Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2) (48 page)

Sean relaxed, “I am a better resource than
Kate or Jasmine, if you’ll forgive me saying so, and I talked to
Ben.”

“Well?”

“Ben knew what he was…”

“Well?”
she interrupted.

“John isn’t artistic and Ben hasn’t been
here long enough for people to know what he is capable of. I made
him a hated man by pushing him past Judy… he shouldn’t stay in this
company, Krista.”

“What happened? Why didn’t Ben tell me?”

Sean looked uncomfortable. “Ben isn’t
willing to make a decision yet. He was offered full time at a
higher salary, which isn’t remotely what he is worth. But John
hates dealing with him, so this company isn’t the place for a guy
like him.”

“What do you mean, John hates him?”

“Ben knows what he is
about, but he isn’t confident. He is a nerd. A
brilliant
nerd, yes. But he’s
outside John’s version of
normal
. And I’ll admit, as I told
you, I only gave him a chance to get close to you. He is
your
find, Krista. I
have seen his genius first hand, but John is still in the dark.
John gave him a ridiculous deal based off of Judy saying he is
inexperienced and not all that useful…”

Krista’s face got red in indignation.

Sean held up a hand to
forestall her complaint. “We both know that’s not true. And more,
Tory knows it. Two people blew Tory away in the meeting. One was
you. You vastly exceeded his expectations, as you did mine. The
other was Ben. Ben’s work is… I just can’t describe it. I am man
enough to admit I am not that smart. But Tory is—well, he thinks he
is. He knows that Ben’s caliber of work is worth a lot of money,
and he is making… probably a fifth of what he is worth
after
his
raise.”

“So what did Ben say to John?”

Sean laughed and explained that basically,
Ben had walked in, taken his seat, and waited for John to speak.
John, after a period of time, started his salesman routine. He
railed and railed, hoping to get a reaction from Ben to determine
which way the sales tactic should go. Apparently he never got one.
Ben just sat patiently, looking on, waiting for John’s spiel to
come to a close. When it finally did, Ben gave him his thanks, got
up, and walked out. John was obviously disconcerted about the whole
thing.

Apparently Tory wasn’t.
Tory had had a meeting, too, and it went much differently. Instead
of trying to find an angle by talking
at
Ben, he opened a dialogue in
order to talk
with
Ben. They chatted about art and science and other things
smart people discuss, and then Tory slowly worked in the business
opportunity. Like Sean not long before him, Tory had been thinking
about it.

“Why hasn’t Ben said anything?” Krista
asked, dumbstruck.

Sean was quiet behind his
steeped fingers. Krista waited him out. Finally he said, “Ben is
thinking about his offers. He isn’t concerned with money. He is
concerned with happiness…” Sean shook his head. “I swear, I have
never met anyone like him. Most people
say
that, but when push comes to
shove, money talks. Ben doesn’t care. He just wants what will
stimulate him the most. He isn’t sure yet what he
wants.”

“Well—“ Krista was
frustrated and a little jealous. “Why hasn’t he mentioned it to me?
Why are
you
the
springboard all of a sudden? Why are
you
the best friend?”

“Krista…” Sean was smiling.
“Ben didn’t tell me, either.
Relax.
Ben is being secretive about all of this. I’m not
sure what Tory has offered him—I heard from Tory about their
meeting, not from Ben. I heard from John, not from Ben. Ben is
being Ben in all of this.”

Krista shook her head. No, he wasn’t. Ben
talked it out. Ben asked her about these things. He spring boarded
business things with her. But then, recently he was frazzled. That
could explain it.

“Okay, fine,” Krista said, switching gears.
“I told Tory I would wait for your offer. So…?”

“Mr. Montgomery won’t be fired,” Sean said
matter-of-factly. “He also won’t lose his position to you because
you are largely inexperienced. He is easier to sell to prospective
clients. Likewise, Larry will remain the assistant. I think the
bosses like men in the lead.”

Krista stared dumbly, roused herself, and
then said, “Aside from that last comment, which would greatly piss
me off if it were true, Mr. Montgomery is crap. But I don’t have to
work with him.”

“Do you remember when you first agreed to
work with me? I said I would return you after we were done with the
client?”

Krista nodded mutely. She didn’t like where
this was going.

“Well, you are nearly ready to be returned.
Jasmine and Kate with you. You are no longer the lowest on the
totem pole, with Jasmine and Kate, but you aren’t any higher up,
either. That is, until John offers you a promotion.”

“Well, that’s good news. That’s what I would
be asking for. But I thought you said something about restructuring
before...”

Sean leaned back and sighed, “The execs
don’t want to mess with anything just yet. We have this big client.
Right on the cusp of failing with Dell. They don’t want to damage
that with inner-company turmoil.”

“Okay, but I’ll still get a promotion.”

“But Krista, you will be working for Mr.
Montgomery. Larry will be your superior. They will try to bury you.
Plus, I seriously doubt either of them are going anywhere, which
means you will never climb any ladders at this company.”

“What about money?”

“You will get a bump there, too. But you
have only one account under you, and Mr. Montgomery will make sure
you don’t get any others. Which means your résumé will show you
nearly as inexperienced as when you got here. Money means nothing
when you are looking elsewhere.”

“But…” Krista was dumbfounded. That was all
logical. Also, true. But she’d worked so hard. She’d done so many
great things. To be returned to a crappy existence…

“Krista,” Sean’s voice softened, “I am just
trying to give you a harsh, realistic look of what you are facing.
John is going to try and spin it the other way, but you are too
bright to be closeted in this company for half of what you are
worth.”

“Okay, so what are my options?”

“Take in what John tells you. Then see what
Tory is offering. Keep an open mind both ways and see how it turns
out. Be smart about it. If you like one of them, take it. If you
don’t like either, then look elsewhere.”

“But...I won’t be working with you if I go
with Tory. Or move on.”

Sean half-smiled, “Most people don’t work
with their significant others. Plus, we are in separate
departments. We won’t be working together for much longer
anyway.”

“What about Kate and Jasmine?”

“I’ve already talked with them. It is in
their best interest to work here for at least a year, and then move
elsewhere with their experience. They’re happy enough to be working
together regardless of what you end up doing. I am sure they don’t
want to see you fall from grace, either.”

He was laying it on a bit thick, but with
the truth. It was what she had to look forward to.

She nodded, got up silently and left.

An hour later she was sitting in front of
John, after having waited with his assistant for the first
time.

“Krista,” John said as he looked up. He had
shed all forms of distraction. “I wanted to discuss your employment
with us.”

“Okay,” she said calmly.

“When we first brought you onto our team, it
was under the understanding that when your services were no longer
needed you would be returned to the Research Department.”

She nodded.
Old news.

“As the leader of the team in which you were
employed, it is up to me to make that transition as easy as
possible. Now, you have had some problems with James. You have
enlisted help of other staff, as well. However, James remains the
manager of that department, and as such, he is still, and will
remain, your boss.”

Krista waited in silence for John to
continue.

If he was taken aback with her lack of
response he didn’t show it. “I realize this might be a sore spot
for you, knowing how you feel about James. For that reason, I want
to offer you a package to keep you in good faith with our company.”
John slid a package across the desk. “Go ahead and open it.”

She did. It was a bonus check for $4,000, a
notice of a 15% raise, and a title change dropping the Junior from
Junior Research Analyst. For a girl not long out of college, it was
fantastic!

Sean’s voice sounded in the back of her
head. He knew what she would get, and thought she was worth
more.

“Is this up for negotiation?” she asked, not
showing her pleasure at all the money.

John looked at her levelly. And then it
began. The circus had come to town and Krista was lost inside.

After John finished, giving her all the
things she did poorly in HD, while putting a shade over all
achievements, Krista folded her hands and stood up, not taking the
packet. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, John. And I thank
you for all you have done. I just need to think about this before I
make any decisions.”

This time John did seem taken aback. “This
is a generous offer, Krista.”

“It is a generous offer if I had worked on a
small account and done a great job. It is way under par when faced
with the magnitude of the account I not only had an integral part
in landing, but also was key to successfully closing. Now, I don’t
know what the company made with that account, but I do know you’re
trying to play me for a chump here. So, I’ll let you know.”

“Krista, you won’t be able to get better.
Not with your experience.”

“Are you sure about that, John?”

John’s face was closed, but she was certain
he knew she was calling his bluff. They both knew Tory would put in
an offer. They just didn’t know for how much.

John sighed, “Okay, let’s cut to it. This is
the limit I was given to work with. This is the highest I was told
I could go. But let me go back to them and see what I can do.”

“John, one thing I know
about you, you don’t play your ace in the hole right out of the
gate. You save it. If you can get away with not using it, you will.
I know you can go higher. And I will wait. So you ask away. Email
me the new figures. Then send another email with even higher
figures, and then we’ll talk.
Maybe.”

John stared at her as he shook his head with
a little smile. “Between you and me, Krista, I don’t know if they
will bend enough to keep you. I sure hope they do, though. You are
an asset and a hoot. I would like to keep working with you.”

Krista nodded and winked, “We’ll see,
Sue.”

She walked out with a spring in her step
that quickly turned to fear. She couldn’t stay here if she would be
working under Mr. Montgomery. Talk about career suicide. But what
if Tory knew that? She might not want to work for him, either. She
might be royally screwed in this one.

As she distractedly wandered into her
office, she woke up to Marcus sitting in her seat talking on her
phone.

“Wha--?”

“Oh, she’s back. Gotta go,” he quickly hung
up.

“Get out,” she said, trying to hide a
smile.

“Of course, dearie. I was just biding my
time until you got back. I wanted to be the first to hear.”

“Hear what?”

“
What happened?
Spill!”

“How is it you know everything that happens
in this company?”

“I am adorable and everybody wants to be my
friend. But this is HUGE gossip. Everyone is talking about it. I
had to hear this second-hand from
Shirley
, of all people!
She was the one that talked to Myra
,
who actually
saw
him in the break room. She said he said it was a surfing accident.
No one believes
that
obviously--”

“Wait. What?” Up until that point Krista
thought Marcus was referring to her meeting with John. She should
have known he wouldn’t have gotten this worked up about something
so trivial.

“I know you know what happened to Sean. Give
me the details,” Marcus said, leaning over the desk in
anticipation.

“What makes you think
I
know
anything? He has a ban on our love affair, remember?” She’d broken
out into a cold sweat. If people found out what happened, she
wasn’t sure she could ever show her face around the office again.
It was bad enough living it. Being the center of attention, being
gossiped about and ridiculed, and worse,
pitied
, might break
her all over again.

“Don’t be coy with me. I know you left that
barbecue together on Saturday. Honey, I have seen you when you turn
on your siren call. There ain’t a straight boy in a ten-block
radius that isn’t staring at you. You want me to believe Sean
didn’t figure his stuff out in time to sweep you off your feet? If
so then you are dumber than I thought. I know the game, sista, and
you is a player. Now give me the goods.”

“Alright, even if I did siren call him,
which is ridiculous since I can never seem to find a man-- proving
your theory wrong—that doesn’t mean I am in his back pocket 24/7. I
have no idea what you are talking about. Barking up the wrong tree,
brotha
’.”

Suddenly, Marcus got extremely bitchy. If he
wasn’t so wound up Krista would have laughed outright. “Don’t try
for ghetto—you are too middle class!” he said, his finger waving in
the air like a first-rate diva. “And you
still
haven’t
weighed in on what you think it might be which means you know. I
know you were in his office this morning. You would at least
speculate with me if you didn’t know.
Spill!
I will resort
to blackmail if necessary.”