The quick blinking felt a lot like a challenge, like she was daring me to say no to her. I glanced at Maren for help, but she just smiled sweetly and held out the Halston folder.
“Perfect timing,” I said, and took it in exchange for a quick peck on her cheek. “You’re my hero.”
“Mm-hm,” she said, feigning nonchalance. The deep pink rising in her face gave her away, though.
“I can’t stick around,” I said, pivoting toward the conference room, folder in hand. “Lunch is on the way. You guys are welcome to hang out as long as you want.”
The conference room, otherwise called the fishbowl, was separated from the rest of the office by floor-to-ceiling glass that could be frosted up via remote. Today, I chose to leave them clear as I watched Maren and the kids sitting in the studio space.
I should’ve been prepping for my meeting, but I couldn’t drag my eyes from her. She joked around with Sadie while they ate, and made a point to draw Will into conversation too. No matter how hard he worked to only belong to his game. It was only when Adrian showed Halston and his crew in, that I remembered what I was actually supposed to be doing.
Unfortunately, this was around the same time that lunch came to an end. I felt the immediate ripple of energy behind the glass walls. The kids were already in motion. Sadie had vaulted onto the low credenza, with Emma on all fours below, likely enticing her into the most dangerous version of leap frog ever. Will, much to my disappointment, had abandoned his video game to inspect the kinetic hanging sculpture over at the coffee bar.
“Sorry about this,” I said with a fake but polite chuckle. “Let me just—”
I aimed the remote at the walls and clicked. My fake smile stretched a little thinner when nothing happened, and I clicked again. Harder, this time. Halston cleared his throat. His cronies shared hesitant glances. I pressed the frosting button a few more times, but the glass remained crystal clear. Through it, Sadiedanced a jig that shook the credenza and when Maren tried to usher her back down, she stuck her tongue out and danced harder.
“Technology, am I right?” That stupid laugh again. This time it was hollow and didn’t land the way I wanted.
“We’re fine to just continue,” Halston said, showing me to my seat.
So much for assuming my authority before the games began. I discarded the remote and walked around the boardroom table to hand each of them a printout of my pitch. The same one that had been tweaked and altered to adjust for his demands and preferences after each of the previous failed attempts to land his six-figure contract.
Before I sat down, I made eye contact with Maren, who offered a reassuring smile as she attempted to rein in the kids. She was good with them; I’d seen it enough times to know. Still, it didn’t stop the uneasy knot in my gut from twisting.
“I suppose I’ll start by welcoming you back,” I said, easing into things. “I’m sure the office was a lot quieter the last time you visited.” All I got was blank stares, so I ignored how dry my mouth had suddenly become and kept going. “If we could just avert our attention from the circus out there, and take a look at page one…”
A loud thunk, then a crash, and the unmistakable sound of a metallic orb rolling across the floor. Everyone’s head turned but mine. I knew without looking, that it was part of our sculpture that had worked loose. Likely through Will’s careless investigation.
Halston’s overgrown eyebrows drew together. “I think the lady might need some help.”
The faint sound of giggles, of feet scuffing against tile. And then someone squealed in delight. Beneath it all, I could make out Maren’s harsh whispers begging them to settle down.
“I’m sure she’s fine.” I caught a glimpse of the chaos in motion, and hoped Adrian would jump in to lend a hand.
However, he did mention getting stuck into the mock-ups needed for next week, and he almost always wore his noise-cancelling headphones for that.
The entrance installation swayed dangerously when Emma shot out of it to scare Sadie as she ran by. Which, inevitably, elicited a high-pitched screech that vibrated the glass walls of the conference room.
I tried to maintain my rhythm. “On page one, the strategy I’ve outlined—” My voice caught a crack I didn’t intend.
“Why don’t we skip straight to the numbers?” Halston suggested with more than a little impatience. “I’m familiar with all the rest of it, and I’m sure we could all do with a little more… haste.”
“Of course,” I said, smile locked, voice steady.
Because why would I care about skipping over weeks of work? My cost-benefit analysis, especially, gave me so many sleepless nights. The only thing that pulled me through was thinking about finally revealing it to them and getting that hard-won ‘yes’.
But I sucked it up, and instructed them to turn to the last two pages of my pitch.
Minutes stretched. Every time I pivoted to a new angle, the kids found a new way to interrupt. At one point, Maren had them making paper airplanes, but the quiet didn’t last. Soon, white streaks zoomed past the glass with the kids chasing after each one. Will misjudged his speed entirely on one of them, andcrashed into the pane with his whole body before yelling “New record!” at the top of his lungs.
My carefully orchestrated flow crumbled like wet sand.
Maren stood on the sidelines, trying to restore order, but failing miserably. I wasn’t sure if it was a sugar rush from the sodas Adrian got with their meals, or just being out of their after-school routine. I should have predicted it. At the very least, I should’ve listened to Maren’s warning on the phone. My pulse thumped harder with irritation, and I had to clamp down before it showed.
I bit back a curse and forced the meeting to keep moving, trying not to think about how much this was undermining my authority. By the time I wrapped up my summarized presentation, Halston was polite, nodding, still interested, but not impressed in the way I needed him to be. In my head, he’d whipped out his pen halfway through, demanding a contract.
“I think we’ll need some time to review,” he said, and stood up. “We’ll be in touch.”
