though my lips stayed pursed shut, and Rachael patted the blanket next to her.

“I see you have your lunch. Sit with me.”

“I do. And I’m sure I’ll somehow get in trouble for it, but here I am,” I admitted, sitting across from her and pulling my sandwich out of my fabric lunch box.

“What’s wrong with having lunch away from work?” she asked, picking up a taco and unwrapping it enough to take a bite.

I shrugged. “It’s unusual. People at my work don’t normally take the time to do it.”

“Well, I’m happy you’re taking the time for it today.”

I smiled, her gentle disposition coaxing me into taking my initial guard down. “Me too.”

“The raid starts in about five minutes. It looks like we’ll barely have enough players to take the boss down, since kids are still in school.”

I opened up my app as I scanned the area. There wasn’t really anyone out here yet. Just some students walking around the high school campus and a guy walking his dog.

For a few minutes, we ate in tense silence, with the occasional flicks of our fingers on the phone screens when new Ani-min spawned. The starting time for the raid came and went, and Rachael tapped at her phone.

“Two folks incoming.”

“Wasn’t there someone with multiple accounts who commented?”

“Yeah, but he hasn’t posted an ETA. Maybe by the time those other folks get here, someone else’ll be on their way.”

Two older women gave us nods as they stopped at a bench at the edge of the grass, and Rachael twiddled her fingers at them before tapping at her phone some more.

“No updates on anyone else yet.”

I spotted a group of three teenagers jogging across the grass. “You think they’re going to join us?”

“Couldn’t hurt to ask.” And then she said much louder, “You want to fight Lorelai?”

“Yeah, did you start yet?” one of them called, her long brown hair flowing behind her as she jogged.

Rachael smiled. “Nope, but now there’s seven of us, so we can, as long as you don’t mind not getting the same-team bonus.”

The teenagers came to a stop several paces from us along the invisible arc that marked the edge of the raid spot.

“Let’s take him down before we’re late for class,” one of them said.

And soon, we were tapping away at our phones, Rachael and I stealing glances at each other’s progress as the fight continued. Lorelai resembled a gas giant, with Jupiter-like cloud patterns down his body and Saturn-like rings around his waist and paws. I got kicked out, and Rachael giggled at me as I chose new fighters and got back in.

“We’re cutting it pretty close,” one of the teenagers said.

“We’ll make it,” Rachael encouraged.

It was down to the wire. With ten seconds left, Lorelai finally bowed his planetary head, and we cheered. Rachael held out her hand to me for a high five, and I delivered with a laugh.

“We are so late,” one of the teenagers muttered as her finger flicked across her phone.

“Do we have to try to catch him?” her friend lamented.

“Yes! That’s the whole point!”

I giggled, and Rachael scrunched her nose with a smile. Another moment later, the teenagers gave a rushed thanks before jogging back across the grass, their large backpacks bouncing.

“You catch him?” I asked Rachael.

She shook her head. I threw my last net, and the big cat again bowed his head.

“Got him.”

“Lucky!”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get him next time.”

She put her phone down, exchanging it for her last taco. “Thanks for coming out here.”

Her thanks felt awkward, as I had assumed she wouldn’t want me near her. I didn’t know what she wanted now. “Let’s just hope my boss doesn’t yell at me.”

“Bah, he won’t.”

“You don’t know my boss.”

“I’m not afraid of old Georgie.”

I rolled my eyes, and she giggled, and the ache of our separation hit me full force. I had to look down—at my phone, my lunch box, anywhere else but her, a knot in my throat squeezing tight, my cheeks growing hot.

“I have to go,” I said.

“Okay.” Her voice wavered, and I wondered if she was feeling it too.

I should say something. I really should.

Finally, I met her brown eyes, the light breeze tossing wisps of wavy brunette hair across her cheeks. But when I opened my mouth, she broke our held gaze and shook her head. “Don’t.”

Her rejection hurt even worse the second time. I pushed up to my feet, called to Franny to follow me, and left Rachael in the afternoon sun.