The Team

  The Team

  JL Raven

  The Team © 2019 JL Raven

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art © 2019 Lou Harper

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Edited by Annetta Ribken Graney

  Contents

  Now

  Day 1: Thursday

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Now

  Day 2: Friday

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Now

  Day 3: Saturday

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Now

  Day 4: Sunday

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Now

  Day 5: Monday

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Now

  Day 6: Tuesday

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Now

  Epilogue

  Share Your Experience

  About the Author

  Now

  The pounding of a heavy fist against the cabin’s door jerks me awake. My heart batters my ribs, struggling to force hot blood into frozen extremities. The fire went out…hours ago? Days ago? Either way, after repeated attempts, I couldn’t get it relit.

  The locked doorknob creaks as someone struggles to turn it, trying to get in. To get to me.

  “Hello? Is anyone in there?”

  I don’t recognize the man’s voice. Through the frost-covered window, I glimpse a smear of gray-green jacket, yellow ranger patch visible on the sleeve.

  I’m saved.

  “Don’t leave!” I shout, panic breaking through the haze brought on by hours spent in below-freezing temperatures in an unheated cabin. I lurch for the door, my hands and feet mobile only because of the last trace of heat left in the emergency hand-and-foot warmer packs. If Tiffany hadn’t given those out, I’d have frostbite for certain.

  God. Tiffany.

  I’m shaking so violently from the cold it’s hard to unlock the door. Even with the hand-warmers, my fingers feel wooden, and I have to concentrate to close them. It’s taking so long, I’m almost in tears, as if the ranger might leave me here alone to die if I make him wait. My reaction isn’t rational.

  But nothing about the last several days has been rational.

  The door opens, and I fall out onto the tiny porch and into the arms of the ranger. As he gathers me up, he turns his head aside and yells, “Over here! I’ve found a survivor!”

  Day 1: Thursday

  One

  “Wait. You expect me to hand over my cell phone?” I asked the perky, smiling woman in front of me. “That’s nuts. I’m not giving up my phone.”

  Her cheerful expression wavered slightly. “It’s the policy of Reignite Outdoor Adventures, ma’am,” she said. “So you can concentrate on building your team, without the distractions of the modern lifestyle. The information was included in our brochure.”

  Christ. She sounded like a brochure. Who used phrases like “distractions of the modern lifestyle” un-ironically?

  We stood in the parking lot of the national park’s visitor center. Ahead of us sprawled fifty-thousand acres of trees, trees, and more trees. The woman—her name tag read “Tiffany”—looked like she belonged here. Worn hiking boots, waterproof pants with pockets on every available surface, bright pink coat made from some space-aged material. Her round, brown face had the youthful, dewy look of a college student. Her black hair was swept into a simple ponytail, held in place by a sun visor. She gave off the vibe of an All-American Cheerleader type, the sort of girl I’d always felt vaguely intimidated by back in high school.

  “I didn’t read the brochure,” I said. “I didn’t even know I was coming on this trip until two days ago.”

  “This could be your big break,” my manager, Tom, said when I dropped by to visit him. The bout of food poisoning had left him weak and shaky even days later. “The chance to make friends with senior management…well, I’ll be honest, I’m jealous. This will make your career.”

  He wasn’t wrong. The top managers of Agonarch Herbal Supplements Inc. were a notoriously tight-knit bunch. Not only had they built the company from the ground up, but they’d been friends since attending Yale together. This retreat was one of the only opportunities to get into their circle.

  “Lauren?” called a voice from behind me. “Is that you?”

  Ricardo Garcia, the one member of upper management I’d actually met, loped up behind me. A grin spread across his light brown face. We’d interacted briefly, when I’d first started at Agonarch. Though I was in Finance and Rick was the head of Product Development, I’d spent a week at company headquarters for mandatory training on their proprietary software. One day, I’d spotted Rick in the cafeteria, dressed in a t-shirt bearing the logo for one of my favorite video games.

  Needless to say, I’d jumped at the chance to talk to one of the company founders. For his part, Rick seemed happy to find someone else to share his enthusiasm over the game, even if only for a few days. Still, I was a little surprised he remembered my name.

  “It’s great to see you again, Rick,” I said. “Tiffany here says I have to give up my cell phone. You didn’t hand over yours, did you?”

  He shrugged. He was a tall man, built as though all of his limbs had been loosely strung together. “It’s not like there will be a cell signal in the deep woods.”

  I stared at him, my hand tightening on my phone as though it was a lifeline. “No signal? But the lodge has wifi, right?”

  Tiffany shook her head. “The goal of Reignite Outdoor Adventures is to build groups of individuals into strong teams, through challenging—but fun—activities. We can’t do that if everyone is busy checking football scores or watching cat videos.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I cast a look at Rick, but he only shrugged again.

  “If it was up to me, we’d be doing this at a resort in Hawaii.” He nodded at the group of people standing nearby. “But Adam wanted something more authentic.”

  Right. Adam Bailey wasn’t just Agonarch’s CEO, he was the company’s poster-boy for its products. His social media feed was full of action shots: Adam on a kayak, the white sands of some tropical beach gleaming in the background; standing on the edge of a precipice with the wind in his hair; leaning against the impossibly huge bulk of a redwood tree.

  The man himself stood only a few feet away, talking to two other women. Even without a filter, he seemed to glow with life and vitality. His golden hair shone even in the dim winter sunlight, and his white skin sported a tan, as if he’d just gotten back from that tropical beach. Like Rick and the two women, his gear was spotless and covered in logos advertising just how much it had cost. I couldn’t help but glance down at my worn hiking boots and old coat. All my gear came out of my youngest sister’s closet.

  “I’ve been up here fly fishing with Senator Gilcher,” Adam was saying to the women. “This is going to be a great trip. We’re really roughing it out here.”

  “I didn’t realize you were coming,” Rick said to me.

  I tore my attention from Adam. “I just found out a couple of days
ago myself. The finance manager, Tom—do you know him? Anyway, he was supposed to come, but we had a going-away potluck on Monday for another employee. Tom came down with food poisoning.”

  Rick winced. “And you got the short straw?”

  Apparently he hadn’t been joking about wanting to go to a resort instead. I hesitated, uncertain how to respond. Rick was one of Adam’s oldest friends; he could complain about the trip all he wanted, and it wouldn’t affect his position in the company. Or his stock portfolio.

  But for me, this was a chance I couldn’t let slip through my fingers.

  “Ordinarily, I’m more the hit-the-gym-in-January, let-my-membership-lapse-by-March type,” I admitted. “But I’m willing to give it a shot.”

  “Hey, Rick!” Adam called. “Get over here. I want you in the picture.” He had out a selfie stick and was already posing with the two women. “One last post before we turn in the phones.”

  Rick jogged off. I sighed and turned to Tiffany. “I guess you win. Just let me call my fiancée and let her know I’ll be out of touch until Monday.”

  Heather picked up on the first ring. “Hey, babe, it’s me. I wanted to let you know I won’t be able to call you during this retreat after all. No cell signal and the lodge doesn’t have wifi.”

  “That sucks. I’m going to miss you.” Just the sound of her voice made some of the tension melt from my shoulders. Heather taught first grade, and from the delighted shrieks of children in the background, they were out on the playground for recess.

  My chest tightened. “I miss you already. I wish…I wish I didn’t have to do this.”

  “You don’t.” There was an edge to her voice now, one that filled me with guilt. “I know we don’t have a lot of money, but we’ll make do. I already barely see you, you work so many late nights.”

  “This is my big chance, hon. I can’t just let it pass by.”

  I could sense her frustration as clearly as if she stood in front of me. “Does this have anything to do with growing up poor? I know your adoptive family wasn’t the greatest, but—”

  “What? I’m overcompensating?” I snapped. “Spare me the psychoanalysis, Dr. Freud.”

  “I’m just worried about you.” Now there was anger in her voice, too. “I swear, lately it’s like you’re obsessed. You need to learn to let things go.”

  My fingers ached from clutching the phone so hard. “I’m doing this for our family. I’m sorry you can’t see that.”

  “So am I,” she said curtly. “One of the other teachers is calling me. I need to go.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  The call ended so fast I wasn’t even sure she’d heard me say goodbye.

  A part of me wanted to call her back and apologize. She wasn’t wrong—I had been working long hours. Even weekends would find me glued to the computer, scanning columns of numbers, making sure everything added up the way I wanted it to.

  But bringing up my adoptive parents…that was a low blow.

  Instead of calling Heather back, I powered down my phone and went back to Tiffany. Everyone had drifted over to the van with her while I was talking.

  “Here.” I passed her the phone, and she put it in a lockbox with the rest.

  “Is that everyone? Good.” She locked the box and put the key in her pocket.

  One of the other women shifted her weight uneasily. She was tall and model-thin, with tawny skin and thick black hair that looked like something out of a shampoo commercial. Like Adam Bailey, she was dressed in expensive hiking gear without a single stain or sign of wear on it. “I’m still not sure about this. What if something happens and we need to call for help?”

  “I have a satellite phone, Ms. Rashid,” Tiffany replied. “I’ve never needed to use it yet, but rest assured, Reignite Outdoor Adventures takes your safety very seriously.”

  Rick leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Do you think she’s brainwashed? Or did they just decant her in a lab?”

  I stifled a laugh. Tiffany really did sound like a living motivational poster.

  “Any other questions?” she asked. “No? Everyone in the van, then, and we’ll get this adventure started!”

  Rick and I volunteered to get in the back and sat beside each other. The two women took the middle row, and Adam climbed into the passenger seat in the front.

  Tiffany carefully backed the van out of its space, then pulled onto the two-lane road leading deeper into the park. The tall trees closed around us immediately, blotting out the weak winter sun.

  Almost as soon as we left the parking lot, I realized: Heather and I signed off every call, every text, with “I love you.” Except this last time; we’d been so annoyed with each other we’d both forgotten.

  It was no big deal. I’d tell her the moment I had my phone back in my hand on Monday.

  But still, it felt like an omen.

  Two

  “Do you all know each other?” Tiffany asked, glancing briefly in the rearview mirror. “We’ll have an icebreaker tonight, but if you want to do a quick round of introductions…?”

  The elegant woman who had asked about the satellite phone laughed. “We founded Agonarch and built the company together. I’d say we know each other pretty well by now.”

  “A bit too well,” the other woman said.

  “Except for her,” the first added, looking back at me. “I thought Tom Hudson was Head of Finance?”

  Now everyone stared at me. The outsider. “Tom couldn’t make it. Food poisoning.”

  The woman’s lip curled just the tiniest bit. I was no one, just a flunky sent to fill my boss’s shoes, and I could see her dismiss me then and there.

  “I’m Lauren Alexander,” I went on, even though her dismissal stung.

  “Nice to meet you, Lauren,” said the second woman. She was short and curvy, with dark brown skin and a smile that seemed genuinely friendly. Black hair hung in loose curls about her round face. “I’m Melissa Clark. Head of Marketing and Public Relations.”

  The other woman sighed, as though introducing herself was an inconvenience, but said, “Yasmine Rashid, Head of our Legal Department.”

  “Adam Bailey.” Adam flashed a bright smile at me. His teeth were perfect, almost unnaturally white. “Agonarch CEO—but this weekend, don’t think of me as the boss.”

  Tiffany’s head bobbed. “The only role anyone has here this weekend is team member. No titles—and first names only.”

  “Right,” Adam enthused. “We’re all here to rebuild the team.”

  Rebuild, not build. This trip into the wilderness suddenly took on a new dimension, like an optical illusion where what you see depends on the angle you’re viewing it from.

  Apprehension pricked my nerves. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Until now, I’d assumed the team building exercise was just an excuse for senior management to get away from the office and party, and that Tom had only been invited to give it an air of legitimacy. See, we invited all the department heads, not just the ones who’ve been together since Yale.

  Anyone who paid attention to the business world knew the story behind Agonarch Inc. They’d been a scrappy startup, initially composed of only the four employees who now occupied the van alongside me. I’d checked back through Adam’s social media feed. At one time it had been filled with all of their faces: grinning at the camera as they brainstormed around a table, or celebrating when their stock went public. Thick as thieves, as the saying went.

  But now that I thought about it, the group shots had dropped off over time. Nowadays, most of Adam’s pictures were either of him solo, or with his fiancée on his arm.

  Something had happened to split the team apart. But what? I was heading into the wilderness for four days with these people. Not knowing something so essential about them made me nervous.

  “Of course you know me already,” Rick said.

  “Tiffany probably doesn’t.” I nodded toward the front of the van.

  I could tell right away he’d never even cons
idered including her. He recovered fast, though. “Oh, right! Ricardo Garcia, Head of Product Development.”

  Yasmine flashed a smile that showed too many teeth. “The genius behind X-ULT.”

  I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped me. Everyone else froze, as if unable to believe she’d actually said it.

  X-ULT: a supplement marketed at athletes looking for an all-natural shortcut to enhance their performance. For reasons I’ll never understand, people see “all-natural” and equate it with “safe.” But arsenic is all-natural. So is cyanide. Anthrax.

  Not to suggest any of those were in the supplement. But there were side effects. A young woman died. The grieving parents sued Agonarch.

  It would have spelled the end for a lot of other companies. But not Agonarch. I was certain the four people here were the reason it had pulled through without having to pay a penny. The scandal died as quickly as it appeared, and now stock prices were higher than ever.

  “Yasmine,” Adam chided. Rick didn’t say anything, but I could feel him trembling in the seat beside me. From repressed anger? Shock? Guilt?

  “Just a bit of friendly ribbing,” Yasmine said with a smile like a shark’s.

  No one seemed to know what to say after that. An uncomfortable silence fell. Feeling more an outsider than ever, I stared out the window. Had I made the right decision, coming here? For me, a hike meant a long walk in the nearest city park, not trudging around the wilderness. Maybe Heather was right, and coming here had been a mistake.