“What’s your strategy been so far?” he asked.

“Watch him,” I said. “And try to anticipate what he might do to sabotage the project.”

“That’s got to be exhausting,” Nick said.

I let my head flop back on my raft. “Yes. I’m so tired. Although most of that is your fault.”

Nick let out a self-satisfied chuckle that warmed my heart. The same heart I had deep packed in ice so that it wouldn’t smash to bits when this fling was over.

“Okay, you’re playing a solid defense, but what you really need to do is move to an offensive position,” he said.

“Man-to-man or zone?” I asked. He lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “What? I played basketball.”

“Then you should know how to establish a fast break offense,” he said. “You need to soften Carson into thinking he’s got you figured out and then you kick into high gear and charge right around him. Nothing but net.”

“Our sports analogy is no longer working for me,” I said. “Is this how you managed your business when you were a builder?”

“Absolutely. I gave people enough work to break them. They either got it done or they got a new job,” he said. “Fast break offense means fast. You need to keep Carson off balance all the time. How much work are you putting on him?”

“The absolute bare minimum,” I said. “I don’t want his sticky fingers making a mess of things.”

“That’s a mistake,” he said.

My mouth dropped open. “Mistake?”

“Yeah. From what you’ve described, Carson is a user. He’s the Tom Sawyer of the office, getting everyone to do his work for him.”

I nodded. I’d seen it in action.

“He doesn’t have enough to do. That’s why he’s always looking for trouble. You need to bury him,” Nick said.

“In what way?” I asked.

“In all the ways,” Nick said. “Give him every assignment you can think of in regards to Lexi’s development.”

“Ah! But what if he messes it up?” I asked. “I’m quite certain he’ll try.”

“He can try, but since you’ll be doing the real work and he’ll just be doing busywork, who cares?”

I stared at him. It had never occurred to me to take control of the situation like this. I was in charge of Lexi’s project. I called the shots. As senior art director, Carson was on the team, but he reported to me. Ever the pleaser, I’d tried to placate him by having him oversee the creation of the logo but gave him nothing substantial to keep him occupied, guaranteeing that he had plenty of time to mess things up.

I was an idiot. I had to rethink everything. Nick was right. I could give him so much work, Carson wouldn’t have a minute to spare.