Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(39)

Or sleeping with her…

Krista became increasingly angry, but also withdrawn, as they made their way to their region’s table to join the other managers who were already there. She sat next to Bob because she didn’t have much choice if she wanted to see, and Marcus sat next to her.

“I didn’t think you ate chips,” Marcus said idly, looking out at all the tables.

“Chips?”

Marcus spared her a glance. “Yeah—Dorito’s. I didn’t think you ate chips.”

“Oh. No, I don’t. Not usually. I’d rather eat chocolate if I’m going to splurge.”

“So…?”

“Oh, it’s just…” Krista lowered her voice. “Apparently Dorito’s is hiring. It would be a lateral move, but the pay is better. Kate talked to someone there and mentioned my name.”

Marcus was awestruck. “I thought you were getting along with Sean okay?”

Krista shrugged. “It’s fine, and if that was the only problem, I wouldn’t bother poking my head up, but…”

Marcus glanced next to Krista at Bob, then tilted his head once and looked away. “Read ya loud and clear, sista.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention it to Sean. He’d take it the wrong way.”

“He’ll take it even worse if you hand in your notice.”

“I know. But he has to see…”

“He does,” Marcus said sadly. He couldn’t elaborate anymore because Janice and Sean showed up, taking the two remaining seats.

Sean looked keyed up and in his element. His charisma was booming and his eyes were bright. Krista knew him too well, though. There was a tightness around his eyes that said he would rather be anywhere but in that room. She absolutely agreed with him.

Krista sighed, got out her laptop, and prepared to take notes. She was the only one at the table to do so. Everyone else had notepad and paper, including Janice, who apparently did short hand. Krista then glanced around at the tables around them. Then behind them.

She was the only one in the entire freaking banquet hall full of professionals that had a laptop! The admins had pens and the managers had bored expressions and fat guts.

“Am I allowed to have this?” she whispered across the table to Sean.

He glanced around, saw what she had, and was hard pressed to keep that boyish grin from his face. He shrugged. “You’re the only one prepared I guess.”

“But am I allowed?”

Someone walked on stage. Sean nodded then turned his seat around.

The tables were circles, chairs all the way around. This meant that two people had their back to the presenter. Not well thought out.

“Only secretaries take notes,” Bob whispered in a snide tone.

“Only European’s forgo deodorant, stinky,” Krista retorted.

Marcus started choking with laughter and Sean turned back around to give Krista a look that said, “Behave.”

The presenter started talking about leadership. He gave some good tips on getting reluctant employees to follow their boss’s lead. Sean turned back around to make sure Krista was taking notes. She scowled at him. She didn’t need the stupid buttheads around her thinking she was Sean’s secretary as well as his sex buddy. There were only so many incorrect rumors she needed about her.

Krista could type like the wind, and she was an excellent note taker, so she got everything of importance. She hadn’t been out of school long enough for the sponge that was her brain to dry up and crack. Still, just in case she missed something, Janice was doing her short hand. Granted, Janice wouldn’t catch what was important and what was fodder, so her notes would be tedious and time consuming, but between the two of them, Sean would get everything.

They were given a ten minute break. The lights came back up and Marcus was out of his chair and off. He tried to grab Krista’s hand and yank her with him, but she cleverly slipped out of his grasp.

“You’re going to get eaten alive here, girlie,” Bob said loudly. Dean snorted, sharing the sentiment, Donald and Georgie pretended not to hear.

“We’ll see, Bob.”

“Mark my words. Eaten alive. And you won’t like it.”

Apparently that was his try at sexual harassment. “Really, Bob? What do you know about it? I bet the manual your wife gave you is still unread.”

Georgie looked up in surprise as Krista looked away smoothly. When a girl spends her drinking youth in a bar, sexual harassment wasn’t a scary thing. Krista was an old pro at cutting down guys that thought they could get one over on her because he had a penis. And a guy Bob’s age? Oh please.

She did need to get with Marcus though. She needed to hit Bob with something that stung. Or disabled.

Ten minutes closer to the end of the weekend—when Krista could go home—everyone came back to the table and the next segment started. This time it was about positive attitudes.

Did she need help with that? Yes, she did. Did she want it? Nope. She decided half-assed notes would suffice.

After that was done, and everyone was nearly asleep, they were released. Dinner would be in the hotel restaurant, so Krista wanted to head to her room, properly get ready with time to dilly-dally, and come back down with bullet-proof confidence. She might want to get the hell out of this company, and would as soon as the weekend was over, but until then, she’d be damned if she’d prove stupid Bob right!