You've Got Game

They said goodbye, then Lorna fed Buttercup, fixed the coffeepot for the morning and prepared for bed. But once there, she couldn’t fall asleep. Her mind refused to shut down. She kept thinking about the next day and what might be in store for her, both with the job itself and her uneasy relationship with Nick DeSanto. Then she thought about Coach and their relationship and whether she should trust her instincts about him.

But most of all, she thought about the future and whether this move to Houston would bring about the changes she hoped for.

On Monday, Nick arrived at the plant before seven, determined to beat Lorna there. Although the office itself didn’t open until eight, he figured she’d show up early. Sure enough, at seven-thirty, Henry, the security guard who manned the main entrance, passed her through.

If she was surprised to see Nick already there, she hid it well. “Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning.” She sure looked different than the way she’d looked Saturday night. Today her outfit was all business—dark blue tailored slacks and a matching jacket over a conservative white blouse. If they’d been on halfway friendly terms, he probably would have said something to that effect. “Before we get started, let’s go up to my office and go over a few things, okay?”

“Sure.”

When they reached the office level, Nick stopped at the doorway to the kitchen. “Want some coffee? I’m going to grab a quick cup.”

“I’ve already had my cup for the day, but thanks.”

“Doughnuts? Fresh baked right here during the night.”

She shook her head. “Bad enough I’ll be smelling them all day long.”

“Is there a woman alive who isn’t watching her weight?” Nick said. He poured fresh coffee into his mug.

“It’s not that. I just eat too many sweets. A hazard of the business, I’m afraid.”

Nick mentally rolled his eyes. It was hard for him to reconcile today’s rigid demeanor with the woman he’d watched on the dance floor Saturday night. If he hadn’t seen her with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed they were one and the same person.

Once they were settled in his office, he handed her a stack of reports and a disk that contained all the information she’d need to access the financial records and any other pertinent data from their computer system. While they were going over the current inventory, he heard rustling noises in the outer office and knew Karen was setting up for the day. A few minutes later, she knocked on his door, then opened it.

“Nick,” she began, then stopped. “Oh, Miss Hathaway, I didn’t know you were here. I was just going to tell Nick that your temp has arrived.”

Lorna started to rise.

“Why not have Karen show her the ropes first?” he suggested. “I’m sure the temp’s got paperwork to fill out, and Karen can brief her on our computer system and where things are located.”

“Maybe Karen could show both of us these things at the same time,” Lorna said.

“Sure. I don’t mind,” Karen said.

Nick hated to admit it, but Lorna’s willingness to expose her ignorance in front of the temp produced another bout of grudging admiration. “Great. I’ll leave you to it. And Karen?”

“Yes?”

“Shut the door on your way out.”

After they were gone, Nick leaned back in his chair and wondered if he’d misjudged Lorna. Maybe she hadn’t come to spy on him. He had to admit she wasn’t throwing her weight around or acting like she owned the place, even if she did. He guessed only time would tell. It could be she was just biding her time before lowering the boom.

Until then, he decided, he would play if safe and never let his guard down.

By the time the day was over, Lorna was exhausted. She’d never imagined there would be so much for her to learn. Thank goodness Karen was so knowledgeable and didn’t seem to mind spending a good portion of her day showing Lorna, never mind the temp, the ropes.

In fact, the temp—whose name was Marilyn—was excellent. A no-nonsense type with terrific skills, she settled in as if she’d been there forever. By midafternoon, Lorna was ready to offer Marilyn the secretarial position on a permanent basis. Prudently, she decided to wait another day or two, just to make sure they were compatible.

Toward the end of the day, Phyllis McIntyre, the bookkeeper, came by to introduce herself. An elfin woman with short black hair and shrewd eyes behind bifocals, she impressed Lorna immediately.

“If you’d rather I work here in the plant,” she said, “I’d be happy to.”

“You don’t like telecommuting?” Lorna said.

“Oh, no, I love it, but after all, you’re the boss, and if you’d prefer me to be here, well, then I’ll come in.”

Her offer impressed Lorna, too. Most employees with the kind of deal Phyllis had would be loath to give it up. “I don’t have a problem with you working from home.”

After discussing Phyllis’s schedule and responsibilities, Lorna knew they were on their way to a solid working relationship.

Another plus during the day was how little she saw of Nick. If every day was like this one, she had nothing to worry about.

That evening, after a quick pick-me-up dinner of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, Lorna decided to take a bath and get comfortable before going online to Jamboree.

At 7:45 p.m., feeling much better, she logged on to her computer so she could check her e-mail before heading over to the games server. She smiled when she saw an e-mail from Coach in her inbox.

FROM: Coach1012@bayoucity.net

TO: SweetStuff@jamboree.net

DATE: September 1

SUBJECT: Change of Plans

Dear Sweet Stuff, I’m sorry, but I can’t play tonight. Something’s come up and I had to go back to work. I’ll probably be here half the night. Whenever I get a break, I’ll check my e-mail, though. I’m really curious about how your first day at your new job went. Things were really interesting here. One of these days I’ll tell you all about it. Anyway, right now I’ve got to go, but I hope to hear from you later.

Lorna was disappointed, but she had a good book to read. Maybe she’d just climb into bed and read until she got sleepy. First, though, she’d answer his post.