Unlikely Places

Chapter 33 Magical All-Knowing Abilities

It wasn't easy but I somehow got through the next fifteen minutes without embarrassing myself. I presented the power point with little fanfare and focused on the details that I knew had been missing from Fern's. I didn't think about anything else and I never glanced at Pierce once. Right this minute work was my sole focus and I intended to be every bit of the professional that I knew I was.

As I worked through my last slide and made my concluding statement, Pierce and Mr. Jones began to clap their hands in approval. That had me lifting my head in surprise and I glanced at both men to see both of them sharing the same smiles of appreciation.

"Excellent! Exactly what we were looking for," Mr. Jones exclaimed.

"Agreed!" Pierce concurred. "Only one detail that I want was missing but we can work that in."

Feeling emboldened by their strong approval I found my voice enough to respond, "I did think of it but left it... it out."

Pierce cocked his head at me with a slight frown.

"If you thought of it then why would you leave it out?"

I looked around the table nervously but found the nerve to answer anyway. Speaking softly but firmly I answered, "Because I... I think it's redundant and adds a step that is n...not beneficial to the whole."

Silence met my response, but Pierce was nodding his head as if he were thinking over what I said. He didn't seem upset. He seemed like he was finding my point at least valid on some level.

"I understand what you're saying but I'm not sold. Can we do a work up both ways and see how they each play out? Redundancy is not always bad if it leads to higher accuracy. Not every person works the same and the extra step I think helps."

I cocked my own head in thought. I had never considered it from that point of view. Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency was my mantra. I had to concede though not everyone worked at my pace or abilities. The extra step could help regulate individual's in a way that I myself didn't need.

I nodded back. "You have a...a point I didn't consider. I think doing a m...mockup of both is smart. It won't add much work either."

I hated that I was still stuttering some. Though feeling calmer, the jittery sensations still lingered deep in my gut, affecting my breathing and my voice. My fingers were also still trembling noticeably and I was doing everything possible to hide that from the people in the room, though I wasn't so sure I had convinced Pierce so much as he kept darting looks my way every few minutes as if checking up on me.

I didn't dare make eye contact with him. I still couldn't believe he thought I was capable of such shoddy work. It hurt. It made me angry. And at the same time, I understood. Work was work. I would have been angry if he treated me differently just because of our personal relationship.

My contradictory thoughts were giving me a headache.

I gave a mental scream of frustration. This was so confusing. I wasn't sure what I expected from Pierce right now. I wasn't sure what I should expect or what I was allowed to expect. I only knew that his lack of belief in my capabilities bothered me deeply but that I completely understood his being upset at the presentation he was given by Fern.

Did I really expect the man to automatically know I was being set up? Did I think he had some magical all-knowing abilities to automatically see through Fern's setup? Did I have the right to be upset with him?

All I knew was that I was.

And gosh, I just didn't know what to do with it.

Pierce's voice brought me back to the here and now.