It strikes me that Ben is looking incredibly relaxed as he leans back in his desk chair. His hand is resting on the armrest, his elbow poking away from his side.
“You don’t seem that stressed aboutit.”
He shrugs. “I’m not.”
“You’re not worried I like, ruined the company or something?”
He laughs. “No. I mean, it’s a mess and Brad’s going to make our lives a nightmare. But you want my honest opinion?”
“Badly.”
“I kind of like the drama.”
This pulls a reluctant laugh from me. There’s something very incongruous about stoic, watchful Ben saying the worddrama.
Ever the double act, Martin and John glide around the corner, both carrying plates piled high with food.
“Oh shit,” Martin says when he sees me. “It’s the traitor!”
“Wow, so we’re all just…certain it wasme?”
“It was obviously you,” John says.
“Hey, have you been undercover for Product this whole time?” Martin asksme.
“What could I have possibly been undercover for?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sleeping with one eye open from nowon.”
I roll my eyes. “Very funny.”
“Not as funny as that squad lead calling out Brad in the middle of the all-hands,” Martin says, tucking into a huge bite of sandwich.
“I’m never going to live this down, amI?”
“Oh, never,” he says through a mouthful of food. “You will live on in infamy.”
“Great,” I mutter.
Ben gives me a sympathetic smile. “What did Connor say aboutit?”
“Not a lot,” I admit. “Brad wanted to see him. He’s really angry at me, obviously.”
“Don’t worry,” he tells me. “He’ll sort it out.”
“Yeah,” I say weakly, not remotely believingit.
The longer Connor is away from his desk, the more anxious I feel. My panic is contagious. All three of the guys look increasingly uneasy as the minutes pass, and I try not to read too much into the fact I can hear their keyboards clicking away around me, the very obvious theme song of a group chat that is absolutely on fire rightnow.
I try and message Carrie, but there’s no reply. Trust her to be busy working at the exact moment I needher.
She finally pops up, two hours later.
CARRIE:Hey. Can you come up to my office?
—
I tap on the office door with a knuckle, then gently open it. If my first clue that something is very wrong was the strained smile she gives me, my second is that Connor is sitting in the chair opposite her desk.
