The Dating Plan(15)
“You’re in luck.” He gestured to the door. “Our supreme leader has arrived.”
Dressed in pair of red flip-flops, baggy blue shorts, and a purple shirt bearing the words Byte Me, Andrew held up his coffee cup to quiet the noise as he walked to the front of the room. Cranky and prone to using profanity, the veteran software engineer had been with Organicare since its inception, and chewed through product managers as quickly as Max chewed through squeaky toys. He was perpetually in need of a haircut, and his thick brown beard and moustache were streaked with gray.
Silence descended instantly on the room. Andrew didn’t tolerate interruptions and no one was willing to get on his bad side, especially when the glare in his eyes was a clear warning that he was in a bad mood. Even Tyler was afraid of Andrew.
“I have bad news . . .”
Josh grabbed a handful of sugar packets and stuffed them in his pocket.
“You all know Organicare has been trying to secure additional funding, but it’s a long process and the time has come to cut some costs.”
Daisy’s heart sank. She’d never expected to stay at Organicare long term, but it was the only start-up she’d ever worked at where she’d been excited about the company’s products, admired the company’s mission, and—she glanced over at Josh—started to make friends.
“To try and save jobs, Tyler has decided to sublet the second floor,” Andrew said. “That means Finance, Marketing, and whoever the hell else works downstairs will be moving up here with us. We tried something like this when we first started the company and it was a total failure. But no one had any other bright ideas, so we’re stuck with it.”
“We’re going to have to barricade ourselves in the corner and throw sugar packets at anyone who comes near us or we’ll never get into the flow state with all the noise.” Josh tore open a sugar package and poured it into his mouth. “At the very worst, we’ll leave here on a sucrose high.”
After answering a few questions, Andrew moved straight into a war story about how the project before this one had been messed up and how management couldn’t handle the stress. Daisy only half listened, her mind churning over the news. How many people were going to move upstairs? Where were they going to sit? Would she have to leave her cubicle and where would she go? What if they put her in the middle of the office?
By the time the stand-up was over, her anxiety had ramped up so high she could barely breathe. She returned to her desk, but couldn’t get into her state of intense flow. The problems seemed harder, her hands were shaking, and even that second cup of coffee wasn’t enough to fuel her brain now that she was stressed about the imminent invasion. This was the exact situation she tried to avoid. Unplanned and uncontrollable. It was why she had Max.
She pulled out her phone and flicked to a picture of Max on her bed, staring up at her with his adorable fluffy face. Mehar Auntie had offered to look after him during the day while Daisy was at work. A middle school teacher who taught Bollywood dance classes on the weekend, she was happy for the company during her summer vacation.
Daisy sent a quick text to her aunt to tell her she was going to pick up Max early to take him for a walk on Ocean Beach. He loved to play in the off-leash areas, and the soothing sound of the ocean would help take her stress away. Andrew didn’t care what hours they worked so long as the work got done.
After letting Josh know she was leaving, she took the elevator down to the bright, modern lobby. Located in the South of Market district, her office was in start-up central with some of the biggest tech companies in the buildings around them.
Hand wrapped tight around the giant multicolored Marvel tote bag that served as both as a handbag and a dog carrier, she stepped out of the elevator looking forward to a relaxing afternoon. Her moment of anticipatory pleasure was cut short when she saw Liam standing in the lobby, looking like he’d just stepped out of Sons of Anarchy in his worn leather jacket, thick leather boots, and black Destructor T-shirt, a motorcycle helmet in one hand.
Their eyes met and something shifted inside her, loosening the knot of tension in her chest. Liam had always had that effect on her. No matter how bad her day, the moment Liam had walked in the door with Sanjay, she had felt like she could breathe again.
“I was just coming up to see you.” He walked over to her, his smile fading as he studied her face. “What’s wrong?”
Damn. He knew her so well. For the briefest second, she was tempted to share. Liam had always been a good listener, especially when she was upset.
Steeling herself against the urge, she scowled. “Ten years didn’t last very long.”
“I wanted to talk to you, and I had a feeling you wouldn’t take my calls.”
“You were right.” She walked past him, focused on the door where a security guard was posting a sign advertising the vacancy on the second floor. She could do this. Walk away, keep a physical distance between them, because in her current emotional state she didn’t trust herself to get too close.
Liam followed her into the sunshine. “I just need five minutes.”
“And I needed a prom date.”
He jogged ahead of her, blocking her way. “I’m sorry, Daisy. Things happened that I couldn’t control and I was in a bad place that night. What can I do to make it up to you?”
“Nothing.”
Liam opened his hands. “If you’d give me a chance . . .”