Chapter26
Cassidy stood near the registration tent, clipboard forgotten in her hands as she watched David Wilde circle the festival grounds like a shark in designer shoes.He’d been lurking for an hour now, occasionally checking his watch with theatrical sighs that probably cost extra in whatever leadership seminar taught him that move.
She should have been enjoying this.The festival was exceeding every projection she’d mapped out.Attendance was triple last year’s numbers, according to Sally’s running tally at the gate.The recipe competition had a waiting list.Grant Stone’s local artist showcase was drawing actual buyers, not just browsers.Even the weather had cooperated, delivering the kind of postcard-perfect Gulf Coast afternoon that made tourists forget they had responsibilities back home.
But David’s presence turned it all sour.Every time she caught his disapproving scan of the crowd, she felt herself shrinking back into the version of herself that used to care what he thought.The version that would have called this whole event quaint.Charming in a limited demographic sort of way.
She hated that version.
“You look like you’re about to snap that clipboard in half.”Jan appeared at her elbow with a bottle of water.“Drink.You’ve been running around for hours.”
Cassidy accepted the bottle gratefully.“Is it that obvious?”
“That you’re stressed?Honey, you’re vibrating.”Jan glanced toward David, who was now examining a handmade wreath like it might bite him.“That your boss?”
“Yeah.”
“He looks exactly like I pictured.Expensive and uncomfortable.”Jan patted her arm.“Don’t let him ruin this.Look around.You did this.”
She did look around.The harbor glowed in the afternoon light as families wandered between booths, kids clutched cotton candy, and couples shared plates of fried fish from The Sandpiper’s booth.The lighthouse rose beyond it all, steady and solid, its white paint almost luminous against the blue sky.
She had done this.With Bryan.With the committee.With a whole town that had somehow decided she was worth trusting.
“Cassidy.”David materialized beside her before Jan could escape.“A word.”
Jan squeezed Cassidy’s hand once and disappeared into the crowd.
“I’ve been observing,” David said, not bothering with pleasantries.“This is impressive for a small market event.You’ve clearly been allocating significant time and energy here.”
“It’s a community festival.They needed help.”
“And you provided it.Admirably.”He adjusted his tie, which had wilted slightly in the humidity.“But this proves my point exactly.You’re wasted in a place like this.You should be directing that strategic thinking toward accounts that actually move the needle.”
Something in his tone made her grit her teeth.The casual dismissal of everything around them and the assumption that bigger automatically meant better.She used to talk exactly like that.
“David, I told you I need more time.”
“And I’m telling you we’re out of time.The Phillips team wants an answer by Monday.If you’re not in that meeting, Steve gets the position.Permanently.”
The threat landed exactly as he intended.Steve Hodges.The man who’d been nipping at her heels for five years, who’d probably celebrated when she burned out.The idea of him getting her promotion made her feel physically ill.
Except…
Except when she tried to picture herself back in Chicago, sitting in that conference room, pitching luxury condos to developers who sounded exactly like George Morton, she couldn’t make the image stick.It kept sliding away, replaced by the smell of salt air and fried dough, by the sound of Bryan’s laugh carrying across the courtyard last night when Cliff told a terrible fishing story, and by the way Winnie’s eyes crinkled when she smiled.
“I understand the stakes,” she said carefully.“I’m just not sure they’re the stakes that matter anymore.”
David’s expression hardened.“Don’t be naive.This is your career we’re discussing.Everything you’ve worked for.”
“I know what I’ve worked for.I also know what it cost.”
She’d never said that out loud before.Never admitted that the corner office might not be worth the price of admission.
David opened his mouth to respond, but something over Cassidy’s shoulder caught his attention.His eyes narrowed slightly.
Cassidy turned.
And her heart stopped.
