Hide and Seek
Mondays were always busy at Caprock. Just because the office workers broke for the weekend didn't mean the plant workers did. And while Claire didn't directly support users, many of her teammates did, which meant they often juggled disruptions to the project schedule to fix a problem leftover from the weekend.
Today was no exception. They'd finished their daily check-in on the project and discovered the production group was tied up with an inventory issue. The delay in today's testing meant Claire had time to check in with Grace on the EH import mini-project. She giggled at the new name for her efforts with the Eastern Hemisphere accounting reports. This industry went overboard with the acronyms. Anything to improve efficiency and waste less time.
As she gathered her things to leave the war room, Noah appeared at her side. "Hey, Claire. You have a minute? I want to review the Norway sales credit solution."
She glanced up, confused, wondering if some new problem had surfaced. "Um, sure? Here?"
"We can discuss it on the way back to your office," he said, his hand finding her lower back as he directed her to the hallway and sending tingles down her spine.
As they walked to her office, multiple people said hello to Noah, with a few wanting him to swing by later so they could follow up with him on something work-related.
"You're very popular," she commented.
"Hmph. The plants are coordinating things for the first time." Her face must have expressed her surprise. He explained further. "There's some history. You know how we manufacture two types of drill bits?" At her nod, he continued, "They used to be separate companies. One company did the fixed cutter bits, and the other did the roller cone bits. This merger took place decades ago, but the plants continued to operate as if they were separate companies." He paused with a frown. "And since they used different manufacturing methods, it was easy to leave things alone. But as the company has expanded and gone global, the need for standardized record-keeping has grown. The ops bigwigs want to see combined numbers for all plants, not broken out by each plant."
"I see," she said. And she did. Despite her limited view of operations at NanoTechwise, she'd been aware of the push to roll acquisitions into the "Nano way of doing things."
Noah continued, "And this global project has been a great way to encourage the new mindset of thinking globally, rather than staying focused on one little corner of the world. Which means scores of dusty corners are being cleaned up and straightened out." He grimaced, then absently scratched his neck.
"And you're the one with the best view of the road who also understands the details," she said.
"Apparently." The comment dripped with sarcasm.
They arrived at her office, and she snapped her laptop into its dock before turning to face Noah. "So, what's new on the Norway sales credits?" Her gaze flicked to the closed door behind him. Light spilled through a crack. They weren't sealed in.
Still, her breath caught, her reaction an echo of another time, another office. For half a second, her pulse skipped like a scratched record. But then she looked at Noah—calm, steady, watching her with quiet concern—and the panic didn't come.
She exhaled. This wasn't California. This wasn't Stephan. And this wasn't a trap.
Noah froze at the look on her face, checked behind him, then turned back. "Sorry, I just wanted some privacy. Do I need to…?" He gestured toward the door.
"No, it's okay." Her voice was steady. "I trust you."
And she did. That was the difference.
He studied her for a second, then nodded. "I don't have anything new on the Norway sales credits. That was an excuse." Before she could comment, he added, "It's cold outside."
Claire blinked at the sudden topic change and promptly forgot the door. Her mouth opened to respond, then closed again. "Okay?"
"I wanted to give you a ride home today. So you don't have to take the bus or walk in the cold. What time do you normally leave?"
"Oh." Her brain scrambled to change gears. He'd pulled her aside to offer her a ride? "Um, I normally leave around five, unless I have late meetings." She glanced at her calendar. "And I've got nothing booked after my three o'clock."
"Perfect." He smiled. "I'll meet you here at five and drive you home. See you then." He turned and walked out, leaving her door open.
"Okay then," she whispered. A smile crept across her face. How very unbusinesslike of him.
Three days later, Noah followed Claire into her apartment, balancing the steaming takeout in one hand and his laptop bag in the other. Claire shut the door behind him and cleared a space on the kitchen island to the right. He set the food on the counter.
"Sorry again for making you wait," he said. Since the cold front on Monday, they'd left around five each day, but today's last-minute meeting had thrown them off.
Claire had ditched her coat and was kicking off her boots. She shot a smile over her shoulder. "You made up for it with Chinese food. You can hang your coat in the closet there." She nodded to the door across from the kitchen and began unpacking the food.
Noah made himself comfortable and looked around. He’d been picking Claire up and dropping her off all week, but until now, he’d always stayed in the car. This was his first time inside her apartment.
Claire handed him a fork. "Sit. Eat. I'm starving and don't want to be rude. I'll give you the tour when we're done, yeah?"
