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check.”
    “Scat,” 6 says, looking pained, “sit down.”
    I don’t want to, but with 6 looking pained at me it’s hard to resist. I decide to sit down only with a cutting remark, but then I can’t think of one and end up just sitting.
    Then something beautiful and astounding happens.
    6 says, “Scat, I need you.”

6 reveals all
    “I’ve been shafted on Fukk. They’ll probably take me off it before the end of the month.”
    I gape. “Shafted? How? Who?”
    6’s deadly eyebrows sharpen into a frown. I’m sure that if she turned these weapons onto whoever knifed her, she could slice him into little pieces. “Actually, it was your friend. Sneaky Pete.”
    “What?”
    She only throws a tiny shrug, but it’s enough to tell me she’s furious. “I didn’t even know he was in the game. I thought he screwed you for the money and vanished.” She scowls at her lattè. “A couple of months ago, I find out Coke has hired him to work alongside me on the launch. I protested, of course, took my complaint to the CEO. No good. He’s their new golden boy.”
    “Bastard,” I say wonderingly.
    “Two weeks ago, I figured that for all practical purposes, he’s doing my job. He’s going to take full credit for the success of Fukk.”
    I almost choke. Not only does the guy get three million dollars for the rights, but he grabs a top marketing job in the best marketing company in the world and snares responsibility for launching a surefire hit. I can’t help but admire that.
    “I’ve been asked to work on something else,” 6 says, disgusted. “The summer campaign for Classic Coke.”
    I blink. “That sounds like a promotion.”
    She shakes her head. “Our ad agency has already finished the design work. Coke wants me to ... implement. Logistics. Space negotiations.” Her face blanches.
    “Oh.” I think for a moment. “So ... what exactly do you need me for?”
    6 sips her coffee, watching me carefully. I get little shivers up my back.
    “I’m not going to do what they want. I’m going to redesign the summer launch. With your help.”
    She sets down her coffee.
    “You and I are going to produce the best ad in marketing history.”
     
     
    okaaay
     
     
    I stare at 6. She stares back at me, those dark eyes sizing me up.
    “Are you offering me a job at Coke?”
    “No,” she says immediately. “I can’t do that. No one at Coke can know about this until it’s done.”
    “I see.” I think about this. “So you’re effectively against the company. If they find out you’re trying to replace the campaign they’ve spent months developing, they’ll can you.”
    6 hesitates, then nods.
    “In fact, even if you do come up with something special, they could can you for pure insubordination.”
    “That’s possible,” 6 admits.
    “And, given that summer begins in under two months, I guess you’ve got maybe four weeks, at most, to produce this thing.”
    “Actually,” 6 says, “you’d be surprised at how far we work in advance. ”
    I wait.
    “The concept has to be finished this week.”
    Her eyes start to widen fetchingly so I look down at my coffee to steady myself. When I look up again, I’m ready.
    “So,” I say, “what you’re telling me is that you want me to work on a doomed project with an impossible deadline for no tangible reward.” I give 6 what I hope is a sardonic smile.
    6 says, “I need you, Scat.”
    “Okay,” I say quickly.

the benefits of a tertiary education
    It would be hard to tell, from this encounter, that I scored an A—in MKT 346: Business Negotiation.

a no-holds-barred confrontation with cindy
    Cindy arrives home around three A.M. “ Hey , ” she says, sounding pleased.
    I look up from my writing. “Hey.”
    “Dressed,” she says approvingly. “Shaved. Even active.” She comes over and kisses me on the back of my neck. “You look dangerous, Scat.”
    “Uh, thanks,” I say.
    Cindy stands behind me silently for a minute. I’ve already sunk back into my