Colin sat at his desk, hypnotized by the blinking curser on his computer screen. It taunted him. Perhaps a coffee would help. He looked at his watch. Going to Espressamente would take too long and besides, he was on pretty thin ice these days — it was best to punch in as much time at his desk as possible. That meant the street vendor was out too. He had to be present and appear productive even if he'd barely written two hundred words all day.
That left office coffee. Hanging his head in defeat, he hoisted himself from his chair and made his way to the kitchen. He smiled at each of his colleagues, but no one smiled in return. Staadt's memo had made him persona non grata, not that it bothered him too much. The cold shoulder was familiar territory and he'd long since learned how to deal with it.
The company provided a bottom-of-the-line single-cup coffee maker. Colin filled it with water and tried not to think about how long it had been since the machine was last cleaned. At least the coffee came in pods. He rifled through the mugs in the cupboard, looking for one without stains.
"How's the book coming along?" The mere sound of Henry's voice made his blood pressure rise.
"Fine, thanks."
"Two months to deadline."
"It'll be done." He picked up a mug that read "Blow Me. I'm Hot" and decided it was clean enough. He set it under the drip nozzle and pressed "start."
Henry stepped close, crowding him. "I went to your office but you weren't there."
"That's because I'm here." The coffee finished brewing. Pale and watery, it was completely unappetizing, but at least it had caffeine. Colin picked it up and turned to leave.
"I just came from marketing," said Henry, blocking his way.
"Rhonda and her team are doing a terrific job." Colin tried to sidestep him, but to no avail.
"They're over budget."
That was hard to believe, but rather than debate it, he simply nodded and tried to deke around the other way. Again Henry countered.
Employees were gathering in the hall, listening to the exchange. At the front of the pack was Randy, whose mail cart partially blocked the doorway. Behind him, Chandler stood wide-eyed.
"Staadt ordered a soft launch for Miguel's book."
Hairs began to prickle on the back of Colin's neck. "What do you mean?"
"He scrapped the promotion."
"All of it?"
"All of it. No book launch at the store, no interviews, no media. Nothing." Henry folded his arms across his chest. The fool was enjoying this.
"Mr. Staadt did this?" It was a completely illogical move. Budget reduction was one thing, but to destroy their best chance for profit was insane. "Did you have anything to do with this?"
"I may have made a suggestion."
He wanted to grab Henry by the throat and squeeze until his buggy little eyes popped out of their sockets. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"I saved the company a lot of money."
"You've put us out of business." His fists were balled at his sides. "How can people buy the book if they don't know about it?"
"Miguel's free to organize his own promotion if he wants."
Fury seized Colin and he hurled the coffee mug across the kitchen. It smashed against the wall and sent little pieces of ceramic clattering to the floor. "Idiot!" he yelled. "Miguel doesn't care if the book sells. He's got his advance."
"Thanks to you."
Colin's reaction was so swift it surprised even him. He grabbed Henry by the scruff of the neck and pulled him close. "You approved that advance and you know it."
"It's your word against mine." Fear rimmed his eyes and Colin liked it. With the rush of adrenaline, he could have easily shaken Henry senseless. In fact, he would have enjoyed it.
"You don't have the first clue about this business. That's why I couldn't recommend you for the job. I felt awful for telling you the truth, but now, I'm glad. You're a little man and somehow, some way, you'll get what's coming to you."
Henry blinked in alarm. "Is that a threat?"
"It's a warning." With that, Colin released him, shoving him gently.
With all the melodrama of a poorly trained actor, Henry stumbled backwards, bumped against Randy's mail cart and fell to the floor.
"Stay away from me," said Colin and stepped over him on his way back to his office.