Club Destiny 1 Conviction (2 page)

Her current role as senior
director of projects had offered a fair amount of traveling in and out of the
great state of Texas, but Dallas? Nope, she’d never imagined relocating there –
not even for a weekend.

Dallas was home to the big wigs
of XTX, being that it was the company’s headquarters, and she wasn’t sure she
would fit in there. The Dallas office was much larger than the small branch she
worked at in San Antonio.

Maybe she was thinking about this
all wrong. She would simply be a face in the crowd at a location that size. On
the other hand, the endless opportunities for growth she’d find would by far
outweigh anything she could get in their small field office.

Born and raised in the San
Antonio, Sam never dreamed of leaving. Yet this new opportunity was all but
screaming for her to up and run to a new set of challenges, not to mention a
new life. And the nicest thing was… she wouldn’t be forgoing a big city
lifestyle if she took it.

At thirty – which she kept
telling herself
was
the new twenty – Sam knew she had accomplished a lot
in her career. She had an extremely supportive family and a unique circle of
friends, but this was the chance for a new adventure. An opportunity to step
outside the box and do something more. A big stretch for her, since the routine
of her life had been comfortable thus far, making it all the more frightening
to think of doing something else.

“Stay calm. It’s all in the
details.” She warned herself as she ventured up the flight of stairs to her
second floor office.

“Morning, Sam.” Liza called out
as Samantha stepped out of the stairwell and faced the small, immaculately
dressed, fresh faced woman sitting closest to the door.

“Morning, Liza. How are you?” Sam
greeted in turn, making her way around the low walls of the cubicle.

Samantha had been greeting Liza
for months now, and it seemed that no matter what was going on in the other
woman’s life, she always had a smile on her face.

“I’m doing wonderful, thank you.
Mr. Banten is waiting for you in his office. He said you would be right in, and
his instructions were to send you straight there. No passing Go. No collecting
two hundred dollars.” Liza laughed at her own little joke, causing Sam to smile
even more.

Thank goodness she was armed with
coffee, Sam thought to herself.

“Thanks, Liza.” Sam started
toward the closed door behind Liza’s immaculately kept desk – happy, attractive
and
organized;
the woman should be locked up
.

Pausing momentarily, she looked
back at the administrative assistant who still beamed brightly in her
direction. Despite the fact that it would likely kill James to wait five more minutes,
Sam couldn’t help but inquire as to why.

“What has you so happy this
morning, if you don’t mind me asking?” Samantha asked as she took the few short
steps back toward Liza.

Liza glanced at the closed door
behind her and then leaned forward, lowering her voice as though she were
telling a highly regarded secret.

“Remember that guy I told you
about? Mark? Well, he and I have been talking more, and he finally asked me out
last night. He wants to take me out on Saturday. Said it is time we finally meet
in person.”

Sam remembered the brief
conversations they shared the previous week about a new
friend
she met
on the internet about a month ago. The brief flicker of jealousy when she found
out Liza met someone had almost surprised her with its intensity.

Not that Sam was actively looking
for a man to fill her spare time, which was scarce to none. Just the stories of
new-found romance left her wondering what it must feel like. But, that feeling was
short lived, knowing that with her career in full swing it left her without any
time to spend trying to nurse a relationship.

“Ok, share the details.” Sam
stated. “When and where?” She was genuinely interested in her friend’s
happiness, despite the slight twinge of jealousy brewing just beneath the
surface.

So what if it had been a long
time since Sam had even been on a date. Hell, it had been so long she wasn’t
sure what to even do on one. Sure, there had been a few compelling men who crossed
her path in recent years, but noone that would make her swoon the way Liza was.

“We’re going to meet at a
restaurant downtown on Saturday night. He didn’t give me a whole lot of
details, but I can’t wait.” The other woman said, squealing only slightly, with
that dreamy expression that women in love often expressed.

“Good for you, girl. You’ll have
to fill me in on all the details Monday.” Sam replied, glancing once more at
the closed door to James’ office. “Ok, I better not make him wait too long, he
might have a coronary.” Turning on her heel, Sam headed toward her boss’s office.

James, or Mr. Banten as Liza
liked to refer to him, was sitting behind the large, masculine, mahogany desk,
his fingers grazing the keyboard in front of him when Samantha tapped on the
heavy wood door.

“Sam. Glad you could make it in.”
It was easy to make out the faint irritation in James’ voice. He obviously
didn’t like to be kept waiting.

Sam slid her purse and bag down
her arm and let them rest on one of the vacant chairs that sat facing James’
desk. She nodded and grinned, but didn’t give in to his attempt to intimidate
her. When she didn’t say anything more, James continued.

“I was just putting together the
information I received from the president of the project team in Dallas. I
think this is a substantial opportunity for you and hope you have given it some
thought.”

How much thought did he think she
could have given it in the last twenty minutes?
With a disbelieving look on her
face, she spared him a quick glance, waiting for him to continue, but he sat
perfectly still, hands clasped together on his desk, staring at her with a
blank expression.

When he didn’t speak, she opted
to fill the strained silence. “Well, I can tell you I didn’t do a whole lot of
thinking in the last few minutes, but I’ll be glad to sit here and try to pull
the information out of you if you’d like. Or you can give me some more details
on exactly what I ‘ll be doing and make it easier on both of us.”

A smile tipped the corners of
James’ lips as he stared back at her. Although he appeared to be trying to
dominate the situation, Sam could see his eagerness to share his good news.

He leaned forward slightly,
resting his elbows on his desk, steepling his fingers, as he watched her.
“First, let me say they have asked specifically for you to manage this project.
Aside from this being the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, it also comes
with a promotion.”

She sensed he was proud of
himself in being able to give her that news, but she could also see the
apprehension that furrowed his brow.

“When you say ‘they’, exactly who
would that be?” Sam lowered herself into the chair across from James, sitting
her coffee cup on the edge of his desk.

It was difficult to act
nonchalant when she truly wanted to fast forward this conversation to the good
part. She was curious, plain and simple.

Knowing James, he’d prepared for
the hard sale. Sam wasn’t known as the type of woman to let anyone try to get
something past her. Her attention to detail was often a discussion point with
her project teams, and oftentimes there were some choice words being said when
they talked about her. Having prided herself on her ability to get the job
done, Sam didn’t let those things bother her.

“Sam, I know it isn’t hard for
you to believe that the big guys up in Dallas know exactly what you contribute
to this company. Your reputation precedes you.

“During our last planning
session, your name came up numerous times in regards to a certain
responsibility within the company.”

The blush his statement invoked
trailed up her neck and infused her cheeks. When it came right down to it, Sam knew
she worked hard, and she was adept at what she did. It had never gone to her
head though. She was still humble, and that type of feedback was awkward at
best.

Knowing the conversation needed
to remain on the serious side, Sam pondered what James was telling her. “Ok. So
by process of elimination, I end up being a candidate. I love my job. Why would
I want to give that up? What does this position offer that I don’t already
have?”

James had always been forthcoming
with information when he had it, and she knew he relied on her heavily when it
came to running the projects that came out of his office.

What was surprising was the fact
that he was pushing her in this direction so quickly. What was the motivation
behind that?

Her forehead wrinkled at the
negative thought, and she consciously blanked her expression. She didn’t want
to believe someone else was doing this for their own personal gain, least of
all James, but through experience, it was something she had come to expect.

“How does this sound?” James
paused as he pushed his chair back from his desk. “Samantha Kielty, Vice
President of Project Operations.”

It sounded like a load of crap,
she thought to herself. Sam just stared at him for a moment.

Vice President of Project Operations
.

Wow
.

How in the world do people come
up with titles that actually encompass everything and nothing at the same time?
She had learned that titles didn’t mean a whole lot, except for the amount of
work the job would require.

Regardless, vice president had
definite appeal to it. But the bigger question was the part about the
operations. That term encompassed a lot of things.

“Ok, I’ll bite. What project
operations would I be
vice
presidenting
?” Sam asked with
restrained sarcasm.

James laughed and the sound
reverberated through his spacious office. “Well, I have the offer letter
directly from Logan McCoy. This is a relatively quick relocation offer. He
wants you up there by the end of the month. At the very latest three weeks from
Monday.”

Damn, that certainly was quick.
Three weeks didn’t sound like a sufficient amount of time to get anything
transferred, but she was definitely interested in hearing more.

She leaned back further in the
comfortable guest chair, crossing her jean clad legs at the knees. “Does this
offer letter give me a job description? I would at least like to know what I’m
considering. Vice President sounds terrific, but along with the title comes a
lot of responsibility, and I need to ensure this is the best fit for me and for
the company.”

“Understood. And I’m not asking
you to take this lightly. I have scheduled a video conference for you and Logan
this afternoon at his request. He would like to introduce himself and provide
you with more details to consider.” James said coolly.

He stood from his seat, walked
around to the front of the desk and perched on the edge. Once situated, he
simply stared back at her as though waiting for her rebuttal. “Sam, you’re a
tremendous asset to this company, especially to this office, but this is an opportunity
for you to take on more of the leadership aspect for one of the largest
projects in this company’s history.”

Sam noted the fatherly tone in
his voice. During the ten years she had worked for him, they’d become close. He
respected her and her work and in turn, she had a tremendous amount of respect
for him. Over the years, James had offered some thought provoking advice, and
to this day, his direction had never led her astray.

After all, she had been young and
inexperienced when she joined the company, but through years of blood, sweat,
and yes, a few tears, she’d managed to make a name for herself.

Sam was confident in one thing –
if James said this was an opportunity she shouldn’t pass up, well, then she had
to pursue it further.

Sam’s stomach churned, both with
excitement and nerves. She was extremely flattered she had been requested for
the position, but her sheer nature didn’t allow her to jump at opportunities
just because she was offered them.

She was content in her current
role. Both challenged and stimulated by her work, not to mention, she’d
developed a strong rapport with the people who worked for her. However, this
was the chance to oversee from a different perspective and she felt her heart
flutter from the curiosity.

“Ok, so say this position is
perfectly suited for me, and I accept it. Where does that leave the current
projects I have here? What about my team?”

“We have some potential
candidates for your backfill directly from your team. Obviously we would want
you involved in hiring your replacement. It may require some travel back and
forth between here and Dallas for a couple of weeks, but I think that should be
manageable.”

James continued to speak, but his
expression softened somewhat. “I’m looking for your input on your team, and I’d
like you to review a couple of external candidates that we have. Either way, we
will need to hire from the outside, either to replace you or to replace the
person who replaces you.”