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Thankfully, Sarai got another call and had to go, allowing me to come off the call before I said too much and let myself get carried away. I sat back to wait for the list of other folks. Henry chose that moment to ask me for help as both he and Lucy appeared in my office.
“Lucy, more problems?” I asked, opting to start with her. If nothing else, this would keep me from being impatient for Sarai again.
Lucy grinned, very much not upset, and shook her head. “Actually, quite the opposite. I decided to be a little more forceful and told the client you had put me on the project and approved my work. If they didn’t like what you thought was good enough, they could always talk about canceling our contract with you. It worked.”
I got up and went over to shake her hand. “Good. I’m glad you could get them to understand. Finish it up. You should have a clear shot to the end now.”
“Thanks, boss.” Her grin didn’t fade as she hurried away.
“How do you do that?” Henry asked.
“Do what?”
“Get everyone to handle your work for you and make it seem like they love it?”
“You tell me. It’s working with you, too.” It was my turn to grin. I knew I was teasing, and I didn’t entirely mean the words. They worked for me, but I knew most of them wanted to be at the top one day. I was just giving them an opportunity to learn.
“You make a good point. Need your help with this proposal, though. I think I’ve included everything, but I want to be sure before I cost it up.” Henry handed me his notes, and I happily took them. This was the one element I hoped he would come to me with. Nothing upset a client more than giving them an official quote and not including an important part that would need paying for later. Even more so if it was an expensive part.
He had done a good job but missed a few minor things. I handed him back his notes and made him add them then and there. At the same time, I went back to my computer and looked up my emails. The top one was from Sarai and had the list of staff she already had on the project.
While I waited for Henry to make his changes and add the costs to the list, I scanned through the names, recognizing several and approving of every choice.
When I got to the design team, I paused and swallowed. “Oh, fuck.”
“What?” Henry asked, stopping what he was doing and giving me his focus. I let out another groan and walked away from my desk to stare outside. This was bad. This was the worst thing I could have hoped for. Kit had also been added to the project as the interior designer, and Sarai was the kind of person who would have this project overlapping. I would be on site on days Kit would, no doubt about it.
Had Kit known I would be on this project, too? Was this part of her scheme? I had seen her talking to Sarai lots on the island, but I hadn’t thought anything of it. It was when she had turned off her attention to me. Or at least it had seemed that way.
Now, I wasn’t sure about any of it. She’d confused me, and I was sure I had confused her.
“Boss?” Henry asked, still staring at me.
“Nothing,” I replied.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing. I barely ever hear you swear. Especially not at work.”
It was a good point, but I had no idea how to explain what was going on in my head. Henry had pushed his work aside, however, and I knew I would have to tell him something.
“I’m looking over the team for a possible project.”
“And you don’t want to work with someone sucky?” Henry asked, getting closer than I’d have liked quickly.
I frowned, not sure how much to say. Did I leave it at that?
“You probably have enough clout and respect that if you told the client this was someone they didn’t want to work with and why, they’d probably listen and fire them.”
“It’s not like that. I’ve never actually worked with this person.” I went back to my desk and sat, double-checking it was who I thought it was. Kit was definitely listed as the interior designer.
Henry looked confused, leaning in closer.
“It was someone on the island. A woman. She was...” I trailed off and threw my hands up.
“A bitch?”
“No. If anything, she was wonderful to me. Funny, had similar interests, intelligent, beautiful. Carried herself well and clearly cared for her friend Juno.”
Henry put his pen down and sat back. “I’m not sure I understand what the problem is.”
