Chapter 3

The break room on twenty-six turned out to be more interesting than I expected. It wasn't because of the work. It was because the executives never bothered to lower their voices.

They didn't think of whoever was working in the break room as a person at all. More precisely, they didn't think the help had ears.

On my first trip up, I was pouring beans into the coffee machine when I noticed that Glenn Harper, the executive VP, hadn't shut his office door all the way. I could hear two voices inside, clear as day.

"Derek can't handle it. Crestmark has sent the proposal back three times now, and Walter flat out said he won't talk unless Tessa is at the table."

"So what do we do? Mrs. Shaw is never going to let Tessa come back."

"Should we tell Mr. Shaw?"

"Are you out of your mind? She did this behind his back. If we go to him now, where does that leave Mrs. Shaw?"

My hand stopped in the middle of wiping the counter. So there were people at the company who knew this wasn't right. Nobody dared say a word because she was the chairman's wife.

It made sense. With my brother gone, Vivian was the most powerful person in the building, and nobody wanted to cross her.

I finished wiping the counter without a word, refilled all three coffee carafes, and restocked the snack cabinet.

On my way out, I slipped two pieces of chocolate into my pocket. It was a perk, after all, and I had been the one who got that snack budget approved back when I was a director.

Heading back down, I ran into Derek in the elevator. He was the new Director of Strategy, somewhere around thirty-five, with a crisp suit and not a hair out of place, and he looked the part.

When he saw me, his expression shifted. He looked a little guilty and a little too pleased with himself at the same time.

He gave me a nod that was supposed to count as a greeting. "Tessa."

I smiled at him. "Derek."

The elevator went quiet for three seconds, and then he spoke up out of nowhere. "The Crestmark project. That Walter guy you worked with. What's he like?"

I glanced at him. He was asking me about work in an elevator, and he couldn't even be bothered to say please. His tone made it sound like answering his questions was my job.

I said, "Walter's a coffee snob."

Derek frowned. "That's not what I asked."

"Take him out for coffee. Order the single-origin pour-over and nothing flavored, because he thinks flavored coffee is for amateurs. By the third cup, he'll bring up business on his own."

The elevator reached the lobby, and the doors opened. I walked out without looking back.

Behind me, Derek stood in the elevator and didn't move for a long time.

He wasn't going to get it. The client relationships, the industry contacts, and the know-how I had built up over eight years couldn't be handed over with a transfer order.

Vivian thought she could knock me down and plug anyone into my spot, and that was hopelessly naive.

Back at the front desk, Annie poured me a fresh cup of coffee and slid it over. "Tessa, how was it up there?"

I pulled out the chocolate and handed her a piece. "Great. I overheard some gossip."

Annie's eyes lit up. "What gossip?"

"The new director's about to crash and burn."

Annie nearly choked on her chocolate.