The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 220

9:45 Fri, Aug 28

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

FOUR DAYS OF SILENCE

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ZANE

Friday morning should have put yesterday behind me.

By nine-fifteen, it was obvious that wasn’t happening.

I was halfway through a call with our London office when Claire entered and placed a folder on the corner of my desk. She didn’t interrupt, merely tapped the note attached to the front before leaving again.

SINCLAIR POST-FORUM ANALYSIS

I continued the call for another thirty seconds before reaching for it.

“Move the review to Monday.” I told London. “I want the revised projections before then.”

“We can have them by end of day.”

“Then I expect them before end of day.”

I ended the call and opened the folder.

Sinclair had wasted no time pulling apart what we’d disclosed at the forum. Their analysts had gone directly after the pressure points I’d expected, challenging the integration schedule, regional assumptions and areas where Vantage’s existing structure left us exposed.

Kieran’s name appeared on the first page, followed by Rebecca Shaw’s.

The regional analysis began several pages later.

Prepared by: Isla Smith, Senior Business Intelligence Analyst

My attention lingered on her name as I remembered Kieran mentioning yesterday that she’d recently relocated from Auckland to join Sinclair, putting her arrival in New York barely a week ago.

I started her section from the beginning and quickly discovered that whatever else Isla Smith was, she knew her job.

She challenged two assumptions from yesterday’s presentation, questioned the speed of Vantage’s regional integration and identified a weakness in the Australian distribution model that my own team had spent most of Wednesday insisting wasn’t significant.

By the second page, I was no longer reading because her name happened to be attached to it.

I picked up the phone.

“Claire.”

“Yes”

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9:45 Fri, Aug 28

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

“Send Reynolds in when he’s finished with Legal.”

“He should be free at ten.”

“Good.”

…

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I hung up and continued reading until my phone vibrated beside the report and instinctively drew my attention to the screen.

It wasn’t Luna.

I turned the phone facedown and went back to the report, where Isla Smith proved no less distracting.

By ten-thirty, Reynolds had confirmed that the Australian exposure deserved another review, and before eleven, I’d sent the relevant section to Integration. Claire returned shortly afterward with my schedule open on her tablet.

“Sinclair requested a follow-up meeting for Tuesday afternoon,” she said.

I looked up from the report. “About yesterday’s regional assumptions?”

“Yes. Corporate Development is handling our side.”

“Who are they sending?”

Claire glanced at the invitation. “Rebecca Shaw, two people from Strategy and their APAC analyst.”

I knew the name before she gave it. “Isla Smith.”

“Who’s representing us?”

“Martin and Elise.”

Both had been involved with Vantage long enough to handle the meeting without me. Martin knew the acquisition from the beginning, and Elise could defend the regional strategy against anything Sinclair brought into that room.

“Add me.”

Claire’s fingers hesitated over the tablet.

“Something you want to say?”

“You don’t normally attend meetings at this level.”

“This acquisition cost eighteen-point-six billion dollars. If Sinclair is challenging our regional model, I want to hear it directly.”

The explanation was legitimate. The fact that it put Isla Smith across a table from me again had nothing to do with it.

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9:45 Fri, Aug 28

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Or that was what I was going with.

:

Claire entered something into the schedule. “I’ll add you.”

“Move it to Monday.”

“Their revised model won’t be ready until Tuesday.”

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The immediate irritation that answer caused had nothing to do with Sinclair’s fucking model, and I had no intention of examining what it did have to do with.

“Leave it Tuesday.”

Claire nodded and left me with the report.

My phone vibrated again sometime later, and I checked it before remembering I’d already decided not to.

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