seat, rubbing his hands together like he was getting ready for a feast.
He gave Jason a rare but genuine pat on the back as he said, “Good job, son.”
6
EchoEnergy
Sabrina kept thinking there had to be some mistake. She was the last person on their team whom Dwight Lansik would choose to lead in his absence. Not for lack of ability or experience, but simply because she had been the last hire. She knew the man had a rather strong opinion about seniority, with disloyalty being the only thing that could uproot it. Taking that into consideration, O’Hearn would be the next in line, and then Anna. When Sabrina told the others about being assigned as tour guide, she could see the question in their eyes, too. Though she couldn’t imagine any of them would really want the assignment. If it was up to her, she’d gladly pass.
Anna was the only one who dared to ask out loud, “Mr. Sidel requested you to give the tour?” She raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows to emphasize that she was not pleased. She was always doing that, using facial expressions to say what she really thought.
Pasha had commented once that he saw a physical resemblance between Sabrina and Anna, but Sabrina failed—or perhaps refused—to see anything the two might have in common. Sabrina knew the woman was several years her junior and yet Anna Copello had a way of making her feel like she was one of Anna’s problem students. Sabrina, according to Anna, was constantly using glass vials that Anna had set aside for herself, or documenting results using a substandard method. For some reason Sabrina had rubbed Anna the wrong way from the second she arrived at EchoEnergy. O’Hearn had once joked that with Sabrina’s arrival, Anna was no longer the only beauty in their group of mad scientists. And Sabrina couldn’t help wondering if that was true. Anna certainly treated Sabrina as if she was the spoilsport.
“His secretary said my name was on the list,” Sabrina offered, trying to defend herself when it looked like Anna was waiting for an explanation.
“The list?” At this, Anna turned to O’Hearn, crossing her arms over her chest. “There’s a list?”
O’Hearn simply shrugged and swung his chair back to face the computer screen like it didn’t matter to him one way or another. Pasha had already wandered off to complete his work. Anna looked around at both men, then threw her hands in the air as if the situation was hopeless. Without even a glance at Sabrina, she stomped off.
Sabrina slipped back into Lansik’s office. While on the phone she had seen a file folder labeled Tour Briefing. It was right there on his desk when she replaced the phone, straddling his in-box pile, tempting her, daring her. It wasn’t like Sabrina to touch anyone else’s belongings, let alone take them, but she found herself thinking that if Lansik had gotten her into his mess, he certainly couldn’t complain about her taking a peek and utilizing the same information he had planned on using.
She slid the bulging file folder that included a spiral six-by-nine-inch notebook inside her briefcase. She’d return it later, after the tour. Then she escaped her colleagues to find refuge at a small bistro table in the EchoCafé, the same table in the corner by the window where she sat every day for lunch.
Same table, same time, same lunch. Her brother used to call her a slave to her routine, claiming it was too rigid for her to ever really enjoy life. This from a guy who couldn’t hold a job or maintain a relationship for more than six months. She might be boring, she argued, but she had a career she loved, money in the bank and a roof over her head. More than Eric could say for himself. Though how would she know? She hadn’t seen him in over two years.
Over her usual egg salad on wheat she glimpsed one or two of Lansik’s notes, his chicken-scratch handwriting almost impossible to decipher. She hadn’t taken more than two bites of the sandwich. She knew
He gave Jason a rare but genuine pat on the back as he said, “Good job, son.”
6
EchoEnergy
Sabrina kept thinking there had to be some mistake. She was the last person on their team whom Dwight Lansik would choose to lead in his absence. Not for lack of ability or experience, but simply because she had been the last hire. She knew the man had a rather strong opinion about seniority, with disloyalty being the only thing that could uproot it. Taking that into consideration, O’Hearn would be the next in line, and then Anna. When Sabrina told the others about being assigned as tour guide, she could see the question in their eyes, too. Though she couldn’t imagine any of them would really want the assignment. If it was up to her, she’d gladly pass.
Anna was the only one who dared to ask out loud, “Mr. Sidel requested you to give the tour?” She raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows to emphasize that she was not pleased. She was always doing that, using facial expressions to say what she really thought.
Pasha had commented once that he saw a physical resemblance between Sabrina and Anna, but Sabrina failed—or perhaps refused—to see anything the two might have in common. Sabrina knew the woman was several years her junior and yet Anna Copello had a way of making her feel like she was one of Anna’s problem students. Sabrina, according to Anna, was constantly using glass vials that Anna had set aside for herself, or documenting results using a substandard method. For some reason Sabrina had rubbed Anna the wrong way from the second she arrived at EchoEnergy. O’Hearn had once joked that with Sabrina’s arrival, Anna was no longer the only beauty in their group of mad scientists. And Sabrina couldn’t help wondering if that was true. Anna certainly treated Sabrina as if she was the spoilsport.
“His secretary said my name was on the list,” Sabrina offered, trying to defend herself when it looked like Anna was waiting for an explanation.
“The list?” At this, Anna turned to O’Hearn, crossing her arms over her chest. “There’s a list?”
O’Hearn simply shrugged and swung his chair back to face the computer screen like it didn’t matter to him one way or another. Pasha had already wandered off to complete his work. Anna looked around at both men, then threw her hands in the air as if the situation was hopeless. Without even a glance at Sabrina, she stomped off.
Sabrina slipped back into Lansik’s office. While on the phone she had seen a file folder labeled Tour Briefing. It was right there on his desk when she replaced the phone, straddling his in-box pile, tempting her, daring her. It wasn’t like Sabrina to touch anyone else’s belongings, let alone take them, but she found herself thinking that if Lansik had gotten her into his mess, he certainly couldn’t complain about her taking a peek and utilizing the same information he had planned on using.
She slid the bulging file folder that included a spiral six-by-nine-inch notebook inside her briefcase. She’d return it later, after the tour. Then she escaped her colleagues to find refuge at a small bistro table in the EchoCafé, the same table in the corner by the window where she sat every day for lunch.
Same table, same time, same lunch. Her brother used to call her a slave to her routine, claiming it was too rigid for her to ever really enjoy life. This from a guy who couldn’t hold a job or maintain a relationship for more than six months. She might be boring, she argued, but she had a career she loved, money in the bank and a roof over her head. More than Eric could say for himself. Though how would she know? She hadn’t seen him in over two years.
Over her usual egg salad on wheat she glimpsed one or two of Lansik’s notes, his chicken-scratch handwriting almost impossible to decipher. She hadn’t taken more than two bites of the sandwich. She knew
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