the work to Ms. Harlin’s specs, and to her satisfaction.”
“And who would you be?” the guy drawled, his eyes sweeping Alec’s white shirt and dark gray slacks, making it clear that he was less than impressed.
Alec folded his arms, paused a moment, and stared him down. “I would be the guy who signs the check.” And the guy who could kick your ass.
Beard Boy grunted. Reached a hand out for the piece of paper that Desiree handed silently to him, looked at the spot where she was tapping one slim nail, its coating of clear polish gleaming in the reflected light of the overhead fixtures and still-uncovered windows.
“ Switch these two panels around,” she said. “And please doublecheck all the electrical fittings this time as I asked. I found a loose one under there, and I don’t think your boss would be happy about a return service call.”
“Talk to you a sec?” she asked Alec as Beard Boy snapped an order to his helper, began to loosen bolts.
Alec followed her perfectly straight back and set shoulders towards the break room. He could see her scanning right and left along the way, checking the placement of the other cubes being assembled by the second team against another copy of her diagram. Which she had on a clipboard. Of course she did.
She waited until they were inside the area to which, Alec realize d, she’d had rubber matting, a water cooler, and a state-of-the-art single-cup coffee machine added since yesterday. With coffee. And tea, and hot chocolate, and who knows what else, all neatly slotted into their dispenser. And surely that was a new dishwasher and refrigerator. They hadn’t been stainless steel before, had they? When had that happened? He’d bet the refrigerator had milk in it already. And everyone’s favorite drink, too, which she’d somehow divined. He’d just bet.
Then she turned to him. “I appreciate the chivalry,” she told him. “But I’ve got it.”
“What?”
She sighed. “It doesn’t exactly make me look stronger if you have to rescue me. I had it. Worst case, I’d have called his boss. I’ve done this before, you know.”
Alec shif ted from one foot to the other. “Sorry. But he was pretty . . . disrespectful.”
“I work in the tech industry,” she said. “Disrespectful I’m used to. He didn’t actually grab my . . . he didn’t actually grab me, which puts him ahead of a fair number of the guys at the last conference I went to.”
“And that’s OK with you?” Why wasn’t she outraged? Because he was, just thinking about it.
“It’s not the least bit OK with me. But I’ve got this,” she repeated. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your help, but I’ve got it. And you’ve got interviews, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and took a look. “Joe should be wrapping that one up, got another one coming in at two.”
“Then go take care of that,” she urged. “And let me do my job.”
He wasn’t feeling quite so protective of her two days later. When he and Joe were in the conference room again, joined this time by Brandon and Rae herself.
“I appreciate how easy you’ve made all this for us,” Alec said, trying to smooth the troubled waters and wondering for the thousandth time in his entrepreneurial career why he’d ever thought it would be easier to be the boss. “That setup software was a brilliant idea, and now I’ve magically got furniture in my magic new office, placed exactly where I wanted it. I even have blinds already. I can’t tell you how long that took, last time. And that’s great.”
“But?” Rae’s eyes were steady on him from her spot below Brandon at the table, Joe having chosen to sit across from her. Still hostile, Alec thought with an inward sigh.
“But . . . i f we have to do budgets,” he asked, “do we have to do them right now? When we’ve got so much else going on?”
“Why do we ever have to do them?” Joe muttered. “There are only three of us.
“And who would you be?” the guy drawled, his eyes sweeping Alec’s white shirt and dark gray slacks, making it clear that he was less than impressed.
Alec folded his arms, paused a moment, and stared him down. “I would be the guy who signs the check.” And the guy who could kick your ass.
Beard Boy grunted. Reached a hand out for the piece of paper that Desiree handed silently to him, looked at the spot where she was tapping one slim nail, its coating of clear polish gleaming in the reflected light of the overhead fixtures and still-uncovered windows.
“ Switch these two panels around,” she said. “And please doublecheck all the electrical fittings this time as I asked. I found a loose one under there, and I don’t think your boss would be happy about a return service call.”
“Talk to you a sec?” she asked Alec as Beard Boy snapped an order to his helper, began to loosen bolts.
Alec followed her perfectly straight back and set shoulders towards the break room. He could see her scanning right and left along the way, checking the placement of the other cubes being assembled by the second team against another copy of her diagram. Which she had on a clipboard. Of course she did.
She waited until they were inside the area to which, Alec realize d, she’d had rubber matting, a water cooler, and a state-of-the-art single-cup coffee machine added since yesterday. With coffee. And tea, and hot chocolate, and who knows what else, all neatly slotted into their dispenser. And surely that was a new dishwasher and refrigerator. They hadn’t been stainless steel before, had they? When had that happened? He’d bet the refrigerator had milk in it already. And everyone’s favorite drink, too, which she’d somehow divined. He’d just bet.
Then she turned to him. “I appreciate the chivalry,” she told him. “But I’ve got it.”
“What?”
She sighed. “It doesn’t exactly make me look stronger if you have to rescue me. I had it. Worst case, I’d have called his boss. I’ve done this before, you know.”
Alec shif ted from one foot to the other. “Sorry. But he was pretty . . . disrespectful.”
“I work in the tech industry,” she said. “Disrespectful I’m used to. He didn’t actually grab my . . . he didn’t actually grab me, which puts him ahead of a fair number of the guys at the last conference I went to.”
“And that’s OK with you?” Why wasn’t she outraged? Because he was, just thinking about it.
“It’s not the least bit OK with me. But I’ve got this,” she repeated. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your help, but I’ve got it. And you’ve got interviews, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and took a look. “Joe should be wrapping that one up, got another one coming in at two.”
“Then go take care of that,” she urged. “And let me do my job.”
He wasn’t feeling quite so protective of her two days later. When he and Joe were in the conference room again, joined this time by Brandon and Rae herself.
“I appreciate how easy you’ve made all this for us,” Alec said, trying to smooth the troubled waters and wondering for the thousandth time in his entrepreneurial career why he’d ever thought it would be easier to be the boss. “That setup software was a brilliant idea, and now I’ve magically got furniture in my magic new office, placed exactly where I wanted it. I even have blinds already. I can’t tell you how long that took, last time. And that’s great.”
“But?” Rae’s eyes were steady on him from her spot below Brandon at the table, Joe having chosen to sit across from her. Still hostile, Alec thought with an inward sigh.
“But . . . i f we have to do budgets,” he asked, “do we have to do them right now? When we’ve got so much else going on?”
“Why do we ever have to do them?” Joe muttered. “There are only three of us.
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