Chapter Thirty-Five #2
She surveyed the room. People packed the space. Erika wouldn’t notice if someone was missing. Well, not until she tabulated the finished work. Unless Mei reallocated a few pieces from one sprint to another.
Mei caught her teammates’ eyes, then lowered her voice. “If any of you want to cut out early, I’ll cover for you.”
Kaden, Bryce, and Tamiko exchanged surprised looks. They quietly considered her offer.
“I should get home, but I’ll stay for the last sprint,” Bryce said.
Mei couldn’t think of anything to say. Bryce had done the unthinkable and climbed out of the bottom three percent.
His wife and son had stayed with her parents every weekend in January so he could work uninterrupted.
He’d saved himself from being fired for his performance, and now he was getting laid off anyway.
“I’ll stay, too,” Kaden said.
“We’re all in this together,” Tamiko agreed.
“We are.” Mei looked away. The crowd at the beer taps was several people deep. Drinks sloshed onto the floor. How good was the work everyone was producing tonight?
“All right, marketers!” Erika’s voice trilled through the speakers. “Let’s get our final sprint on!”
· · ·
Mei cracked her eyes open and squinted. Why was the sun so bright? She fumbled for her phone, then bolted upright. It was past ten. How had she slept so late? Mei winced, remembering the three beers she’d downed at last night’s Sprint Week party.
Alexandre would be here soon. Mei clicked on her text icon, surprised at the number of unread messages.
They were all in her group chat with Alexandre, Ali, and Luc.
Ali: Morning! Any chance we can do lunch today? Kaia’s friends are having a playdate tomorrow and she wants to go.
Alexandre: Sure, I’m dying to tell you guys what happened at the conference yesterday. Mei, lunch today works for you, right?
On and on it went. When Mei didn’t chime in, they assumed she was still sleeping after Sprint Week. In the meantime, they were all getting ready to drive down and meet for dim sum at noon. The thread wrapped up with a text from Alexandre:
We have so much to celebrate!
Mei groaned. Her news was still kind of worth celebrating, even if it wasn’t what everyone was expecting. She sent a quick reply, then dashed into the shower.
· · ·
Mei found Alexandre waiting outside the Upper West Side outpost of a popular dim sum parlor. His face was the picture of joy as he swept her into a tight embrace.
“I’d kiss you, but Luc just texted that they’re walking over from the car,” he whispered.
Mei let out a strangled chuckle. Alexandre looked extra handsome in his black winter jacket. He buzzed with restless energy. Then he looked at her closely.
“Is everything okay?” His brow creased with concern.
“It’s just been an emotional week.”
“For sure.” Alexandre rubbed her shoulder. “We’ll have a relaxing weekend.”
Ali, Luc, and Kaia arrived. Soon they were seated. A sumptuous spread of small plates lay before them: har gow, shumai, beef cheung fun, char siu baos, and shrimp and snow pea leaf dumplings.
“So?” Ali grinned across the table. “Sounds like you two have a lot to share.”
If only we just had to tell them about us! Mei gestured to Alexandre beside her. “You go first. What happened at the conference?”
“So yesterday, right before I left, I met with Chris Saunders. My old mentor,” he explained to Ali and Luc as he dipped a shumai in chili oil.
“He recently left the University of Chicago to build up the biology department at the University of North Dakota. He secured a ton of funding and is opening a new zebrafish lab. And he’s hiring.
He offered me the chance to work with him, restart my research, and get back on tenure track. ”
Mei’s jaw dropped. “Whoa.”
Luc’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “Are you going to do it?”
Mei’s breathing went shallow. Either way, she was screwed. If Alexandre pursued the job, he was moving to North Dakota. If he rejected the offer, that made her news so much worse.
“Nope.” Alexandre grinned triumphantly. “I turned it down on the spot.”
“Yes!” Luc reached across the table and clapped Alexandre’s shoulder.
“Good for you!” Ali cried.
“Amazing!” Mei choked out.
“I’m so proud of you,” Luc said. “You chose yourself, your health, and the new life you’ve worked so hard to build.”
Mei’s hands shook as she took a tiny sip of tea.
“I’m proud of myself, too. I couldn’t wait to tell all of you. Especially you.” Alexandre smiled affectionately at Mei. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
She stared at her lap. “I didn’t do anything.”
“How can you say that? Whenever I was down about my job, you cheered me up and reminded me why I chose it. You helped me stay strong against my doubts and fears.” He passed the shumai to Ali and Luc.
“In Hawai‘i, we made a pact to help each other with work/life balance. Mei made sure I didn’t go back to research, and I encouraged her to get out of Livin.”
“Look at you two now!” Ali said. “You’ve done it!”
Mei kept a smile plastered to her face. A cold sweat ran down her back.
“I’m talking way too much,” Alexandre said to her. “I want to hear all about yesterday.”
His elated smile made Mei want to die. “So, ah, um—”
“Mei! So funny seeing you here!” a familiar voice interrupted.
No way. Mei glanced up to see her boss, clad in a pink cashmere sweater and expensive-looking jeans. “Erika! What are you doing here?”
“Having lunch with Dean. My husband.” Erika inclined her head toward a tall Asian man sitting at a window table. “We live a few blocks away. We’re regulars here.”
Mei swallowed her surprise. She’d always pictured Erika’s husband as a rich, preppy white guy.
Erika was introducing herself to Alexandre, Ali, Luc, and Kaia. “Mei works for me at Livin. She’s one of our all-stars. We’re going to take Livin’s marketing to new heights. We just had a big strategy session yesterday to map out the next few months.”
Ali and Luc were still smiling at Erika, but Mei saw the confusion on their faces. Alexandre’s eyes bored into her.
Erika winked at Mei. “Didn’t I tell you that if you stuck with me, you’d come out on top? Our soon-to-be VP. Anyway, I gotta get back to Dean. More fun on Monday, Mei!”
Everyone watched Erika strut off.
Mei drew a shuddering breath. Avoiding everyone’s eyes, she pointed to a steamer basket. “Anyone want the last har gow?”
“So…you didn’t quit?” Ali asked.
“No.”
“You were so excited about Pure.”
“I was. But before I could give Erika my notice, she and James shared some news. This is all confidential.” Mei lowered her voice and relayed the plans for the IPO and layoffs.
Ali and Luc listened, visibly concerned.
They both recoiled when she mentioned “Operation My Bloody Valentine.” Mei still couldn’t look at Alexandre.
She was aware of his leg no longer pressing against hers. A stony vibe emanated from him.
“The next month will be rough, but we’ll get through it. I’ll be in a bigger leadership role.” Why had her voice taken on a pleading tone? Where was the conviction she’d felt yesterday? “I’ll make the culture healthier.”
“Do you really think that’ll happen?” Ali asked.
“I do.”
“Man, those layoffs.” Luc shook his head. “You were already so slammed. Now you’ll have to do everything, plus all the work your teammates did.”
“But we’ll have more tech-driven solutions.”
Alexandre still hadn’t said anything. Mei finally made herself look at him. The expression on his face made her heart seize. Hurt, betrayal, sadness, and anger shone in his eyes.
Yell. Scream. Say something. Anything was better than sitting here awash in his silence.