My Wife Is Missing(13)
The warm feelings she still carried for her husband couldn’t fend off the chill from the biting wind. She had on a light jacket and fleece underneath, but it wasn’t nearly enough clothing for these temperatures. They should turn around, get back down, and find a cute little place for some hot chocolate.
Her gaze flickered between Michael’s handsome face and the mountains far off in the distance. She took a step forward with her eyes on Michael, not the ground. In that moment, her boot found a patch of ice covered with pine needles, almost like someone had set a trap. One second Natalie was sure-footed, and the next her leg shot out in front of her as if the limb wasn’t attached. She slid forward, fighting for balance, arms flapping like the crows’ wings.
Her body lurched awkwardly in different directions, hips going to the right, torso to the left. When Natalie realized she was stumbling toward the ravine, that her feet no longer had stable purchase, she tried to force a scream, but nothing came out.
For a moment, she tottered between the trail and the abyss until gravity decided which way she’d go. She fell, arms and legs flailing as if to take flight. Her jacket flapped with the whipping sound of a sail catching a fresh breeze. Down, down she went, the sudden acceleration taking her breath away.
She heard Michael’s terrified voice call out to her from high above.
“Natalie! Natalie!”
The scream stayed stuck in her throat, choking her.
“Natalie.” The voice came again, but this time it was softer and unquestionably female. “Natalie.”
Light flooded Natalie’s eyes as they came open. She took in the multitude of faces staring back at her. For a moment, she felt utterly disoriented, not recognizing any of the people who were gawking at her. Her confusion lasted only seconds, and then everything became clear. The woman staring at her from across the table was her friend, Tina Langley.
Next to Tina sat Dave Edmonds—that Dave, her employee who had made his crush on her painfully obvious—and next to Dave was a copywriter from the creative team, who was working with her on a campaign for—
A sudden realization hit her like a punch. This was the two thirty meeting. She was in a conference room on a conference call with the client.
Holy shit. I just had a nightmare in the middle of a meeting.
Panic and embarrassment enveloped her like a glove. Her face grew hot. Oh my God, did I make a noise? Everyone was looking at her as if she had. The shame was all-consuming. Her eyes burned as she tried to refocus them.
“Natalie, can we commit to a May delivery?”
It was Tina, seated across from her, dressed to the nines as usual in a pin-striped navy wool blazer and matching pants from Ralph Lauren, asking her the question. She sent Nat a look of concern along with a very subtle head nod.
Follow her lead, that’s what she was trying to say.
“Yes,” Natalie answered shakily. “April is fine. We can commit to that. No problem.”
“You mean May,” said Tina, calling her out gently.
“Right. May,” Natalie clarified, shooting Tina an appreciative look.
Five minutes later, after next steps were agreed upon and the meeting adjourned, Natalie joined Tina in her office. Her heart was still thumping from the experience.
Tina got herself settled at her desk and didn’t waste a moment’s time digging in. “Sweetheart, what the hell was that?”
Natalie, who’d seated herself at the small conference table in Tina’s spacious office, couldn’t shake the jolt she’d gotten from the adrenaline rush of all those eyes on her.
“I was out,” she said, in a disbelieving voice. “I had a goddamn nightmare during a meeting. Did I scream?”
Tina returned a weak smile. Sympathy sat prominent in her soft brown eyes.
“No, there wasn’t any screaming. But don’t feel too badly. That was a dreadful meeting. I’m surprised we didn’t all fall asleep. And honestly, I don’t think anyone noticed you had drifted off.”
Natalie returned an incredulous look.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Tina shrugged her slender shoulders.
“Well, if they did, I’m sure they don’t blame you.”
Her smile was gentle but telling. Tina had a way of making bad news seem less dire. Many a company CFO had misjudged her friendly, agreeable demeanor during negotiations over contracts or acquisitions—to their detriment. Her shoulder-length mouse-brown hair might as well have been a lion’s mane anytime she dealt with numbers.
“I appreciate you trying to sugarcoat it, but I’m utterly mortified.”
“Don’t stress, love,” Tina said. “It’s not nearly the worst thing that’s happened in a meeting. Remember Roger Crosby?”
Natalie rolled her eyes.
“That poor man had Tourette’s.”
“Still, the client didn’t know that.”
“Be serious, Tina,” Natalie said. “I think I’m going to puke. Check your email, will you? Is anyone talking about it?”
Tina checked her inbox.
“No. But I do have an email from Steve, and now I have a bad taste in my mouth.”
Steven Zacharius was the company CEO, and someone Natalie did her best to avoid. He was a nice enough boss, but he had a terrible habit of pitting his employees against one another.