And you built a case that held up in a room full of people who were trying to make you look like the problem. That is not procurement policy." No, he said it's not. The auntie room was small. The city was visible through the window behind her. She was looking at him the way she'd looked at him on the beach before the smile had formed.
And she turned away before it finished. Except this time, she wasn't turning away. I hired you because you were the right person for the project, she said. And because I needed someone who knew Fitch's place. Both of those things are true.
But there's a third thing I haven't said. He waited. I pulled your file because I saw your name in a vendor complaint database. She said you were the person who'd reported not the contractor, not the company. You She kept looking at him and I thought whoever this is, they're either very principled or very stupid and I needed to know which.
What'd you decide? He said both. She said in proportions I found she stopped. Started again. In proportions I found difficult to stop thinking about the building's HVAC made a sound.
The city continued being the city outside the window. I made you a trip wire. She said, "I should have told you. I should have given you the choice. You should have." He said, "I know." She didn't look away.
Would you have said yes? He thought about it honestly. Thought about Lily, the insurance, the coordinator role, the 4 months of looking at a different motel ceiling. Thought about the beach, the canopy, the volleyball net, the 30 seconds with the sunscreen, and the smile she turned away before it finished. Yeah, he said.
I would have. I thought so, she said. That made it worse. It made it worse, he agreed. She looked at him for another moment.
I don't do this, she said. I don't This isn't something I do with people who work for me. I know, he said. But you're going to be in Cambria 4 days a week, she said. And I'm going to be here and there's going to be a professional distance that makes this manageable.
He said complicated, she said. Both. He said, she exhaled. Something in her shoulders released a tension he hadn't realized she'd been carrying throughout the meeting. Saturday, she said, "My daughter is at her father's this weekend.