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Chapter 1
A laugh caught in my throat. “You’re joking, right?” No one said a word. I looked around the crowded meeting room, and everyone averted their eyes. “Oh, shit, you’re not joking,” I whispered.
Had I really said that out loud? I clamped my hand over my mouth, but it was too late. The words were already out there. “I must have heard you wrong,” I said politely, then tried to smile.
Gerald Grass, the managing director who had flown to Denver just for this meeting, narrowed his eyes at me. “Isaidwe should all congratulate Taggart McCaffrey on his promotion,” he repeated.
There was a weak spattering of applause. Taggert, who was sitting right in front of Grass, pumped his fist into the air and swung his head around to grin at the rest of us.
My entire body froze. That was supposed to bemypromotion. I had worked hard for it. Long hours, no social life—you name it, I’d given it all to the job. I’d even trained Taggert. He wasn’t the absolute worst, but he wasn’t the best either. I’d had to listen to his awful jokes and sitthrough his beer pong stories as I showed him the ropes and continually corrected his mistakes as a programmer at Apollo IT. I hadn’t even been given the courtesy of a rejection before this very public announcement. And my direct boss didn’t even have the balls to show up in person to the meeting.
An ache formed behind my eye. “Taggart hasn’t been with the company long enough to qualify,” I said. “The rules say at least six months. No offense, Taggart,” I threw in his direction, and he beamed at me.
“We made an exception due to Taggart’s extreme talent.” Grass’s eyes narrowed even more. They were practically closed now, daring me to keep talking.
I did worse than that. I laughed. In my defense, it was a fear response. Because, you know, this couldn’t actually be happening, right? And now that I’d started, I couldn’t stop. The baby gate between my mind and mouth had broken. “Seriously?”
“Are you questioning our judgment, miss?” he asked me sharply.
“No questions, just supreme disappointment,” I answered. I looked over at Taggart, then back at Grass. “You know he majored in PE,” I said.
Taggart blinked at me. “I majored in physical education.”
I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Have you ever made an app, Taggart?”
“Yeah, I made one with you, remember?”
“You were more of a spectator there, Taggart.” I turned back to the managing director. “This is the guy you chose to run the creative team?” I swallowed, then turned back to Taggart. He was about to outrank me by alot.“No offense. Again,” I added.
He grinned. “None taken. I have so much to teach you guys.”
Like what? How to do a keg stand? I couldn’t wait for the mansplaining of conceptsIhad taught him.
“Will there still be raises for the rest of the employees?” I asked. We’d all been promised incremental increases.
“There’s no money left in the budget for raises,” Grass said. “Taggert drove a hard bargain.” Then he proudly slapped him on the back, and the two of them fist-bumped.
Were they serious? It was hard to tell. Was this whole thing some sort of weird “gotcha” moment?
“What’s the incentive for the rest of us to work hard, then?” I asked.
The room was completely still, and I sent a silentyou’re welcometo the other employees for being the one to ask what we were all thinking.
Grass cleared his throat and turned back to the group, dismissing me. “Moving forward we need to change our thinking. These are difficult times; I understand how you all must feel. We’re all suffering. I haven’t been able to take my yacht out once this past month.” He shook his head sadly.
Aw, poor guy. He reallydidseem to understand what we were facing.
He sighed. “It’s important to remember that advancement is often overrated. Now that we have a full management team, it’s time to uncouple performance from paychecks. Providing a good product to the client is a reward in itself. It builds character.” He looked around the room and smiled at everyone but me.
“‘Uncouple’? Like a divorce?” I asked. All my anger and frustration bubbled up into my throat. “Could you maybe clarify exactly what that means?” I asked tersely, pushing back my chair and standing. Why was no one else asking questions?
Gerald Grass pinched the bridge of his nose. “Could you please stand?”
“Iamstanding,” I grumbled. Being four-eleven had its disadvantages, but I spoke louder to compensate. “Are you saying no more promotions or raises or bonuses?” I asked.
“The reward ofpridecannot be overstated,” he said through gritted teeth.
“It seems like that’s exactly what you’re doing,” I said. “I appreciate that you care about our characters,” I added, striving to stay civil, “and we, of course, care about your lonely yacht, but not providing advancement opportunities won’t make peoplewantto work hard.” I’d been with the company for what felt like forever. I was extremely qualified for that job and had accepted the position at Apollo ITbecausethey’d promised me the opportunity for advancement during my interview. And they’d given it to a guy practically fresh out of school. How had he had time to prove himself? And now even future promotions were off the table for the rest of us. I felt like I was on theTitanicand Taggert had “driven a hard bargain” for the last lifeboat.
