Chapter 31 - Madeline
When I drive into work, I can already tell something is wrong. I see Barry pacing back and forth outside on the phone. His eyebrows are drawn together. I can see that little patch of red skin on his forehead that he only gets when he’s really upset. I park my car and get out, and he glances over for a moment before pacing back the other way.
I try not to let the dread set in. Something is definitely wrong. With a deep breath, I walk up to the small site office and slide inside. Just like every other morning, I drop my lunch in the fridge and pour myself a coffee before heading to my desk. I’m just settling in and waiting for my computer to boot up when Barry comes flying through the door.
“Madeline!” he shouts, staring at me across the room. “Conference room. NOW.”
My heart starts pounding. I grab a notebook and pen as I get up and head towards the small meeting room at the back of the offices. Barry is not the type to fly off the handle like this. He’s the most level-headed manager I’ve ever had, and I’ve only seen him truly angry once or twice before.
I shuffle to the conference room and see Barry sitting at the head of the table with a few documents in front of him. He motions to a seat to his left and I sit down, waiting for him to speak. He takes a deep breath and swings his eyes over to me.
“I just got a call from the secretary at the Department of Environmental Conservation,” he starts. He takes another deep breath. “Care to explain this?”
He slides over a stack of papers and my heart sinks when I see the application I submitted a few weeks ago.
“What are all these extra controls? You classed the area as highly sensitive? The original assessment had nothing like that in it! Maddy…” He takes a deep breath and I can tell he’s trying to control his voice. “Maddy, what is this?”
I look at the report and take a deep breath. “It’s my best assessment of the situation,” I say in a level voice. It’s true. For the first time, I applied for our permit without downplaying the impact that this development would have. “The report is accurate.”
Barry takes a deep breath. His eyes are blazing and I force myself not to squirm. “Maddy,” he says again. “There’s been a petition by the townspeople of Lang Creek. The petition – along with your report – has made the Department revoke our permit to work.”
My eyes widen and my chest suddenly feels hollow. “W- what?”
That’s not what I intended. I didn’t want to stop the job, I just wanted it to be done in an ethical way! I stare at the table, at the report in front of me and feel my heart beating a little bit harder. Is that true? Am I happy? A part of me is relieved that construction has stopped, but when I see the anger in Barry’s eyes I don't know how to feel. This wasn’t a great career move.
Barry slides another stack of papers to me. “It’s the petition from Lang Creek. They got over five thousand signatures, enough to get the department to listen. Maddy, this is bad.” He takes a deep breath. “Every day we stand down from work, we’re losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our construction program was tight enough already and if we don’t get to work there’s no way we’ll hit our deadlines. This is going to cost us millions.”
I can’t look at him. My head is in turmoil. I can’t ignore the part of me that’s happy, but I’ve worked my way up in this company for the past five years. I don’t know where my loyalties lie anymore. I scan the petition and my eyes widen when I see one familiar name, right on the first page.
Aiden Clarke
I rearrange my face and try to keep it steady. My heart starts thumping against my chest and now, added to the confusion and dread in my heart, I feel a hint of betrayal. How could he be spending every day with me and not tell me about this? How could he be one of the first people to sign the petition that might make me lose my job?
I force myself to lift my eyes up to Barry. He’s staring at me, gauging my reaction. I take a deep breath and nod my head.
“I should have run the report by you. When you said to submit it, I should have flagged the changes,” I say. “I’m sorry for that, it was deceitful.” I take another deep breath to steady my voice, staring Barry straight in the eye. “But I’m not sorry for the report. It’s accurate, and I’ll stand by any of the conclusions that I wrote in it about the state of the area and the impact of the hotel.”
Barry bristles, and I keep my eyes on his. The anger flares inside him and the little patch of red skin on his forehead reappears. He nods his head once and opens his mouth to speak.
“Maddy, do you understand the gravity of the situation?”
“Barry I’m not a fucking idiot,” I snap. “I know that this is going to cost the company a lot of money. I know that I made a mistake in not telling you what was in that report. But I had nothing to do with this petition! I can’t control what the people of Lang Creek do and don’t sign!”
“What about your little boyfriend?” he snarls. “I find it hard to believe that you had nothing to do with this.” He brings his finger down onto the petition papers in front of me. My jaw drops open and the outrage starts to crawl up my neck until it feels like my cheeks are on fire.
“Excuse me?” I say, incredulous. “You think I had something to do with this? What exactly are you fucking accusing me of, Barry?”
It’s my turn to be furious. I’m glad we’re in the conference room, but I know that the whole office will be able to hear what we’re saying through the thin partition walls. Right now, I don’t give a fuck. I can’t believe that he would think I would sabotage the project like that!
“I’m saying exactly that. I find it hard to believe that at exactly the same time you’re submitting a report without telling me that you’re changing the classification of the site, a petition is being organized and signed and submitted without you knowing anything about it. You’re with him every single night!”
The heart is pumping through my veins. I haven’t felt this angry in a long, long time. It’s almost intoxicating, and all I can see is that stupid patch of red on Barry’s forehead.
“My personal life has nothing to do with this,” I say through clenched teeth. “And fuck you for suggesting that I would deliberately sabotage the project! We’ve worked together for five years, Barry.” We stare at each other for a few moments. Neither of us move an inch, and the heat of my anger is almost blinding. I try to keep my voice steady. “You know I wouldn’t do anything like that. You know what? Go fuck yourself!”
I stand up, pushing my chair back with my legs so that it topples over behind me. My heart is beating fast and my ankle is starting to throb. I stomp out of the office and climb into my car. Within a few seconds, I’m flying down the highway towards the lonely mountain that Aiden Clarke calls home.
As much as I hate to admit it, Barry is right about one thing. I should have known about this petition. That signature on the front page hurt more than anything else a man has ever done to me. The sting of betrayal mixes with anger and outrage until I’m gripping the steering wheel and racing up the mountain.
I need answers, and Aiden Clarke is the only one that can give them to me.