Primordial Island by Rick Poldark

Author:Rick Poldark [Poldark, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severed Press
Published: 2019-12-08T22:00:00+00:00

* * *

Poseidon Tech

2 Months Prior

Mark Hong and Mike Deluca both stood up, and each shook Brenda Michaels’ hand.

“Congratulations, you two,” beamed Brenda. “Well-deserved.”

“Thank you,” said Mike.

Mark nodded, beaming.

As they left Brenda’s office, Mike put his arm around Mark. “Ready to make history?”

Mark chuckled to himself. “We have a lot of work to do to prepare.” As they strode down the hallway, they passed the coffee lounge. Mark’s smiled faded as he saw Susan Kinney standing there. She was sipping a hot cup of coffee, but her expression was that of disappointment. Mark slowed down, pausing in front of the lounge. “Mike, I’ll catch up with you later.”

Mike looked over and saw Susan standing there, looking at Mark, expectant. “Okay. We’ll meet after lunch, my office.” He patted Mark on the back. He nodded to Susan, managing his most sincere smile, and he headed back to his office.

Susan waited for Mike to leave, and then she approached Mark, crestfallen. “Hey, Mark.”

Mark smiled at Susan, looking sympathetic. “I take it you heard the news.”

Susan nodded, cupping her coffee mug with both hands. “Yeah. I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you, Susan.”

“No, I really am…”

“I know,” said Mark. “You were passed over. It sucks. You deserved this promotion.”

Susan flashed him a conspiratorial glance and backed into the corner by the coffee maker. The lounge, at the moment, was otherwise unoccupied.

Mark, the dutiful friend, followed her. He knew what she was going to say. “I know, I know,” he said in hushed tones. “You deserved to be project manager. You got screwed.”

Susan looked around before speaking. “Mark, you know how many hours I’ve spent at the lab, compiling data. My models are the most accurate. We wouldn’t be able to sustain the phase without my models. There’d be no island to explore.”

“You were appointed lab director.”

“Oh, come on. I didn’t even get your position, assisting Mike Deluca. It’s an insult. A damned insult.”

“I-I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing you can say. It’s not your fault. Do you know how many late hours and weekends I put in at the lab? My husband is ready to leave me. I haven’t seen my kids in ages. In waltzes that sycophant, and takes it out from underneath me after doing a fraction of the work.”

“You’ll be closer to home,” offered Mark, “instead of halfway around the world.”

Susan raised the corner of her mouth. “You know this only means more long hours in the lab.”

“It’s a bump in pay.”

“Yeah, but I needed the bump in pay. Mike’s bump. It would’ve made all this worth it. At least I will have felt vindicated.”

“He’s not that bad, you know.”

Susan chortled.

“He’s not so bad. Really,” insisted Mark. “He just knows how to get along.”

Susan put her coffee mug down on the counter a little too hard. Some of her coffee splashed out onto the countertop. She placed her hands on her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She wasn’t whispering any longer.

Mark gestured towards her with his hands. “This is what I mean.

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