But wait, he worked. Not busy work, real work. He finalized the mechanical systems bid review, flagged two contractors for a second look, and sent the Cambria permit timeline to the city liaison who'd been sitting on it for 11 days. He did not check his phone every 20 minutes. He checked it every 40, which was the best he could manage.
Nothing from Fitch, nothing from Diane. He drove to the grocery store at 6, bought the ingredients for pancakes, and called Lily while he was in the cereal aisle because the cereal aisle in this particular store stocked a brand she'd been obsessed with for 3 months and wasn't available near Dana's house. They have the astronaut once, he said. Get two boxes, she said. You're not here until Saturday.
Get them now and I'll eat them Saturday. She said the logic works. He got two boxes. He did not mention the 72 hours. He told her about the volcano story she'd sent him, which she corrected in four places because apparently his recollection of the details was already imprecise.
She handed the phone to Dana, who told him he sounded tired, which he was, and to eat something that wasn't from a gas station, which he also did. He made pasta at the motel's kitchenet and was asleep by 10:00. Saturday passed quietly. He went to the site in the morning, walked the property with the site supervisor, made notes, and came back to the office. He did not hear from Fitch.
He did not hear from Diane, which was different from Friday's silence Friday had felt like held breath. Saturday felt like something in motion just below the surface. At 4 p.m., his phone buzzed. A text from Gail. Heads up, there was a call today.
Someone from Fitch's attorney's office contacted HR about a formal complaint. Something about hostile work environment targeting. They named you. Marcus read it twice. There it was.
He typed back. Thanks. I've got documentation. You okay, Gail? I'm fine.
I wasn't named. Just thought you should know before Monday. He appreciated that. He added it to his file date, time, content of the message. Then he called Hartwell's emergency line, which she'd given him at the end of Wednesday's meeting with the specific instruction to use it if Fitch moved directly before the board convened.
She picked up on the second ring. He read her the text. Hostile work environment. She said it wasn't a question. That's the credibility play.