CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
I shouldn’t be nervous. I know these people I’m about to have a meeting with, at least a little bit. I worked overnight with Lucky. Hell, I’m going out to dinner with Dev tonight after cruising a dating site with him. But I’m sitting here in the parking lot, palms sweating, with my cute little briefcase next to me and my laptop all packed up and ready to go.
What if my report is too amateurish? What if I haven’t given them enough detail? What if I’ve given them too much detail? There’s no way for me to know if I’ve put this thing together correctly, because I’ve never done anything like it in my entire life. Sure, I’ve attended plenty of meetings with some pretty high-ranking executives present, but I was always having conversations with people who speak the same language as I do.
I worry about being too technical with these non-geek coworkers, but also about not being technical enough. I don’t want them to think I’ve oversimplified my report just so they can understand it. My goal is to strike the right balance between completely geeking out and dumbing it down.
A vehicle pulls up next to me and the main door to the warehouse begins to open, telling me whoever is in the car has a remote. The driver’s-side window of the dark SUV opens and Toni is there. She nods at me first and then at the door. I’m not sure what she means, though. Is this a cool-girl greeting? Does she want me to get out of my car? Is she daring me to drive in first? I don’t want to look completely stupid and guess the wrong thing.
She rolls her eyes at my lack of action and gestures for me to roll down my window.
Once my window is down, her words come in loud and clear. “You should follow me in. Park inside.”
“How come?” Being in there behind a locked door I don’t know the combination to will make it much harder for me to leave when I’m ready. They’re probably going to want to discuss my report after I’ve gone, and it will be a hassle for someone to come and enter the code to let me out.
“Because,” she says, annoyed, “we like to stay incognito here. Parking outside tells people who’s here.”
“Oh. Okay.” I have nothing left to say to her about that, but the specter of that risk has risen again, niggling at my conscience. Am I doing the right thing by being here? By thinking about working with them on a more permanent basis?
I don’t have time to figure it out right now. Toni has pulled in and is expecting me to follow her. As I drive forward and find myself drawn into the darkness of the warehouse, I realize that we’re not the first ones here; there are several cars parked inside, including May’s and Dev’s. As I park and shut off my engine, I hear barking. Sahara and Felix are bounding down the stairs to greet us.
I don’t know what it is about that silly little canine couple, but they instantly calm me down. I don’t need to worry about where I’m parking or what that means right now. I can get my puppy cuddles on, give the team my report, and then go to the mall. That’s my kind of Friday. No need to freak out.
May comes down the stairs after the dogs at a more sedate pace, meaning she doesn’t fall into a pile of legs and fur at the bottom of the staircase, unlike the pups. Felix goes ballistic, trying to untangle himself from his girlfriend. Sahara stands there looking dazed as he bounces around her ankles, barking like he’s being shocked by a Taser or something.
“You made it!” my sister exclaims.
“Is he okay?” I ask, gesturing at Felix.
“Oh, he’s fine. He hates it when Sahara bowls him over. He’s scolding her right now.”
Hilarious. Is that what I look like when I yell at the kids? I shut my car door and walk around to the passenger side so I can grab my things. “I made it on time. It’s a miracle.”
She looks inside the car. “Is Sammy okay?”
“Yes, for now. I still have to find him a permanent spot somewhere, but he’s fine for today.” I make a mental note to place a few phone calls after I leave here.
“Hey, Toni,” May says to her coworker.
“Hello. Everything good?”
“Yep, couldn’t be better. Excited to hear what Jenny has to say about what she and Lucky found.”
Toni apparently has nothing to say to that. She climbs the stairs in front of us, not looking back.
She’s a tough nut to crack, but if my sister is to be believed, worrying about whether she likes me is a wasted effort. The only thing I can hope for, probably, is mutual respect. Hopefully after she sees my report, we’ll be halfway there.
May lowers her voice to keep our conversation private as we look up the stairs. “Are you nervous?”
“Do bears poop in the woods?”
“Yes. Because bears are busy being farmers—haven’t you heard?”
“What?”