Fat Cat Liar

“You have twenty-four hours to close out your current projects and hand off everything to your team. We will be meeting this afternoon with details of the bid.” Rob stands, signaling the meeting is over.

I leave the conference room without another word, going straight to my office. After a few minutes of gaining my composure, I force their looks of disappointment out of my mind. I have a job to do. My future depends on it.

•8•8•

Without knocking, my brother Clay breezes into my office and lets out a low whistle. Annoyance claws at my skin, and I raise my eyes to him in warning.

“Did you spend the night here?” His eyes roam the mounds of papers littering my desk.

“Yes.”

“Have you slept?”

“A few hours on my couch. Grabbed a shower in Grandpa’s office this morning,” I quip.

“What’s with the attitude?”

I lay down my pen and push the contract across my desk, grabbing my now cold coffee. “Weren’t you sitting in the same meeting yesterday afternoon?”

“You know I was.”

“There’s no way you could miss the sneers and jabs at my competency. Rob took the passive aggressive approach a little too far. It’s no secret that we lost our ass when Ringer Corporation filed for bankruptcy mid-project, leaving us responsible for millions in construction costs. It’s also no secret I was the lead on that build and approved all the upgrades without going through the right channels for approval. He enjoyed telling everyone I’d be running everything through him after my latest incident. It was a fucking joke.”

“I think you’re being a little dramatic. You’ll bounce back. You always do.”

“Bouncing back is the least of my worries. I’ve poured everything into this business, and sitting in that room yesterday, I felt my career slipping through my fingers. They were openly questioning my capabilities.”

“This is a family company, Lawson. There’s no way they will throw you out on your ass.”

“No, but they’ll start a search for some hotshot architect to come in and take over my division. I’m not too keen on reporting to someone else when I should be in the top seat.”

“Pompous.”

Irritation stirs in my gut. Clay has always been more laid back and carefree. Nothing riles him up, unless you fuck with his numbers and then he’s a beast. Luckily for him, no one dares to poke their nose in his side of the business. Even when he delivered the blow about my colossal fuck-up, resulting in losing fifty percent of our second quarter profits, he was calm.

“If you came in here to insult me, you can take your ass back to your office. I’m pretty busy.”

“Actually, insulting you is only a part of my visit. I wanted to offer my support. Have you had time to look over the Request for Proposal yet?”

“For eight hours last night. I read every line, demand, and expectation until it is carved into my brain. This is the toughest RFP I’ve ever come across.”

“Palmer Enterprises doesn’t mess around.”

“What bothers me the most is the

submission process. I think we could gain ground on our name and reputation. But sending in blind bids in increments? Seems obscure.”

“Yeah, that’s a killer I can’t understand. But you’re one of the best architects in the city.” He points to the framed articles and awards on the wall the company has received over the last few years. “Environmental efficiency, sustainability, and quality construction is your gig.”

I pick up the thick folder at the edge of my desk and thumb through until I find the section on financial delivery. “Have you read through this?”

“Not as in depth as you, but I caught the major points yesterday.”

“Would you like me to run it down deeper?”

“Sure.” He sips his coffee and relaxes in his chair, plopping his feet on my desk. “Give it to me.”

“This is so much more than a Research, Development, and Testing facility. Palmer Enterprises is partnering with all the major hospitals in the country. The purchase of the land was fifty-million, and that was with bottom barrel prices given for the cause.”