Page 1 of Meeting Up with the Consultant

1

-Kensie-

“When does your meeting start?” Rachel, my sister, asks from where she sits on the couch nursing her newborn.

“I’m supposed to log in to MeetSpace in five minutes.” I power up my computer on the dining room table and turn to her. “Do you need anything before it starts?”

She shakes her head, a small smile on her face. “What would I have done without you?”

“You would’ve survived.” I think of Travis, my sister’s toddler, the one I nicknamed Travis the Troublemaker. “Well, you may have struggled a bit, but I bet Mom would’ve come two weeks earlier instead of waiting.”

“I still can’t believe you got to stay an extra week.” Rachel props Lily on her shoulder and pats her small back.

“Yeah, my boss is amazing.”

My eyes mist at the sight of the mother and daughter pair, and I blink away the emotion. Would I ever have a family like my sister? Even her chaotic one with Travis climbing bookshelves and Rob, her army husband, off on a tour in the Middle East makes me yearn for more than my cat and frozen dinners waiting for me back in Alaska.

Of course, I actually have to take time away from work to find a date, let alone a husband. With Ascent Inc.’s success ramping up and me being head of marketing, I can’t see free time happening in my future. This was why Bradley Jacobs, the CEO of our growing company, had given the office a week-long break before the big push to launch the new product line. We’ll all be practically living at the warehouse while we finalized all the plans over the next month. Good thing I had snagged for my office the latest model of camping hammocks and sleeping bags the company just came out with. I’d even screwed hooks into the wall to test drive the bad boys. Being director of marketing has its benefits.

“I’m glad I got to stay longer, too.” I pull up the MeetSpace app on my computer and search my emails for the login info. “I’m also glad Darryl set me up with that code to hijack my video feed so I can sit out here with you instead of hiding away in the bedroom.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Rachel asks, as she snuggles Lily to nurse some more. “You know how Darryl is. We’d be fine if you locked yourself in your room for an hour or so.”

Her comment gives me pause. Our cousin had been the jokester of the family, but since he’d grown up, he now holds a respectable job in IT. Surely, he knows what he was talking about. I square my shoulders and push down the doubt.

“No, really. It’s better this way.” I click on the link in my email from Brad and log in. “Brad can get long-winded. Plus, before we all get back to the office, he wants to introduce us to a new consultant he hired. I just don’t feel comfortable doing that in the bedroom.” I check to make sure I had Darryl’s code to switch my screen with the video loop we’d recorded earlier. “Besides, as much as I love technology, I always feel self-conscious during these video meetings. I mean, someone could stare and you’d never know, not that anyone would at this meeting, but still. I’m first on the agenda, so as soon as I’m done with my spiel, I’m plugging in Darryl’s code.”

“Okay. We’ll just snuggle over here until you’re done.” Rachel glances across the living room toward the hall to the bedrooms. A look of worry, possibly fear, flits across her face. “I’m sure Travis will nap for at least another thirty minutes.”

My heart races as I follow her gaze to the dark hallway. I love my nephew, really I do, but that little boy puts a whole new meaning on the word wild. I clench my teeth, hoping he sleeps good and long, then turn back to my screen that opened to the meeting.

I quickly click the mute button and wave at my co-workers. The other four department heads, including my best friend Emmy, wave back, expectant looks on their faces. My face in the little screen mirrors their own. It was hard not to when we work for such a wonderful company that is expanding faster than we can keep up. While the work is hard and exhausting, Brad also makes it exhilarating with his excitement and big dreams.

Emmy and Wyatt start chatting about a new product he found, so I just sit back to hang out. A handsome man I don’t recognize pops onto the screen, gives a quick wave, then looks down like he was taking notes or something. He must be the consultant.

That is another thing I don’t like about the MeetSpace meetings. People can do all sorts of things and no one would know. The guy in the bottom left box could be reading over his notes or watching videos on his phone of cats playing the piano, and no one would know the difference, just like Emmy did during our last meeting.

The last time we had a meeting over MeetSpace, she turned her camera off, then got distracted with some game on her phone and missed the entire meeting, including the information about the important press interview she was supposed to do the next day. Now, Brad insists cameras stay on at all times, hence my need for Daryl’s code.

I shift in my seat as my conscience pricks. Maybe I shouldn’t use Darryl’s code. Well, it’s not like I don’t plan on paying attention. It’s just I don’t want everyone distracted by what’s happening in the background. I can’t use Rachel’s room. Their little rental house only has one bedroom that Travis is napping in, plus it’s an absolute disaster. She’s planning on finding a new place next time her husband is on leave, but for now, the small house works, unless one is trying to go to a virtual meeting. So, cousin Darryl’s code is exactly what I need to attend this meeting without driving in a town I don’t know searching for free wi-fi.

Brad’s face jumps onto the screen, his usual smile in place. “Sorry, I’m late. I couldn’t find the login code.”

He chuckles nervously. Him being late is completely opposite of his normal M.O. Which, really, he’s right on time, but that’s late to him.

Everyone nods, smiling with varying expressions of understanding. I can’t wait to get back to Alaska where we can meet in person. Our meetings have an energy that just can’t be replicated over a video conference.

“Let’s jump right into it.” Brad claps his hands and rubs them together in front of the screen. “Kensie, why don’t you go ahead.”

I click the microphone to unmute and spend the next five minutes laying out the marketing plan for the upcoming launch, what had already gotten finished, and the mountain of work that still needs to be accomplished. I even manage to throw a few screen shares in without revealing the pathetic pictures of my cat sleeping in various places that cover the desktop.

A bump sounds from the hallway, ratcheting my pulse into my throat, and I quickly cut short my planned information. Anything I’d left off can wait until we are back in the office on Monday. My nephew Travis, on the other hand, waited for no one.

“Thanks, Kensie. I’m excited to see everything come together.” Brad’s gaze moves to the top of his screen. “Speaking of pulling things together, I want to introduce you to Harding Taylor, the consultant that’s going to help us tighten our message and production. We’ve grown so quickly, Ascent has kind of gotten away from us. But, with Harding’s help and him looking at our business from top to bottom, we are going to get back on track.”

I click in Darryl’s code, my recorded self popping in to replace the real me, and sit back with a sigh of relief, knowing I won’t have to force a smile the entire meeting. “Rachel, you’ve got to come check out this hottie consultant that I’ll be working with over the next few weeks.”

Brad’s head tilts in the screen, his eyebrows scrunching low over his eyes like he was confused. His lips move, but no sound comes out. Huh. Has Darryl’s code taken out the sound?

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