“Oh, don’t be so modest,” he said. “You told me the other day, when you were late getting in because of an early meeting, that you were bringing in a huge account. Don’t leave us in suspense!”

Oh, shit. He was using my fake phone call against me. Judging by the delight on his face, he had figured out it was bogus and was now fully prepared to humiliate me with it.

“New account?” Soph asked. She looked so hopeful that I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t pretend that I’d had a client and lost them or even more outrageously admit that the entire call had been a sham to keep Carson off my back when I was fifteen minutes late.

See? This is the thing with lies; they’re like the law. You can never truly escape them. This is why I never lied and why I’d been kicking myself ever since that awkward moment at the elevator. I’d have been better served to let Carson rat me out for being late that day, but I’d panicked. Well, lesson learned. Still, I couldn’t disappoint Soph. I decided I’d better find a new client and fast.

I forced my face into a big grin and said, “Well, we’re still working out the details but I’ll loop you in as soon as there’s good news.”

“Excellent,” Soph said.

I don’t think I imagined the triumphant look she sent Miguel. I glanced at Carson. He looked annoyed. So there was that. Mercifully, the meeting ended shortly after that.

As we exited the room, I waited for Carson to leave and then asked Luz and Booker to follow me. They exchanged a look and then nodded. Once the three of us were inside my office, I closed the door. They took the seats across from me as I sat behind my desk. I folded my hands and considered them. I wasn’t sure how to go about asking them what I needed to know, but it was clear I needed information, and from what I’d observed, they were my best access points.

“Contrary to what was said in the meeting, I never received any information about Schneider Pretzels.” I paused then glanced at both of them, and they exchanged another meaningful look. “From what I’ve observed, I don’t think either of you are surprised by this.”

“Carson is trying to sabotage you,” Booker said.

“He wanted to be creative director and pitched a complete hissy fit when he didn’t get it,” Luz added.

I nodded. “He’s let his feelings be known to me. That’s fine. He doesn’t have to like me, but I won’t stand for his sabotaging the work.”

“You should tell Miguel and Sophie,” Luz said.