“I think I’m going to make a break for it,” she said. “Bonnie’s recital is in fifteen minutes. She’s the second act on stage, and I could be there and back in under an hour.”
Her voice grew tighter as she spoke. “Could you cover for me?”
I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath until it slipped free in a deep exhale.
Fuck. Talk about bad timing.
“Um,” I began, the dressing down from this morning stopping me from nodding as I usually would.
“You know how she is,” Angie continued. “She said it would set a bad precedent if she let me go to my kid’s recital on the eve of the solstice.”
I glanced at the calendar on Burnzilla’s holo link. She would be in this meeting for the next hour.Technically,Angie was safe for now, but the fear that had thrummed inside me since this morning refused to let me agree so quickly.
“Please,” Angie said, and I realized she already had her bag and coat in hand. “Just an hour, Dessi.”
I’m such a sucker,I thought as I nodded.
“Say hi to Bonnie,” I whispered as she walked away quickly. She’d even changed into a pair of sneakers so she could move without her heels clicking on the floor.
My gaze drifted to the clock.
5:05PM
If Angie wasn’t back before six… Well, there was nothing much I could do now.
*
When the intercom went off twenty minutes later, I jumped in my seat before hitting answer.
“Yes?”
“I need the finance manager in my office right now.”
The order was short, curt.
My heart fell to my toes.
“Uh, yes, uh, right away.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Angie couldn’t have gone far. I reached for my phone and dialed her number.
Straight to voicemail.
Abandoning the headset, I rushed down the stairs to the parking lot, hoping beyond hope that Angie’s car might still be there. That was nothing but a waste of time.
When I returned to my desk, I couldfeelBurnzilla’s eyes on me, jabbing my skin like needles as she watched from her glass office.
With a steadying breath, I stepped into the meeting, trying to keep my knees from knocking together.
“Ms. Adani will be back in a few minutes,” I said, clearing my throat. “I’ll send her right in.”
Her gaze tracked my every breath.
“Of course,” she said.
Something in her tone made me quiver. This wasn’t over. I knew it in my heart.
