Author: Andi Marquette
Category: LGBT
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/andi-marquette/page,14,481285-the_bureau_of_holiday_affairs.html
From Laura’s expression, she probably would have been less surprised had Robin asked her on a date.
“Don’t worry,” Robin assured her. “If they hate it, I’ll deal with it. They’ll think I forced you into doing it, as an assistant, and you’re in the clear. Or, if they like it, then I’ll give you all the credit.”
Laura glanced nervously at the door, as if checking to make sure it was closed. “I told you that I pay attention to a lot that goes on around here.”
“Yeah. And?”
“I know this meeting tomorrow has huge ramifications and can determine whether people advance or not.”
“That’s the rumor.”
“So why are you willing to go so far out on a limb? Mr. Frost wants new ideas within the party line.”
“But I don’t. Maybe we should be thinking outside the box.” Red pill, she wanted to say to Laura, but she was pretty sure Laura thought she had lost her mind, and that analogy wouldn’t help with her opinion. “And if you didn’t want me to consider it, you wouldn’t have created this presentation.” She gestured at the tablet.
Laura appeared to be considering her next words. “I took a chance doing that, especially since you seem more approachable over the past few days. But I didn’t expect that you’d buy the whole thing.”
“Why not? They’re great ideas. Businesses need to think about all kinds of approaches, not just the usual. That’s what keeps them competitive. So will you help me?”
“Yes.”
“Great. Let’s sketch out how this’ll work.” Robin got up to retrieve a scratch pad and pen off her desk.
“Can I say something?”
“Sure.”
“They’re probably not going to promote you.” She looked at Robin, expression troubled.
Though Robin had suspected that, hearing it aloud rubbed a little salt in the wound. “Let me guess. You’ve heard things.”
She nodded.
“Is it a woman thing or the gay thing? Or both?”
If Laura was surprised at Robin’s coming out to her so directly, she didn’t show it. “Woman, mostly. But the other probably doesn’t help, though I haven’t heard anything bad about that. Just questions.”
“Trying to figure out if I am?”
“Yes.”
“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Not like corporate culture is a bastion of girl power.”
“No. It isn’t.”
Robin sat down and tapped her pen on the scratch pad. She could approach the impending meeting in a variety of ways. She could present Laura’s information and see where the chips fell, or she could engage some of the tactics she’d learned over the years. She still had a few things up her sleeve where some of her peers were concerned, and she’d made it a point to cultivate relationships with a few of the board members who weren’t always drinking Frost’s Kool-Aid.
She could set Frost and a couple of board members against each other, and that would keep her position secure for a while longer. She also had some good dirt on a couple of Brady’s lackeys. There were ways to get that across in meetings like this, and ways to plant information with the right people to run a little discrediting campaign.
Her personal cell rang, an R&B tune. She didn’t need to look at it to know who it was.
“Go ahead and take that,” Laura said. “I’ll be at my desk.”
“You can hear that?”
Laura looked at her, puzzled. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I?”
“No reason.” She waited until Laura had left before she answered.
“Hello,” Robin said.
“Sugar,” came Lady Magnolia’s drawl, “my mama always said that a house is only as good as the man that built it. Or, in your case, the cute little lesbian.”
Robin frowned. “I’m not sure—”
“Honey, you reap what you sow. Plant corn, you’ve got something worth sharing. Plant ragweed, and Lord have mercy, you’re miserable for weeks. Build a good house, and you have a place for dinner soirees and family gatherings. Build something raggedy, and sugar, nobody’s gonna want to live there.”
“Are you saying what goes around comes around?”
Magnolia laughed. “Bingo, sugar. So think long and hard about what exactly you want next in your life, and how you want to live those days. Whatever you put in motion, you better be sure you know how to ride it. Bye, now.”
Magnolia hung up, and it dawned on Robin that this was after Christmas. Why was the Bureau still contacting her? She put her phone on the table. Was this a last-ditch effort to save her because she’d failed some kind of Bureau test?
She slumped back in her chair. What exactly did she want out of Frost? If she did the standard presentation, she wouldn’t advance. But chances were, that wasn’t going to happen, anyway, given what Laura had said. If Robin did Laura’s presentation, the board might notice and she might advance in spite of Frost. But then, he’d spend a lot of time making sure she had a hard time getting things done. Or Brady would. There were no guarantees she was going to move ahead. The only thing that she could count on at the moment was staying in her position. So no matter what she did at the meeting, her chances of advancing weren’t very high, even if she employed behind-the-scenes warfare.
How would that make her feel, engaging in the kind of cutthroat take-no-prisoners approach she’d employed in the past? And how badly did she want to advance in this company? Did she even want to stay? Robin picked up her phone and looked at the call log. There was no evidence of Magnolia. No number, no “unknown caller,” nothing.
“Robin?” Laura reappeared. “Do you want to keep working on this or wait a bit?”
“No, we can keep working on it.”
Laura rejoined her at the table. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“What do you mean?” Robin put her phone down.
“About advancement. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to get your hopes up about it.”
Robin smiled. “The truth hurts.”
“It’s not about you personally. It’s about the culture here.”
“I know. It doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do at this meeting. So my attitude is, why not just put your presentation out there? Nobody is expecting it.” Robin’s rebel streak sent a little jolt of energy through her. “At this point, I’ve got nothing to lose.”
“Maybe you do. Brady Herrington went to see Mr. Frost after your meeting this morning.” Laura held Robin’s gaze. “Your name came up, but Megan wasn’t sure what the context was. She could tell by the tone, however, that Brady wasn’t happy.”
Megan. Mr. Frost’s assistant. She’d given Laura a heads-up and Laura had passed it on to her. Maybe Laura was warming up to her a little. Regardless, Robin shook her head in irritation. In addition to her sour stomach she had a headache coming on, too. “Bad, probably. Brady and I don’t mix well.” She grinned. “Not that I wouldn’t gladly take him on.”
Laura smiled back. “He has it in for you for some reason. Those are the rumors.”
Rumors already? Had he gone to Frost with Cynthia’s accusations? Sneaky bastards, both of them. She rubbed her forehead. She’d known that about them. After all, she’d watched them do the same thing with others. Why she thought it couldn’t happen to her, she wasn’t sure. Thinking about both Brady and Frost made her queasy. Why would she want to stick around in a company with those two on the ladder above her, able to pee down it? As long as that was the case, she was screwed. And honestly, did she even want to stay? She was leaning no, but if she had to leave, it would be on her terms.
“Robin? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I wish I had tapped into your information pipeline a long time ago, but like I said, turning this damn ship is a little difficult.”
“Do you still want to do this presentation?” Concern showed in Laura’s eyes, and it made
Robin feel a little better. Nobody worried about assholes, after all.
“Definitely. She picked up her pen. “So let’s plan how this is going to work.”
Laura smiled, encouraging, and re-started the presentation.
The next day dawned cold and overcast, with a threat of either icy rain or snow or both. Two of Robin’s friends couldn’t make the art opening because of prior commitments, but they appreciated the offer. The other said she’d check her schedule, and Robin really hoped she could come. Of the three, this one seemed the best match for Jill. She was into art and music.
Which felt weird, thinking that way. Trying to set up her ex from years ago with someone had to be a new level of strange in her life, though given what she’d been through—if that wasn’t some kind of delusion or fever dream—it was tame.
Robin was already halfway through her extra-large coffee by the time she got to her office. A day of reckoning, she thought as she hung her coat on one of the hooks near the door. She hadn’t felt so untethered since she’d switched her major to business.
Thinking back on it, doing that was probably a reaction to her mom’s death and Jill leaving. Art was too painful for both those reasons, and she thought business would be a better route to a job to support her and maybe Frank, since their dad wasn’t in the picture, either. Turned out, she was pretty good at business, but like Agent Tolson had said, she’d done some things that she hadn’t needed to, things that ended up hurting others. Did she use her prickly, unapproachable self to protect her regular self from further pain? Had she been that caught up in her grief that she hadn’t learned to balance strength and vulnerability?
Change wasn’t easy. What was it Lady Magnolia had said? It doesn’t always come with a hot meal and highball. Robin smiled in spite of her mood. She checked her personal phone, and for the thousandth time in the past few days, she went to the photos of Jill. She had been beautiful in college, but the years since had added all kinds of layers that enhanced not only her physical appearance, but her spirit. Jill was definitely one of those women who became even sexier as she aged.
“Ready?” Laura asked from the doorway, and Robin clicked out of the photos. She assessed Laura’s outfit, an olive power suit that brought out her eyes. Good choice, Robin thought. She’d opted for a black suit with a cream blouse, and she’d put her rings on this morning, but switched the skulls and crossbones earrings for small diamond studs.
“Let’s do this.” Robin gathered her tablet and file of materials as well as her laser pointer. “Nervous?” she asked. She hoped Laura believed her, that Robin would take the hit if the presentation didn’t go well. Robin would follow through because, she was really enjoying doing the right thing. “A little.”
“You’ll be great. Good suit, by the way. Very chic, very professional. Frost will appreciate that.”
Laura murmured something in response. She carried her own tablet and file and was silent the rest of the way to the large conference room three floors up. Frost used it for his showcase meetings, and the table was big enough for the nine primary board members. Who, Robin noted, were all in attendance.
“We’ll be the last presentation,” she said to Laura as they took their seats about halfway down the length of the table. Which could be either good or bad, since the last presentation was usually the one people took with them after the meeting, especially if it stuck out for any particular reason.
Six of the board members present Robin knew and had spoken with at length over the past few years. She acknowledged all with a nod and a smile. There’d be no chance to draw during this meeting, and she put herself in full-attention mode so she could address anything that came up in the presentations before hers.
Brady sat across the table from her, slightly to her left. He avoided looking at her even when she pointedly stared at him. Score for her, she decided. Soon after, Frost issued the opening remarks, paid respects to the board, and then ordered the lights dimmed.
Each of the five presenters was allotted fifteen minutes, but Robin knew at least two would go over, and substantially. She was right. Frost called for a break after the third and Robin went to the bathroom. On her way back to the meeting room, one of the board members waved her over.
“Mr. Pruitt,” she said by way of acknowledgement. “Thanks for coming. How are things with your wife?”
“She’s much better, thank you.” He was pushing seventy, and wore a more traditional, classic cut men’s suit and matched his pocket square with his tie. The ruby in his tie clip picked up the accent color in both. “I do hope that you have something new to add to this meeting.”
“I just might.” She smiled. “And I promise we won’t go over fifteen minutes.”
He smiled back, and she went back to her seat. A few minutes later, the meeting resumed, and the second-to-last presentation dragged on for thirty minutes, going on about successes over the last couple of quarters and how that was probably due to better marketing. Sure, Robin thought. But marketing can get you only so far if you don’t follow through with personal service.
She scanned the faces around the room. Most seemed to be bored. Brady was looking at something on his tablet, and Robin guessed it had nothing to do with what the presenter was droning on about. She felt a little sorry for the presenter, actually. Phillips hated doing presentations, and he always sounded nervous.
Finally, he finished, and Robin took her laser pointer out of her pocket. “Here we go,” she said in a low voice to Laura. She stood, and Phillips gratefully handed her the remote that controlled the computer and the slides.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m joined today by my assistant, Laura Navarro, who will keep me on track and help with explanations as necessary.”
That got the attention of four board members, since it wasn’t standard operating procedure. Frost’s brow creased, and he leaned back in his seat, fingers steepled.
Robin glanced over at Laura, who gave her an encouraging nod, so she launched into what they’d dubbed “out of the box.” Robin had added some music and video clips and brought Laura in several times to provide figures and some background. Midway through, Frost was scowling, Brady was smiling smugly, but almost all the board members were scribbling notes, as were a few of the people from other departments.
By the end, the board members were nodding and whispering to each other. They applauded when the lights went on, and Frost stopped scowling, but from his hard expression, he wasn’t pleased. Robin had basically taken Frost to task for ineffective internal practices. She remained standing, because she knew Frost would end the gathering.
“Thank you, all,” Frost said by way of dismissal. “We appreciate your time.”
“Nice work.” Robin gave Laura’s shoulder a squeeze. “Stick around. See if you notice anything.” She moved away before Laura could respond.
“Well done,” Pruitt said to her. “It’s about time somebody brought this place into the twenty-first century.”
Frost overheard, and his eyes narrowed, assessing Robin the way a predator assesses a threat. Well, she was pretty scrappy herself. She met his gaze squarely, and he shifted his to Pruitt, who addressed him directly as another board member moved in to talk to her.
Now came the post-meeting power play. All the board members made it a point to talk to her directly, which didn’t sit well with either Frost or Brady, from their expressions. Screw both of you, Robin thought.
“How long have you been looking at these issues?” Pruitt asked as they moved slowly to the door. “Because it’s high time.”
“Not long enough, sir. My assistant was instrumental in educating me about this, and she created the slide show. In this case, I’m the messenger. It’s all Ms. Navarro other than that.”
“Well, that was a damn good hire, Preston. I see you walk your talk.”
“Sometimes I just get very lucky.”
�
�Regardless, we could use more people like you. Finding the right people for the job is half the battle, I’ve always thought, to saving money. Give people a reason to be loyal. Used to be, they were, and we all took care of each other. I’d like to see more of that in this day and age. And I’d like to have a personal assistant like Ms. Navarro. If you find me one, let me know. I’m currently in need.” He gave her an avuncular smile.
Two other board members echoed him.
Robin smiled. “Yes sir,” she said, and the image of a chessboard crossed her mind, because that’s what corporate maneuvering was like. Pruitt had liked her presentation. So had a few other board members. Which put Frost in a vulnerable position, along with Brady. She could press this advantage, and most likely derail Brady for a while—she caught herself. Jesus, she’d been conditioned well in this kind of backroom thinking. Why should she engage when she wasn’t even sure she wanted to stick around?
“Keep in touch, Preston,” Pruitt said. “I want to hear more from you. Pity you can’t join us for lunch. But do give me a call, and we’ll set something up separately.”
Score. Robin smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir. My best to your wife.” She headed for the elevators, Laura right behind her.
“Thanks for that,” Laura said when the doors slid shut. They were the only two passengers.
“For what?”
“The credit.”
“The board appears to have liked your work,” Robin said as she pressed the floor number. “If they didn’t, I would have taken the hit.” She grinned.
“I guess I was a little worried.”
“About what?”
“That you might let me take the blame. Or that you’d take all the credit.”
Robin started to retort but remembered Decker’s last visit. “I get that. But like I said, I’m trying to turn my ship around.”
“I appreciate that. For the record, Mr. Frost isn’t a fan.”
Robin shrugged. “We knew he probably wouldn’t be. Did you catch anything else?”