The Bull in the Blue Pool

The goldfish circled its bowl on the executive floor, mouth opening and closing in silent repetition. Elena watched it from her chair, thinking about how the creature had a three-second memory—lucky bastard. She checked her iPhone again. No message from Marcus. Just another Slack notification from Greg: 'Need to pivot the narrative, let's grab a palm and strategize.' Greg always called drinks 'palms' because he thought it made him sound like he belonged at a resort instead of a mid-market PR firm where everyone secretly hated each other.

The company retreat had been Rick's idea—mandatory team building at a rented villa with 'the biggest fucking pool in Malibu,' he'd announced at the all-hands, actually air-quoting. Now it was 2 AM and most people had passed out or retreated to their rooms. Elena found herself at the edge of that same pool, trailing her fingers through the water that cost more than her annual salary.

She heard footsteps behind her. Marcus.

'You're avoiding me,' he said, sitting close enough that she could smell the whiskey on his breath.

'I'm not avoiding you. I'm existing alongside you at a respectful distance.'

He laughed, that dry chuckle that had made her fall for him during the Chicago merger crisis. 'That's bull, El. You haven't looked at me since you saw those emails.'

'The emails where you called me 'high-maintenance' to corporate?' She turned to face him. The pool lights made his face look underwater, rippled and distant. 'Or the ones where you said you'd 'handle' me before the promotion cycle?'

Marcus reached for her hand, his palm warm and soft and completely ruined now. 'I was playing the game. You know how it is up there.'

'No.' Elena pulled away. 'I don't know how it is. That's why you're VP and I'm still senior associate, right? Because you know things I don't.'

'El—'

'I saw the goldfish today,' she said, interrupting him. 'In Rick's office. Did you know they can recognize faces? They don't even have three-second memories. That's a lie people tell to feel better about treating them like they don't matter.'

Marcus was quiet for a moment. 'What are you saying?'

'I'm saying I'm not forgetting this.' She stood up, iPhone lighting up with another message from Greg. 'And I'm not going to be the person who pretends everything's fine so we can all keep floating in this expensive little pool.'

She walked back toward the villa, leaving Marcus sitting alone at the edge of the water, watching his own reflection distort in the blue.