The kind who knows how development actually works, not just calendar management. She set down her coffee cup. The role pays 20% above your current grade. There's a side office in Cambria. You'd be remote 4 days a week.
A pause. Is that workable with your custody schedule? Marcus didn't answer right away. He was looking for the catch. Why me?
He said, "Because I watched you manage four simultaneous crises at the Malibu event without telling anyone you were doing it." She said, "Because your file says coordinator and your actual skill set says project manager." And because she paused and for just a moment she looked like she was deciding whether to say the next part because people who've been burned by something they couldn't fully control tend to build better systems than people who've never failed. Marcus looked at his hands. That's a generous read of a messy situation. It's an accurate read, she said. Think about it.
I need an answer by Friday. He thought about it for approximately the length of the elevator ride to the parking garage. He took the job. The first 3 weeks in Cambria were logistics, side office setup, contractor vetting procedures that were thorough enough to cause exactly one general contractor to withdraw his bid, and a weekly check-in call with Diane that lasted 40 minutes and was in every technical sense completely professional. She asked sharp questions.
He gave complete answers. She pushed back twice, each time on points where she was right. He acknowledged it, adjusted, moved on. She seemed to like that he didn't argue for the sake of argument. He was aware that he was paying attention to what she liked.
He was also aware that this was a problem and he dealt with it the way he dealt with most things he couldn't afford to act on. He built a procedural wall around it and kept moving. Then the call from Gail came on a Thursday afternoon in week four. Marcus was in the side office reviewing subcontractor bids when his phone lit up with Gail's name, which was unusual enough that he picked up. "Hey," Gail said, "I need to tell you something and I'm going to do it fast because I feel weird about it." Okay.
Someone from the Phoenix Development Group has been asking questions about the Cambria project. A guy named Randall Fitch. He called our general counsel's office. Marcus put down the bid sheet. What kind of questions?
The contractor suit questions. Gail said the ones about your role in the exposure. He's framing it like you cost the Phoenix group money. He's a pause. He's talking to people here.
Marcus, not just legal people Diane talks to. Marcus was quiet for a moment. How long has this been going on? He said, I found out this week, Gail said, but I think I think it started before she offered you the role. He sat with that.
Why are you telling me? He said, "Because you set up chairs at the beach event," Gail said, like that explained everything. "And also because whatever Fitch is trying to do, it's not about protecting anyone. He's got something with the contractor who filed the suit. I don't know what, but the timing is." Yeah.