Nickels (40 page)

Not much had changed in the last year.  Back then she worked
on a short three month project for converting their in-house ordering system to
an ecommerce platform.  Brian told her that project alone provided a nearly one
hundred twenty percent increase in sales.  No wonder they wanted her back.

“Niki Turner.”

She turned toward the sound of her name.  “Justin Greene,”
she held out her hand as she greeted the Vice President of Sales and
Marketing—Roger Greene’s oldest son.

“I heard rumor that we reeled you back here.”  Justin
smiled, his brown eyes glittering with excitement.

“I heard a rumor that you made an offer too good to refuse.”

His face went red.  “Ah, you know how Dad—er, Roger—likes to
make sure we hire the best.”

I’ll bet, Niki thought.  She remembered Justin’s persistent
interest in her at the post implementation party last year.  Even though he was
only four years older than her, she wasn’t interested.  Still wasn’t.

“Well, perhaps I’ll see you around,” she said hoping he
would take the hint and move about his business.

“You certainly will.”  He guided her towards the camera for
her photo ID badge.  “Didn’t Brian tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m the project sponsor.  You’ll be working on the new
sales lead system.”

She managed to wipe the frown from her face a second before
the security guard snapped her picture.

“Name?” the guard asked.

“Niki Turner,” she replied, spelling it out for the rather
impatient man.

Justin continued, “We’ll be working very closely together on
this project since it’s my primary initiative for this fiscal year.”

She took the offered ID badge from the security guard and
clipped it on the waist of her skirt.  Too bad she hadn’t worn some ugly baggy
pants and a mismatched blouse.  The last thing she needed was to draw more
attention from Justin.  Too late, judging by his thinly veiled appraisal. 
Hadn’t she had enough drama in the last three days to last for awhile?

“Where’s Joe?” she asked.

“Oh, I asked him to tell me when you arrived.  He had a
meeting this morning.  Besides, I wanted to give you the grand tour.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“Just want to make sure you haven’t forgotten your way
around the place,” he said, leading her to the elevator.  He pressed the button
for the second floor, the obvious choice since there were only two buttons.

Stepping from the elevator, Niki scanned the open expanse. 
The floor-to-ceiling glass windows somehow managed to keep the heat out and let
the natural sunlight in.  The lower cubes allowed the coveted natural light to
filter through to each desk.  It was quite a difference from the tall, drab
cubes and artificial light at her last assignment.

“This way.”  He led her down the side of the building that
housed the executive offices, stopping in front of Roger’s office.

“Dad, you remember Niki Turner?” Justin said.

She moved to the side of Roger’s large cherry wood desk.

“Of course, hard to forget someone so instrumental in boosting
our sales.”  Roger smiled as he extended his hand.  Niki shook it firmly.

“Roger, how have you been?”

“Fantastic.  Business is good.”

“And in a recession, too,” Justin piped up.

“Well, that’s because Justin is becoming a real visionary,”
Roger bragged on his son.  “Which is where you come in, Niki.  This sales lead
software is critical to improving the efficiency of our sales calls, everything
from tracking cold calls, to purchased lists, to managing our long time
customer base.  But, I’ll let Justin fill you in on all the details.”

As Roger sat down at his desk, Justin motioned her towards
the door.

“It was good to see you again, Roger,” she said.

Roger smiled before his ringing phone cut off any response.

She followed Justin down to his office.  Though she met him
briefly the last time she worked on site—and at the party—she’d never been to
his office.  The glass wall to the outside provided an unobstructed view of the
western side of the McDowell Mountains.

“I don’t think I’d be able to get any work done with a view
like that,” she said, in awe of the sight before her eyes.

“I’ve gotten used to working around such beauty.”

When she glanced back at him, she noticed he wasn’t looking
at the view.  Instead his eyes were roaming up and down her figure.  Heat
rushed to her face as she took the seat opposite from his cherry wood desk. 
She leaned her laptop bag against the leg of the chair.  Resting her hands in
her lap she waited for him to speak.

“You look great, Niki.”

Now she remembered what she didn’t like about this guy. 
Maybe her subconscious was trying to keep her from taking the job here because
Justin was—he seemed way too interested in her a year ago.  So far, it wasn’t
looking much better.

Choosing to ignore his comment, she redirected the conversation
back to work.  “Do you have a cube I can steal?”

“Always eager to get to work.”

“Well, that’s why you’re paying Elite the big bucks,” she
said wryly.

A light knock came from the door behind her.

“Hey, Niki.”

At the sound of Joe’s voice, she picked up her laptop and
purse from the floor next to the chair.  She stood and walked to the doorway. 
“If you don’t mind, Justin, I’d like to get settled at my cube.”  She didn’t
wait for an answer.  Instead she walked from the room with a confused Joe
scurrying behind her.

“What was that about?” Joe asked as he showed her the cube
next to his.

“I think I’m starting to figure out why they were so adamant
that I come here.”

“Why’s that?”

“Never mind.  Give me the run down on the project.  What do
we know?  Timelines, etc.”

The next two hours, Joe filled her in on the details of the
project.  It sounded like they were still in the early stages of defining the
requirements.  That would mean lots and lots of meetings with the creepy son of
Greene.

Shortly before noon, her phone rang. 

“How’s it going?” Kyle’s voice sounded sweet in her ear.

“Fine.  I’m over at Global.  Joe’s been talking my ear
off.”  She waved her hand to shoo Joe away.

“Sorry, I can’t chat long.  Just wanted to see how you were
doing.”

“I’ll be just fine.”

“Good.  I’ll call later.”

“Bye.”

Strange how not seeing him for two days already left her
lonely.

“Someone special?” Justin asked, coming up behind her.

“Can I help you with something?”

“Lunch.  You, me, Joe.  Come on.  Let’s go.”

She dropped her phone into her purse and slung the strap
over her shoulder.  She peeked over the cube wall—no Joe—and frowned.

“He’s going to meet us there.  I’ll drive.”

Niki felt cornered.  But, she didn’t want to cause waves her
first day, so she followed him to his covered parking spot and climbed into his
silver Lexus.  Within minutes they were at the restaurant.

He asked to be seated, even though Joe was not there yet. 
When Joe still wasn’t there by the time their drinks arrived, Justin suggested
they order without him.  Niki gave the server her lunch order then dug her
phone from her purse.  Joe didn’t seem like the flaky sort.

Where r u?
She texted him.

Lunch in break room.

What gives?  Justin said u were coming to lunch with us.

Never said anything to me.

Justin’s creepy factor raised a notch or two.  She was
pretty sure she could trust Joe more than she could Justin.

“What have you been up to the last year?” Justin asked as
their food arrived.

“Working hard.”  She left it intentionally vague.

“Seeing anyone?”

Another notch on the creepy factor.  Deciding it might help
put an end to his uncomfortable interest, she said, “As a matter of fact, I
am.  He’s great and I’ve known his family for a long time.”

“Happy?”

“Very.”

“How long have you been seeing him?”

“Five weeks.”

Justin laughed.  She failed to see what was funny.

“Be sure to let me know if things don’t work out.”

She rolled her eyes.  This was going to be a long project if
he kept this up.  She tried several times to redirect the conversation back to
work, but he circumvented each attempt.  He kept prying for personal
information.  By the end of the meal, she thought about calling Brian for a
different assignment.

Chapter 36

Wednesday night, Niki took extra care getting ready for
Bible study.  She missed Kyle and hoped they would get a few minutes to connect
after study.  She hadn’t seen him since his emergency trip to Colorado.  They
hadn’t talked about Alana.  Maybe he would explain it all tonight.

As she pulled onto Matt’s street, she scanned the vehicles. 
Marcy’s car.  Chad’s car.  Tori’s car.  No truck.  No Kyle.  Disappointment
hung on her shoulders as she retrieved her Bible and purse from the passenger
seat.  Maybe he was just running a little late.

She entered Matt’s house and was greeted with the usual
round of hugs.  She took the seat between Marcy and Tori—the girl’s unofficial
couch.  Matt asked for prayer requests before they started.  Marcy asked them
to pray for Alana.  They asked Niki how she was doing after the accident at
work last week.  She told them she was fine but wouldn’t mind if they kept
praying for her.

Matt bowed his head to pray.  She missed the entire thing,
distracted by her thoughts.  Who was Alana?  Where was Kyle?  Was he having
second thoughts about her?  What would he say about the overt attention from
Justin at her new job?  Had Joe said anything to him about it? 

When had she become such a worrier?

Marcy nudged Niki and she looked up.  Everyone was staring
at her.  “Pardon?”

“Where’s Kyle?” Matt asked.

Niki shrugged.  She wished she knew.

Marcy whispered in her ear, “Everything okay?”

“I think so,” she whispered back as she turned to the
passage they were studying. 
Lord, please help me to focus.

Halfway through their discussion time, Niki’s phone beeped. 
“Sorry,” she said, quickly digging it from her purse.  The text from Kyle did
nothing to improve her fears.

Working late.  Can’t make it.  Call u tomorrow. K.

She dropped her phone back in her purse resolving not to
think about the text until after study was over.  For the rest of the time, she
actively engaged, asking questions about the passage.  She had so much to
learn.

Once back at home, she crashed on the couch in the great
room and stared at the text from Kyle.  Was he avoiding her?  Or was he really
that busy at work?

“What’s going on, Niki?” Marcy said as she flopped down on
the opposite couch.

She sighed.  “I don’t know.  I guess I just miss Kyle.  It’s
so weird to go from seeing him every day at work, some evenings, and all
weekend.  I haven’t seen him since he left abruptly on Saturday.  We’ve barely
talked.”

“You really like him, don’t you?  Maybe even love him?”

Niki stared at the phone.  Is that what was wrong with her? 
Was she lovesick?  “Maybe.”

“You aren’t second guessing him are you?” Marcy asked.  “You
know he cares for you very much.  It’s probably eating him up as much as it is
you that he’s so busy.”

“I know.”  She started down the hall to her room.  “Night,
Marcy.”

Flopping down on her bed, she checked her phone again. 
Nothing.

Was two months long enough to know if you love someone? 
Kyle said he loved her.  Had those feelings started to develop before they
started dating?

Too bad love wasn’t as logical as programming.  It would be
a whole lot easier to figure out.

She was definitely attracted to him.  She respected him. 
She liked his sense of honor, his character, and his protectiveness.  The way
he always tried to make her smile made her feel special.  She liked who she was
with him.

She missed him.

Tapping the screen of her phone, she looked at the time. 
Ten-thirty.  She really should go to bed.  Or…

Standing, Niki pulled her flip-flops from her closet and
slipped them on.  Grabbing her purse, she walked out to the garage, digging for
her keys as she went.  She was crazy—most definitely out of her mind.

Punching the garage door opener, she waited for it to finish
lifting before getting in her car.  Once she backed out, she caught Marcy’s
head popping into the garage from the house, confused expression on her face. 
With the click of a button, Niki set the garage door in motion, leaving her
befuddled roommate behind.

Within minutes, she had her car pointed down the street,
towards Kyle’s townhouse.  This was so incredibly impulsive and crazy!

As she pulled into the parking lot, she hesitated.  Maybe
this wasn’t such a good idea.  What if he was already asleep?  What if he
didn’t want to see her?  What if…