"Into December. I go home for Christmas." Noah sat in the unoccupied chair and kicked his feet up on her desk.
Cheryl knocked his feet off with a swipe of her hand. "What, were you raised in a barn?" The ladies giggled again.
He smiled and stretched his legs out in front of him.
Cheryl asked, "Are you coming to talk to me about the double order?"
"That, and to see what else is going on before I go join the technical whiz-bangs." One trait sales and production shared was their impatience and disdain for the accounting and IT departments. While Noah didn't share this perspective—he understood how they all depended on and needed each other—it was standard practice to give the money maestros and techies a hard time.
"Well, I'm out. I've got actual work to do while y'all sit and catch up on gossip." Teresa waved and carefully carried her coffee out. "I don't know why I always overfill this dang cup."
"I didn't mean to chase her out." Noah watched Teresa leave.
Cheryl gave him a quick smile and waved him off. "Nah, we were done. And she's heard it before." She lifted her water bottle for a drink. The label said something about a fifteen-kilometer race.
"You still running marathons?" he asked.
She grimaced. "I was, but I sprained my ankle earlier this year, and I've struggled to bounce back. I don't think I'm going to make the Chevron run in January. It'll be the first time I've missed it in a long time."
"That's too bad. Everything okay with the ankle?" He'd injured a thumb once, and it had set back his woodworking projects by months. He didn't do much running, but figured ankles were critical tools.
"Yeah, it's okay. I aggravated a past injury, and it's taking longer to heal. Also, my doctor tells me being in my forties is part of the problem." She scrunched her nose up.
"What an arsehole," Noah said.
"That he is!" Her smile spread, and she shuffled some papers on her desk. "All right, charmer, what do you really want?"
"I truly don't have an agenda, just checking in. Anything new going on I should know about?"
"You mean like an increased budget in the Asia region that has everybody wondering about new locations?"
Noah's eyebrows went up. "Oh? Do tell."
Noah left Cheryl with a promise to do lunch with her team later in the week, and headed to Larry's office. He turned over what she'd told him, which had been very little. Rumors were flying that something was up, but the Asia regional manager was keeping it quiet.
"I don't know why she's having such a hard time with this. I keep having to reset her password and no one else is having a problem. So much for her fancy pedigree."
The one-sided conversation drifted out of the office where the project coordinator had set up shop. Noah's steps slowed and he turned back, intending to delve into the latest issue.
"Noah! Hey, man, when did you get in?" One of the sales guys from the Asia region walked up and slapped him on the back.
"Troy, good to see you." They shook hands and Noah asked, "What are you doing way over here? Aren't you supposed to be in Singapore?"
Troy shook his head. "No, man. I've transferred from sales to the PMO. I'm here for training, then I'm relocating to Scotland."
"Seriously? That's quite a change." Noah had always liked Troy. They'd hung out occasionally when the salesman lived in England, and he'd missed him when he transferred away. Earlier this year, when the project team visited the Singapore plant to gather requirements, Troy had taken them to a few of his favorite restaurants.
"Yeah, well, setting up all those new offices gave me some experience in that area. Speaking of new offices, did you hear they're considering a new location in Australia?"
Noah perked up, tilting his head. "Repair site? Or new plant?" he asked. This must be the big secret Cheryl had clued into.
"Not sure." Troy glanced at his buzzing phone. "Some newly discovered reserve has the estimated rig count way up for next year, and the top brass thinks we're going to be super busy. Listen, I gotta run, but let's catch up. I'll be here until the end of the week."
"Sounds good."
Noah continued on to Larry's office, thinking of the revisions he'd need to make to the site list if what Troy said was true. First, he needed to verify the possible new location with his boss. And, if it were a new plant they were considering, they'd need a plant manager. He smiled to himself. He'd always wanted to visit the land down under. Perhaps that's where his future lay. Noah made a mental note to follow up with Mitch to get the scoop.
Chapter 8
