Page 132 of Due Dilligence (Takeover)
Chapter Twenty-eight
Work the next day was the same hell for Todd that it had been for a while. Nathan stalked the halls and chatted up everyone rather than working. They were back to meetings about meetings, and his work still was picked to pieces even though he’d hit every deadline and fixed bugs in other people’s code.
Sandra wasn’t back from the board meeting and his e-mails to her hadn’t been answered.
Stephen wanted him gone. Perhaps this place would crash and burn, then. They’d sell off the intellectual property to some other company. Sam Anderson wouldn’t like it, but they ought to have contingencies for failed projects. They’d already been paid for Fazil and Eli’s work.
He stared at the little rainbow flag he’d purposefully left in his cube. He’d been taking everything else home one piece at a time. He should quit, but doing so before he had another job lined up made him twitchy due to the whole rent-and-eating thing. Hehatedjob hunting. He’d been lucky to see the listing for Singularity Storage back when he had.
He had no contacts in Pittsburgh except for Fazil, and there’d be no help from him. Todd scratched at his arm and his gaze fell on the pile of business cards he’d collected. A few from former coworkers, some from tech gatherings, and one from Eli, sitting right on top. He lifted it from the stack and slipped it into his back pocket. Sending mail would have to wait until later.
The day wore on, but with Eli in his pocket—so to speak—irritations bounced off him. Maybe he didn’t care anymore. He even left at five thirty after putting in plenty of hours. They couldn’t fire him for that.
When he got home, he sat down at his laptop and turned Eli’s business card over in his hands. Why the hell not? It was a risk reaching out if Fazil had spoken to Eli, but he had nothing to lose. And quite a bit to gain.
He kept the message professional. An inquiry stating that he was interested in jobs in the Pittsburgh area, did Eli know of any recruiters, and would he act as a reference? Once he was sure there weren’t any typos, he hit send, lest he chicken out.
He didn’t expect a reply two minutes later, given that it was past midnight on the East Coast.
Oh, thank God. Yes, I can help. Will send info tomorrow.—E
Todd studied the response, his stomach churning. A bubble of hope desperately tried to form. Did Fazil miss him?
That was crushed in the next moment. Was Fazil okay? Todd rubbed his chin and let out a breath. Well, he’d set the ball in motion. All he could do now was wait to see what fortune, and Eli, brought him.
***
The next morning, there was a message from Eli waiting in Todd’s inbox.
First, I haven’t spoken to Fazil about this. I assume you’re starting your job search and haven’t reached out to him—or can’t—since you’ve contacted me. I do know some of what happened between you two.
Second, I believe your presence here would do him a world of good, which would do us all a world of good.
Third, I took the liberty of copying your résumé off of a job-hunting site. I sent it to a few colleagues I believe could benefit from an engineer of your caliber. I’ve listed the companies and their information below. You may want to follow up with an e-mail of your own. It wouldn’t be unwelcome as they’ll be expecting the contact.—E
Todd stared at the e-mail, then skimmed the list. Three companies, all of which he recognized, paired with three names. All hadVPin their titles.
An engineer of your caliber.
If he could have reached through the Internet and hugged the tall, terse, prim man, he would have. This was beyond what he’d anticipated. He’d thought he’d get some links to headhunters... not Eli hand-delivering his résumé to executives. He ran through the list again. Google had an office in Pittsburgh? When hadthathappened?
With shaking hands, he typed a reply.
This is more than I ever expected. Thank you so much.
A moment later, Eli’s reply came back.
Just get your ass to Pittsburgh, please.
Getting there was a hell of a lot more possible now. Goose bumps rose on his skin. Life would get better. Even if he couldn’t repair the damage with Fazil, a new job and a new city might do him some good.
This time, he should have listened to Z. Last time, too. A glimmer of hope lay between Eli’s words. He thought Todd could make a difference.
He glanced at the clock and pushed back from the desk.
Don’t give up on me yet, Z. Let’s try it your way for a change.
***
