The Storm (Fairhope) Read Online Free PDF Page B

a work in progress. Things were working fine without a second territory manager, when I had an associate.” Scowling, he folded his arms. “But it is what it is.”
    Okay, so he pretty much just told me he didn’t want a partner. Fabulous.
    I couldn’t help but think that whatever he was doing clearly was not working since we were at risk for losing two major accounts, especially with the new incentives Covington had in place. When it came to negotiating, our company played ball.
    I opened my mouth to reply but was interrupted with Brooke’s nasty laugh.
    “Jana, you have not changed a bit.” Brooke’s humorless smile turned sour before it reached her eyes. “You look the same and everything.”
    You, Brooke, are still a nasty slut. You’re right, not much has changed.
    “Remind me why you are here, Brooke?” I feigned my best innocent look.
    She looked livid, and Jeff rapidly interjected, “Brooke wanted to welcome you to the area.” He smiled at her, his gaze lingering a bit too long for platonic sake. “I was thankful she volunteered to assist Collin as you learned your way around.”
    I nodded at all the right moments as they flippantly chatted, slowly sipping my second tea in between deep breaths. I checked my mental files for a solid Zig Ziglar quote, and repeated it to myself, hoping to gain the motivation to be cooperative: Hope is the power that gives a person the confidence to step out and try. Yes, that was a good one.
    I hoped this awkward meeting was not an indicator of what life at work was about to look like.
    “You guys will figure out how to split up cases,” Jeff interjected. “First things first. We have to do something about Dr. Tynes. It’s embarrassing. He has plummeted and is clearly using our competitor. ”
    Collin groaned, leaning back in his chair and gripping his coarse hands behind his large head. “C’mon, Jeff, he’s been sleeping with the Boston Scientific rep for years. We can’t give him that kind of service. Ridiculous.”
    I bet Brooke would give him that kind of service, I thought. Unless she’d undergone a miraculous moral makeover, she’d slept with more people in college than most had kissed. Back then, she was worse than a frat boy, hooking up with anyone who paid her attention. It was a good thing, too; Grace had dodged a couple of bullets during her highs thanks to Brooke’s big mouth.
    Virginal-looking Brooke sat quietly, batting her ridiculously long eyelashes at Jeff every couple of minutes. How tragic that someone so gross was blessed with eyelashes like that. I quickly noticed that she did not offer one intelligent piece of information, or ask one single question throughout the whole meeting … she simply warmed her seat.
    As they chatted incessantly, no one paused to fill me in on Dr. Tynes, whom I had never met, aside from his supposed relationship with the local Boston Scientific rep. If he was such an important customer, I needed to understand his story.
    I’m invisible, I thought after trying for the third time to ask a question. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
    Finally, Jeff and Collin shut up at the same time.
    I recalled from my data review that Dr. Tynes was using virtually none of our implant, even though we were the preferred device on the account. “I analyzed his numbers,” I blurted out, making my preparation evident. “What do you think is going on?”
    Collin looked at me like I was an idiot, folding his arms tightly. “I just told you. He’s effing the Boston Scientific rep.”
    Take a deep breath, Jana. “I know I’m the new kid here, but I see a negative trend, and it seems like we should get ahold of it before it snowballs into a major loss. What can we do, other than performing special favors?”
    Nobody else thought my attempt at humor was funny.
    Glaring at me, Collin leaned further back in his chair. I met his glare with a blank stare.
    He rolled his eyes. I wanted to scream , but my hatred for conflict took over,