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She looked tense. Judith always looked tightly wound, but this was different. Was it because of Elliot, or was there more? Not that losing Elliot was a small thing.
“But he will be back. Next week.” I wanted to hear her say it.
Chris scoffed. “Miss your boyfriend already?”
“Dude.” Landon’s voice was sharp. “Back the fuck off.”
The way Judith clenched her jaw wasn’t reassuring. “As Elliot would say, you’re the best at your jobs, and that’s why you’re here. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Who’s in charge while Elliot’s out?” Chris asked.
I was going to pound his face into the ground in about two-point five seconds.
The glare Judith fixed him with could’ve peeled the paint off the walls. “Me. I will make room on my calendar. If there’s anything you usually get from him, you come tome.”
Not a huge surprise. She’d started in development, though she hadn’t stayed long. Rumor was, she kept at least a little on top of her skills. “Any other questions?” Judith asked.
No one replied and she walked out of the room.
We weren’t supposed to discuss any work-related things with Elliot, but I needed to know he was all right. I sent him a quick text.You okay?
I shouldn’t expect him to reply right away, but I needed confirmation. I waited about thirty seconds before walking out of the room and dialing his number.
No answer.
Based on the time, and when Judith walked in, he was probably on his way home. I’d give him a bit to get there, get settled, and blow off some steam, and I’d call him again if he hadn’t replied.
Judith hadn’t said he was coming back, but she also didn’t say he wasn’t, so all hope was not lost.
When I returned to the Dev room, Chris stood up. “With Elliot gone, we still have a schedule to stick to.”
“Sit your ass down.” I wasn’t in the mood for whatever he was doing.
Instead of listening, Chris moved to the whiteboard in the middle of the room. Elliot’s spot.
My anger climbed.
“Team Starburst.” He pointed at the board. “Shift your attention to expansion pack content, and helping Team Quail with—”
What the fuck? “Stop.” I barked the word and joined Chris. I didn’t want to do this in front of the room. Our group didn’t do things like workplace drama or infighting. But something had overinflated Chris’s balls recently. “Those aren’t the team assignments.” I scanned the room. Half the people were standing, looking at us. While I couldn’t see the other half, no one was typing or talking, and that meant everyone was listening. “We willnotshift priorities. Nothing has changed.”
“We know our jobs, Chris, thank you very much,” Landon said.
Alys scoffed. “We also know what your job is,Chris.” Derision leaked into her tone. She wouldn’t mind seeing him escorted from the building.
I didn’t blame her at this point.
“I’m just trying to—“
“Well don’t.” I talked over Chris.
He huffed. “Fine. We’ll do a morning check-in tomorrow.”
No, really. What the fuck was he doing? Did Chris think he could run this team? He didn’t get along with Alys, he bitched about everyone in the office who was in a triad. I frequently wondered why he wanted to work here to begin with.
Today that didn’t matter, as long as we kept him in his place. The biggest thing that mattered to me was making sure Elliot was all right. Ensuring he had a functioning team of developers to come back to was second on the list.
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