He spun around and walked into the building, feeling both lighter and heavier. The grief of a broken heart weighing him down, alongside the relief of unloading a burden lifting him up. He climbed the stairs to the third floor and greeted the team waiting for him.
A weekafter that dinner of hard truths with Eddie and Gabe, Alex still wasn’t getting any sleep at night. She availed herself to the fully stocked company break room, adding creamer and two packets of sugar substitute to her coffee cup, in an effort to wake herself up with a jolt of caffeine.
“Coffee, Alex? I didn’t think you did coffee.” Sam asked her as he refilled his cup.
“I’m fairly certain it doesn’t qualify as coffee by the time I’ve added all the other stuff.”
Sam laughed at her joke as he leaned on the counter next to her. “Seriously, though… you doing okay?” He waited for her to look at him before continuing, “I know you’re a private person and we don’t get into each other’s personal business, but… you look tired. And you’re not as energetic as you normally are. So I’m asking. Is it the PMO project? Or…?”
Alex held up a hand, acknowledging his thoughtfulness. “Thanks for asking, Sam. I’m just dealing with all kinds of… stuff… right now. The escalated timeline for the PMO is a substantial energy suck. I’ve pretty much abandoned the planning system project to you and Natalie because of it. And, yeah… some of it’s personal. Thanks for asking.” She finished stirring her coffee before adding, “Did you hear we’re talking about shutting down the London office?”
“Why?”
“When the lease came up for renewal, the new monthly rate was thirty percent higher. They weren’t expecting it, and, man, were they pissed. Anyway, basing the European PMO branch within that office is no longer an option.” Alex threw the used stir stick in the trash. “We’ll discuss it in this morning’s meeting, so bring some ideas with you.” Her gaze swung up to the clock on the wall. “Yikes! Is that the time? I gotta run if I’m want to catch Frank beforehand. See you then.”
“Yep, later.”
Thirty minutes later, she and her team sat with Frank and Jeff discussing the new department and brainstorming ideas for viable locations.
“Alex, weren’t two of your candidates in Scotland? Close to the new Glasgow office, right?” Sam asked.
“Oh, you’re right. I met with several people in London and think of them as coming from all over, but, yeah, two of them lived near Glasgow. One of them came with the October acquisition.”
Grace asked, “Have you been to the Glasgow office, Alex?”
“I haven’t, but Frank has.” Alex directed her question to Frank, “Would they have room to house our European PMO office?”
“Actually, that’s a solid idea.” He paused and peered at Jeff.
Jeff cleared his throat. “This is not to leave this room.” He waited until everyone responded. “The local management team is aware, but we haven’t made a general announcement yet. We plan to move the Glasgow tooling operation to the England plant, so the offices used by that department will be available.”
The team was quiet as they contemplated the ramifications of this announcement.
“How many offices are available at the Glasgow facility? Do you know?” Alex asked.
“Not the exact number, but roughly half the building. I like this idea.” Jeff leaned back and folded his hands on top of his head as he considered it.
Frank added, “Don’t forget the regional sales guys.” He explained to the group, “Since we’ll have the space, we’re thinking about consolidating the U.K. sales teams and eliminating the smaller offices scattered throughout the area.”
Jeff sat up from his laid-back position in the chair, checked his watch, and made a note on his pad. “Yep, let’s do that. Alex, give Susan in HR a call tomorrow and ask for the office layout and all the details. When we’re finished here, I’ll send over an email telling her to expect your inquiry.”
“Can we state the PMO gets priority on seating since the sales guys already have bolt holes in the wild?”
Jeff grinned at her. “Yes, ma’am. You get first rights. Now make it happen.” With that, he rose from his seat and walked out, Frank following close behind.
“Okay, any updates from the other projects we’re involved with before we break for lunch?” Alex asked. Her phone pinged three times and a quick glance confirmed three different text messages.
Before she could read them, Sam caught her attention. “Yeah, the sales team requested a meeting with me and Nat this afternoon over the planning system project. I’d like you to sit in if you can. I have a sour feeling in my gut, like they’re getting ready to lob something unexpected at us.”
“Trouble?” Alex asked.
“Maybe. Natalie and I both think they’re getting ready to come back with additional requirements outside of the original statement of work. Now whether they will be show-stoppers or minor adjustments remains to be seen. I’d like have you in there, ready to steer the ship in case it’s an iceberg.”
“Yeah, okay. Forward me an invite. I’ll rearrange if I have to.”
“Thanks.”
By the time Alex made it back to her office, she’d received several more texts and missed one phone call. She sat down and scanned through the texts, then listened to her mother’s voicemail. They were all talking about a video with Fin going viral, insisting she needed to see it.
