A few of the men around the table stiffened, but I couldn’t stop. Elizabeth was a person whose choices should be respected and kept private, like anyone else. “We need to evaluate her on her technical ability.”
“I agree,” Fischer jumped in. “Let’s move on with this meeting, please. I have another meeting in thirty minutes. In short, I think Cedric is going to be a wonderful addition to our division. He’s a shoo-in.” He pulled out a scroll of drawings and unrolled them across the desk. “For position two, it’s a close call between Haaziqand Peter. Both have excellent results and workmanship. I’ve been working closely with Cedric, but Richard has been overseeing the other two.”
“It’s only week three. We have five more weeks before the final test. I don’t think we should be discussing final placements. It could create bias,” I said, making a note to scrutinize Haaziq’s and Peter’s work myself. “Besides, I’m not all that impressed with Cedric. You haven’t mentioned his inaccuracies.”
I was aware that Cedric’s mistakes were overlooked by Fischer. But I didn’t care if he took offense. His review was as error-filled as Cedric’s design.
The engineer huffed, crossing his arms and lifting his nose in the air. “Let’s be honest. It’s not going to be Gordon-Bettencourt. You’re speaking about creating bias as if she isn’t wearing short dresses and low necklines to earn favor. Cedric is working on getting this job fair and square. Perhaps you need to remind your intern that placement is based on technical knowledge.”
My blood boiled, and I sat up straighter. All the exhaustion from this weekend was sucked out of me and replaced with a simmering rage. “Fischer,” I called, meeting his blue-eyed gaze, “I notice you refer to every other intern by their name. Her name is Elizabeth, and your comments are inappropriate.”
A strange defensiveness curdled in my chest. Elizabeth was trying, and she was learning. She deserved respect. On second thought, it wasn’t that strange wanting to defend her. “I haven’t been able to dedicate the required time to properly guide Elizabeth. I’ll prioritize her going forward.”
“Interesting, since she said you’ve been a great mentor,” Anders said, a twisted smile on his face.
She did?
Fischer raised his hands. “Whatever the case may be, I don’tthink you should be wasting your time, Carden. You said her work is sloppy. Why is she here?” He turned to Anders. “Is it because of her family influence?”
Anders shrugged. “Maybe.”
My hand balled into a fist around my black pen. I shook my head, willing the anger to subside. If there was one thing that drove me up the wall, it was opportunities being granted based on wealth instead of merit. “I hope that isn’t true.”
Anders turned to face me. “Or maybe I hired her to test you. I can’t make you a manager based on your engineering talent, Carden. You need to be able to manage. Manage your intern. If you can do that, the job’s yours.”
I stood, unable to be around them. My mood wasn’t under control. I needed sleep, and I needed my ADHD medication. I needed to get out of this meeting. I could feel myself unraveling, and they shouldn’t see that. “Understood. Please excuse me as I have a meeting at the Princely intersection in forty-five minutes, and it takes an hour to get there.”
Without waiting for permission, I dipped my head and left the boardroom.
Spinning through to my office, I grabbed the construction drawings and set them down on my desk. Elizabeth arrived with a fresh cup of coffee in her hands and smiled brightly. I kept my head down. Every part of me was already on edge, and her fitted yellow summer dress and sweetheart neckline poked at my annoyance after the meeting I’d had. She set her coffee cup down on the desk and leaned over my construction drawings while I lifted my car keys, hard hat, and reflective vest.
Her loud gasp called my attention. I turned around as her caramel-colored beverage soaked into my construction plans.
The last strand holding me together broke. My fist came downon the desk between us. Elizabeth flinched, and her body went ramrod straight.
“No, no, no,” I ground out, along with a string of curse words.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Carden.” Her voice came out as a squeak. “I’ll print another set.”
“Leave it.” I shook my head and left before I could do or say anything else that would make a bigger mess out of this situation.
I made it to the site twenty minutes late and without drawings. The rush of the day continued, but my heightened emotions simmered down. Elizabeth’s wide gray eyes and shaking voice sprang to mind. I jumped out of my truck, and while walking to the container we’d be meeting in, I checked my phone, which seemed a couple minutes away from dying. I navigated to my email app, where I typed out a message.
Elizabeth, apologies for the outburst earlier. Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.
I hit send. It wasn’t fine. They would be expecting the drawings, but I didn’t want the guilt eating at her. It made me feel guilty knowing she’d be feeling guilty. I couldn’t begin to explain the logic of my feelings. Even my therapist struggled.
“Where are my drawings?” The resident engineer was nearly snarling upon my arrival. Problems. That’s what that meant. Always wretched problems.
“Delayed.” I pursed my lips in what I hope was a fairly polite smile.
“Just like you, then,” he replied.
I learned a long time ago when to fight fire with fire. An apology would do no good here. “What’s the crisis? Spit it out.”
“We’ve hit rock.”
I sucked on my teeth and turned to face the contractor. “I told you to hire a geotechnical specialist.” If everyone could stop cutting corners to save a buck, that would make my job ten times easier.
