What if things could be different?If Daniel still had feelings for me (wasn’t that what he had said yesterday, though not in so many words?), what could that mean for us? Would I want to be with Daniel again? Yes and no. Yes, because it continued to feel like I’d been ripped against my will out of our relationship. No, because I could see the carnage such a decision would leave in its path, and everyone who would get hurt. Also, not knowingexactlywhy we broke up cast a dark fog over everything. There had to be a reason why I’d ended things, and a good one.
We wanted different things.
My mind was elsewhere and so I jumped when Greg Harlow popped his head into my office. “Morning, Lucy,” he said in a deep baritone. Greg was a large man, and his voice was no exception.
“Oh, hi,” I said, unconsciously putting a hand to my chest to still my heart rate. “I didn’t see you there.”
“Sorry,” Greg said. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. It worried me—both the look on his face and the fact he was at my office door before nine. I had worked more closely with Greg over the years than any other partner, so I knew how to read his expressions.This has to be about the press release.I sighed imperceptibly, smiling to hide my growing concern. Already crafting assurances in my mind for Greg that it had been a “one and done” error.
“No problem,” I replied. “Come on in.”
It was then I saw Greg wasn’t alone. Susan Chong—Jameson Porter’s head of human resources—was right behind him. An intense prickle of anxiety moved through me, and I shivered. Susan also came into my office and then shut the door behind her. It felt crowded with the three of us in there, and I took a shaky sip from the glass of water on my desk.
Greg and Susan each took one of the chairs across from me, and I noticed a file in Susan’s hands. SawSparks, Lucytyped on a sticker on its tab. My stomach dropped.
“How are things going, Lucy?” Greg asked, while Susan fiddled with her gold lariat necklace with one hand and kept the other on the closed folder. I tried to avert my eyes from the folder and to concentrate on Greg.
“Things are great, Greg.” My voice was high, definitely not relaxed. “Everyone has been fantastic, and I think things are going well.”
Greg looked at me sympathetically, and Susan kept on fiddling, smiling.Am I being fired?The press release fiasco didn’t seem serious enough to warrant me losing my job. After all, it had only gone to Greg before the mistake was realized. We hadn’t yet pushed it to the media outlets, so it was an easy fix with zero fallout. But then I had a disconcerting moment of panic when I considered maybe I’d screwed something else up, something much worse for the firm. Maybe my memory had failed me again, and I hadn’t even realized it.
“Good, good,” Greg said, shifting to cross his other leg over his knee. The chair was small for his large frame and he looked squished and uncomfortable. “I’ve asked Susan to join me today so we can talk about something that’s been brought to my attention.”
My heart beat furiously in my chest and my mind raced as I tried to sort out what else it could be. I ran through the communications I worked on during the week, coming back to the press release. My mouth went dry. “What is it?”
“There’s been some concern about the, uh, repercussions of your accident,” Greg said, the corners of his mouth turning down.
“Oh?” I crossed my arms over my chest. I quickly uncrossed them, not wanting to appear defensive. Maybe I hadn’t been ready to come back to work. I should have given myself a bit longer to recover, to get back to who I was before. The Lucy we could all count on. “What ‘repercussions’ exactly?”
Now it was Susan’s turn, and she was more direct. “Brooke Ingram expressed some concern about your memory issues.”
“She’s worried about you, Lucy,” Greg added, setting his chin on steepled fingers. “We all are, of course.”
I stared at the two of them, unable to keep my mouth from falling open in surprise.This was Brooke’s doing?The same Brooke who told me only yesterday she had my back? The worry morphed into something else...a sense of disbelief, and then one of betrayal.
Susan opened the folder, pulled out a piece of paper and set it on the desk and I recognized it immediately. The incorrect press release. “Yes, I made a mistake,” I said, my voice not as strong as I’d intended. “But honestly, it has nothing to do with my accident or my memory. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I had two files on my desktop with the same client name. The old client name.” I shrugged. “I attached the wrong release to the email I sent you, Greg. But luckily we caught it before it went out to the media.”
“Lucy, this is thesecondrelease you sent Greg. Not the first one.” She gently pushed the paper across my desk. I turned it around so I could read it properly, and saw the date stamp and the client’s name in the top line. It was the same press release, they were right—but I also could see it was the supposedly corrected one because at the top of the page was my email conversation with Greg.Please trash the other release, I’d written.This is the correct one. Sorry about the error.
I looked up, confused. “I don’t understand.” Then I looked back down at it again, read the date again. How did I screw it up twice?
“But it only went to you, right?” I stammered. Greg shook his head. “Unfortunately, you sent this to me as an FYI note. You had already sent the release to the media outlets.” He saw the look on my face. “But don’t worry, Lucy. Brooke retracted it before they turned it around and pushed it out. We got lucky.”
“Brooke told me it was handled,” I said. I pressed my lips together and thought back to our conversation, after I’d realized the first release was incorrect. Yes, Brooke had told me not to worry. It hadn’t gone beyond Greg. She had sat in my chair as I fretted, found the correct release and then attached it to the email I’d drafted for Greg. She’d hit Send. Then I’d gone to the washroom to splash some water on my face and...
Damn it.
A cold realization settled over me. Brooke had done this on purpose. But I still had no idea why.
“I’m sorry,” I said, the weight of what had happened pressing me into my chair. “I’m not sure how this happened, but I can assure you it won’t happen again.” I thought I might cry and took a deep breath. “I promise it has nothing to do with my memory. A miscommunication between me and Brooke.” I barked out a laugh, which surprised both Greg and Susan. “Which is sort of funny, considering I’m the head of the communications department.”
Greg looked at Susan and then at me with some concern. “I assure you it won’t happen again,” I repeated, more firmly this time.
“Well, glad to hear it,” Greg said. Susan seemed to have something else to say but took her cue from Greg, who was now standing. “But if you need anything, Lucy—even if it means taking some time off—you say the word, okay?”
Susan nodded. I held up the printed email and release. “Do you mind if I keep this?” I asked.
“Sure,” Susan said. “Let me know if I can help you in any way, Lucy. That’s what I’m here for.”
