Sunday Snippet: How to Tell Off the Boss

So, first week of April in Ohio and we had a wintry mix of sleet and snow yesterday. *shakes head* Come on, Mother Nature, cut us a break. LOL

On the television front… The Walking Dead set everything up for the finale tonight. I'm actually thinking I won't watch it live. It's been a rough week and my brain might just break if one of my faves doesn't make it out alive.

Missed Gotham on Monday and haven't caught up yet. This plays into the rough week angle. My teenage daughter had her first track meet Monday night and badly sprained her ankle during the warm-ups. The poor kid didn't even get to compete. The good news is she cleared all the hurdles. The bad news? She needs to work on the landings. LOL Needless to say, she's on crutches and miserable but gets to see the orthopedic guy tomorrow. Whew.

The Flash and Agents of SHIELD had great episodes. I liked seeing the fallout from previous episodes on both shows. Time travel always kicks my interest up a notch and The Flash usually pulls off nice twists when it happens. Henry Simmons is terrific at playing Mack and I'm glad he's on Agents of SHIELD.

Arrow added some new layers to relationships and it was cool to see a Flash villain show up in Star City. I kind of liked having Felicity save the day and Curtis was a total riot in the Arrow cave / bunker. I love his character so much.

Legends of Tomorrow surprised me with revealing how Mick survived his encounter with Snart. Very cool to see Sara back in Nanda Parbot and being introduced to Talia. I loved the little seeds / references to Nyssa, too.

I checked into The Magicians and love the kind of twisty things they're doing with the relationships there. Bitten also had a great episode, but I'm truly sad another pack member met his end. I'm very ready for Elena and company to kick ass and end the menacing presence in their lives.

I'll be catching up with Wynonna Earp and Banshee sometime today. Will probably be adding little bits to next week's post on both.

And that's it for television this week.

Tonight's post is from How to Tell Off the Boss, a novella built on the two word prompt "Bug off". I love a challenge and this one ended up not being as hard as I thought it would.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Orin Murdoch's boss, the newly installed VP of Sales, is driving him insane with new promotions that just don't work. Edda Case, an upstart marketing whiz, takes Orin in hand and teaches him how to tell off the boss with style.

And a snippety peek…

"Yes, Linna, I'll cross-check the dates of the campaign. No. No, I don't know what could have happened to result in a loss that big." Orin Murdoch heaved a sigh. "Yes. I'll have something put together for a meeting tomorrow." He hung up and shook his head. "Please, whatever rules the universe, let that woman get hit by a bus in the very near future."

A garbled snort drew his attention and he glanced up to find Edda Case, their marketing genius standing in his doorway. She had her messenger style bag hoisted over her shoulder and her polka-dot trench coat draped over her arm. At least someone got to leave work at a decent hour.

Edda smirked. "If you're talking about Linna, a bus would be too quick." She stepped into the office and made her way to stand in front of his desk. "Now, something along the lines of falling from the top of a skyscraper might be a good way for her to go." She dropped her bag on the floor and grinned.

Orin rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I don't understand what happened to the last campaign. And she's demanding answers." Meaning he'd be here most of the night.

Edda shrugged. "Look, I'm getting ready to meet some friends for either Korean or Thai food, not sure which yet." She grabbed her bag again. "Either way, it's comfort food for me. You should join us." She widened her eyes and nodded.

Orin sighed. "Yeah, sorry, can't." He pointed to the open files on his desk. "I've got the next launch to get in order and, of course, the research for why the last campaign didn't meet expectations." His stomach growled, but he ignored the pangs.

Edda shook her head then leaned forward a little. "If you ask me, we put forward a no-fail plan. There's something not quite right about the low sales." She straightened and met his gaze. "Think about it." Without waiting for a response, she turned and sailed out of his office.

Orin grabbed his pen and tapped it on the edge of the desk. Edda couldn't be thinking someone deliberately tanked the project, could she? Nah. Who in their right mind would pull a stunt like that?

If using possible sabotage as an excuse wouldn't make him look like an inept ass, he'd absolutely use the idea. Instead, he'd run the numbers forwards and backwards and figure out where the breakdown occurred. The grumble from his midsection sounded again and he got up, crossing over to the break room to grab some yoghurt and granola. A terrible dinner, but something to tide him over for an hour or two. He could always order something for delivery later.

Sitting back down, he pondered Edda's invitation. They worked well together but didn't associate outside of the office. Polar opposites would describe their personality types. Edda's brash, bold, and colorful style translated into her work. She dreamed up marketing and advertising that put products front and center and dared people not to see them. Orin didn't have a creative bone in his body, but he thought and worked with the big picture in mind. And numbers were his refuge. Forecasting, projecting, finalizing. He rarely missed the mark.

So what the hell happened to the jump bag project?

Something along the lines of falling from the top of a skyscraper might be a good way for her to go.

Edda's words played over in Orin's brain. He chuckled. Then laughed. He gave Edda props for creativity. And he regretted not taking her up on the offer to have dinner. Even with a group of her friends, he doubted the evening would be anything but fun and enjoyable. Edda might not be his usual type—not that he had a type anymore, considering he couldn't remember his last date—but she drew people to her with vivacious wit and keen intelligence.

Finishing off the yoghurt and granola, he tossed the items in the trash can and settled in to crunch some numbers.

Gotta say this one is very fun to dive into. Hoping to have a finished draft sometime this summer.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin