Chapter 14 #2
Maybe I should just leave well enough alone , she thought one morning following a particularly restless night of stewing about it.
I’ve only got a couple weeks left in Hope Haven.
Rather than chasing shadows, my time might be better spent preparing for my interview with the hospital or even doing something relaxing, like going Christmas shopping.
Just as she took her first sip of coffee, her phone rang.
“Hello, Caitlin.”
“Tobias, it’s wonderful to hear from you.” They chatted about his mother’s improving health for a few moments, and then Caitlin said. “I was hesitant to leave explicit messages but the reason I called a few times was to ask whether the hospital signed with the agency yet?”
“Yesss…” He drew out the word as if he was confused by her question. “They finalized the contract while I was away.”
“Oh.” Caitlin wondered why he hadn’t told Max to mention that to her, but she imagined Tobias must have been too distracted by his mother’s health crisis. “I’m glad to hear that because I’ve done a ton of research. When do they intend to start interviewing consultants?”
“Interviewing? The interviewing phase is over. They’ve already chosen someone.”
“What?” Caitlin practically wailed into the phone, “But-but you said I was on the top of your list! I’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to speak with them.”
“I-I’m sorry Caitlin, but there’s been a misunderstanding,” Tobias said, groaning. “I asked Max to reach out to you for an interview, but he told me you were out of town indefinitely on bereavement leave.”
“Where did he get that idea?” Caitlin asked, even though she had a hunch.
“Melanie Boyd told him. She said you’d left for the east coast because your aunt had died and you were involved with putting her estate up for sale. Isn’t that true?”
“Yes, it is, but I could’ve done a video interview. Or I would’ve been on the next flight back to Santa Fe if the hospital wanted to meet with me in person,” said Caitlin, barely able to control her volume.
“Ugh. Like I said, it was a miscommunication. I’m sorry,” Tobias reiterated.
“I understand how it happened, and I don’t blame you, Tobias.” I blame Melanie. “But I’ve done a lot of research and I’d still like a chance to interview. I honestly believe I’m the best consultant for this campaign.”
“I think you would’ve been great, too, but I can’t ask the hospital to reconsider now. They’ve already made up their minds. They’re crazy about the consultant they chose.”
“Who is it?”
“Melanie,” he said, and Caitlin audibly snorted.
I should’ve known. Seems like everyone’s falling in love with her lately , she thought.
Tobias continued, “The good news is that the parochial school campaign is still available if you want it.” He chuckled. “That is, if you’re still willing to accept an assignment from my agency?”
What other choice do I have? I need an income , thought Caitlin.
But she didn’t want to admit defeat so easily.
“I really was looking forward to more of a challenge. Maybe the hospital would benefit from a two-consultant team?” she asked, even though the idea of working with Melanie turned her stomach.
“They don’t have the budget for two consultants.
” Tobias paused, as if waiting for Caitlin to respond, but she was too angry to say anything.
“Listen, you don’t have to commit to the school campaign yet.
I’ll hold it for you—you have my word on that—and we’ll see if anything more interesting comes up in the next few weeks.
Sometimes, things start happening right after the new year. ”
Caitlin begrudgingly agreed to touch base when she returned to Santa Fe later in the month. As soon as she said goodbye, she put on her coat, hat, and gloves, and stormed outside for a vigorous walk down the beach.
When she returned an hour later, Caitlin’s burning anger had cooled to a smoldering resentment about Melanie betraying her a second time.
And because she’d set aside her coffee when Tobias called, she was desperate for caffeine.
She shot through the woods and across the lawn, arriving at the cottage just as Shane stepped out of the windmill.
“Hi, Caitlin.” He started to give her his usual high-beam smile, but she must have been wearing her emotions on her face because his forehead abruptly creased and he asked, “Is something wrong?”
She bitterly recounted her conversation with Tobias, and Shane’s response was so animatedly supportive it immediately made her feel better.
“That blows!” he exclaimed. “Don’t you have any form of recourse? Can’t you, like, sue Melanie or something for starting a rumor that cost you an employment opportunity?”
“If I tried, she’d probably steal my lawyer, too,” Caitlin muttered sardonically.
“Then at least hold her feet to the fire in some other way—and the assistant’s, too,” he urged her.
“It seems to me that the agency director should be making more of an effort to reconcile their mistake. He should be bending over backward to demonstrate how valuable you are to his agency. Are you sure you want to keep working for him?”
“No, I’m not sure, but what other option do I have?” Caitlin sighed.
“You could strike out on your own!” Shane exclaimed enthusiastically. “I realize it can be tough to build a client list, but in my experience, the benefits of being totally independent far outweigh the cons of working for someone else.”
“I’ve often considered starting my own business.
The problem is, when I accepted consulting assignments through the agency, I signed a non-compete clause,” Caitlin explained.
“Even if I worked independently, I couldn’t manage campaigns from any nonprofit organizations in New Mexico.
Not in Texas or Arizona, either, because they’re in the agency’s territory.
Which means my hands are tied, so to speak. ”
“Yeah, I guess they are.” Shane wrinkled his nose in disgust. “But it stinks that you have to get your work through an agency whose director is so unethical.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s unethical,” countered Caitlin. “Tobias had so much going on in his personal life that I think he miscommunicated with his assistant, who made an honest mistake.”
Shane shook his head. “You’re a lot more easy-going than I could ever be.”
“I might be cutting Tobias some slack, but believe me, I’m furious at Melanie,” said Caitlin.
“I just spent the past hour fantasizing that she’d contract some sort of itchy rash her first day of working at the hospital and she’d bring it home to Jonathan.
I wouldn’t necessarily want the rash to be painful, but it would have to be infectious enough that they’d need to be quarantined together for five or six months.
That seems like a suitable amount of suffering for them both. ”
Shane laughed. “And you’d accept the hospital campaign in Melanie’s place?”
“How could I say no, if Tobias begged me to take it and sent me a dozen long-stemmed roses every day until I agreed?” she joked.
“Skip the roses. As long as you’re dreaming, make him double your salary,” suggested Shane. “That should be a non-negotiable. You’re worth it.”
“I’m glad you think so, but I’m not sure that’s how Tobias sees me,” she replied facetiously.
“If he doesn’t, its only because he’s got his eyes closed,” he solemnly asserted.
“Th-thank you,” she stammered. But in her mind, she downplayed Shane’s compliment, thinking, He wouldn’t say that if he really knew me. If he knew what happened the summer I was seventeen…
As her departure date drew closer, Caitlin discovered she wasn’t nearly as eager to leave Hope Haven as she thought she’d be.
Although she missed her brother’s family and could hardly wait to see the children, once she lost the hospital campaign, she also lost her drive to return to work in Santa Fe.
I’ve conducted so many school campaigns I can do them in my sleep , she thought. So I’m not especially looking forward to talking to Tobias about accepting another one, and I definitely don’t want to cross paths with Melanie at the office.
Caitlin also felt reluctant about leaving Dune Island because she hadn’t figured out who R.
was, or what information Craig was possibly hiding.
The fire chief had been so cagey that she reconsidered going back to the station and confronting him again.
But she doubted he’d be any more helpful than the first time she’d dropped by, and she was concerned he might feel as if she were harassing him.
Instead, she returned to the library in Benjamin’s Manor to do more research. I realize Craig suggested the other lifeguard wasn’t a year-round resident, but I’m not sure I believe him. Caitlin got the distinct feeling the fire chief was protecting R.—whoever he was—for some unknown reason.
Shrugging off whatever assumptions the librarian might make about her motives, Caitlin requested to see print copies of the high school yearbooks again.
Although she went through four more years’ worth, and found dozens of boys whose names began with the letter R , they weren’t matches with the lifeguard from the arcade.
Maybe Craig was telling the truth about him being an off-island resident after all , she thought.
Or maybe the lifeguard and the guy named R.
were two different people. It was entirely possible that Nicole had stashed the photo and the placemat together, but they weren’t related to each other at all…
I guess it’s time to give up and accept the fact that I may never know for certain why Nicole wound up near the inlet the night she drowned , Caitlin reluctantly concluded.
Considering that she’d spent two decades pushing the accident from her mind, she was surprised it was such a struggle to dismiss her doubts about it now.