“I did no such thing!” I respond. I try to keep my anger down, but it’s impossible. No one is going to accuse me of cheating. I would never do that. Everything I have done in my life has been fair. I got this job fairly. I got my last job fairly. I got into college; I was class president. I have never cheated, and I’m certainly not about to start now. “You’re delusional.”
“I’m delusional?” Cameron says. “You’ve known him less than a week and you already worship the ground Jack walks on. You’re the delusional one.”
I poke a finger against his chest. With each harsh word thrown at each other, we get a bit closer. I can feel his breath on my forehead. I have to look up to meet his eyes. The passion there is unmistakable. I know it’s an angry passion, but my heart doesn’t get the memo. It flutters from the proximity.
“Knock it off, Cameron. We both know there’s only one cheater here, and it’s you.”
Cameron takes a step back, shock clouding his features. My entire body misses the feel of his close to mine. How can someone I hate so much have this effect on me? “What are you talking about?”
I stand my ground. “Jack told me all about what you’ve done, Cameron. You can’t stand to see your brother succeed so you force the board to vote against his ideas. Like the solar power thing. I know you’re the reason it didn’t go through. Plus, there are the other proposals you’ve taken from him. He asked you to look over them and you presented them to the board as your own! Jack deserves to win this competition and you need to get your head out of your ass before you ruin that for him. Don’t you want what’s best for Snax? Clearly, that person is Jack and not you.”
Cameron is breathing heavily through his nose and clenching his fists. My speech was harsh but necessarily. Cameron acts like he’s better than everyone else, when really, he’s been riding on Jack’s success the entire time.
“Is that what you really think?” Cameron asks, his voice eerily calm. “You think I’m the one stealing from Jack?”
“It’s not what I think, it’s what I know. I saw Jack’s solar panel proposal.”
“That proposal was mine,” Cameron says. “I’m the one who presented it to the board. Jack is the one who prevented them from moving forward with it.”
I take a step back. “You’re still trying to make up stories and lie? Cameron, you need help. I saw the proposal. Jack showed me the others he’s made, too. I can’t believe you’re still trying to claim that you were the one…”
“I can prove it to you.”
Cameron’s body language is completely different. He looks relaxed, like he’s just figured something out. Maybe he has. Or he thinks he has.
“You can’t manipulate me.”
“I’m not trying to,” Cameron says gently. “I want to show you that Jack isn’t the person you think he is.”
I bite my lip. Jack is my boss. I should be loyal to him. Yet, there’s something in Cameron’s eyes that tells me I should believe him. Or maybe that’s just the lust talking.
I’ve only known Jack for a few days, really. But I’ve known Cameron the same length of time. Who am I supposed to trust?
I scan the room for Emma, but she’s no longer at her desk. She probably escaped to the conference room as soon as the yelling started. I don’t blame her. I want to escape, too.
“Let me prove that I wrote that proposal, and the one Jack turned in today.”
“Okay,” I finally say. “You have ten minutes. Jack will be back from his meeting in fifteen, and I don’t want him to see me in your office.”
Cameron cringes, but he nods and we walk towards his office together. Once inside, he shuts the door.
I didn’t look around the two times I was here before. The first, I was too distracted by Cameron and his rudeness. The second, I just wanted to get in and out with Jack’s proposal.
Was it Jack’s proposal?
I shake my head. Cameron hasn’t proven anything yet. He could be lying, trying to get me to go against Jack. I don’t fully trust him yet.
Cameron’s office is different from Jack’s. I know that both men have a lot of money, but I wouldn’t guess that from Cameron’s decorating. His desk is probably the most expensive thing, carved out of a dark wood that matches his door. The walls are light, though, a shade of blue that matches the sky on a clear day. His diploma hangs on the wall behind his chair.
On the other side of Cameron’s desk are two comfortable looking chairs. The ones in Jack’s office make my butt hurt if I sit there too long. These look like they’re made for sitting. The leather is well worn, but not so much that they’re ratty.
There’s even a plant in the corner, facing the wall to ceiling window.
“Everything okay?” Cameron asks. Gone is the angry man from before. He’s being completely polite. It’s unnerving.
“Yeah, just taking in the view.”
He nods. “I wanted to actually enjoy being here.”
“It’s definitely homey.”
Cameron gives me an odd look. I take one of the leather chairs, hoping that makes him hurry on with the proof. Instead of sitting in his executive chair, he takes the seat next to me.
“Should we start with solar panels or production?”
“Solar panels,” I say.
Cameron nods. “Okay.” He pulls his laptop from the desk and opens up his email. He hovers over a folder that says “solar.” I hope that’s not his proof, because it certainly isn’t enough.
“I’ve been working on the solar thing for years. Since I started working here, honestly. I thought I could get it going as CEO, but something always gets in the way. I finally nailed the last piece this year, which is why I thought the board would approve.”
“What was the missing piece?”
“Putting in solar was going to disrupt production. We were originally going to have to shut down the factory to set it up. I found a few places who can do it without shutting down production completely. They’ll work during the day getting things set up, and only shut down power for an hour or two at night.”
That makes sense. I can’t imagine how much money would be lost if a factory had to be shut down for even just a day. “Okay, but you could’ve read all that in Jack’s report.”
“None of that is in the report.”
I think back. He’s right, it isn’t. That doesn’t prove anything, though. Jack could’ve talked about it in the meeting.
“You still don’t believe me. That’s fine. Here, look at these emails.”
Cameron pulls up a chain of emails between him and a company called SolAir. It’s talking about the cost of production and how important it is to minimize disruption. The emails are dated two months ago. I suppose it’s possible that Cameron heard about Jack’s idea, but that doesn’t seem likely.
“Jack really was reading your emails.”
“Yeah, he was. Do you want to see the other proposal? The one for the competition?”
I nod. He goes into his desk and gets the folder I remember from yesterday. Inside is a stack of papers with a bunch of notes written all over them.
I pale. “This is what you turned in?”
Cameron sighs. “Yeah. Dad was pissed.”
“What’s the real one? The one Jack turned in?”
Cameron stands and grabs a small black box from a locked drawer. Guilt churns my stomach. If Cameron turned this in, it’s my fault. When Jack asked me to switch the proposals, he must have given me this fake one to put in place of the real one Cameron created.
I swallow down tears. I will not cry in front of the CEO. I refuse.
Cameron sits back down and plugs in his mysterious box. “I keep everything on this external drive,” he explains. “So, Jack can’t get to it.”
“If he’s that bad, why don’t you tell someone?”
“I’ve tried, but Jack has a way with people. No one believed me.”
“Including me,” I say quietly.
“You do now, though, right?”
; I nod. I can’t believe I thought Cameron was the liar. I suppose, he didn’t give me any reason to trust him before. Now, though, I feel like an idiot. I should’ve listened to Emma. She, at least, has proven to be my ally from the beginning.
Cameron calls up the proposal and I lean closer to get a better look. It’s amazing. The pages are full of color, with examples of prints the company has done in the past, as well as charts showing how cost effective it’ll be. Cameron is a genius. It’s no surprise this proposal one. I just can’t believe the role I played in ensuring Jack won instead of Cameron. It’s clear who the real winner was. It’s also clear who the CEO should be.
I look up to tell Cameron how impressed I am, and I realize we’re close once again. Really close. I can feel his breath against my cheek. My heart picks up speed again, anticipating what is to come.
My eyes meet his. Electricity flows between us. I start to lean forward, or maybe Cameron does, I’m not sure. Our lips are this close to touching when a knock on the door pulls us apart.
“Cameron, you in there?” Emma calls from the hall. She opens the door and peeks her head inside. Her eyes widen when she sees me. “Melody?”
“I should go. Thanks for… everything.”
I scurry past Emma and hurry back to my own desk. Just in time, too, because the elevator opens and Jack steps out with a huge smile on his face.
He approaches my desk and raises a hand for a high five. “We did it!” he says. “My proposal won. Week one goes to us!”
I smile and return the high five, hoping he can’t tell my heart isn’t in it. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about what I know about Jack. Or what just happened with Cameron.
All I know is that right now, I’ve got work to do.
10
Cameron
I haven’t seen or spoken to Melody since we were in my office on Friday. After she left, Emma tried to give me the third degree, but I didn’t even know what happened, so I couldn’t give her any information. I’m pretty sure I almost kissed Melody. We were sitting so close that it just almost happened.
I didn’t tell Emma that she interrupted us. She would’ve felt terrible, especially knowing that Melody is my type. Emma considers herself my own personal matchmaker. I consider her annoying most of the time. Though, I may have to take her up on her offer to help me with Melody.
My phone rings, distracting me from my thoughts.
“Cameron Colter,” I answer. It sounds better than, “Snax offices, Cameron Colter speaking, how can I help you?” which is how the call center answers everything.
“Cameron!” the person says. “Long time no talk.”
I recognize the voice instantly. “Hey, Johnny, how’s it going?”
Johnny Carver and I have known each other since we were kids. Our last names meant we were seated next to each other in Kindergarten, and the friendship grew naturally from there. Now, he’s the purchasing manager for a grocery store chain here in Massachusetts.
“It’s going, it’s going. Hey, I wanted to ask, is it too late to place an order for the fall and winter special editions? I can’t believe I waited this long, but we’ve already got people asking when they’ll be in our stores.”
I chuckle. I have no idea how Johnny got the job. He’s notoriously late with orders. Luckily, I’m aware of this, so I always set aside a few cases for him. “No worries, man. How many of each do you need?”
“You’re the best, Cameron. Can I get fifty cases of each flavor? That’s two for each store. Demand is up, man. You should see it out there. Everyone is excited.”
I write down the numbers. Each case is a full pallet, so two per store is a lot. I’ll have to ask the sales department about demand. If it’s really that high, we might want to consider a second shipment date. “Sure thing, buddy. I’ll send you the invoice.”
“Thank you, thank you. You saved my ass, man. I can’t wait to try the new flavors. I might save a case of each for myself.”
We talk and catch up for a bit longer until Emma knocks on my door. I check the clock. Nine in the morning on the dot. I came in early to get some work done before anyone else showed up. I used to work from my home office, but a family with kids moved in downstairs. I don’t mind the noise, but it’s distracting when I’m going over new ad sketches or press releases.
“Morning, boss,” Emma says. “Having a productive day so far?”
“I’d say. Johnny called and ordered fifty cases of fall and winter.”
Her eyes widened. “Damn. He could’ve ordered sooner, but that’s great. I didn’t think that many people would want apple cinnamon pretzels.”
“They’re delicious,” I say. “You just have no taste.”
Emma rolls her eyes. “If you say so, boss. What’s on the agenda for today?”
I cringe. “I’m being punished for losing the contest on Friday,” I tell Emma. “I’m going to need your help planning the team bonding day out.”
“Ugh, I hate doing that,” she says. “I did it last year. Why can’t Melody do it?”
“Because Melody’s boss won the competition.”
“Using your proposal,” she mumbles. “Whatever, yeah, I can do it. What’s the plan this year?”
“Paintball,” I tell her.
Emma’s face lights up. “Wait, seriously?”
I laugh at her excitement. “Dad thought it was a good idea. I told him you came up with it, though.”
She claps her hands together. I didn’t think Dad would go for paintball as an appropriate work activity, but he loved it. I think he might be more excited than Emma. “I changed my mind. I love planning the outing.”
“Yeah, yeah, I knew you’d have a change of heart. Keep it under budget. I emailed you all the info.”
“You won’t regret this, Cameron. Just wait until you get to shoot Jack with a paintball gun.”
The idea sounds pleasing until I remember that the competition ends before the outing. Jack and I won’t both be CEO’s at that time, so I’d never get the chance to shoot him with a paintball gun.
“Oh, crap. I forgot.”
“It’s fine. Actually, I wanted to talk about that, too.”
Emma settles into her chair. The same one Melody looked so good sitting in yesterday.
I try not to think about that.
“I can’t risk Jack getting a hold of my proposal this week. My idea is good, and he’ll steal it if he has the chance.”
“How do we keep him from it? Lock it up? I feel like that’s the only option.”
“I agree. It has to be locked in a drawer at all times. But I also have a plan.”
Emma leans forward, giving me her full attention. “What is it?”
“I think we need to get Melody involved.”
She raises a brow at me. “Oh yeah? You want to get the pretty new assistant you almost made out with yesterday involved? I wonder why.”
“Come on, Emma. It’s not like that.”
Emma laughs. “Sure it isn’t, boss. I do agree, though. Melody could come in handy. She could be like a spy for the other side.”
I don’t like using the word spy, but I guess that’s exactly what Melody would be. “Do you think you can get her in here after lunch today? Jack usually goes out to eat right after you get back. That would be the perfect time.”
“I can try,” Emma says. “I can’t promise anything. I’m not sure she likes you that much more now than she did before.”
“I’m holding out hope that she does.”
Emma shrugs and heads to her desk to work on the plans for our company day out. I was annoyed when my dad emailed me early this morning to say it was my job to get everything settled. He didn’t outright say it was because I lost the competition last week, but it’s pretty obvious that’s why the duty fell on me.
With Emma working on that, I can focus on my next proposal. I came in early today so I’d have plenty of time to come up with something. I have an old idea that needs a lot of tweaking to be good enough
. I’m hoping I have enough time to get it done.
The hours slog by until lunch. I’m half working on my next proposal, which is for staggered breaks in the factories to increase morale and productivity, and half thinking about what it’ll be like to see Melody again.
I haven’t stopped thinking about her since our almost-moment in my office last week. Is she thinking about me?
I feel like a teenager with a stupid crush. I should not be so focused on Melody, not when I could lose my position as CEO if I don’t get this proposal right.
I’m about to force myself back to work when there’s a light knock on the door. Emma would knock and then barge in without waiting for my answer. It’s obviously not her.
“Come in,” I call out.
The door opens tentatively. “Hey, Cameron. Emma said you wanted to see me.”
Melody stands there looking gorgeous. She’s wearing a white and black polka dot blouse and a tight black skirt. I stare at her until she clears her throat.
“Right. Yeah. Hi. Come in.”
She’s hesitant, but after a minute Melody takes a seat in Emma’s chair. “I’m not sure what I can do for you. I have a lot going on…”
“I don’t want to add anything more to your plate,” I say quickly. “I just think we can help each other.”
Melody raises a brow. “How can we do that?”
“You believe me that Jack isn’t who you thought, right?”
She nods, her cheeks red. She looks adorable when she blushes. “I’m sorry for accusing you… I was so wrong.”
“It’s okay. I was an ass. I’m not surprised you blamed me. But that’s in the past, now. Let’s focus on the future.”
“Okay. What do you see in our future?”
That’s a loaded question. Right now, in that outfit, I see Melody bent over my desk… I shake away the thought. I don’t need a hard-on when I’m asking Melody to spy on her boss for me.
Yeah, I accept it. I want Melody to be a spy.
“I don’t want Jack to steal my idea again,” I say. “I wouldn’t put it passed him. He knows that I know what he did, but he also knows I won’t say anything. That doesn’t mean I’m going to let him do it again.”
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