employment in New Zealand? What if the worst happens to King Gregory and no one is able to notify you?
So my number stayed the same, and I did my best to ignore all the flashes of No Never Don’t on my phone’s display. No matter how much I wanted to answer and let my heart do the talking.
“Alice.”
My head snapped up at Ruby’s voice to find her grinning down at me.
“Carl’s asking for you, and he said to tell you to stop worrying.” She rolled her eyes and I felt myself grin.
Tucking my phone back in my purse, I stood and made my way down the hall to determine for myself if I could release my concerns and breathe easy once more. I’d do well to keep my focus on those who made my life easy; not those with the power to tear it apart.
The stack of papers hit the desk with a rather loud thump as the ache in my biceps suggested an exercise routine of my own wouldn’t be the worst idea. “Here’s the quarterly report, Ms. Vorhees.” My boss’s eyes remained on her mobile phone as I continued, “I took the liberty of making copies for the executive staff meeting. Double-sided and collated. I’ve personalized them with sticky tabs denoting each attendee’s department.” I separated them into different piles on the wood surface. “And I highlighted the areas on which to focus to keep the meeting flowing and give you plenty of time to make it to Wilmington for your dinner with Banelo and his agent.” I pulled a pen from behind my ear and adjusted my glasses. “Oh! And I did a little snooping last night and discovered they’re both pescatarian, so I switched the reservation to Pinpoint Restaurant. Yelp reviewers insist you mustn’t miss the oysters, so be sure to place an order for the table.” I readied my pen and notepad for anything I might have missed. It didn’t happen often, but the morning distraction of Carl increased the possibility that I’d forgotten something.
My boss’s eyes finally lifted, but their usual sparkle was absent, and it was clear she was distracted. “Ms. Vorhees makes me sound like a frigid headmistress. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Grier?”
“One more, it seems.” My returning smile was professional, yet warm. I quite liked Ms. Vorhees as both a boss and a person. She’d only recently taken over as head of the American office of Triumph Eyewear after some apparent drama or other at the Feldland’s headquarters. No one envied her the situation she’d inherited, given the vast amounts of red marking the sales reports. But Grier was bright and energetic, if not a tad unfocused at times. I had the impression she’d been assigned to this sinking ship more to go down with it than to save it, but she was creative and certainly never felt the need to cross into the killer female executive archetype to motivate the staff. In the short time I’d been working here, I’d grown to admire her and enjoy working with her. I was a bit of yang to her yin, and she never tested my patience nor asked me questions about cartoons—two of many things differentiating her from my former boss.
“Well, let’s hope we get a chance to reach that ‘one more.’” Grier sighed and dropped her phone to her desk before leaning back in her office chair and considering me.
“Is there a problem?”
“If losing Scottie Banelo is a problem, then I’d say we have a huge sodding problem.”
“What?” My pen dropped to the floor and my stomach began to followed suit.
You’re on a warm, relaxing beach watching the waves go in and out. In and out. Thaaaat’s it. Everything is just fine.
I shook my head at Grier. “Surely, there’s been some mistake.” This made no sense. At Grier’s instruction, our marketing department had cashed in more than a few favors to secure a contract with Scottie Banelo as the spokesperson for our upcoming advertising campaign. A movie star—even if a minor one—wearing our new line of prescription sunglasses was just what the brand needed to catch the American public’s attention. And, not to mention, save our bottom line and keep me in the States.
“I’m afraid not. I’ve been on the phone with marketing since five this morning.” Grier’s eyes returned to her phone as she let out an even deeper sigh this time and read from the screen. “Viral Video Catches Hollywood Rising