with it, replaced it. Ski stood near the door, his back to the wall. He was watchful and tense, like a soldier waiting for the shot that would end a short cease-fire.
No one spoke for a time. But the pressure on Berry's chest became such that she finally blurted out, 'I stole from him. From Oren.'
The three looked at her with bewilderment.
Before they could speak or she lost her nerve, she plunged on.
'You know that Oren had worked on the campaign that Ben and I finished on Friday.' They nodded in unison. 'That was when things with Sally were coming to a head. She resigned, and it was understood that Oren was the reason.'
She hesitated, then lowered her head. 'No, that's not quite accurate. I
'What do you mean, Berry?' Caroline asked.
'Management consulted me about Sally's leaving. I told them that she'd left because of Oren.'
'Which was true.'
'Let me tell this, Mother, please.' She paused to collect her thoughts. 'I led management to believe that the company had narrowly escaped a costly sexual harassment suit, when actually Sally had never suggested such a thing. I went further, intimating that other women in the office were considering taking matters to that level. This rattled them. They asked 'How bad is it?' In my opinion, as a female employee, what should be done with Oren Starks? Should they give him a warning and probation, or fire him outright? Was he or was he not redeemable, dispensable?
'It should be obvious to you what I told them. I remained silent about the excellent work Oren was doing. I didn't tell the bosses that his original idea had been the best, and that Ben and I were designing the entire campaign around it. Instead, I fed their paranoia and made them fear the worst if Oren remained an employee.
'He got his pink slip the following day. He wasn't allowed to take any of his work with him. He was escorted from the building by security guards and treated like a criminal.' In a voice barely audible, she added, 'He became one.'
No one spoke for a long moment, then Dodge said, 'Wait a damn minute here. You can't blame yourself for what Oren
'He's right, Berry.' Ski spoke more quietly than Dodge, but he was just as adamant.
'But that's not the end of it. After his dismissal, he asked me repeatedly to intercede on his behalf. I kept stringing him along, telling him that I had tried to get him his job back but that Delray's decision was firm. It was a lie. I never spoke up for him. Not once. Quite the contrary. After he was gone, I took credit for his work. Ben did, too, just by remaining silent. He knew how I'd played it, and, tacitly, he went along. He never acknowledged to anyone Oren's valuable input.' In an undertone, she added, 'I've since learned that he never really trusted me after that.'
She paused to take a breath. 'As for Sally, I encouraged her to leave the company. I told her she would never shake free of Oren as long as she remained at Delray.'
'Also true,' Caroline said.
'In all probability,' Berry agreed. 'But I had a selfish reason for urging her to resign. She was good. Clients liked her unassuming manner. Management did, too. She posed a threat to my advancement. I wanted her gone. So I pressured her into leaving. I played both ends against the middle. I manipulated Sally into leaving, and I saw to it that Oren got fired. All for my self-gain.'
She turned her head and spoke directly to Caroline. 'No one is prouder of your extraordinary success than I am, Mother. But it's a lot to live up to. I'm equally ambitious, but when it comes to achieving goals, I don't have your patience, your style, or your grace. I'm wired differently, I guess,' she said, glancing at Dodge.
'In any case, the pressure and guilt I was feeling over what I'd done intensified. That's why I launched into you that day, and then later had the scene with Oren on my porch. I came here to Merritt to get my head straight, my priorities readjusted. During that process, I realized I must acknowledge my underhandedness and rectify it. When I called Oren last Thursday night, I told him that his name would be on that campaign when it was presented.' She paused, then added softly, 'It wasn't enough.'
The silence among them was heavy, then Dodge heaved a sigh. 'You ask me, that's all bullshit. Okay, so maybe your ambition got a little out of hand. Sally Buckland had free will. You may have nudged her, but she made up her own mind to resign.
'As for Starks,' he continued, making a face of distaste, 'behind this guy's smarts was a weird little creep with violent tendencies just begging for a chance to get out.' He pointed a stern finger at Berry and said, 'Now, you've fessed up. Drop it.'
She felt a rush of affection for him and would have expressed it out loud if the doctor treating Oren hadn't suddenly appeared in the open doorway. 'Any of you named Berry?'
She stood up.
'He's saying your name over and over.'
'Should I ...?'
He gave a pragmatic shrug. 'Up to you.' Then, as abruptly as he'd appeared, he vanished.
Caroline reached for Berry's hand. 'Don't go in there. We shouldn't have even come.'
Berry looked over at Dodge, silently asking for his opinion. 'I wish he'd've died out in the Thicket, spared you this.'
When she met Ski's eyes, he said, 'If you go in, I'll go with you. I need to hear what he has to say.'
She went to him. He placed his hand on her elbow, and together they left the waiting room and walked down the corridor.
Oren's ICU was a scene from a horror show. She approached the bed with trepidation. His eyelids were wildly fluttering. He was murmuring her name, like a chant. His hands were moving restlessly, his fingers plucking at the bedding while his wrists pulled against the restraints around them.
'Can he hear me?' she asked.
'You can try,' one of the attending nurses replied.
Berry swallowed her misgivings. 'Oren?' When he didn't respond, she cleared her throat and said more forcefully, 'Oren? Can you hear me? It's Berry.'
His eyelids blinked open, but his eyes were rolled back into the sockets, unfocused. He spoke her name in a thin, raspy voice.
'Yes. It's me.' She groped for something to say that wouldn't sound entirely inane. 'You're in the hospital. The doctors and nurses are trying to help you.'
'Berry.' Again her name passed through his lips as he blinked rapidly to bring her into focus. 'Berry.'
'I'm here.'
'You're alive.'
'Yes.'
'You should be dead.'
She sucked in a quick breath and recoiled. Ski put his hand on her shoulder. 'Let's get out of here.'
But before she could move, Oren managed to twist his hand, enabling him to grab her wrist. She looked down in horror at his cold, moist fingers clamped around her wrist. His eyes were now wide open and focused on her. The madness in them caused her to sob in fright.
