Oh Stupid Heart (18 page)

“What about Econoline?”

“They’ll deny all
knowledge and fire him. Probably keep your customer list though. I can try and
get an injunction to prevent them from contacting your customers for a year,
but I doubt a judge will do it.”

She sighed. “Thanks
for the update. I appreciate you responding so quickly.”

“Not a problem. May I
communicate with you in the future? I rather like not getting my head bitten
off for something I didn’t cause.”

“I know the feeling,
but don’t hold your breath. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be working with
Trent.”

“Well, I can’t say
I’m surprised. If I had to put up with him on a daily basis, I’d probably trick
a new lawyer, desperate for clients, into stealing him from me.”

She smiled. What a
great idea. “I have to go. Thanks so much for your help today.”

She knew exactly how
to get rid of Grant and pay Trent back for being an ass. Tomorrow, she would go
job hunting. She went on Econoline Furniture’s website. A picture of the CEO
and his staff, all smiling like sharks, stared back at her. No EA listed.

She called Dan
Marshall and asked him if he by chance did work for Econoline.

“I do not share my
customer list with anyone, but rest assured if I did work for your competitor,
it would have no effect on the service we provide you.”

She took his
assurance as a yes.

“Let’s say you do and
I wanted to interview for an EA position. Could you help me?”

He chuckled. “I could
put you in far better places than there.”

“But if I
specifically wanted to work for Econoline—”

“I could get you an
interview.”

“Great. Would you?”

“On one condition.”

Damn it! He’d figured
out she was up to something. “What?”

“You interview for
three other EA positions, my choice.”

“I really want Econoline.”

“Then agree to my
condition.”

Was nothing easy? “All
right. I’ll interview other places. Just make Econoline first.”

“Agreed. But you
can’t accept any offer until you’ve interviewed with all four.”

“Deal. Any chance you
can set the Econoline up for tomorrow?”

“Oddly, I can. I have
a slot open at nine. You’ll need to stop here first and sign a contract.”

Damn it! Would
nothing go her way? “Can I sign it afterwards? I’ll want to send it to my
lawyer before I sign.”

“Not a problem, since
I’m certain you aren’t going to want to work for Econoline.”

“Why?”

“The CEO won’t meet
your criteria for boss.”

“The guy’s worse than
Trent?” she asked in shock.

“Maybe not more
temperamental, but definitely less ethical. You’ll see what I mean when you
have your interview.”

After hanging up, she
placed a check by Grant’s name, and moved to the next item on her to do list.

Jack. Damn it. She
was in no mood to talk to Trent. Maybe she could write him an email proposing
her fix for Systems. Truth was, his first reaction would be negative. No reason
why she needed to be present to endure his bout of jealousy.

She first wrote
Dear
Mr. Lancaster
but deleted it. Pissing him off would hardly win him over.

Trent,

I wanted to discuss a
solution to enable you to fire Bob Ott and his what-I-believe-to-be
non-existent systems staff, saving you over two million dollars a year.

Promote Jack to
manager and have him cut off all access to the system. Jack knows security
better than anyone I’ve ever met. He’ll be able to shut out Bob and his
non-existent minions. I am certain Jack is the only person in your thirty
person staff who actually works. When he was in the hospital, absolutely
nothing got done. If Jack needs assistance searching for time bombs buried in
the code, he knows someone he can call in. I talked to him today, and he wants
to help you save your company. He’s probably the best employee you have, so
don’t lose him.

I won’t be in
tomorrow. I’ll be interviewing for EA positions.

***

Carrie paused. The
last sentence was too inflammatory. Trent would forget about Jack and her suggestion
upon discovering her interview. She deleted it and sent it off.

As the train passed Mt.
Tabor, she put her iPad away and checked her phone to see if Trent had called.

Nothing. Trent must
have realized their inter-species relationship would never work. If only she’d
taken Sam’s and Mars’ warning to heart.

The train stopped at
the Denville station and she got off.

As Carrie headed
home, she bemoaned her masochistic tendencies. Nothing else explained her
stupid heart. Even Sam would make better dating material…well, maybe not Sam.
His moods swung as wild as Trent’s. But Joey would have been better…except for
him being a cop and her having a penchant for trouble.

While neither she nor
Trent had said the words “breaking up,” she had threatened to have him arrested
if he stepped foot in Denville. One might interpret her words as a breakup
notice and his responding silence as acceptance.

Deep down, they’d both
known the relationship would never work. Neither had wanted to admit it, but it
only took one recalled chair to bring it to center stage. Trent Lancaster made
a terrible boss and a disastrous boyfriend. Basically, he was a horrible
person.

She sniffled while
tears continued to fall.

Except most of the
time he wasn’t. Eighty percent of the time he was the best man she’d ever met.

Great! She’d fallen
for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. God, what an idiot!

Carrie stared at her
watch as she left her interview with Econoline. A sense of guilt came over her.
Poor Trent had to be freaking out. Eleven o’clock and she still hadn’t come to
work. As she climbed into a cab, she checked her phone to see if he’d called.
No messages.

Maybe he fired me and
had my cell phone disconnected. She tested the possibility by calling Dan
Marshal, relieved when it went through.

“I finished my
interview. Do you want me to stop by to read your contract?”

“Definitely stop by.”

He sounded a bit
annoyed. Had Mr. Berzenski called him and complained about the loser who’d
wasted his hour?

She hoped it hadn’t
been a waste. He’d seemed intrigued.

She turned her phone
off, but why, she had no idea, since she’d evidently fallen off the edge of the
earth.

Depression and misery
had robbed her of sleep last night. It resettled upon her as she entered Dan’s
office building. She skipped the elevator and took the stairs to give her time
to think of puppies playing with a ball. Otherwise, she’d burst into tears the
moment she sensed Dan’s inevitable disappointment in her.

When she arrived, his
secretary led her to a conference room with surprisingly uncomfortable leather
chairs and gave her a contract to read.

Carrie had read it
three times when Dan entered with an apple juice and bowl of walnuts and
blueberries. “My secretary said you seemed run down.” His brow wrinkled in
disgust as he took in her ugly brown suit.

“Berzenski reamed me
for sending him a third-rate candidate,” he added as he sat down.

She rubbed her
no-makeup face with the palms of her hands. “Sorry.”

“Apology not accepted
without a good reason as to why you purposely lost me a commission and dinged
my reputation.”

She owed him the
truth. She faced his glare and explained why she wanted the interview.

He snorted with what
she hoped was amusement, but honestly she couldn’t tell.

His fingers rapped on
the table several times before he replied. “If you hoped to get your
replacement hired, then I think you succeeded. Berzenski canceled his contract
with me.” His glower darkened. “Something a lot of people connected to you have
been doing today.”

“What do you mean?”

“Trent canceled the
systems manager contract.”

Maybe he intended to
follow her advice. “There’s a person inside who is well-qualified for the job,
only he lacks the educational credentials.”

His gaze returned to
her suit. “Please let that be the ugliest thing you possess in your wardrobe.”

She nodded. “I’m
sorry I embarrassed you.”

“I hope your trick
worked, because I’m not sending you out to any more customers.”

“I understand
entirely. I would have told you what I planned to do, but then you wouldn’t
have sent me. You’re far too ethical to sabotage a client with a bad employee.”

“You’re not a bad
employee. You’re just badly dressed and in low spirits right now.”

“No, I meant Grant.
He’s horrible beyond belief. However, after the stunts Econoline recently pulled,
I felt they deserved him, and Trent needs to get rid of the jerk if he’s going
to turn his company around on his own.”

Damn it, her eyes spouted
a leak again.

Dan acquired a
package of tissues from his inside pocket and placed it next to her. “Eat. It might
steady you.”

She picked up a
walnut and nibbled it unenthusiastically.

“So did he fire you,
or did you quit?”

“Neither…both…I’m not
sure.” She explained the blowup and her reaction.

“And still you risked
my anger over losing forty thousand dollars in commissions to provide him a
final helping hand.”

“I’ve spent two years
keeping his company alive. I had to give him a fighting chance to succeed.” She
stopped nibbling on the walnut. Her stomach wasn’t up to eating. It hadn’t been
since her fight with Trent the day before.

“And what about me? You
cost me $40K,” Dan challenged, his eyes narrowed.

She didn’t blame him
for being annoyed. He had every right to be. “I’d offer to reimburse you, but I
don’t have sufficient funds. However, once I get another job, I can make
payments of five hundred a month at four percent interest. I’ll create a
repayment schedule today to determine how long it will take me to pay you off.”
She rubbed her temples, trying to fight off a migraine.

“I have a better idea
how you can repay me.” He rose and left the room.

She hoped his
repayment plan didn’t include sex, because she probably wouldn’t be able to
have sex for years without thinking about Trent and bursting into tears at the
first touch of pleasure.

He returned with a
laptop and moved the bowl of nuts and berries to one side. “Do you remember the
analysis you suggested I do to determine if Coco had cost me clients?”

She nodded.

“My systems person
can’t do it. So I’ve downloaded ten years of client data on the PC. Create the
reports, and your debt is paid.”

“Gladly, but it will
only take me a couple of hours, so it’s not even worth a single month’s
payment.”

A faint smile came to
his lips. “Do the job, and I’ll decide its value.” His brow furrowed as he
stared at her. “I’ll leave you to your work.”

Having something to
do helped take her mind off her heartache. Carrie soon discovered why his
systems person couldn’t develop a report. A drunken chimpanzee had created the
database, resulting in most of the information hidden in strings, rather than
given their own table location. She called Dan from her phone.

“Given your database
structure, I’m not surprised your staff couldn’t do anything.”

“But can you?” His
frustration came over loud and clear.

“Yes, but it will
take me more than two hours. I’ll probably spend the entire day restructuring
the data.”

After a pause, he
asked, “Do you have anything else to do?”

She smiled. He
thought she wanted to wiggle out of the job.

“No. But if you give
me access to your system, I can fix the problem permanently so any of your
employees can retrieve the information. I can even write you some potentially
useful reports.”

“You can’t do both
with the information I gave you?”

“Yes, but my efforts will
only be good for today. Wouldn’t you rather I fix the underlying problem within
your system? That’s actually worth something.” She realized why he hesitated.
“I’ll sign anything you want stating I won’t steal or share any information,
and I’ll be financially responsible if I muck up your system. Trent had this
same problem with his customer base, and I fixed it, so I’m a hundred percent
positive I can do this.”

“Can you write a
brief outline of what you intend to do? I’ll need my system person’s agreement before
you touch her data.”

“I’ll get right to it.”

By the time Dan
returned with a purple-haired young girl wearing a black leather vest, short
skirt, and knee-high boots, Carrie had the outline finished.

The strange girl read
her plan of intent twice then frowned at Dan. “We need to talk this through.
I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

He nodded and left
the room.

“Okay, we both know you’re
fucking brilliant,” the girl said, “but do you swear on all you treasure you
won’t bump me out of my job? I love working here and will kill to keep it.”

By her intense stare,
the girl didn’t seem to be kidding. Carrie envied her ability to love her work.
“I promise you, I have no interest in being in charge of systems. The only
reason I can fix your problem is because in my last job—It hurt to say the word
‘last’—I needed data from the system, and it had the same kludgy database.”

“What position do you
want?”

“At the moment, I’m
paying off a debt. But when I get my heart aligned with my future, I’ll seek an
EA position.”

The young girl
relaxed. “All right, I’ll hook you up. Mind if I watch and learn?”

“Not at all. I’m
Carrie, by the way,” she said and held out her hand

“Destiny,” the girl
replied and she gripped Carrie’s hand with both of hers.

***

While sharing her
nuts and berries with Destiny, Carrie carefully explained her way through the
changes. “First we’ll create a new table. Then we’ll retrieve the information
stored in strings and sort it in Excel. Once we verify the segments properly
aligned in the columns, we’ll move it to the new table.”

Destiny bit her
bottom lip. “You make it sound easy.”

Carrie grimaced. “Fixing
the places where Excel misreads the string data makes it tedious, but with two
sets of eyes, it’ll be easier.”

After importing the strings
into Excel, Carrie took a deep breath and tabbed down to determine how much
came through clean. At first glance, about eighty percent aligned properly, but
the other twenty percent stretched far beyond the table, indicating a problem.
She took the time to show Destiny the reasons why the data had deconstructed
and how to work it back into its proper column. Once Destiny corrected two
lines perfectly, they split the table onto two computers so both could fix
problems.

An hour later, they
recombined their sections of the table and double-checked all columns lined up correctly.

“Now I just need to
write a simple code to port it into to the new table.”

Once it loaded, they
verified everything remained accurate. Carrie began at the top, and Destiny worked
up from the bottom. Neither found any errors.

“Wow! I can’t believe
how fast we got this done! And by creating a new table, you never risked
screwing up the current database. Still, we’re working in the test system, but
don’t worry, I updated it first and placed a lock on the live system so people
can’t input anything until we’re done.”

The girl knew her
stuff. She’d have to tell Dan what a diamond he had in Destiny, but perhaps he
already knew.

With the data in
table form, writing queries proved easy. She ran the ones needed for the Coco
analysis, but added other potentially useful reports, such as successful
placement ratios by function, by client, and by consultant. Remembering how the
interviewees were using Lancaster as a practice, she created one to identify
clients’ offer acceptance percentage by consultant and client.

When they finished,
they invited Dan to review it. He evidently thought they had settled on what
could and couldn’t be done. His mouth fell open when he discovered they wanted
to show him the end product.

As he sorted through
the reports a second time, Carrie asked if he wanted any others.

Destiny jumped in
before he could answer. “If you do, I can write them for you. Since we’ve put
the information into tables, these queries are a breeze.”

He reviewed the ones printed
out, asked for a few superficial changes in presentation, then ask for a couple
additional items which Destiny wrote as he watched.

Carrie had insisted
Destiny do any further reports and it paid off. The girl impressed Dan with the
speed she could create them.

Destiny then grinned
at him. “If you don’t mind, I’ll move these changes over to the live system and
unlock it so people can get to work.”

Dan stared at his
systems girl with pure adoration and love as she flew out of the room. Only
when she disappeared down the hall did he smile at Carrie. “Challenging work
agrees with you.”

She nodded.

“These reports will
help me immensely. Well worth $40K. But you also taught my systems person how to
create them. Something I greatly appreciate.” He leaned forward and met her
gaze. “My gut tells me you and Trent aren’t done yet.”

She opened her mouth
to protest, but he held his hand up. “If I’m wrong, I’d like to hire you as my
EA. And if you don’t want to work here, I’ll find you a great position
elsewhere. But I’m rarely wrong. You need to return to Lancaster Chairs and
face your dilemma, actually two dilemmas: can you work for a man who
occasionally changes into the boss from hell, and how do you separate your business
relationship from your personal life if you’re dating the boss?”

He understood her
problem, probably because he faced the same issues with Destiny. “Any advice on
the matter?”

Dan tilted his head
and studied her. “If you asked because you noticed I love Destiny, our
relationship is different. She’s my daughter.”

Carrie blushed. “Either
you’re older than you appear or she’s younger than I thought.”

He chuckled. “I’d
like to say I’m aging well, but I was sixteen when I fathered my precious girl.
The marriage ended badly, but I’ve never regretted the reason we got married.
I’m thrilled to death Destiny has come to work for me.”

Carrie shook her
head. She’d misinterpreted their relationship big time. “I thought you fell in
love with her because she’s a terrific person, incredibly bright, and very protective
of her system, an excellent trait in a systems manager.”