His desk phone rings and he answers. “Yes. Yes, I know. Push the meeting to two. Something came up.” Hanging up the phone, he leans forward and rests his forearms on his desk. “Did you come up with this idea all on your own?”

The answer is on the tip of my tongue when I stop. I won’t be like James. Not today, not ever.

I wet my lips. “The initial idea was mine, but I had help pulling it together. May I call in my team? They’re right outside.”

Marlen nods once, expression inscrutable.

Smoothing my jacket, I stride to the door and poke my head out. Christina is chewing her thumbnail, Tory is scrolling through her phone, Walsh is perched next to her, twisting a bracelet around her wrist, and Graeme is standing at the window behind Rose’s desk. “Tory, Christina, Graeme. I need you.” Three pairs of eyes jerk to me.

“What, in there?” blurts Christina.

“Yeah. Rose, can you call Barbara for me and ask her to come here?”

Rose wobbles her chin and picks up her phone.

Walsh flashes me a thumbs-up as the rest of us file into Marlen’s office.

“These are the staff members I collaborated with on the idea. Christina researched regional nonprofits with ties to the areas we sail; Tory calculated costs, and her spouse, an attorney for Brickle, Boone & Davis, informally advised on the legal framework that we’d need to launch a charitable conservation initiative.”

The door opens and closes, and Barbara walks in, buckles jangling on her knee-high boots. “Barbara assisted with logistics and presentation prep, and Graeme created some mock-ups for a digital marketing rebranding campaign.” Pulling my phone from the inside of my jacket, I tap in several commands. “They’re in your in-box now.”

Clicking open the email, Marlen scans his screen. His eyebrows rise and the corner of his lips wavers. “This is good stuff. But why didn’t you take this idea to James? He’s your direct supervisor.”

I clear my throat. “I did. For the Galápagos, anyway. It was the proposal I crafted for the director of digital marketing position before he disqualified me.”

Marlen knits his arched eyebrows together. “I don’t understand. When I asked him what was happening with that this morning, he said your proposal was so subpar that we shouldn’t even consider it. But there’s nothing subpar about this idea. It’s bold, well researched, and brilliant.”

Graeme’s fist tightens at his side. “That’s because James intends to steal Henley’s idea.” His eyes flick to me and he offers a small, encouraging nod. I step forward.

“Graeme’s right. Less than an hour ago I learned that James is going to present this idea at today’s board meeting, but he’s going to say he came up with it.”

Marlen frowns. “That’s quite a claim.”