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“Yeah,” I said.
Courtney glanced at the clock on the wall behind me. “You’re running a little later than usual.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s been a long couple of days.”
“Well, the meeting starts in a few minutes. Do you need time to get yourself together? I can send a message to the conference room postponing the meeting for a few minutes.”
I blinked. “Meeting?”
Courtney raised her eyebrows. “Yes, the meeting.”
“What meeting?”
“Mr. Gentry, how could you forget that the company’s quarterly meeting is today? The one that Libby has been relentlessly preparing reports for. She emailed them all to you and left the hardcopies on your desk so that you can go over them. You’re supposed to be providing updates regarding where the firm currently stands.”
“Shit,” I said, running my hand through my hair. The headache I’d been dealing with on and off for the past few days immediately started to return.
“Mr. Gentry, I’m sorry, but this isn’t like you. Are you sure everything is okay? It’s a little too late to cancel the meeting at this point, but is there anything I can do?”
I sighed and shook my head. “No, it’s too important. It can’t be cancelled now. I just…It just slipped my mind, that’s all.”
“I understand if it’s none of my business, but is everything all right with your family? I can tell you’re worried about something…”
I scratched my ear. “No, everything’s fine,” I said, turning my back to her. “Send a message to the conference room letting them know I’ll be there in a little while. Give me about ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” Courtney said, rushing off as I headed to my office.
Just as she’d said, Libby had left several hard copies of various reports on my desk. Slamming the door behind me, I hurried inside and began pouring over the papers, trying to cram in as much information as I could. It was a futile effort though; my brain refused to stay focused. Staring at the reports, I knew the meeting was going to be a disaster and I felt there was nothing I could do about it.
Seven minutes later, I picked up the phone and called Libby.
“Tobias?” she answered. “What’s going on? We’re all waiting for you.”
“Libby, can you come to my office for a second?”
Less than two minutes later, she was there. She nervously glanced to the reports in my hand. “What is it? Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” I said. “Not at all. You’ve been perfect. I already owe you, and I’m going to owe you even more soon. Listen, I’ve been kind of distracted lately. To tell you the truth, I forgot about today’s meeting. I’m going to need you to help carry me through it. Do you mind presenting these reports? I get a feeling you know them better than me at this point.”
Libby blinked, stunned. But then she nodded her head. “Uhm…yeah. Sure,” she said. “But is everything okay, Tobias? You’ve seemed off for a while now.”
I shook my head. “Things are far from all right,” I said, standing up and handing her the reports, “but I don’t really feel like talking about it right now. It’ll all come to light sooner or later though. Let’s go.”
Together we headed to the conference room.
It had been a Godsend when Joanna befriended Libby because I would have been completely screwed without her. I made a mental note to give Libby a huge bonus by the end of the week for all the extra assistance she’d been giving me. She definitely deserved it.
“What?” Libby said, noticing me looking at her as we reached the conference room door.
I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said. “Just…thanks for everything.”
CHAPTER 25
Tobias
Libby had saved the day, completely carrying me through the meeting and helping things move along without too many hitches. I had though, been made painfully aware of how far I’d fallen behind with my work, and it wasn’t a good feeling at all. This firm had been my pride and joy for a long time, and never before had I fallen so behind and out of touch with the goings on around the place.
I have to get my head back in the game, I thought to myself as I returned to the office with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.
