Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(76)

Krista was about to tally points when they landed in front of their final challenge. There were a bunch of extremely tall trees with ropes and contraptions spread throughout. Sounded great, sure, to an adventurer. To a girl afraid of heights, who didn’t see a way up the tree, and also didn’t see ground under the challenges—since they were in the tree-tops—things were looking dicey. She lost her nerve immediately.

“I give up.” Krista walked over to a log and sat down.

“Can’t,” Sean said as he surveyed what was next.

“I don’t like heights. I don’t feel well. I am exhausted. I am hated. I don’t fit in. I. Give. Up!”

Sean turned around, realizing she was serious. “Geegee, we need you to finish strong. You can do it.”

All time worst pep-talk.

“You need, you need, you need!” Krista shot back in a snot. She was hungry and tired, the two biggest enemies of cohesive team work. It was an extremely bad combination and Sean knew it. She was pushed past her limits, and now he would have to beguile her in every way he knew to turn her attitude.

Proving his point, she said, “Well, I don’t care what you need.” Her dialogue was dry, meaning she was hamming it up for effect. Sean had to thank her desire to continue acting like a 12-year-old in front of Bob for that one. “You always get what you want. You always get your man. Everyone bow down, Sean needs something. Well, guess what? This is what I need: To lay down and die. And here’s what I’ll do for you—let you skip the burial. You’re welcome.”

“Krista, this is the last hurdle. After this, either we’ve won or we haven’t. Just one more.” Sean persuaded.

“What part of I give up did you miss? I thought I was pretty clear. Fire me and move on. Bob wins, I lose. All you men can sleep at night.”

There was a pause as Sean racked his tired brain for tactics.

Into the din Bob said, “She’s right, we don’t need her.”

She was tired and hungry, but not yet mad and unreasonable. Bob had just changed that.

Krista got up so fast her head spun. She rounded on him. “What did I ever do to you, Robert? Did I screw your wife in a past life or something? Why are you always down on me? Do you hate vaginas in your proximity that much?”

Bob’s face got purple and he exploded. It was the show-down each of them longed for, displayed for the whole team to see, within earshot of god-knew-who.

“What do I hate about you?” Bob said, stepping toward her with balled fists. “You’re lazy! I had to work my way into management. I couldn’t lay down and spread my legs to get where I am! You disgust me!”

Krista’s brain flooded with rage. Sean came over to stop them, but everyone else stood very still. Except Krista. She took a page out of John Susan’s book after a case of Red Bull.

“First of all, are you implying that I slept with Tory? Because he was the one who hired me. Second, are you implying you’ve ever worked a day in your useless, good-for-nothing, King-of-all-lazy life? Because I have! I have worked my ass off to get where I am. I did two years of changing everything in my sight, including Phil’s job, thank you very much, to get where I am. I have reduced the company of two salaries, made processes so much better that the operational savings is already starting to pour in, and I always get my job done before the due date. Always! You’ve done none of that. You do your work half assed all the time. Your employees think you are useless. All they do all day is play on the Internet. I’ve beat all odds to get where I am, and-I-am-still-struggling. I prove myself constantly, and I still have it tough. You have a cake walk compared to me. What the hell are you bitching about?!”

“Sean made you manager,” Bob retorted pointedly.

“I became manager after he got hired, okay. And yes, I screwed his brains out. I liked it. I would do it again. But-that-was-before-I-even-got-the-job! Two or more years before he got the job. Are you implying that I am so good that he quit his old job, convinced Tory to hire him and move him from San Francisco to L.A., two years later, just so he could make me manager for my services? Is that what you are implying? Because if you are, you are a real dumb-f*ck, Robert!”

“Krista, that’s enough,” Sean said firmly.

Krista froze at Sean’s words. That lasted long enough to take in Bob’s smug grin. Then she decided that she didn’t need this job that badly, and turned to Sean slowly. His eyes widened.

Krista threw her pointer finger at him. “No, Sean. That isn’t enough! You have defended this horse’s ass the whole time. You’ve let him get away with murder. He does nothing, misses his deadlines, talks crap about me, talks crap to me, is a canker to this team, and you say nothing. I miss one detail in a report I did on top of what I was assigned, and you make me drop everything and do it all over. For-a-detail-you-hadn’t-even-thought-of. And this idiot calls me LAZY? That’s rich.”

Krista turned back to Bob with a whoosh. The crazy had been let out and now Krista would let it run its course. “Let me tell you something else, Robert.” She got right up in his face and lowered her voice. “I do my job well. Whatever it is I take on, I do it to very best of my abilities. You sent spies after me in a sad attempt to play 007 and all you learned was that Sean and I were an item once upon a time. I have spies, too, Bob. But my spies are under my management, and unlike you, I am a good manager. If I go down, Bob, I go down fighting. So think about that next time you spread a rumor about me, or everyone will know that you are as useless to your wife as you are to this company, you impotent jerk!”