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“Twins?You don’t even look old enough to be married.”
She laughs. “Caleb, I’m only four years younger than you. I’m definitely old enough to be married. So are you.”
“Iammarried,” I reply. I’m not sure why I say it. Reflex, perhaps. Or maybe I simply sense a threat here in Lucie with her curves and her big eyes and her lip-biting.
“That’s...you’re...” She fiddles with the hem of her skirt. My gaze catches on her long legs and veers away fast. “The house has been so quiet. I didn’t think there was one person in there, much less two.”
I lean back in my chair. “I’ve been traveling for a few weeks and Kate’s been away too.”Kate’s been away too. As if she’s shopping in Paris with her mom or down at Canyon Ranch getting facials.
She nods. “No kids?”
I swallow. It’s time to curtail this walk down memory lane. “Kids are the last thing I need. Anyway, about the job...I’m sorry if you were misled during the interview, but this was never intended to be a permanent position. Even if I could swing the cost of another salaried employee who isn’t bringing in dollars, I can’t swing a bunch of expensive programs to increase morale.”
She goes pale beneath her tan, and no wonder—she’s gotkids to support, and I just told her the job isn’t going to last. I silently curse Mark for not being more upfront when he hired her.
“What if the programs aren’t expensive?” she asks. “If employees are leaving because they want to work from home, it must cost you thousands to hire new people and get them up to speed, right? Stopping the flow would pay for the programs right there.”
I sigh heavily. I know for a fact that pizza parties and posters that say ‘Believe in yourself’ aren’t going to keep someone here if he wants to sit on his couch playing video games and jerking off. But the board needs to see it for themselves, which is why I agreed to three months. “It’s not going to work, Lucie. But look...stay for the next few weeks. Take the salary and spend every minute you’re here sending out resumes and interviewing. When you meet the board tomorrow, rattle off some bullshit and keep looking for a job.”
She’s staring at me as if she doesn’t understand what I’m saying. “Rattle off some bullshit?”
I shrug. “Whatever. Tell them you want to host a blood drive or get everyone to wear a lapel pin or something. The lamer your ideas are, the better, as far as I’m concerned, because I need the board to realize it’s not going to work.”
Her shoulders sag. “Why are you so sure I won’t make a difference?”
“I just am. Take the next two weeks to job hunt. You can even stay three if you must.”
She appears to hear the finality in my tone and rises, smoothing her skirt. “Maybe I’ll surprise you,” she says as she turns to leave.
“I don’t want to be surprised,” I reply.
Surprises are the last thing I need.
Especially surprises who swim naked outside my window.
3
LUCIE
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
I march out of the office and wince once the door shuts behind me. What a complete disaster this is.
Does he really believe I can get another job that will support a family within two to threeweeks? I spentmonthsapplying for jobs before I got this one. I spent months saving enough money to get us by until that first paycheck.
How long will that last us if I’m unemployed? Not all that long. I could conceivably sell my aunt’s house, but I doubt it’s worth much and I assume I’d have to split that with Jeremy. I could never buy a new place with what would be left over.
I collapse into the desk chair and bury my face in my hands. God, I’m foolish. There I was, wondering if it was fate that we met and eager to find out where his life had taken him, while he was simply trying to figure out how to get me out of his company as soon as possible.
But if he told the board he’d give me three months, he’ll have no reasonnotto give me three months as long as I can impress them tomorrow. I just need to create amiraculousprogram by the end of the day, despite having no idea what the budget is and no real-world job experience.Great.Super. No problem.
I always think of Ruth during moments like this, panicked moments when I’m not sure I have what it takes. She’d spend the day on conference calls while I sat by quietly, and between each of them she’d give me advice—all these sayings that were utterly meaningless to a little kid who just wanted to go outside:Work smarter, not harder; don’t recreate the wheel.
Those meaningless phrases of hers have helped me out of more than one situation and—because I have to pick up the twins in seven hours, and that’s not nearly enough time to come up with an idea of my own—not recreating the wheel is decent advice.
I start looking at what larger companies offer their employees, and though every idea seems like a terrible one when it has to be perfector else—‘Perfect is the enemy of good’Ruth says in my head—by the time I leave to get the twins, I’ve at least chosen something and started to pull together a presentation.
