This catches Andy’s attention. He swivels his chair around, his eyes narrowed on me. “What do you know?”
Just that they’re going to kill your project and then you’ll all lose your jobs.
Alex and Andy both look at me expectantly. Alex is leaning back against the desk now, one leg crossed over the other. Andy is perched forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees.
I look from one, to the other, and back again.
“I know the exec team is thinking a lot about Version 3.0 right now.”
Alex’s attention returns to his yogurt. “So what? They’ve been thinking about that since we merged.”
I give Andy my best level stare. “There’s a rumor going around that they want it launched by the fall. If that’s true, they’ll probably be making decisions about any new product features they want to prioritize. And which ones they want to kill.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Why 3.0 in the fall?”
“There’s…another rumor…about a possible float. But. Who knows if that’s true.”
“I haven’t heard that rumor,” Andy says slowly.
“That would explain the layoffs, I guess,” Alex says, his spoon scraping around the bottom of the pot. “I still think they’re dreaming.”
A world of information is silently passing between Andy andme.
“Have they already decided about the features?” he asks finally.
“Like I said. It’s just a rumor. I can’t even remember where I heardit.”
“Right.”
“If they’re going to make the target, though, it makes sense that they’ll be thinking about which features are most compatible. Can integrated templates run with the in-app ads they’re workingon?”
“No,” Alex says.
“It could,” Andy argues.
“By Thursday?” Iask.
He lifts a shoulder. “In theory. A single prototype, anyway.”
“It might be worth it. In theory.”
Andy nods. He understands what I’m tellinghim.
“I guess we’ll see you then.”
“You two are being weird,” Alex says, pointing his spoon from Andy tome.
Andy swivels back toward his monitor. I only shrug and tell them I’ll catch up with them later. My warning has been delivered. My work here is done.
Twenty-Nine
By the end of the day I’m not the only one feeling the tension. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Connor this grumpy. Even the guys seem beyond trying to lift him out of whatever mood he’s in, and since he doesn’t say a word to me, I don’t say a word back. Every agonizing minute of this silence plays out with him and me sitting side by side.
Ben has been stealing furtive glances at me all afternoon, but when I look back at him his eyes dart away again. Eventually, I can take it no longer.
ANNIE:Do I have something on my face, Benjamin?
He shoots a crooked smile in my direction, then starts typing.
