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“She’s right, again Eric,” Karen had spoken up.
I saw Eric’s lip curl with distaste. He thought that he’d been played. But eventually, I saw his shoulders sag a little. He looked more tired than usual like he wasn’t getting enough sleep for a while. There were dark circles around his eyes, and his angular face looked sharper than ever. It wasn’t exactly like Eric was the kind of person who ate much.
“Fine,” he said. “You’ll get what you’re after, Jamie. Tomorrow we’ll work up some prototypes. I’ll have the experts flown in tomorrow and then we can get some test shots done.”
“Great,” I said, beaming. I was being deliberately cheery.That’ll teach you, you old grump.
The meeting was called to an end, and as people filed out, I gave Julia a subtle high-five.
“We did it,” I said.
“You did it!” she whispered. “Even though he was being … argh, I just can’t take it.”
“Say what you want to say,” I said. The boardroom had cleared, and Eric had stalked back to his office via a private door at the back that was just for his use.
“He’s an asswipe,” said Julia.
“JULES!” I said, covering my mouth. “Calm down.”
“Well, I’m sorry,” she said. “But ever since I left college, I’ve been hearing stories about the ‘great Eric Slade.’ But it turns out he gets like a whiny baby whenever you mention weddings.”
“Huh?” I questioned
“You couldn’t tell?” said Julia. “Jamie, he wassolduntil you got to the part about weddings.”
I frowned. I was jealous of Julia’s ability to look at Eric with fresh eyes. When I saw him, I saw his hotel suite all those years ago. I saw the storm, the cabin, and the helicopter ride over Cape Cod.
“Maybe you’re right,” I said.
“You wanna get coffee?” said Julia. “It sounds like we need to start planning an upload schedule.”
“You go ahead,” I said. “There are some things I need to finish up.”
Julia left, but before she did, she squeezed my arm. “You were amazing today,” she said. “Don’t let him—or anyone else—tell you otherwise.”
I smiled. I felt like I found a real friend in Julia—even if she was maybe a littletoofriendly sometimes. Like how she invited herself and Carlos, her boisterous son, over to my house three nights this week.
I went to the door and knocked.
“Come in,” said Eric’s deep voice.
I expected to find him buried in figures or working at his computer. But instead, Eric was just sitting in his chair in the office. He looked up and scowled at me from his deep-set, burning brown eyes.
“Oh,” he said. “It’s you.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s me.”
I spoke to Eric one-on-one since I started working for his company, but I could tell that there was something on his mind. And I told myself that it was for the sake of the project that I was here in his office now.
“Are you okay?” I said. “You look like you’ve been pushing yourself pretty hard lately.”
He sneered. “Is that right?” he said.
“Yeah,” I said. “It is.”
Despite how wary I was of Eric, and how dangerous he could be for my life and my stability, I always dared to tell him how I really felt. Ever since the first time we met. So, I came and sat down on the chair opposite his desk, and folded my hands in my lap.
“You know, I’m excited about this,” I said.
