noticed.
“Is everything all right?” she asked as we were leaving another store without buying anything.
I took her arm.
“Yeah,” I said. I liked how she always checked in on me. We were like two bent arrows learning how to fly straight again. “It’s just Matt Simons,” I added with a grumble.
“Who is that?”
“He’s one of the senior scientists working on the Olympian project,” I explained. He was also a big jerk who could pass for Ichabod Crane’s twin brother, but I left that part out.
“What’s up with him?”
“Now that the project looks like it’s going to be a huge success,” I said, “he’s scrambling to claim a lot of the credit he doesn’t deserve.”
Anna knew all about how Olympian was going to leapfrog the market for lithium ion batteries.
“What’s he doing? Attacking the quality of everyone’s work?” she asked.
I returned a surprised look.
“How’d you know?”
Anna gripped my arm and we kept walking.
“Sweetheart, it’s my business to know. I see it all the time. Office politics is just a fancy term for bullying. Retailers are some of the biggest bullies around. I’ve worked with clients whose egos were so big, they’d rather see the business fail than admit they were wrong. What’s he doing exactly?”
“I think he wants to be the project’s Program Manager,” I said.
As Director of Quality Assurance, reporting to the VP of R&D, the Program Manager was technically on my level, but I had a dotted line reporting into that role. Somebody had to be ultimately accountable for the project delivery.
“Isn’t that Adam’s job?” Anna asked. Adam Wang’s numerous assets and few shortcomings had been the topic of many previous conversations.
“It is, and Simons seems to be gunning for it. This guy sniffs out openings to attack the way DEA dogs go hunting cocaine.”
“So is he after you, too?”
I gave Anna an approving look. “You are good at your job.”
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Anna said, pinching my arm.
“Well, I spent the better part of the day defending our test matrixes for the upcoming build. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is on edge. So all Matt managed to accomplish was waste time at a bunch of unnecessary meetings.”
“Why is everyone so testy?” Anna asked.
“We have a very significant demo tomorrow,” I said. “Guess I should have expected some arrow slinging.”
“And what about your test matrixes?” Anna asked.
“Our test plans are fine. They’re excellent, in fact, but just having Matt call me into question tarnishes my reputation.”
“At least you’re in the clear.”
“Yeah, but just because the test plans are fine doesn’t mean the project is going to be a success. A lot is riding on this demo. It really has to work.”
Anna pulled herself closer. “I’m sure you’ll be just fine, and the demo will go great.”
I smiled weakly. “I wish I had your confidence.”
For a time, I forgot all about Lily. I didn’t know where she was or what she was doing. I hadn’t attached a GPS tracker to her ankle. Lily came and went as she pleased, a separate but wholly connected part of our lives.
Neither of us felt in the mood for a big dinner, so we opted instead for cheesecake and coffee at the ever-crowded Trident Booksellers & Cafe. Anna nabbed one of the coveted tables near a window, while I disappeared in search of a book I wanted to buy. When I returned, Anna had our cheesecake, her latte, and my coffee waiting.
“What did you get?” she asked, pointing to the brown bag I now carried.
“A book,” I said.
“Cute, wise guy,” Anna said. “What, pray tell, book did you purchase?”
I took the book out of the bag and flopped it on the table. Anna’s eyes went wide with excitement.
“ The Coolest Baby Names Ever ,” she read, her mouth creasing into a breathtaking smile.
“I figured we should start thinking ahead,” I said.
Anna leaned across the table and gave me a kiss on
“Is everything all right?” she asked as we were leaving another store without buying anything.
I took her arm.
“Yeah,” I said. I liked how she always checked in on me. We were like two bent arrows learning how to fly straight again. “It’s just Matt Simons,” I added with a grumble.
“Who is that?”
“He’s one of the senior scientists working on the Olympian project,” I explained. He was also a big jerk who could pass for Ichabod Crane’s twin brother, but I left that part out.
“What’s up with him?”
“Now that the project looks like it’s going to be a huge success,” I said, “he’s scrambling to claim a lot of the credit he doesn’t deserve.”
Anna knew all about how Olympian was going to leapfrog the market for lithium ion batteries.
“What’s he doing? Attacking the quality of everyone’s work?” she asked.
I returned a surprised look.
“How’d you know?”
Anna gripped my arm and we kept walking.
“Sweetheart, it’s my business to know. I see it all the time. Office politics is just a fancy term for bullying. Retailers are some of the biggest bullies around. I’ve worked with clients whose egos were so big, they’d rather see the business fail than admit they were wrong. What’s he doing exactly?”
“I think he wants to be the project’s Program Manager,” I said.
As Director of Quality Assurance, reporting to the VP of R&D, the Program Manager was technically on my level, but I had a dotted line reporting into that role. Somebody had to be ultimately accountable for the project delivery.
“Isn’t that Adam’s job?” Anna asked. Adam Wang’s numerous assets and few shortcomings had been the topic of many previous conversations.
“It is, and Simons seems to be gunning for it. This guy sniffs out openings to attack the way DEA dogs go hunting cocaine.”
“So is he after you, too?”
I gave Anna an approving look. “You are good at your job.”
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Anna said, pinching my arm.
“Well, I spent the better part of the day defending our test matrixes for the upcoming build. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is on edge. So all Matt managed to accomplish was waste time at a bunch of unnecessary meetings.”
“Why is everyone so testy?” Anna asked.
“We have a very significant demo tomorrow,” I said. “Guess I should have expected some arrow slinging.”
“And what about your test matrixes?” Anna asked.
“Our test plans are fine. They’re excellent, in fact, but just having Matt call me into question tarnishes my reputation.”
“At least you’re in the clear.”
“Yeah, but just because the test plans are fine doesn’t mean the project is going to be a success. A lot is riding on this demo. It really has to work.”
Anna pulled herself closer. “I’m sure you’ll be just fine, and the demo will go great.”
I smiled weakly. “I wish I had your confidence.”
For a time, I forgot all about Lily. I didn’t know where she was or what she was doing. I hadn’t attached a GPS tracker to her ankle. Lily came and went as she pleased, a separate but wholly connected part of our lives.
Neither of us felt in the mood for a big dinner, so we opted instead for cheesecake and coffee at the ever-crowded Trident Booksellers & Cafe. Anna nabbed one of the coveted tables near a window, while I disappeared in search of a book I wanted to buy. When I returned, Anna had our cheesecake, her latte, and my coffee waiting.
“What did you get?” she asked, pointing to the brown bag I now carried.
“A book,” I said.
“Cute, wise guy,” Anna said. “What, pray tell, book did you purchase?”
I took the book out of the bag and flopped it on the table. Anna’s eyes went wide with excitement.
“ The Coolest Baby Names Ever ,” she read, her mouth creasing into a breathtaking smile.
“I figured we should start thinking ahead,” I said.
Anna leaned across the table and gave me a kiss on
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