Page 26 of Isolated (Harper Security Ops #21)

I squinted, my eyes darting between them. “Well, which is it?”

The pair looked at one another and exchanged awkward glances. When they returned their attention to me, Kasey looked apologetic while Steph’s features were marred by sympathy.

It was Steph who finally shed some light. “The interviews with Alan have continued, much as I suspect you already knew. He’s getting down to the final few departments, and tensions have been high.”

“Is that all?”

Steph pressed her lips together, and Kasey glanced down at her lap. Their reactions were enough for me to know that there was something else, and neither of them wanted to share what it was.

“What is it?”

Kasey let out a long breath as she lifted her gaze to meet mine. “You probably already know about it, especially if you met with Robert.”

“I don’t think so. There’s nothing I discussed with him that would have you two looking at me like that.”

“Mono Mark was contacted last Thursday by Horizon Solutions, looking for a proposal.”

My eyes widened in shock. Horizon Solutions would be a huge account for us if they chose to work with us. “That’s excellent news.”

“It is. It’s just that…”

“What?”

Kasey bit her lip and shifted her attention to Steph. I grew uneasy at the exchange, and Steph leaned forward. “We’re not supposed to say anything to you. Nobody is.”

My stomach sank. “Are you serious?”

“I’m sorry, Iris.”

“I’m the marketing director. Why would I not be told about this?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess there are some concerns. And since we can all benefit from having such a huge client, who’s already had some discussions with our competition, Turnkey Strategies, I think they didn’t want to take any chances.”

Turnkey Strategies was the only competition we had, if you could call them that. More often than not, we got the big accounts because we had the talent at this agency that Turnkey Strategies lacked.

“ They didn’t want to take any chances? Who is they? ”

“Upper management.”

So much for being part of the crew that the rest of the colleagues had lumped me in with. I shook my head, feeling such disappointment. How had the handful of oversights in the past couple of weeks overshadowed the years of hard work I’d put in here?

“Don’t let it bug you, Iris,” Steph urged me. “I mean, I get why it’d upset you. But you know you’re phenomenal at what you do. Everybody does. This is probably a good opportunity for everyone else to showcase what they’re capable of, and I think that could be great for morale.”

“So, I should just sit back and pretend I don’t know anything about what could be the biggest account we get in years?”

“You have no choice,” she warned me. “We weren’t supposed to tell you, and if you say something, they’re going to know it was us.”

I couldn’t believe it.

This was the thing I excelled at. If Robert and Bryan were purposely keeping me off this case when they knew that putting me on would guarantee the company getting the account, I wondered if they were preparing to let me be the first they laid off when Alan finished his interviews.

Because if the rest of the team could pull off getting Horizon Solutions as a new client for Mono Mark, why would they need me?

A renewed sense of determination washed over me. I’d just have to work on the project all on my own. And when the time came, when the timing was right, I’d prove just how wrong they’d been to overlook me.

“I wish I could go back to Saturday,” I mumbled as I finally pulled out my lunch .

Kasey perked up, seemingly excited about the change in topic. “What happened on Saturday?”

I needed something to turn my mood around. So, I shared, “My guy from the gym showed up at The Steel Pub when I was there with my sisters. We spent the whole night dancing, and he gave me his number before the night was over.”

Steph eyed me curiously.

“What?” I asked her.

“What do you mean, what?”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

She shook her head. “No reason. I just… Well, I would have thought you’d be too upset about Robert sending you home for the week to go out dancing.”

My friend wasn’t wrong. Normally, I would have wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and cry over the situation before spending hours working on projects and accounts to make up for any perceived shortcomings.

But that wasn’t the case this week. Not after I’d met with Landen on Wednesday. He’d really turned things around for me.

“I actually had lunch with him on Wednesday after Robert told me to go home,” I shared.

As quickly as I could have snapped my fingers, the energy surrounding the three of us changed. Steph’s jaw dropped, and Kasey was practically bouncing. “Oh, I’m so excited to hear about this. Tell us everything,” she demanded.

So, that’s what I did.

I let go of the anger I’d been feeling at the news I’d just been given and allowed myself to feel some of those good vibes I’d experienced when I was with Landen. My friends listened intently, and when I finished, it was clear they were both happy for me.

“This is so exciting, Iris. I mean, I kind of hate you right now, because I’m the one who has been enduring awful dates in hopes of finding a great guy. But deep down, I love this for you.”

I smiled at her, feeling genuinely happy about it. “Thanks, Kasey. I’m excited to see where things go. We’ll be going on an official date together at the end of the week.”

“I want to know all about it once you do. But try not to have too much fun. I’m just going to be jealous.”

Laughter spilled out of me. “I’ll do my best.”

I enjoyed the remainder of my lunch time with my friends before the three of us returned to work. And with even more on my plate now than there had been this morning, the rest of my afternoon flew by.

Before I knew it, I was on my way home. I tried reaching out to Eleni again, but without any luck. I wanted to believe she was still busy at work, but if she didn’t call me back tonight, I guess I’d have my answer.

As easy as it would have been to dwell on the situation with her, I didn’t have to worry about it consuming the rest of my night.

Because I’d gotten home, dove into more work, had some dinner, and got back to work.

I was going to come up with a campaign for Horizon Solutions that would blow everything else out of the water, and I’d put in all the necessary hours to make it happen.

I could have worked right up until I crashed for the night, but my phone rang before I could burn myself out completely .

Smiling after looking at the name on the display, I answered, “Hello?”

“How was it?”

Landen’s voice was like a balm, soothing away the lasting bits of frustration from my day. “How was what?”

“Going back to work today,” he clarified. “Did it go okay?”

We weren’t even officially together, and he was reaching out to check in on me.

My free hand flew to the center of my chest, and I swore I could feel the warmth radiating from there.

Swallowing past the thickness in my throat, I said, “It was alright. Not easy, but I’m determined, so it’ll be fine in the end. ”

“I would have expected nothing less. I’m proud of you.”

My heart couldn’t take it. Landen, the man I’d thought was just a touch too serious for so long, was so sweet.

If he was like this and we hadn’t even shared a kiss, was it possible he could get even better?