Don't Let Go

by Sheryl Wright

  “Rile him?” That caught Tyler by surprise.

  “Yeah, he thinks she should be setting an example, not giving in to all this craziness.” At the mention of craziness, Zoe waved her hand at the glass wall.

  “Has he always been this upset with her?” Tyler asked, trying to understand.

  “What?” Zoe looked up from wiping the last of the glass wall panels clean. “I guess, but it’s really just been the last two years. Since Marnie moved her in here, he’s been worried about how the public will view the company, you know, when they see a crazy woman occupies the corner office.”

  Unsure if it was Zoe’s tone or the repeated use of crazy to describe her boss, a woman who had been nothing but forthright and intelligent, struck Tyler deeply. “What about you Zoe? Do you think she’s hurting the company?”

  “Me?” She seemed genuinely surprised to be asked. “I guess. Still, it’s up to my dad and Marnie to work it out. Once Dad’s named president, we’ll have to deal with his decisions. I think he just wants to move her back down to the machine shop or perhaps the boatyard. She’s always liked it there.”

  Speechless, Tyler wasn’t sure which shocked her most, Zoe’s willingness to hide Georgie away or her belief that her dad, Lou Phipps, would be the next president of DME. Georgie had been groomed for the job and the only thing holding her back was the deficits caused from her head injury. Deficits Tyler believed were more than manageable. Even if Georgie DiNamico was crazy, she was good crazy, in a way that had been immensely profitable for the company. Surely as chief financial officer, even a hardheaded Lou Phipps would be forced to admit that fact. And hiding her in the basement electronics lab made no sense when she had everything she needed in her workspace here. Yes, she was in the corner office, but Tyler had come to realize it was also the least accessible office in the building. No one dropped in on Georgie. She met with each and every engineer almost daily, reviewed all design work, and consulted on all proposals. Georgie was carrying one of the heaviest workloads in the company, if not the heaviest. Learning that the woman also lived upstairs in the penthouse, and basically had no life other than her work, had upset her. Marnie, for all of her protection and concern, just wanted to know her sister was safe and cared for, while Lou Phipps, her cousin and fellow officer of the corporation, wanted her out, hidden away, or gone completely. And Zoe…Zoe seemed to second her dad’s position. “I thought you liked Georgie?”

  “What?” This time she turned to face Tyler. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s brilliant and all that, but…Hey! I’m not saying anything that hasn’t already been said.”

  Tyler nodded. Hiding what she knew was not her first disappointment with her new friend.

  Back in her office she set aside her own research to sort out all the materials she’d copied. There was no way to know what had happened between leaving the office Friday and returning Monday morning. Well, the option of going to Marnie and asking for details did exist, but not at the top of her list. She didn’t dislike the woman, and she wasn’t intimidated the way many of her co-workers were. Marnie was driven but sensible. This was just her third week on the job and she already felt a real loyalty to Georgie. She knew she wasn’t the only one. The woman was a natural leader and even with her limited ability to communicate verbally, she always found a way to make herself understood. More than that, the people on her team felt exactly the same way Tyler did. Everyone in engineering got face time with Georgie no matter how big or small his or her contribution to a given project.

  Carefully combing through each of the pictures, Tyler transcribed everything exactly as Georgie had written it on her office wall, including pasting in the drawings, schematics and gobbledygook she couldn’t translate. It took her the better part of an hour but when she was done, she felt good adding it to her daily briefing file. Then she did what she’d been itching to do all weekend. Opening the last of the file boxes that had been littering her office, she began sorting through volumes of financial statements. These were all from the engineering department but Tyler had been given a master password that allowed her access to all the accounting companywide.

  After two hours of going through online statements and ledgers, Tyler was absolutely sure something was wrong. She just had no idea what. A master’s degree in economics had given her an insight into the accounting process but not much more. Reading through the general ledger she had been overwhelmed by the number of accounts that existed. What was worse was the number of transfers between accounts. Then there were the foreign currency accounts. Several holding accounts both domestic and offshore and the retirement fund.

  Logging out of the accounting programs, Tyler stood at her desk and stretched. It was almost eleven thirty. Right about now, she was usually preparing a cup of tea for Georgie and gathering up any mail or messages, and her own tablet for the morning briefing. Only problem, Georgie wasn’t in her office and she hadn’t been seen or heard from. Not exactly knowing what to do, and not wanting to be caught doing nothing, she grabbed a tablet and headed to Marnie’s office. Sometimes the mountain must go to Mohammed. She tapped on the doorframe and waited.

  Marnie, the phone in one ear, covered the mouthpiece, ordering, “Just go upstairs and get her. I don’t know what shape she’s in but you can figure it out.” When Tyler didn’t immediately make haste for the penthouse apartment, Marnie growled something into the receiver and set it down on her desk. “She’s had a rough weekend. It happens. Anyway, just go upstairs and get her back on track. Can you do that for me?”

  “Of course,” Tyler replied, not really knowing what she could do and not knowing what to expect.

  She headed upstairs. This would be her third visit to Georgie’s apartment. The first had been with Zoe to review Georgie’s wardrobe. The second had been to meet the woman who cleaned Georgie’s flat every week and saw to the groceries, laundry and dry cleaning. That had been interesting. Georgie’s cleaning lady had turned out to be another cousin, Stella, a sweet woman who was quick to laugh and had a smile that traveled from her mouth all the way to her eyes. It was reminiscent of the way Georgie would sometimes light up. Like when she was desperate to explain something. When Tyler caught on she would run with it, often making Georgie animated. Her satisfaction was easy to read.

  Zoe had complained bitterly when it came to compensating for Georgie’s limitations. Tyler on the other hand was starting to realize there was no compensation required. A little patience and imagination were all that was needed and went a long way toward improving the situation. Actually, she was finding it far easier to work with Georgie than she had imagined. Maybe she simply understood the way her mind worked. At first she had found herself silently finishing Georgie’s thoughts. Frustrated to find Georgie so far behind her. Once she’d reminded herself several times that it was Georgie who couldn’t communicate, not her, she began speaking her mind, throwing things out, the words and the ideas she imagined Georgie was trying to explain and by luck or fluke she seemed to be almost always right. Standing at Georgie’s front door it was hard to imagine why anybody else had such a hard time with her.

  Tyler knocked, then knocked a second time. When there was still no reply, she ran her employee badge over the hidden sensor. Standing just inside the door and hesitating, she listened. Music was coming from somewhere on the main floor below. That was a relief. The last thing she wanted was to invade Georgie’s private space. Much less risk embarrassing her by walking into her safe room. She headed down the circular stairs, hearing the music more clearly, and knew it was coming from the library. At the door she tapped lightly. The double doors were wide open and Georgie was inside, bent over the worktable. Poring over some sort of technical drawing. Music emanated from unseen speakers, just loud enough to prevent Georgie from hearing her. Tyler didn’t want to frighten the woman; she was clearly engrossed in whatever she was reading. She had to admit the view wasn’t bad either. She grinned at the admission, realizing she was staring at her boss’s ass. She’d noticed Ge
orgie’s athletic build before but had never seen her without her suit jacket and certainly not from this viewpoint. There was no ignoring the muscles in her back and shoulders, the way her plain gray cotton shirt stressed every curve. And her butt in those pants…“Good morning, Georgie,” she called over the music.

  Georgie stiffened, then straightened up and turned around. It wasn’t until she actually took Tyler in that her face lightened. “Good morning.”

  Tyler smiled. “I see you’ve already been hard at work. I have everything on file for you,” she said, holding out her tablet as proof. “Would you like to have our morning briefing up here? I can slip into the kitchen and make us a cup of tea.”

  Georgie shook her head and pointed to the empty chair on the other side of the table. “Need to talk.”

  “Absolutely.” Tyler sat down clicking on her tablet and tabbing to her agenda.

  “No.” Georgie waved her hand over the tablet to get her attention. “Talk about you.”

  “What? No. I mean, yes of course. What would you like to know?”

  Nodding, Georgie pulled out the other folding chair and sat down. Quiet. Thinking.

  Tyler was suddenly uncomfortable. Something was wrong. Something she couldn’t quite name. She waited patiently for Georgie to ask her questions before she realized this was one of those times when Georgie might appreciate her taking the lead. It also felt a bit like a test. “Did something happen on the weekend? Something that spurred your hyper-creativity?”

  “I like that.” Georgie admitted. “Hyper-creativity,” she repeated but still seemed reserved.

  Clearly whatever had happened had been a good thing judging by the amount of work completed. “Can you tell me what you’re working on? It seems like you made great progress.”

  “Rescue app.”

  She started to ask more, when her boss raised her hand. It wasn’t unusual for Georgie to use hand signals. Maybe it was her Italian heritage. Something about her talking with her hands made sense.

  “About Zoe.”

  Tyler sat frozen not knowing what to do or say.

  “Your privacy…I respect.” She shuffled a few papers on the table, as if looking for something of importance.

  While Georgie’s focus was on her papers, Tyler fought to maintain her composure. If she lost this job because of something…“I can explain. Georgie, I don’t want to lose this job. Please,” she begged.

  Looking up, Georgie took in Tyler’s expression with confusion and something more, something like relief. “You…Nothing wrong. No worries. Understood?” she asked, genuinely concerned.

  It was hard for Tyler to look at those green eyes. They were more than concerned; her eyes betrayed a deep level of caring. So much so that all at once the situation was overwhelming and before she realized, tears of hot relief streamed down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled now thoroughly embarrassed.

  Surprising her, Georgie reached across the table and took her two hands in her own. “You…do great. Too smart to lose.” She gave Tyler’s hands another squeeze, before standing. She dragged a folding chair to the same side of the table as Tyler and sat down beside her. She handed her a stack of papers. “Read these…Later.”

  Tyler scooped them up, reading the title from the first page. It was the company policy on employee privacy and fraternization and included several forms required when declaring a relationship, or a conflict of interest.

  “See this?” Georgie asked, pulling her attention back to the large blueprints and technical drawings spread across the table. “Aunt Georgina…hers. All these. Many…apply, still. What do you think?”

  Emotionally spent, Tyler tried to focus on the drawing closest but without luck.

  Georgie patted her shoulder patiently before handing her one of her ever-present pocket hankies. “I will make tea…You read,” Georgie suggested, giving Tyler’s shoulder one more consoling squeeze and heading from the room.

  Tyler wiped her eyes and blew her nose in the cotton handkerchief. She felt like a fool. Yet there was nothing Georgie had done or said that made her feel bad. Picking up the policy documents again she began reading the summary. It was quite simple. If two people worked in the same department they were required to declare the relationship. If they did not work together it was nobody’s business unless one or the other was in a position to influence any portion of the partner’s job. That made sense, and the resolution was straightforward. A simple form was required from the member of the couple holding a more junior position.

  It was easy for Tyler to recognize that the document had been written by Georgie. The voice on paper was distinctive. The language of the directive wasn’t flamboyant or overtly noticeable. It was simply stated and complete and always explained the reasons. Including the possible outcomes of policy violations and how they would affect not just the company but other employees and the people directly involved. She liked the policy. There were a few areas she thought could use a tweak but as Georgie had already told her several times, she could…Rewrite it. Fix the mistakes. Help me understand what I got wrong.

  Sorting the policy documents back in order, Tyler tidied them with a paper clip and set them under her tablet. She ran her hands over her face making sure her cheeks were dry, and hoped beyond hope that her nose wasn’t too red. By the time Georgie returned, she had read through the first two large sheets of drawings and had been combing through a third trying to piece the ideas together in her mind. “This is fascinating,” she told her. “I don’t think I understand all of it but I do get this part about linking all these different frequencies together. Could you use something like this now?”

  “Not in that way.” Georgie replied, setting a cup down in front of Tyler and slipping back into the seat beside her. “You are right…smart. Instead…Bluetooth not VHF. Cell phones not radios.”

  When Georgie looked at her she knew she was waiting for her to make a connection. It suddenly occurred to her that Georgie not only lit up when she was mentally engaged but the earlier misunderstanding was washed completely away. “Oh I think I see. In this schematic she was trying to filter emergency radio traffic to one responder frequency. I don’t know if that’s possible even now but you’re right, the idea of linking cell phones, that’s easy to do. Isn’t it?”

  Georgie smiled, “Crowd sourcing,” she explained, now really smiling for the first time since Tyler walked in the door. “Thank King Harold Blue Tooth…Nice smile…too!”

  Chapter Six

  Tyler had taken to Georgie’s Land Rover like a duck to water, but driving her boss around in the expensive SUV made her nervous, really nervous. “I’m so sorry,” she said after cutting the corner too close and jumping another curb. When she finally pulled into the clinic lot, it was all she could do not to cry. “I’m so sorry,” she offered again before shutting off the engine.

  “Why?” Georgie asked without rancor or sarcasm.

  “For abusing your truck. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m usually a better driver than this.”

  Georgie, sitting in the passenger seat, made no comment.

  Pulling her phone from her winter jacket Tyler checked the time. “We’re really early.”

  “Good shortcut. Nothing changes…Lackawanna!”

  “It wasn’t complicated. Just a quick shot down Route Five.”

  There was no further response or any comment about her driving. Tyler, with key fob in hand, had her gloves on but Georgie didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get out of the car. Not sure what to do or say, Tyler sat quietly, surreptitiously watching her boss tab away on her cell. When she heard a muffled ringtone, she immediately looked to Georgie before she realized it was coming from her own phone. Pulling it from her jacket, she answered it as quickly as she could. She didn’t need to read the display to know who it was. She had set Darth Vader’s March as the ringtone to alert her to calls from Marnie Pulaski. If she had learned anything in her weeks at DME, Marnie would not be trifled with. When she called, s
he expected you to answer and answer immediately. “Tyler Marsh.”

  “Where are you?”

  “The VA clinic.”

  “In the clinic?”

  “Uh no. We’re in the parking lot. Is there a problem?”

  “Put her on the horn. Now!”

  Tyler reached across the console, touching Georgie’s arm to get her attention. “Marnie’s on the phone. She wants to talk.”

  Head down, with eyes glued to her own phone, Georgie simply shook her head.

  Not exactly sure what to do, Tyler tried again, nudging gently, “Georgie. It’s your sister. She needs to talk to you.”

  When she shook her head again, Tyler put the phone to her ear, more than a little intimidated at having to tell Marnie no. “Ah Marnie. She’s a little busy at the moment. Can I get her to call you back?”

  “Goddammit! You listen to me. She is not squirming out of her session. Do you hear me?”

  “Okay…” Tyler was at a complete loss, until a thought occurred to her. “Georgie, did you just text Marnie?”

  Georgie halted her furious tabbing. Without raising her head, she nodded, then stuffed her phone in her pocket and crossed her arms.

  “Let me call you back,” she said to Marnie, hitting End before the big boss could argue. Turning to the sullen woman beside her, she commiserated, “I do this at the dentist’s office. I don’t know why. We’ve had the same dentist since Kira and I were four.” She reached over again, giving Georgie’s arm an encouraging rub. Dressed in her standard business suit and wearing what Tyler’s grandmother would have called a car coat, a thigh length wool winter jacket, it was hard to tell if Georgie was even aware of her touch. “When we were kids my mom was always up on the latest and greatest child-rearing techniques. I guess she read somewhere that introducing children to the dentist before they actually needed dental work would build confidence and prevent us from forming anxieties.” Tyler watched carefully. Her head was down and her still too-long bangs had fallen to partially cover her eyes. She knew Georgie was listening, she just wasn’t sure she was getting through. “So, Kira and I were barely four but off we go. We’re so excited, we love new adventures, and we trot into Dr Kopel’s office, happy as can be. I have to admit, I was so mad when Kira got to go in first. She loves to remind me that she popped out of our mother ahead of me. Anyway, she goes in and comes out five minutes later with a huge smile and a stupid little doll. Well in I go, interested to learn what all the hubbub is about but before I know it, I’m in the big chair, with the big light and all the instruments and scary stuff, and all I can think is, no way is this going to be worth it, if all I get is a stupid doll!”