was always there in the background, same as the lingering feeling that no matter what she accomplished in her life, she’d never be as important as the cause she worked for. That was another lesson she’d learned, courtesy of her mother. People were secondary to ideals. She shrugged and sipped her coffee. “Honestly, I haven’t had too much time to pay attention to the news. I’ve been too busy trying to push this legislation through.”
“Well, I’m not an expert, of course.” Of course. Judy gave her a conspiratorial smile. Yeah, right. “But everyone says that the old E.D. was the face of this company when he was here. Always doing rallies and photo ops. When he was killed, the board needed someone to fill the position quickly and boom. You were promoted. Maybe whoever attacked the rally didn’t want you to become the new face of our cause.”
“Maybe, but I’m only temporary,” Tara added, resisting the urge to scratch her stupid arm again. It was just the stress, that was all, making her feel like her skin was two sizes too small. Or maybe that was the niggling fear that Judy was right. “No one cares about me. I’m just here until the board settles on a permanent replacement. The legislation is what’s important.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Judy stood and smoothed a hand down the front of her gray skirt, sounding thoroughly unconvinced. “Well, anyway. You’ve inherited a nice, cushy position with this one. Wouldn’t mind having it myself, someday,” she said, heading for the door. “Good talking to you.”
Tara stared after the woman a moment once she’d left, then shook her head. Man, seemed like everyone had an angle around here. Same as when her mother had been mayor of their small town. She’d won on a platform of equality and fortitude. Her mom had had the last one in spades. She hadn’t let a child hold her back from her ambitions and she’d taught her daughter the same. Never let your personal life get in the way of your professional obligations, no matter how painful or lonely that might be.
Tara sighed. The past was over and the future awaited. The sooner she got onboard with that, the better. Plus, she wasn’t a “dwell on your hardships” kind of gal. More a “pick yourself up and dust yourself off and get right back in the fight” type. Which was even more reason to make sure she got that piece of climate change legislation passed before her tenure was up.
And maybe if she did so, it would prove she deserved to stay in the position permanently.
She got back to work, sorting through her emails and reviewing the latest press releases her staff had put together.
It was several hours before she stopped, mainly because a calendar alert popped up on her computer that the chairman of the board was coming into the office and had requested an emergency meeting with her in five minutes. Her stomach sank a little at that. In her experience, emergency meetings were never a good thing. Still, she checked her appearance in the mirror on the wall, then headed down the hall to the conference room where she was meeting Nathan Harrison. She knocked briefly on the door to announce herself. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
Harrison looked up from the papers he was studying and waved her inside. “Yes, come in, Ms. Crumb. Have a seat. Oh, and please close the door behind you.”
Oh boy. The knot in her gut tightened. Tara did as he asked, then sat down, doing her best not to fidget. She hadn’t planned on seeing the head honcho today, so she hadn’t really dressed up. She wasn’t sloppy, of course, but instead of a more formal suit, she’d worn one of her favorite tops and pants. Her preferred style was sort of boho chic—Stevie Nicks meets upscale Nirvana grunge—but now, she felt a bit out of place with her flowing sleeves as she sat across from Harrison, who worked as a high-powered CEO in his day job and who looked like he’d been born in a three-piece suit.
Finally he set his papers aside and clasped his hands atop his table, his gaze direct and unreadable behind his glasses. “I’ll make this quick, Ms. Crumb. After the events at the rally last weekend, the board thinks it would be best if you took a step back from the campaign to pass the legislation, for your own safety.”
The nervous energy bouncing around inside her