Chapter 5

                                    

                                          
Ada's bed was empty when Sutton woke on Saturday morning. Sutton blinked herself into the day, her legs prickling against the scratchy lodge sheets, and scrolled through her cell phone to coax herself into alertness. 
                          
The faucet was running in the bathroom. Sutton rolled onto her side and looked: Debbie was still asleep in the other bed, her face smushed into the pillow. Ada was the one in the bathroom. 
                          
Sutton dragged herself out of bed and shimmied into an old pair of jeans. She would shower later, when she had the cabin to herself. Right now, all she wanted was a glass of water and an empty place to think. 
                          

                          
At nine, everyone met in one of the lodge conference rooms to start the "Strategic Planning Session." Sutton watched her colleagues pull themselves around in a daze, blinking through their hangovers and medicating themselves with coffee. Debbie was quiet for once--Sutton suspected she was both exhausted and hungover--but she kept a smug look on her face that made Sutton mentally roll her eyes. 
                          
Ada nodded at Sutton when she strode into the conference room. Sutton nodded back and even allowed for a fraction of a smile. 
                          
Wyatt looked torn when he stepped away from the coffee stand and assessed his seating options. Sutton could tell he wanted to be somewhat close to Debbie and yet as far away from Sutton as he could get. He settled for sitting diagonally across the circle of chairs, next to Javier and Mikey P. Ada sat on Mikey P.'s other side. 
                          
"Everyone chipper this morning?" Marta asked. She stood at the front of the room, where the chair circle broke to allow for a whiteboard. "Should we do some jumping jacks to get our energy flowing?"
                          
Her suggestion was met with a uniform groan.
                          
"Alright, never mind that, then. Sit comfortably but make your brains stand up. Holly-Ann is going to lead us off with a history of Cyntera and an overview of our mission."
                          
Holly-Ann took Marta's place, trading her Activia carton for a whiteboard marker, and Sutton leaned back to let the information wash over her. To her right, Debbie visibly sighed.
                          
Sutton actually enjoyed Holly-Ann's overview. She had always liked to know the history of the organizations she belonged to. When they were founded, why they were founded, trivia bits, that kind of stuff. She knew everything about UT Law's history and even everything about her grade school's history. While her colleagues sat with glazed eyes and vacant smiles, Sutton hung on everything Holly-Ann said. She even asked a question. 
                          
They did a company mission assessment after that. Marta wrote each part of their company mission statement on a piece of white butcher paper, and as a team they discussed whether or not they were meeting that mission. Debbie seemed to think they were spot-on in every aspect. Wyatt had a more cynical view. Javier got bogged down in the details--"But why does it say 'within' in that sentence? I think that's the wrong preposition"--and wouldn't stop griping until they collectively told him, in terms inconsistent with the company mission, that he ought to shut up.
                          
Marta granted them a break after that. People stood up and stretched, ambled off to the bathroom or the coffee station, and milled about talking in low, hushed tones that indicated everyone was still recovering from last night. 
                          
Sutton felt someone join her at the coffee station. She looked up from pouring half-and-half to find Ada watching her. 
                          
"So you're still a nerd?" Ada said. 
                          
"What?"
                          
Ada didn't meet her eyes while she filled a Styrofoam cup with French roast. "You still geek out over history."