Fin hesitated and Alex asked, “Problem?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “There are some security issues I need to consider. I’m happy to ride with you, but I’d like to get the address to give to my driver in case I need to make a quick getaway.”
“Oh, I never thought of that. I’ll have to look it up, but I can text it over before Tuesday. Does that work?”
“Sounds perfect. Also, I’ll likely have to sneak out a side door at the hotel, but can text you ahead of time where to pick me up.”
“Awesome.”
He laughed, and she asked, “What?”
“‘Awesome,’” he repeated. “It’s definitely an American word. You guys use it extensively.”
“You mean like how the British use ‘lovely?’” she teased him back.
“Precisely.”
His phone dinged, signaling his driver was outside.
He wrapped his arms around Alex and gave her a brief hug, then kissed her cheek. “Thank you again for tonight. I look forward to Tuesday.”
She trailed him out the door and watched him walk to the car. Alex answered his wave goodbye as he got into the backseat, then followed the car with her gaze as it drove away. Her heart was still pounding from the chest to chest contact and the feel of his arms around her.I wonder if he knows he’s sending me to bed with butterflies in my stomach,she thought.
Chapter6
Monday
Monday morning,Alex sat at the conference table in her office surrounded by the three other individuals who comprised her global financial systems team, or the GFS, as they referred to themselves. Both Grace and Sam had previously worked as accountants, then system experts with deep experience in supporting accounting teams. Natalie was the newest member and was still learning how to fulfill her role as a systems admin support person. Without guidance, she tended to get lost in the weeds and forget that the end users were her first priority.
Alex loved her team. She considered herself lucky to have such consummate professionals who were as dedicated to their team’s mission as she was. Alex considered her role to be one of troubleshooting and clearing the path for these guys to do their job.
Normally, they met once a month, but she wanted updates on a few hot-button items that Grace and Sam had handled while she was out last week, and to share the news on the PMO approval.
Natalie had derailed the conversation again, talking about her weekend activities and was trying to pry information from Alex about her personal life. As she expertly dodged the inquiries, Alex realized she needed to have a formal discussion with her employee about boundaries, something she’d never needed to do with either Grace or Sam. They seemed to understand inherently that Alex never discussed her personal life at work. She’d learned that lesson long ago when a hostile colleague had tried to undermine her achievements by bringing up her personal life. And she’d vowed never to find herself in that position again. Anything outside of work was nobody’s business.
Recognizing an opening to change the topic, Alex asked, “Okay, any other updates?” When they all shook their heads no, she gathered up the papers in front of her and put them aside.
Sam pushed back from the table, but Alex stopped him before he rose. “I’ve got one more topic to discuss.”
He settled back in and Alex waited until everyone focused on her. “Frank gave us the go-ahead on the PMO proposal.”
The room exploded with their responses.
“What?”
“That’s fantastic!”
“I can’t believe it.”
Alex made a pushing motion with her hands. “It’s not official. They haven’t approved it yet. But, if we can pull together a decent proposal quickly, and they approve it, we may move on it as early as next fiscal year. Frank wants the new department in the budget for next year.”
Grace’s eyes widened. “Next year. As in two-and-a-half months from now?”
Sam scoffed. He waved his hand dismissively and said, “We already missed the deadline.”
“The deadline for thefirstpass,” Alex corrected. “Frank said if we can pull this together, he was sure we could get it added before the final pass.”
“Can we do it?” Grace asked. Alex could always count on Grace to keep them grounded.
