Teresa stuck her head in and interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey, man! Claire brought supper if you want to grab a bite to eat before the call."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "What'd she bring?" A mental image of Claire smiling while he choked on her cooking filled his head. He must be feeling guilty for keeping his distance.
"Who cares? I'm starving. It's in the kitchen. Come now or lose out." She saluted him and hustled away.
His stomach growled. "I guess that means I'm checking it out." He stood and stretched, then wandered down the hall to the community kitchen where he could hear a crowd gathering. Their voices drifted out.
"Uh… Docker is a containment system, not a person." That sounded like Srini.
"Duh. I know that. It's a joke. Docker? I barely know her. Get it? Ugh. Never mind." Noah thought that sounded like Vicki, but she rarely attended any late-night sessions.
"Holy crap! This is good, Claire. Did you cook this?" Larry asked.
Her laughter rolled over him, and he entered in time to hear her response.
"No, my neighbor did. I'd mentioned working late tonight, so Brinnie made supper. I didn't realize she'd made enough for an army until I unpacked it."
There were two casserole dishes on the counter, along with plates, forks, and paper cups. At the end were two plates piled high with brownies.
Noah grabbed a plate and helped himself, then moved to sit at one of the tables spread throughout the communal space. His growling stomach didn't seem to care what was on the menu, but he studied his plate and spied peas, carrots, and mushrooms mixed in with rice and bits of shredded chicken. He scooped a forkful of the creamy concoction into his mouth and almost melted in his chair.
"This is luscious," he exclaimed. "What is it?"
Pink tinged Claire's cheeks, and she smiled. "It's chicken and rice casserole. Brinnie's an excellent cook. I'm definitely getting this recipe from her."
"You cook too, Claire?" Teresa asked.
The red crept up the rest of her face and she fidgeted in her chair. "Yes. We have a group in our apartment building who swap dishes and recipes."
"Well, Miss Brinnie can cook for us anytime," Larry added as he shoveled another bite in.
"Did she make these brownies too?" Simon asked as he looked over the dessert plates.
"Um, no. Those are mine. Our monthly cook-off was tonight, and I'd sent my contribution ahead of time. Apparently, Brinnie thought we needed them more. Those on the left are without nuts for anyone with nut allergies."
Quiet murmurs filled the air while everyone stuffed their bellies.
Noah cleaned his plate and made his way toward the brownies. As he passed Claire, he stopped to compliment her on the food. "That was wonderful. Please tell Miss Brinnie thank you for the delicious meal."
Her eyes widened at the compliment. Her reaction startled him. Had he been such a jerk that a simple compliment shocked her? He averted his gaze and swallowed. Before he could blurt out an apology, he loaded his napkin with two brownies and beat it out of the kitchen. He had a meeting to prepare for. At least that's what he told himself.
Chapter 11
Site Code Breakthrough
A week later, Noah sat in the war room, rubbing his temples. Claire now had a better grasp on which plant produced each bit type and the basic workings of their distribution chain. They'd now reached the main issues the team faced, which was how to automate moving the bits through the system as they were shipped to new locations.
"So what you're saying is each Caprock sales office, repair center, and plant must be unique within the system and we need a way to roll up transactions by location into their area, then region? I don't understand why we can't use the built-in cost center field. That's what it's for!" Claire exclaimed, her voice rising with frustration.
"Yes. We tried. It doesn't work." Noah growled at her.
Claire crossed her arms and scowled at him. "Look, I'm sorry you're having to cover old ground, but I'm trying to understand what's already been discarded, so I don't repeat the work you've already done. Stop growling at me like a ky-oat chasing his tail." She glared at him.
Noah blinked, trying to process the unfamiliar word she'd used. "What the hell is a… ky… oat?"
Larry interjected. "Coyote. She's saying coyote." He clarified with a three-syllable word rather than the two-syllable abomination Claire had ground out. "You know, a wild dog." The smirk on Larry's face brought heat to Noah's, and he frowned.
