Expression intense, Alice lowered her voice and pointed a finger at her. “You’ve been holding out on me. I expect a full report, or else.”
“Okay, okay.” She reached down to slip her shoes back on, wincing at the initial pinch at her heels. “I need to get out of here before Hailey tells me I have to stay late. Want to meet me at Clancy’s tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’ll text you.” Alice’s eyes widened again as she looked over the top of the cubicle. “Uh-oh. Too late. Incoming.”
Rachel stood up enough to see. Hailey was headed her way like a heat-seeking missile. “Oh jeez.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Alice waved over her shoulder as she hurried away.
“Rachel,” Hailey’s crisp New Yorker voice said.
She sighed, steeling herself. She erased all expression from her face and then faced her boss. “Yes?”
“Threshold has questions regarding the presentation.” Hailey’s glare dared her to say the contrary. “They want an in-depth report regarding the neighborhood, and since you told them you’ve lived there all your life, they want it from you.”
“Okay.” She smiled a pleasantI’m-just-your-harmless-minionsmile. “I’ll get it together for them.”
“They sent this real estate prospectus with their plans for the development and future expansion.” She held up a folder. Through clenched teeth, she said, “Robert wanted me to give it to you.”
“Thank you.” She took the folder but Hailey didn’t let go of it. She tugged. “I’ve got it,” she told her boss.
“Just the ladies I wanted to see.”
They both looked up as Robert rounded the cubicles. Hailey let go of the folder suddenly, and Rachel recoiled back, almost hitting herself in the face with it.
Coming to stand next to Hailey, Robert leaned his forearms on the top of the pseudo-wall. “I heard the presentation went really well today. Excellent work.”
“Thank you,” Hailey said with a modest smile.
Rachel didn’t say anything. It was a blessing to have him distract Hailey. She might actually get out of here unscathed yet.
He turned to her. “Have you looked at the prospectus yet, Rachel?”
“I was just about to.” Because they were waiting, and because she wanted to show them she was all in, she opened it and scanned the documents inside.
Her attention caught on the map that had an area circled in Hyde Park that included Lottie’s house and Chris’s bar. It looked like that was the next area they had staked out for redevelopment.
That had to be wrong. She bent over the prospectus, flipping through the plans, coming to a dead stop when she saw that they wanted to replace Clancy’s with a fancy strip of commercial space. Her grandma’s house was going to be an apartment building.
“Is there a problem?” Hailey’s harsh voice cut in.
“No, no problem.” Rachel tried to smile, though she knew she must look like she was slightly queasy. She closed the folder and looked at Robert. “It’s just that you know I live in Hyde Park.”
“That’s why we wanted you on this team.” He flashed his bright smile. “You have intimate knowledge of the area and the people. You’ll know how to sell the project there.”
She nodded. Anyone else would have just shut up, but she couldn’t in good conscience—even if it jeopardized her promotion. Chris and Lottie were more important than anything. “The phase two of the project includes my grandmother’s house. Don’t you think it’s a conflict of interest?”
Robert waved a hand dismissively. “We’re just imagining the best-case scenario. None of that is approved. Chances are it won’t go anywhere. Wasn’t there a stadium project a few years back that didn’t get approved in the end? That’s what we’re looking at here. This isn’t that far along.”
She still didn’t like the feel of it. “But—”
“Look, Rachel.” Robert leaned in. “We want your expertise on this. Just think about how you’d handle the PR for a project like this if it wasn’t your neighborhood. How would you do it? That’s all we’re looking for here.”
“Well, okay,” she said reluctantly. He seemed so disarming and sure, but… She tucked the prospectus out of the way in a drawer and pushed back from her desk. She needed to think about this, but not tonight. Tonight was for her and Jamie. Tomorrow, though, she’d have to look into it more, because she wasn’t in if her promotion was going to cost her grandmother her home and her best friend the bar he’d grown up in.
She exhaled loudly and pushed away from her desk. “Well, I’ll see you guys on Monday,” she said cheerfully.
“You’re leaving?” Hands on her hips, Hailey looked at her like she was insane. “It’s early.”