Awakening, 2nd edition (39 page)

That’s the good part. Now for the bad news. Unfortunately, Ed ’s powers may prove to be insufficient. Now, if it were Clark . . . But that’s a fortress that will stand through any siege. Ice in the eyes, a pencil in the hand. Before you can say , “I ’m crazy about you ” he’ll send you away with a note to your boss . No, thank you. It ’s better to max out Ed. After all, his influence is worth something too.

According to him, roughly eighty percent of the final analysis come s from his notes. Clark is the one writes the recommendations, but he relies heavily on Ed ’s observations and conclusions. Arden is a sort of intern here, Clark himself doesn ’t spend too much time in the field, so Ed is really the source when it comes to the papers sent to the corporate clients at the end of the game. That ’s why Ed is everywhere. Of the three , he is the most significant observer. And hopefully not so neutral anymore. So victory or no victory, the koala can be instrumental at least in securing the second place. It’s much better than nothing —but first place is still what really counts. The one and only first place. Our sacred prize.

And this is where the bad part turns into a very bad one. The game will be over in a day and a half, but the necessary six votes still remain pie in the sky. There ’s Alan, of course. The boy is ready. There ’s Paul. But that ’s it. There ’s no one else. Only two more or less secured votes. And even th o se two require constant attention. A very high -maintenance property. You can ’t relax and concentrate on others . You need to keep your fans warm and fuzzy. Otherwise they ’ll be gone.

While Alan’s tantrum yesterday was expected and well calculated in advance, Paul ’s recent sarcasm was a surprise. And not a pleasant one. The subject was far from perfect, the options were far from convenient. In a moment one of them could ’ve asked about her take on that moral dilemma. And there would ’ve been no acceptable answer, thanks to the diametrically opposed points of view. So under the circumstances , even a temporary relocation to the restroom was a smart move.

Who else do we have? First of all, Mike. Her lips tightened. Oh, there’s a character who deserves special tre atment, she thought , looking at the mask of pure hatred in the mirror. So special that the first place should go to anyone but him . It is almost as important as winning. No, it is as important! What a piece of filth . . . That innocent look this morning . . . As if nothing had happened. And he even had the nerve to ask if she ’d slept well. As if hinting at something. I slept fine, thank you very much, you scumbag. You can be assured, my night went well, despite what you did , you sleazy bastard.

She dropped her hair brush , her hand trembling with anger. Even thinking about that pig calmly was a challenge. Well, Ed may just as well receive another assignment. Not all the feedback is positive. Some people leave the workshop with the remark , “Unsuitable for a leadership position .” Neverthe less, the key thing now is to stay focused and work, work, work. If they pick him, recommendations would make no difference.

She inhaled deeply. Once, twice . . . One more . . . Good. But what a—Stop it! Right there, stop it! Back to business.

Rob and Chris are dark horses. You can try all you want with these two and still there would be no way to guarantee the outcome even remotely. They are too good. Too damn good.

Stella . . . forget it. Not an option, never been one. Could ’ve been one in the spirit of two women unifying their efforts, but that never happened. Probably she ’d vote for Rob. As a token of appreciation for the unforgettable water trip. And surely enough, Rob is quite likely to return the favor. They are such a sweet couple, and they would be taking good care of each other . Could it be that they indeed had gotten into some trouble? Nah . . . What possibly could happen here? They went for a trip, connected well, then connected even better, had to make a stop (you could think of at least one s imple reason), began exploring the territory, one thing led to another, the exploration shifted from nature to the fellow explorer —and there you go . . . they decided to opt for a romantic night under the stars. That mascara ’s too thick just there . . . Yes, that’s better. And here , too . . .

Next is Ross.
He can be persuaded. Must be persuaded. Only he ’
s bee n too excited recently. Suspiciously excited. And who knows what ’s been behind that excitement. Most likely he ’s just getting anxious as Judgment Day nears. In any case, it ’s time to start working on him. Of all the remaining people , he may be the easiest target.

Alex. The muscular gentleman has been quite receptive and responsive. Although, if you think of what had just happened this morning, it ’s not black and white. Well, nothing is black and white in this business, but nevertheless h e ’s been way more predictable up until now. Just a few hours ago the only distinctive things about him were his size and shape. And then all of a sudden, this smart —in fact brilliant —leveraging of the situation. In less than ten minutes he out -raced Chris and left him behind for dust. Ten minutes! And not only the sp eed of this cou p, but the quality of it! Chris had never had this kind of authority. He ’s been playing the role of an elected leader and tried hard to appeal to the masses. But somehow Alex has managed to assume the role Chris has never had – the role of a commander, of someone who has t he right to give orders. Granted, they could always tell him to take a flying leap forward, and they probably will , but so far they haven ’t. Well, Paul kind of did, but that ’s Paul. Bottom line, Alex needs constant attention. Who knows what else he has in sto re.

Brandon. Honest, decent, reliable Brandon . Good ol ’ Brandon . A real man. A rare breed. A stern decency, an intolerance to all kinds of games, a straightforwardness bordering on rudeness, and so on. Unfortunately, on top of all of that he ’s also a good husband. He has that written all over him. Family man, deep moral values, blah, blah, blah . . . So forget Brandon . It ’s a lost cause and it ’d be a total waste of precious time. He really will vote for whoever he thinks would make the best leader. Funny, but perhaps he will be the only one voting that way. No, wait, there ’s also Kevin.

Mr. Righteous—so righteous that sometimes you want to puke listening to him. Kevin, who ’s been proclaiming straight -face d things that are at best suitable only for a PR-oriented booklet on corporate values. Kevin , who last year lost his entire family in a horrible accident and who doesn ’t go beyond dropping vague hints when he talks about it. Kevin, for whom you just want to vote out of pity for his tragic loss. Kevin, Kevin, Kevin . . . Yes. Kevin is the next target, since Ross is not around, being busy playing a superhero. Of course, going after Kevin has to be done while keeping an eye on Paul. Losing a nearly secured vote is not an option.

Now, assuming that the attack on Kevin is successful, how many votes do we get? We get four votes, even if you count Ross who hasn ’t been persuaded yet. Sorry, but it’s not enough. It ’s that simple. Not enough. Okay, suppose Alex becomes a believer too. Even if getting there requires some unconventional approaches. That ’s five. And five sounds so much better. It ’s not perfect, but it ’s still a much better number. You add on top of that Ed with his little notebook and things don ’t look so bad anymore. It ’s tough getting even there, but it ’s worth it. And no price is too high to pay for this victory.

Okay, time’s up. Five minutes is not an eternity but , boy, these guys were tense. Especially, Paul. His mood was dangerously bitter.

But when she walked back into the room, it became apparent that she had underestimated the damage that can be done in five minutes.

It was obvious that a bloody flight had taken place. The gamecocks had managed to peck each other badly during this time ; however , all the threatening clucking and attacking swoops had led to a rather unexpected outcome. Kevin stood proudly on his perch in the utmost complacent mood. As for Paul, bitter, sarcastic, sharp-tongued Paul was gloomily grooming his depleted feathers. It wasn ’t clear what exactly had happened in this sunny room, but there was little doubt about the fact that it was Paul who had taken the beating. And a bad one. Kevin the Melancholic had somehow found words that had worked magic on Paul the Roughneck.

Joan had no choice but to enquir e in the most innocent tone whether they ’d had fun. Both cockerels assured her hotly that they had most definitely enjoyed each other ’s company, although had missed her charming presence. Joan smiled and delighted them with the announcement that she was not about to leave them anytime soon. Next, she lowered herself gracefully into the chair and, having secured the most strategic spot between the two, got ready to follow her plan.

“So what do you guys make of this disappearance?” she probed.

The question was obviously directed at both men, but her eyes, her soft , gentle , understanding eyes, spent a moment longer on Kevin ’s face.

“I hope they ’re all right, ” Kevin said contritely. “I really do.”

Joan nodded.

“Yes. I hope they didn ’t get into any trouble.”

Paul decided to join the conversation.

“Now suppose they find them—”

“They won’t.”

The sound of a familiar voice behind them made them all jump in their seats. At the door, smiling but looking as though they needed a shower , stood Robert and Stella.

Paul was the first to break the silence.

“Well,” he said. “How nice of you to drop in. Sounds like we can call off the rescue mission.”

“We’re so glad you ’re all right, ” added Joan, giving Paul a slightly reproachful look. “We were really worried about you.”

And so everyone came back.

Michael—as imperturbable as always, in the company of unusually lively Ross. Brandon and Chris—quietly discussing something. Alex—cold satisfaction all over his face. Alan—unusually gloomy and ten minutes later than everyone else.

Upon their arrival, each one enquir ed about the details of the adventure. Everyone was given the same story.

“. . . The engine died, we managed to get to the shore, spent the night in the woods, found a road in the morning, hitched a ride, thirty minutes later were here . We ’re fine ; we really appreciate your concern and everything you ’ve done . Sorry about interrupting the process . . .”

While conveying this story, Stella was smiling most adorably, while Robert was twitching his mouth contemptuously and occasionally expressing his extremely low opinion of the local powerboats. Paul kept heaving bored sighs signaling that he was tiring of hearing the same story over and over again. Ed, who materialized out of thin air right after Alan ’s arrival, sat in the corner taking notes, his face completely expressionless. The atmosphere in the r oom was reminiscent of a party at which the bored g uests are doing their best to hide their lack of enthusiasm from an overly enthusiastic host.

Finally, everyone was in the room.

“Let’s get started, ” Chris said , as if nothing had occurred . “Things happen. It ’s good to know that everyone ’s safe, but now it ’s time to get back to business.”

He glanced at his watch.

“Before lunch we have enough time for the drawing and one speech. Everything else will come after lunch.”

His voice was thick with upbeat confident tones.

“We’ll have to put in some extra hours, but we ’ve got no choice. We must finish what we ’ve started.”

“It’s not going to work ,” Alex informed him, sonorously.

Chris frowned.

“Why?”

“Because the last person will end up presenting in the evening. There ’s no way he ’ll get the same level of attention as earlier presenters. Especially after all the water racing. We also need to prepare for tomorrow and there will be no time left for that at all, unless we don ’t get any sleep.”

“This is—”

“And there’s more. Some of us, ” his hand made a wide gesture towards Stella, “spent last night on the ground in the woods. Give people some rest. We ’ve got to adjust the plan.”

Chris shook his head.

“I understand the challenge, ” he said, his cheerleading spirit evaporating rapidly, “and trust me, I care about the others as much as you do. You think I ’m thrilled at the idea of being stuck in this room till midnight? But it ’s too la te to change anything.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Listen, in case you ’ve forgotten, it took us a day—an entire day—to come up with this process. Can you offer anything better in five minutes?”

Alex folded his hands.

“I didn’t say we need to change t he process. Just shorten the speeches. Twenty minutes instead of forty would do.”

“He’s right, ” said Brandon .

“You’ve nailed it!” Ross chimed in, for some reason glancing askance at Michael.

“Then I rest my case, ” Chris said with a wide smile. “Brilliant. Twenty minutes then.”

Alex nodded curtly as if approving of Chris’s decision. Whether because of this patronizing nod or for some other reason, Chris ’s cheerfulness disappeared completely.

“Same goes for tomorrow, ” Stella said , abruptly breaking the pause that was just about to get a tad too long.

“What’s that?” Chris looked lost.