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Feeling defensive on their behalf, I sit up a little. “Actually, Chad. I think we’ve been wrong about them. They’re not idiots. They’re … dreamers, kind of like us.”
“Only they’re dreaming about fictional things.”
“Maybe, yeah,” I say. “But you know what? After getting to know them I realized I’ve been judging them too harshly. Besides, they’re not hurting anyone so who are we to say they should be doing something else with their lives?”
Allie narrows her eyes at me, but she’s smiling. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Gwen Fox?”
I chuckle, relief washing over me to be sitting here with my best friend. Who I’m lying to. Gah! “It’s still me, but maybe I’m more like Gwen 2.0. New and improved. More open-minded, less judgmental, less argumentative.”
“Did they drug you out there?” Tina asks. “I’ve heard psychedelics can cause personality changes.”
“No, they didn’t drug me.” I tap my lip, going for a playful thinking expression. “At least I don’t think they did.” Dropping my hand, I offer Tina a genuine smile. “Honestly, it was a transformative trip, which was what Dr. Napper wanted. He had all sorts of challenges set out for us and wanted us to think about leadership, legacy, and taking risks… It was amazing, really. I’m different. I feel different and I want to be a different person. Someone better than I was before.”
“Wow, Gwen, I’m so excited for you,” Keenan says, and I can tell by his smile that he means it.
“Thank you.” I glance around the table to see that not everyone looks so happy for me. But of course they don’t. We’re about to lose our jobs. “Obviously, I wish I could’ve transformed Ty into someone who’d give us the money, but … that would’ve been a miracle.”
“Did you at least manage to get any leads on that Muffy club thing?” Chad asks.
“He’s not the kind of man who goes around spilling the tea,” I answer, hoping no one notices that I’m not saying no. “I’m sorry, everyone. I really did try my best to get through to him.”
“I’m sure you did,” Keenan says with a bright smile that makes me feel about one inch tall. Dammit, why does he have to be so trusting and awesome?
“This is why we should’ve sent me,” Chad mutters.
“Oh, shut up, Chad,” Allie says. “It’s not like you and I did any better with Skippy.”
“I’m sure she did her best,” Tina adds. “And it was a long shot to begin with.”
Guilt. Oh, the guilt. “I did bring some presents for everyone,” I say, as though that’s going to make anyone feel better. “I left them at my desk. I’ll go grab them.”
Allie stands. “I’ll go. You’re wiped from your trip.”
“Thank you, Allie. It’s the gray bag on my desk,” I tell her as she hurries out of the meeting room. “Look, I know it’s disappointing, everyone. I’m disappointed too, but let’s not give up. We’ve got some of the best minds in the country in this room. If we put our heads together, I bet we can come up with a plan.”
Keenan stands up and picks up a marker. Taking the lid off, he holds it up to the whiteboard. “Excellent idea, Gwen. Let’s do some brainstorming.”
“What if we start a PleaseFundMe campaign?” Edward asks.
“Good, I like that,” Keenan says, writing it down.
“Or we start a YouTube channel showing people what we do,” Tina says. “We could make it really funny to get views.”
“Okay, love that one.”
Allie returns to the room with the bag. I smile up at her, but she doesn’t smile back. In fact, I can tell she’s near tears as she sits next to me.
“Allie, we’re doing some brainstorming for ways to get funding,” Keenan tells her. “No idea is a bad idea.”
She offers him a purse-lipped smile. “Sure. Yeah.”
“Oh! What about an Only Fans page?” Edward says.
Keenan’s eyes grow wide. “Okay, well, I should clarify. There is such a thing as a bad idea.”
I lean over to Allie and whisper, “What’s wrong?”
She glares at me. “I saw your pros and cons list. You probably shouldn’t have left it out.”
