kitchenette and made him a coffee. I
took it into him but he didn't look up from his papers. I left his
office, shut the door, and settled back at my desk. It was past
five, but I didn't plan on leaving yet. Not only did I have a lot
of Reece's work to do, I also needed to follow Ellen's techniques
for ingratiating myself. That meant working extra hard, harder than
any PA he'd had before. I called Becky and let her know I wouldn't
be home for dinner. She said she'd make something that I could heat
up later. She was used to me not coming home until all hours.
Three hours later, Reece emerged from his
office. He was rubbing his hand over his face so didn't see me
straight away. My breath caught in my throat. The brief moment in
which he thought he was alone told me more about Reece Kavanagh
than anything else so far. He was tired, yes, but troubled too. The
way he lowered his head and the groaning sigh were a sure sign that
he had something on his mind.
I wished I could alleviate the pressure for
him.
The moment of vulnerability shattered when he
drew his hand away and spotted me. We both stared at one another,
neither speaking. I tried to search for something to say and
failed. I couldn't even muster a smile. The urge to take his face
in my hands and brush away the shadows with my thumbs was
overwhelming.
I dug my fingers into the leather of my
seat.
"You're still here," he said lamely.
I nodded. "There's a lot to do."
He gave a small shake of his head and
shoulders as if he were shrugging off his problems. The shadows
lurking in his eyes vanished, replaced with the familiar coldness
that he seemed to wrap around himself when he needed to be the big
bad boss. "It's late, Cleo. Go home."
"In a minute. I just want to finish looking
at these spreadsheets."
"Trying to impress me?"
"No. Trying to work out why you've spent so
much on servers in the last year and your system is still
slow."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You don't think it's slow? I've worked in
several companies, some bigger than this one, and their systems
work more efficiently."
"Austin tells me it's just the nature of
technology these days. Our company is information hungry and all
that data takes up more and more space. He claims to have bought
the best servers money can buy."
"That's what it says here on the
spreadsheets." I nodded at the monitor and he came around to stand
behind me. I could feel his heat and intensity, but he didn't touch
me. I tried to concentrate on the task at hand. "I recognize this
hardware brand, and Austin's right, they are the best. They should
be able to cope with RK's databases without any problems. Other
places I've worked for have installed these servers and they're
just as data hungry, if not more so, than RK."
"Pull up the order forms," he said.
"I've been trying to but they're password
protected." I showed him one to prove it.
He thumped the back of my chair. "Who
password protects an order form?"
"Someone with something to hide."
"There's an easy way to check on this," he
said, already walking to the door that led to the elevator. "Come
on."
I raced after him and we stepped into the
elevator together and rode down to the second floor, the home of
the Information Technology department. There was still one guy
working, a nerdy looking kid with more spots than freckles.
"Mr. Kavanagh!" he cried upon seeing us. "Can
I help you, sir?"
"This is my PA, Cleo," Reece said. "Your name
is?"
"Tad."
"Tad, show me into your server room."
Tad jumped up from his desk and punched a
code into the pad on the wall behind him. The door to the server
room clicked open and we were confronted by a blast of cool air and
the humming of processors.
Reece pointed to the name on one of the
servers. "Is this a good brand?" he asked Tad.
"Servers aren't really my area," the kid
said. "I'm more about the software."
"Do you know if this is a good brand or
not?"
Tad swallowed and nodded quickly. "One of the
best."
Reece looked to
took it into him but he didn't look up from his papers. I left his
office, shut the door, and settled back at my desk. It was past
five, but I didn't plan on leaving yet. Not only did I have a lot
of Reece's work to do, I also needed to follow Ellen's techniques
for ingratiating myself. That meant working extra hard, harder than
any PA he'd had before. I called Becky and let her know I wouldn't
be home for dinner. She said she'd make something that I could heat
up later. She was used to me not coming home until all hours.
Three hours later, Reece emerged from his
office. He was rubbing his hand over his face so didn't see me
straight away. My breath caught in my throat. The brief moment in
which he thought he was alone told me more about Reece Kavanagh
than anything else so far. He was tired, yes, but troubled too. The
way he lowered his head and the groaning sigh were a sure sign that
he had something on his mind.
I wished I could alleviate the pressure for
him.
The moment of vulnerability shattered when he
drew his hand away and spotted me. We both stared at one another,
neither speaking. I tried to search for something to say and
failed. I couldn't even muster a smile. The urge to take his face
in my hands and brush away the shadows with my thumbs was
overwhelming.
I dug my fingers into the leather of my
seat.
"You're still here," he said lamely.
I nodded. "There's a lot to do."
He gave a small shake of his head and
shoulders as if he were shrugging off his problems. The shadows
lurking in his eyes vanished, replaced with the familiar coldness
that he seemed to wrap around himself when he needed to be the big
bad boss. "It's late, Cleo. Go home."
"In a minute. I just want to finish looking
at these spreadsheets."
"Trying to impress me?"
"No. Trying to work out why you've spent so
much on servers in the last year and your system is still
slow."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You don't think it's slow? I've worked in
several companies, some bigger than this one, and their systems
work more efficiently."
"Austin tells me it's just the nature of
technology these days. Our company is information hungry and all
that data takes up more and more space. He claims to have bought
the best servers money can buy."
"That's what it says here on the
spreadsheets." I nodded at the monitor and he came around to stand
behind me. I could feel his heat and intensity, but he didn't touch
me. I tried to concentrate on the task at hand. "I recognize this
hardware brand, and Austin's right, they are the best. They should
be able to cope with RK's databases without any problems. Other
places I've worked for have installed these servers and they're
just as data hungry, if not more so, than RK."
"Pull up the order forms," he said.
"I've been trying to but they're password
protected." I showed him one to prove it.
He thumped the back of my chair. "Who
password protects an order form?"
"Someone with something to hide."
"There's an easy way to check on this," he
said, already walking to the door that led to the elevator. "Come
on."
I raced after him and we stepped into the
elevator together and rode down to the second floor, the home of
the Information Technology department. There was still one guy
working, a nerdy looking kid with more spots than freckles.
"Mr. Kavanagh!" he cried upon seeing us. "Can
I help you, sir?"
"This is my PA, Cleo," Reece said. "Your name
is?"
"Tad."
"Tad, show me into your server room."
Tad jumped up from his desk and punched a
code into the pad on the wall behind him. The door to the server
room clicked open and we were confronted by a blast of cool air and
the humming of processors.
Reece pointed to the name on one of the
servers. "Is this a good brand?" he asked Tad.
"Servers aren't really my area," the kid
said. "I'm more about the software."
"Do you know if this is a good brand or
not?"
Tad swallowed and nodded quickly. "One of the
best."
Reece looked to
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