Then I delete the whole thing.
I pick up my phone and call Sam.
She answers on the second ring. Her voice is alert but cautious.
"Tom?"
"We need to talk. In person. Can you meet me now?"
There's a pause. When she speaks again, her tone has shifted.
"What's wrong?"
"Timeline just got cut in half. Not sure if you got a chance to see the email."
"I'm at my office. Come here."
I grab my keys.
***
Sam's waiting in a small conference room when I arrive thirty minutes later. The door is already closed. Two coffees sit on the table.
She gestures to the chair across from her.
"I saw the email. Only after you called—I had an early meeting. I called Richard immediately."
I sit. Pull the coffee toward me but don't drink it yet.
"And?"
"Richard heard through back channels that Castellano's been talking to our lead investor." Her voice is steady. "He's the one who told them about the competing property downtown."
My hand stops halfway to the coffee cup.
"Why would Castellano do that?"
"Power. He lost at the Board meeting. He doesn't like losing control."
I set the cup down.
"So he creates a crisis."
"So he creates a crisis that requires someone to step in with a strong hand. Someone experienced. Someone the Board will look to for leadership." She meets my eyes. "He believes that someone is him. If the investor wavers, the Board will panic. And Castellano will be right there, ready to stabilize things. Take charge."
"And if we fail to deliver in two weeks—"
"Then the Board turns to him. He gets the control back."
I lean back in the chair. The leather creaks.
"And if we succeed?"
"Then he loses. Again."
Sam's looking at me, but her gaze flickers down to her coffee cup. When she speaks again, her voice cracks just slightly.
"So... you sure you want to keep working with me? Seems like I come with a lot of extra problems.”
