Page 59 of I Hope This Finds You Well

From: Clifford Redmond

To: Gregory Hall

Subject: Quick meeting?

Hello,

After some initial meetings with employees, I’d love to meet and discuss the direction my reports seem to be heading. I also have something somewhat sensitive to discuss/an idea on how to manage an employee in the mandatory course—could prove beneficial for the company.

All the shit inside me hardens.

How could he go straight to Gregory after that meeting? What could he be saying about me? I shouldn’t have been so loud, so myself, in front of him.

Gregory:How is 4 pm? I’ll have Rhonda book a meeting room.

Cliff:Perfect.

So perfect.

A meeting appears on Cliff’s and Greg’s schedules. It’s booked in the boardroom behind me. The one Caitlin just snuck into to make a call.

I rack my brain, replaying every single thing I said in Cliff’s office. Did I joke too much? Did I not listen to the presentation well enough? Or did my comment about high school make Cliff decide to look me up after all?

I can feel the blood rushing away from my head. I look down at my hand, clenching my mouse in a death grip.

Ineedto know. If he’s going to tell Gregory about my anxiety, or my behavior in our sessions, or anything else that will affect my life here—I need to hear it with my own ears.

If Cliff knows about what happened...

No, I can’t even think about that. But what are Mr. Cliff’s ideas? What after that meeting could they be discussing?

The door clicks open behind me. Caitlin emerges with her shoulders slumped, phone in hand. And an idea hits. It would be such a simple move. I look down at my phone sitting on my desk. I can’t be in the room, but my phone can.

Sometimes to really play the game, you need to take a bit of risk.

Phone Plant

There’s only half an hour until the meeting starts. Every muscle in my body is tense, my bones so heavy I feel as if I could fall through my chair.

I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. If I’m going to do this, I need to get into that meeting room now.

But just as I’m about to lift myself up, Caitlin huffs and bangs out of her chair, grabbing her phone and barreling back toward the boardroom.

“Don’t go in there!” Rhonda calls right when Caitlin reaches the threshold.

“I’m just going to sit for a while,” Caitlin says, sighing. “I need a break.”

There’s something off about her—she sounds worn, her lips thin and chin bent low.

Rhonda shakes her head, her hanging earrings jangling. “Not in there. Gregory’s got a meeting soon and I need to set the waters up.”

Fucking hell. I forgot that Gregory has Rhonda treat his meetings like he’s the CEO onMad Men. She’d be only too happy to wheel in a whiskey cart if the custom still applied.

Caitlin sighs again and pauses for a second like she’s debating her response. “Whatever,” she finally says, and returns to her desk, stuffing her phone back into her five-hundred-dollar basic black purse. I know the cost only because when Kyle gifted it to her for their anniversary, Garret held it up and announced it to the whole room.

I need to get in there. But with Rhonda keeping watch, I’ve got no chance. And judging from the fresh steaming cup of tea on her desk and the Excel grid I can see open on her computer, mouse hovering on the first row, she’s there for the long haul.

I need to distract everyone, and fast. And I know only one thing that is guaranteed to get everyone up from their desks in a matter of seconds.