“Early morning cramming,” he said. “Want to get a head start.”
“Ditto,” I said, and he smiled and angled his screen in my direction.
“We can be study buddies,” he offered.
I nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
And so it began.
I listened to the morning training sessions so intently that my brain fizzed. I made notes until my fingers cramped and my writing became all but illegible. I asked question after question that made Carl smile and Verity scowl, and I committed the answers to memory. I thrilled as Carl marked up the whiteboard with our names all ready for the sales results table to kick off the following Monday, and for every look of disdain Verity shot in my direction my resolve grew a little more steely.
I could do this. I could come out top and show that snotty little cow I was far more than the loser sister she’d chalked me up as.
I expected Carl to distance himself from me at work, to draw thebossline and pretend I was just another minion on his training programme, but it seemed Carl doesn’t work that way. He tapped my arm as we were breaking for lunch and he had his car keys in his hand.
“I’m heading out for coffee and a bagel. Want to come?”
Of course I did.
We ate at a little cafe at the far end of the business park and he watched me so intently that I could only take tiny mouthfuls of sandwich.
“So,” he said. “What’s with you, Katie? You seem different.”
I shrugged. “If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well, right?”
He took a hearty bite of his bagel. I watched as he chewed and swallowed. “I looked into the stats you put on your application form.”
“And?”
“They were impressive, if not entirely believable.” He paused. “And they checked out.”
“Of course they did. I’m no liar.”
His eyes looked so green under the fluorescent lighting. “I spoke to your old boss, from the insurance agency.”
“You spoke with Colin Wilkins? What did he say?”
“He said you were dedicated, talented, hardworking. He said you had one of the best track records across your region. He said you were a faultless new business developer, and he’d offered you a spot on their management training scheme but you turned him down.”
I felt myself burning up. “I did pretty well there. It was only part time.”
“He told me I’d be an idiot not to cultivate your talent and push you into management.”
I laughed a little. “Management? I just did a bit of telemarketing, no big deal.”
He leaned in and I felt the charge from him, felt the tingle. “I don’t think you’re the simple little horsey girl you play at being. I don’t think that’s you. I think you want more than that, even if you don’t know it.”
I pushed my plate aside. “I don’t play at being anything. I just want different things than you. Just because someonecando something doesn’t mean theywantto do it. I’m really not such a dark horse, Carl.”
He smirked. “And yet here we are, suited and booted, grabbing a bagel before heading back to the office.” His voice lowered. “I watched you all morning, and you want this. I saw it in you. You’ve got the calling for it, even if you refuse to acknowledge the fact.”
I shook my head. “No,” I said. “I’ve got the calling to win my little trip to see Harrison Gables and earn some decent cash towards my yard.”
“It’s more than that.”
I met his eyes. “It’s not.”
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll transfer you for the six months, I could do with someone to help manage my diary. You can check out of the training programme and work alongside me.” My face must have dropped before I could stop it, the prospect of a Katie-Verity sales smackdown slipping through my fingers. “And there we have it.” He smirked. “Busted,as Rick would say. So, tell me. Why do you want this all of a sudden?”