The Contract by Sheila Grinell

Author:Sheila Grinell [Grinell, Sheila]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781631526480
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2019-09-23T22:00:00+00:00

Ev took his dinner plate to the sink and offered to do the dishes. They’d eaten a tuna salad again, about which he hadn’t complained, again, although he had complained about her perseverating about Owen. She’d tried, again, to convince him they should take over the whole shebang. And he’d resisted, changed the subject to how much he’d enjoyed talking with Becca’s friend the other day. Jo had had to stop listening.

She told Ev no, she’d do the washing up because she wanted to collect her thoughts. He left the kitchen, and she carried the rest of the dishes to the sink. She squirted detergent into the basin as it filled with hot water and picked up a sponge. Ev had accused her of hubris. He’d been wrong. She could run the whole project better than Phil Owen could. Authentically, without phony hand waving. But they had signed an agreement, and the lawyers would object to breaking it. And it would cost thousands and take months. He’d been right on that score.

She reached for the glasses, soaping and rinsing them under the faucet one at a time. When she moved on to the big wooden salad bowl, submerging its lower half into the suds, an idea occurred to her. Perhaps the two firms could share both halves of the job. What if she took Phil Owen’s place on the research team and collaborated with him on the plan? D-Three might be able to achieve a degree of independence as well as make a profit.

She picked up the oily Pyrex cup in which she’d whisked Ev’s favorite salad dressing. If Owen agreed, she and Becca could get in gear right away. Damn. Becca, who now wished only to serve some exalted purpose. She needed Becca to make the deal work. No one else in the office would be as accurate yet imaginative. Getting her to want the Saudi job was the problem. Getting her to open her mind! Becca needed to learn that building a museum for a Junior Leaguer was no holier than building one for a woman shrouded in a veil. Becca needed to learn that, in the real world, “good” and “bad” were sometimes indistinguishable.

Could she keep Becca on the project? Ev would know. Ev could share a beer with her. Or, Diane might be able to help persuade the girl. The thought of depending on Diane made her shudder.

She lifted a spatula from the soapy water and used a scratchy to remove the cheese encrusted at its tip. Something rankled the pit of her stomach. What if Becca’s objections were valid? What if the Saudis tried to manipulate her into violating first principles? She shook her head. A strong-minded person could stick to her values no matter what. She had a plan, a good one. If the director would still back her.

She dried her hands and found her phone. It would be morning in Riyadh. She dialed Myriam.

Jo said, “Owen and I have been talking about exchanging some of our roles.

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