That抯 why I抦 stepping away indefinitely to tend to personal matters.
I hate that my time with you has come to an unexpected end. I抣l sincerely miss each and every one of you. Some of you, I抳e known my whole life. Rest assured I抦 leaving you in the most capable hands.
Sincerest wishes,
Lincoln Burns, Chief Executive Officer
I read the email, blinking back tears, and turn to Cheryl.
揝o who抯 our new CEO??I ask.
揙h, God, I have no idea. Did you know about this??
I shrug glumly.
?..he said he might do this, the last time we got into it. I just didn抰 think he was serious.?I bite my lip, hating the instant crash in office morale I can feel in the air.
The COO strolls right past us to Anna抯 office.
That抯 never happened before. We stare after her.
揥hy is she down here??I whisper.
揌ow should I know??
I try to glue my eyes back to ad projects on my screen, but I抦 too distracted by the impending doom. We whisper back and forth, wondering why our lowly marketing team is being visited by C-level staff.
揑 knew something was seriously wrong,?Cheryl moans, rubbing her face. 揥e抮e going under, aren抰 we? We took on too much with that wedding line. Burns knows it, and he抯 jumping ship before we抮e underwater.?
揕incoln wouldn抰 have resigned if he thought we were going under. He抎 stay and fight until he turned it around.?I may loathe the man for using my heart as a punching bag, but I抣l give him his professional due.
I also know the real reason for the turnover in leadership.
Linc just doesn抰 know what to do. He抎 rather exit his family business than deal with me.
Sure, there抯 also the Wyatt factor, but ugh.
I used to think I hit my all-time low when Jay ghosted on my wedding day. Anything had to be better after that.
I was wrong.
Cheryl stares through her computer screen and glances at Anna抯 door. 揝he抯 been in there for a while.?
The COO comes out of Anna抯 office and goes straight to the elevator without speaking to anyone else.
Anna steps out about a minute later and walks up to us.
揇akota, do you have a few? I抎 like to talk.?she asks.
My stomach sinks.
揋ood luck,?Cheryl mouths from her desk.
I nod, square my shoulders, and head to Anna抯 office, ready to face the music, although I抦 not even sure what I抦 facing the music for. An HR formality, probably. They want some kind of statement to cover the company抯 butt based on whatever Lincoln said about us.
Hell, maybe they think I should resign, too. That would tie up any loose ends.
揥hy are you so tense??she asks as I pass her.
?..I don抰 know.?
She smiles. 揌ave a seat. I抦 not here to put you in front of a firing squad.?
Not a huge relief, but I comply.
揝o, Lincoln抯 departure is a pretty big surprise. No one expected it.?Anna moves to her desk and sits. 揟he board will work to hire a new CEO, but in the meantime, leadership is being reshuffled.?
揜eshuffled??A lump forms in my throat. That doesn抰 sound good.
I should have just quit when crap went down.
揓ane抯 going to be our acting CEO棓
揓ane??
揟he COO.?
揙h, right.?I see her around but never knew her name.
揑抣l be acting COO in the meantime. It抯 not permanent. Jane will return to her position when it抯 all said and done.?She whispers, even though we抮e alone in her office. 揃ut just between you and me, I抦 confident she抯 planning to leverage her temporary CEO experience to take a stab at being CEO somewhere else once Lincoln is replaced. And if that happens, I抣l be staying in Jane抯 position permanently.?
I nod. What does any of this have to do with me?
揥hile I抦 COO, you抮e going to be marketing manager.?
My heart jumps, sticking in my throat.
揥hat? But there are people who have been here way longer棓
揇oesn抰 matter. You already review other people抯 work when you don抰 need to. Your suggestions are always good. People find it easy to ask you for advice and accept your criticism. There抯 no one better for this role. It may be temporary, but it抣l be awesome experience on your resum??
I抦 stunned, glued to my seat.
揟hank you. Um, when do I start??
Anna clasps her hands and leans forward. 揟oday, if you抮e ready.?
After Lincoln, I don抰 know that I抣l ever be ready for anything again. But I wanted a distraction, didn抰 I?
Ready or not, here it is.
It barely takes a few weeks to figure out I hate the new job.
All I do is go to meetings, approve creative from multiple teams, convince them they like their job, and run reports. I miss writing so much it hurts.
I also miss sparring with Lincoln over Regis rolls every morning. Anytime I go upstairs, I fight back tears at the sight of Jane in his office.
A whole month passes before I can blink.
No one抯 heard from Lincoln since the day he disappeared.
I definitely haven抰. I don抰 know what I expected, though.
He made it clear that I don抰 matter. I抦 the dirty little secret who blew him up and pushed him out of his career.
Anna and Jane have my back, working hard to shut down any lingering gossip. But it抯 almost like they don抰 need to. He抯 been gone so long we抮e creeping into life goes on territory, when news becomes memories and memories start to fade.
I head downstairs with a sigh, ready for another dull day. Cinnamon and butter punch me in the nose when I hit the marketing floor.
Jesus. It shouldn抰 still remind me of him.
I抳e avoided Sweeter Grind like the plague lately. Now, that抯 impossible with everyone holding one of those stupid colossal cinnamon rolls.
揌ey, Dakota.?Cheryl smiles and follows me on my way to Anna抯 office梩echnically now mine. 揧ou want me to grab you a Regis roll??
揘o. I抦梩rying out this low carb thing. It抯 pretty brutal. The entire diet is bacon and cabbage.?I stick my tongue out.
揥oof! You抮e braver than me,?she says with a laugh. 揂re you okay??
I nod briskly.
揇o I not look okay??
揧ou抮e smiling, but your eyes aren抰. It抯 okay to be upset.?
Part of me loves her for going into office mom mode when she sees me having so much as a quiet moment. The rest of me feels annoyed.
揑抦 fine, Cheryl. No reason to be upset.?
揑 mean, I抎 still be raiding the drugstore every night for ice cream. Do they have a bacon and cabbage flavor??
I look at her and blink.
揑 don抰 want to find out. Also, it抯 been an entire month. I抦 over it, lady. If I can get over a crazy, cheating scumbag leaving me at the altar, I can also get over Lincoln freaking Burns.?
I wish those words sounded sincere.
Who am I kidding? Lincoln Burns is everything I ever wanted.
He抯 everything Jay isn抰, and now he抯 gone in a flash of shattered hearts.
I try not to scoff.
揑f you ever want to talk, I抦 here,?Cheryl says gently.
Oops. I guess that scoff was audible.
揧eah. Thanks.?
揂nd thank you for your feedback on the latest copy. I抦 correcting it today, and I抣l have it to you by lunch. It抯 way easier working for you!?
I plaster on a smile that doesn抰 feel real.
People keep telling me I抦 a natural in this role, but it makes me hate it more.
Just because you抮e competent doesn抰 mean you抮e happy.
I want to sling words梟ot manage people梐nd I desperately hope maybe Jane decides she wants her old COO position back so Anna will have to fall back to this. I抣l gladly give it up the second she asks.
揧our work rocks, Cheryl. Tons of improvement,?I tell her, ripping my mind off bad thoughts.
Cheryl beams, her soft silvery eyes twinkling. 揑 think it抯 because you showed me I抦 not afraid to take chances. If something doesn抰 work, you let me know without any ego in the way. We just change it up.?
My lips twist in thought. Her posts have gotten funnier recently.
揅an抰 wait to see what you bring me. I抣l see you later,?I say as I push open my office door.
I抳e barely been at my desk for fifteen minutes when someone knocks.
Now what?
揅ome in!?I call.