Noah's mouth tightened. Why would he ask a stupid question like that?
Claire laughed and said, "Oh, no. I have this cool trick that takes care of it. Check it out."
She put her forefinger in her mouth, closed her lips over it, and pulled it out. "See? Any lip gloss that was on the inside is now on my finger and not my teeth. Cool, huh?"
Noah gulped. Instant action in his trousers. Suddenly, they were way too tight. He glanced around. Larry's mouth hung open, and Rick was staring out the window. In the reflection, he could see the smirk on Rick's face. Del carefully arranged his napkin on the table.
Noah shifted in his seat, studying Claire from the corner of his eye. Was that move intentional? Surely not. She seemed oblivious to her effect on him. Yeah, he definitely needed to watch himself around her.
As soon as the server returned their credit cards, Noah sprung out of the booth. He attempted a sly pull on his trousers and gave a slight wiggle to make room for the uncomfortable situation happening down there. And now he was supposed to wedge in next to her on the ride back. Great.
This woman was going to be the death of him.
Chapter 10
Food and Friendship
Claire stepped off the elevator and walked through the atrium of her building, thinking of her schedule today. She'd settled into a routine centered around project tasks, and today's agenda was full of update and planning meetings.
"Claire!" She stopped and spun around, spotting Brinnie hustling after her, an oversized warming bag in her hands.
"What've you got there, Brin?" she asked.
"I was thinking about your late meeting tonight. The one with China?"
"Singapore," she corrected.
"Right. I knew it was somewhere on the other side of the world. Anyway, I thought about how you'd miss supper, so I made a tasty chicken and rice casserole for you and your teammates to eat at work."
Claire gawked at Brinnie. She'd told Brinnie about tonight's late meeting earlier this week when planning their monthly get together. The thirteen-hour time difference between Houston and Singapore made it impossible to meet during regular business hours, so when the plants were attending, the team alternated between early morning and late-night update meetings. Apparently, Noah had instituted this practice, pointing out that the Singapore plant rarely got to give their input because of the time difference and the team needed their feedback as much as the other three plants.
"How did you manage this in such a short time? Doesn't this usually take half a day to make?" Claire asked.
Brinnie scoffed. "Sweetie, I have got to teach you my shortcuts." She waved a hand. "I had a roasted chicken in the fridge. The hard work was already done, so all I needed to do was throw in the remaining ingredients. Anyway, I made it last night. The dishes are microwavable. Just stick it in the company microwave at medium heat for about ten minutes, stirring it every so often until it's warm throughout. Here you go."
Claire grunted as the weight of the bag settled on her shoulders. "Thanks, Brinnie. I'll make sure you get your dishes back."
"I know, dear. Have a good one."
Her neighbor was already hightailing it somewhere else. Claire grinned at her good fortune of finding someone like Brinnie to look after her. She wondered if Noah would appreciate her bringing food tonight. Where did that thought come from?
"What time is the Singapore call?"
Noah looked up from his analysis to find Patsy Buchanan, his counterpart in the US plant, standing in the doorway of his temporary office. The woman's reputation as a "tough old broad" was one she was proud of and did her best to maintain. Her bright red hair gave no clue as to her age, but retirement had to be right around the corner for her.
"Have you been pulled into the project then?" he asked. He glanced at his wristwatch. The offices were quiet at this time of night.
"No, I'm not getting involved in that. But they're complaining about the way we set some things up for them, so I'm going to grab some of your time while you've got all the players in the room."
Noah groaned inwardly. Of course she was. Why schedule a call of your own when you can hijack someone else's? He leaned back in his chair. "Anything I can help with?" Perhaps he could intervene before their project update call got derailed.
"Only if you know what their problem is with the clamps. They're claiming they need to have them inventoried rather than expensed off like we do."
"Ah. I actually do know something about that. Let me tell you what's going on." Since the newer Singapore plant made the same drill bits as the Houston plant, the Houston managers had set up their processes and trained the new personnel. Now that Singapore had been operating on their own for a while, they were pushing for changes that better suited their environment. The first time he'd encountered a difference in how the plants operated, he'd been fascinated. Then surprised by how much he genuinely enjoyed learning about those differences.
He spent the next twenty minutes explaining how the parts locally available to Houston required a three-month lead time for the Singapore plant, which is why they wanted them set up as an inventory item they could track. Patsy left satisfied with the explanation, and Noah was happy to avoid the disruption to their planned meeting.
The encounter with Patsy left Noah thinking about his work on the project. So many little things like this had been resolved because he'd been able to discuss both sides. It would be nice if Caprock had someone in a permanent position who could deal with conflicts like this.
