This is what I wanted, right?
chapterthirteen
A few hours later,as I’m getting ready to leave, a message pops up on the company’s messaging software from Matt.
Good job, kiddo.
Thanks
Butler was so impressed they reached out to us about handling all of their accounts. Not just for the steam vac, but for all Butler appliances.
What? That’s amazing!
They want to see a proposal by Monday afternoon. Think you can put something together?
Heart pounding, I look around the bullpen. Tad is already gone for the weekend and he’s notorious for checking out when he clocks out. Teresa is still home with Noah, as she should be.
Maybe I could draw on a couple people from other teams, but most of them are gone too.
I don’t know how feasible it is to pull this off.
They do realize it’s Friday afternoon, right?
I know, I know. I tried to push back, but they’re in a rush. I’ve got faith in you, kiddo.
Faith? That seems like a compliment, but is it really? Wouldn’t resources or time be better than faith?
Still, it’s not like I can say no to this. If landing the Butler Steam Vac account was big for Forester+Blake, then this would be huge.
Before I can respond to Matt to let him know that I’ll have ideas for him to review by Monday morning, the software dings to let me know that he’s logged out. A moment later, I see him walking out of the executive suite toward the elevators.
I stand, wanting to catch him before he leaves, but he’s got his phone to his ear. When he sees me, he gives me a nod, pointing with his free hand toward his phone. He winks at me and flashes a big thumbs up.
I smile back, but it feels more like a grimace. He’s leaning into his faith in me a little hard.
Yeah, his trust in me sounds great in theory, but what if I can’t deliver? Then what?
I message Tad, both in the company software and on his phone, but he’s logged out and his notifications are silenced. Just great. To make matters worse, by the time I’m done messaging Tad, I see a message from Teresa. It starts with a message she forwarded from Matt.
Matt
The work from your team today looked amazing. Butler wants an additional presentation on Monday. There are notes with details for what they’re expecting in the team folder.
Teresa
Thanks for stepping in for me today. Sounds like it went great. Noah should be well enough by Monday that I can come in and do the presentation to corporate. If you can have a rough draft for me to review by Monday morning, that would be great. Thx.
I scowl as I reread her message and hop over to the team folder to the notes Matt sent. By the time I’m back in messages, Teresa has logged out. Which is to be expected since she’s got a sick kiddo. Still, I don’t love that everyone is expecting me to do the bulk of the work.
How am I supposed to attend the gala and work up a whole new proposal for all of Butler Appliances?
Keegan isn’t picking me up until six-thirty. Reb and Thea aren’t coming over to help me get ready until 4:00. I’ll just have to work all morning and all day on Sunday. It’ll be worth it. After all, it is an amazing opportunity.
I should be thrilled. Iamthrilled. Surely, this weird feeling in my gut is just stress. Or maybe I’m hungry. That’s probably it.
By the time I’m nearly ready to leave, I still haven’t eaten, so I grab a sandwich from the deli that’s on the ground floor of the Prescott Towers, the building that houses Forester+Blake.
The Prescott Towers are two thirty-story buildings in the heart of downtown Austin. The north tower houses a bunch of businesses, in addition to Forester+Blake. The south tower houses The Prescott Hotel and overlooks Lady Bird Lake as it snakes through downtown. The Towers share a ground-level lobby and atrium, complete with a handful of cafes and shops.
