Escape Velocity by Susan Wolfe

Author:Susan Wolfe [Wolfe, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steelkilt Press
Published: 2016-10-04T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Georgia was so focused on her non-disclosure agreement that she jumped when she heard papers whap! like a beaver tail onto Beatrice’s desk in the adjoining cubicle.

“You gave me a document to sign as the chairman of a committee I know nothing about.” Sally’s furious voice brought instant silence to the double row of cubicles.

“Ann,” Beatrice said into her phone, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but somebody is . . .”

“I don’t sign things without explanation,” Sally hissed, “and no one with an ounce of professional pride would ask me to. And evidently you don’t proofread, either. The date on your mystery document doesn’t even match the date of the minutes. Let’s chat one day about what it is you do do.” Georgia could hear Sally’s footsteps receding down the hall.

The cubicles remained utterly silent, and Georgia felt heat rising in her face. Every person in every cube probably shared her dilemma right now: Should she race over and offer sympathy or pretend for Beatrice’s sake she hadn’t heard?

“Ann,” she heard Beatrice say after a moment, “I will call you back.” The phone went back into its base, and gradually the sounds from the cubicles resumed. She heard Beatrice pull a Kleenex from her box, and then Maggie said quietly, “Beatrice, you okay?”

“I did give her an explanation,” Beatrice said softly, “but I guess she didn’t read it.” Georgia could hear her crying. “See, I put it here in this email. And the date in my document is correct. I don’t know who prepared the minutes. Oh, Maggie, I feel ashamed. All these years I thought I was doing a good job here. Nobody ever made me feel stupid, until today. This is not the company I joined ten years ago.”

“Forget about her!” Maggie whispered fiercely. “She’s an unspeakable bitch, and you just happened to get in her line of fire. Come on, let’s go for a walk around the building.”

“I can’t, Maggie. I need to sit here for now and calm down.” Twenty minutes later Georgia saw Beatrice enter an empty office across the hall and close the door. She had stopped crying.

Georgia finished the non-disclosure agreement and headed over to Ken’s office. She found him standing in his open doorway, shrugging his shoulders into his suit coat. He glanced at his watch, and then stood back to let her enter. “What’s goin’ on? I have a couple of minutes before I head out to Mass.”

“You mean ‘Mass’ as in ‘religious ceremony?’ I thought you were a lapsed Catholic.”

His smile was sheepish. “I am. Definitely haven’t believed the stuff for quite a while. The funny thing is, though, that sometimes if I go to the service, I just feel better anyway. I know that’s pretty irrational.”

“So what, if it doesn’t hurt anybody?” she said with a shrug. “Anyway, I wondered if you knew what happened to Beatrice a while ago.”

“Maggie told me about her encounter with Sally. I went by to see her, but she’d gone home early.”

“What if she quits?” Georgia asked.

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