Seth looks down at his Rolex. “It’s no big deal. He should be here in thirty minutes. Maybe less. He said before ten.”
“Yes, but…” I press my fingers into my left temple. “I have a splitting headache. And I already talked to that detective yesterday. So I’m sure he doesn’t need to talk to me again.”
“Actually, he specifically asked me if you would be there and said he needed to talk to you.”
“Oh.” Fantastic. “I guess I’ll stay then.”
I shift in my seat, wondering what else that detective could possibly want to ask me about. I already told him everything I know. It seems like a waste of time, but now that Seth has told me I have to stay, I don’t have much of a choice. I can’t walk out and claim ignorance.
Seth toys with a ballpoint pen on his desk. Once again, my eyes are drawn to the tan line from his missing wedding band. He follows my gaze to his ring finger. I look away, but it’s too late.
“Melinda and I split up,” he says.
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
He arches his right eyebrow. “Are you?”
Something catches in my throat. I’m not sure what to make of his tone of voice. He doesn’t sound angry. More like… curious.
“I am,” I say.
His eyebrow stays raised. “Are you still seeing Caleb?”
“Yes.”
He nods. “He seems like a nice guy.”
“He is.”
“Good.”
I still have that catch in my throat. I feel like I’m going to choke or something. “I better get back to my desk.”
Seth nods and turns back to his computer screen. But I can feel his eyes on me as I leave the room.
Chapter Twelve
SIX MONTHS EARLIER
To: Seth Hoffman
From: Dawn Schiff
Subject: Refrigerator Cleaning Schedule
To Seth,
I have created a schedule for cleaning the refrigerator in the break room on a twice-weekly basis, with each employee assigned a designated date to clean. With your permission, I would like to post this schedule on the refrigerator. Also, I have attached an information sheet about common bacteria that grow at cold temperatures.
Sincerely,
Dawn Schiff
To: Seth Hoffman
From: Dawn Schiff
Subject: Refrigerator Cleaning Schedule Follow-Up
To Seth,
Did you get my email about the refrigerator cleaning schedule? Please let me know ASAP!
Sincerely,
Dawn Schiff
To: Mia Hodge
From: Dawn Schiff
Subject: Re: Greetings
Dear Mia,
I had a great day today. I came up with an idea that will save the company a ton of money. You’re going to be so proud of me.
I had considered talking to Seth about it privately, but he never seems interested in meeting with me. The only times I ever manage to catch him are when he comes to Natalie’s cubicle to talk to her. I tried to talk to him last week, but he was on the phone. I waited in his doorway for him to get off, but then he pulled the phone away from his ear and said, “Jesus, Dawn, I’m talking to my wife. Can you come back another time?”
So the meeting seemed like as good a time as any. The meeting was to talk about how sales are going with a new product that was just released by Vixed. The product is called Collahealth. As far as I can tell, it’s some sort of collagen product that is supposed to help your hair, skin, nails, and joints. At least, that’s what it says on the sales pamphlet, although once again, the research studies are noticeably lacking. Also, it’s an advanced formula. I don’t know what the non-advanced formula is, because this is the only formula they seem to have.
We all gathered in the conference room—Seth, his secretary, our sales team, our marketing team, and me. He sat at one end of the conference table, and Natalie sat next to him like she always did. It made sense, because she always seems to be a large part of these meetings.
Everybody kept their eyes on Seth expectantly while noshing on the croissants he always brings. Or at least, his secretary brings them. Even though these meetings are largely useless, because we never really decide anything or figure anything out, he always tries his best. People find Seth likable, for the most part. There’s nothing objectionable about him, I suppose, although he’s not nearly as charming now that I’ve gotten to know him.
I’ve heard some of the female salespeople remarking that they think he’s sexy. I’m not sure why they would be talking about that though, since he’s married.
Seth was talking about how Natalie is “killing it” with her sales, which is true. He likes Natalie, but objectively, her sales numbers are superior to everyone else at the company. He joked around with her, asking her secret. And she just smiled and said it’s a great product.
I wonder if Natalie uses collagen supplements. Her hair is very healthy and shiny, and her skin always has this immaculate glow, like she’s an angel. And her nails are always perfect. Today they were painted dark purple, without a scratch or defect on them. They were the most perfect nails I had ever seen.
Remember that time when my mother dragged me to get a manicure? After five minutes, I left in a panic because the fumes were so toxic that I was scared to breathe. She was furious with me, saying I humiliated us both. These days, I keep my fingernails extremely short, like my hair.
“As for the rest of you,” Seth continued, “most of you are not meeting quotas. I’m not going to point fingers, but we could be doing a lot better. A lot better. The Syracuse branch had twice as much profit as we did this quarter, and they’re in freaking Syracuse. What are we going to do about it?”
I was nearly sitting on my hands as people around the table spitballed ideas at him. My idea was so simple. But I wanted to wait a little bit, because at the first meeting, Seth told me I talked too often. He told me to “get control of yourself, Dawn. Jesus.”
The ideas were pretty much what you would expect. They all involved a large amount of spending. My idea was the exact opposite of that. When I was satisfied nobody had anything brilliant to say, I raised my hand and waited for Seth to call on me. (Of course, then he got annoyed that I was raising my hand. He made a comment about how “this isn’t school,” which made everyone snicker.)
That’s when I dropped the bombshell.
I’d been going over the numbers in detail for the last two weeks. And our sales are decent. I took the liberty of obtaining the expense report from Syracuse, which is a much more profitable branch, and that’s where things really differ. Our expenses are much higher, as I told everyone at the meeting.
“Dorchester isn’t Syracuse,” Natalie spoke up. “Of course our expenses will be higher.”
So I showed everyone the folder with all my numbers. The biggest expense is all the perks we give to customers. Food is a big one. On lunches alone, we have spent half of our expense budget. I found one lunch receipt that cost more than twenty-five cases of Collahealth! Twenty-five. Isn’t that ridiculous?