Chapter 2

His arm stayed stretched across the doorway.

Like a gate that had come down.

I frowned. "Since when is this a rule?"

"New policy from admin." His voice was flat and hard. "Starting today, logistics staff eat in the small cafeteria downstairs. This one's for management and core sales only."

Seven years at this company, and the cafeteria had always been shared by everyone.

I'd never heard a word about who was and wasn't allowed in.

It clicked right away. This had Nellie Dotson written all over it.

She'd taken over as Administrative Director back in June.

Lambert ran her welcome party himself, the day she started.

It was only later, through office gossip, that I learned she was his sister-in-law.

The first thing Nellie did was crack down hard on attendance.

She sent out a company-wide notice. No matter the department, no matter the position.

Everyone had to clock in.

Because I was always out with clients, I often couldn't make it back in time to clock in.

Last month she caught me in the act, once.

Right in front of everyone, she said what I was doing counted as a serious violation.

There'd be a fine and a written reprimand.

I explained that I'd been with a client until two in the morning the night before, then rushed to see someone off at the airport first thing that day.

That was why there was no way I could make it back to clock in.

She didn't listen. Without so much as a flicker, she drew an X in her notebook and said rules were rules.

I stood my ground and pointed out that Lambert himself used to say the sales department could clock in on a flexible basis, or not at all.

Nellie gave a cold little laugh. "You said it yourself. That was before."

"Attendance is under my authority now, and what I say goes!"

"If you don't like it, you're welcome to file a complaint against me anytime."

Fed up, I went to Lambert.

No talking around it. I laid the whole thing out for him.

I kept my voice down while I did it, just the facts, nothing heated.

Lambert leaned back in his chair when I finished, laced his fingers over his stomach, and looked at me for a few seconds.

Then he smiled.

"Curt, you've been here seven years. I've always taken you for a man who gets it."

"Nellie's a graduate of a top school. Do you have any idea how much effort it took me to bring her on?"

"The company wants to go more professional. The old backwater methods won't cut it anymore. We need fresh blood."

"Cracking down on attendance isn't aimed at you personally. The whole company has to adjust."

"You're a veteran here. All the more reason to set the example, not be the troublemaker."

Troublemaker.

He bit down hard on that word.

I braced a hand on the edge of the desk and said it out, one word at a time.

"Mr. Lambert, you know the sales team is out in the field every day."

"Clients in the morning, contracts in the afternoon, dinners some nights on top of it."

"The company wants us clocking in on time, but clients set their own hours. I can't exactly tell them, 'Let me swing back to the office to clock in first, then I'll be with you,' can I?"

Lambert didn't answer.

He took a drag on his cigarette and let it out slowly.

"Curt, your ability at this job, I've never doubted that."

"But you can't lean on being good at what you do and treat the rules like they don't apply to you."

"The reality now is, if the company's going to grow, it needs structure."

"Nellie's a professional. That management system of hers is the most advanced thinking out there right now."

"You think I'd just drop anyone into admin as director?"

He stood, came around the desk, and moved to my side.

His hand settled on my shoulder and gave it two light pats.

"You're a veteran. You should understand these things better than the new hires."

"I've been running this company for years. I know when to loosen up and when to tighten. It's all up here."

"So work with Nellie on this. Don't put me in a hard spot."

In the end, I let it go.

Not only did I take the penalty, I tried to clock in and out on time.

But there's no pinning down the sales grind, so I still missed three clock-ins this month.

The last thing I expected was for Nellie to use that as the excuse to kick me straight into logistics.

This time, I didn't go to Lambert.

Because his signature was already right there on the transfer order.

The crowd at the cafeteria door was thickening.

A few colleagues from sales passed by with their trays, their steps slowing half a beat.

Their eyes went back and forth between me and the head of security.

Some ducked their heads and hurried off, some stopped to watch and point.

Claude Finch, waiting in line with his tray, called over from a distance. "Hey, Curt, logistics eats downstairs. Wrong door, isn't it?"

A few stifled laughs rose from the crowd.

I looked at the head of security's arm, still barred in front of me.

I said nothing, turned, and walked away.