"We need to figure out who is the best person to replace you on the project and get you back to England, so you can start running the show there." Mitch had continued while Noah's head drifted to other places.
"Mitch, were you aware Jackie offered me a job in IT?"
The older man paused. "I see. She'd questioned me a while back about your leadership skills, but I didn't realize she planned to poach you from operations. She's quite sneaky, isn't she?" A brief silence sat between them while Mitch considered the implications. "And are you taking her offer?"
Noah hesitated. He had two solid opportunities on his plate. He didn't want to lose one by saying the wrong thing here. "Can I get back to you on that?"
Mitch laughed. "Time is of the essence, son. Things are moving quickly here, as they usually do."
"I understand." Noah took a deep breath, then gave voice to the thoughts he'd been entertaining this past week. "I've been thinking about our global operations for a while and have an idea of how we could address some of our issues, but need to flesh it out fully before I present it. Can you give me some time to pull it all together?"
Mitch's keyboard clicked in the background. "Let's see… today's Friday. How about Wednesday next week? With this breaking open today, I expect they'll want me in my new seat first thing Monday morning."
"Sure. Um, also, it would help if I knew what the salary package and job description is for the plant manager position, since I'm looking at two different options here." Noah cringed at piling onto Mitch's plate. "Sorry for the added work."
Mitch chuckled, and he relaxed at hearing his boss's sense of humor was still in place. "No worries. You're entitled to know what the job entails. I'll email you the specifics."
Noah released the breath he'd been holding. "Okay. I'll have something to show you by Wednesday."
"Cheers, then. Talk Wednesday." Mitch hung up before Noah could respond.
Noah placed his hand on his stomach, willing the overactive butterflies to calm down. Ever since Jackie had hit him with the job offer, he'd been rolling a few ideas in his head. They were taking shape into something that would work for both the company and his relationship with Claire, if he could convince Mitch. He'd need Claire's help in pulling together the data to support what his gut was telling him.
He grabbed a notepad and started organizing his thoughts.
Claire snuggled into Noah on her couch. The TV he'd brought over for their working supper last night was now hooked up to her internet, and a murder mystery show ran in the background at low volume. She looked exhausted.
"Tired?" Noah asked.
"Yeah. It's been a crazy year for me, and the last few weeks have been high stress. Then today, with the huge about-face on your job, things ratcheted up to the next level."
He grew concerned and pulled her closer. "Any seizure activity? You doing okay on managing your stress?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm doing okay. How about you? You must be tied up in knots. Today was wild with everyone unable to focus. Everywhere I went, people were speculating about all the upcoming personnel changes."
He kissed the top of her head. "I'm okay. It's going to be okay."
She leaned back and pierced him with a look. "Is it? I mean, first my new job was whack-a-doodle, then it settled down and my personal life took off to crazy town."
"You think we're crazy town?" He kept his face straight and fought the grin threatening to take over.
"Not crazy crazy, just… unexpected and moving fast." She smiled up at him. "It's funny. When I first met you, I thought you were my code block. But now? Now, I think I'm yours."
"What on earth do you mean? Isn't a code block a chunk of programming?" He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.
"Yeah, not like that. Code block like roadblock? Never mind, it's stupid nerd humor." She sat up straighter on the couch and faced him. "Look, I know when we met, you were focused on your job and looking for advancement. And now, you've got not one, but two promising offers to consider and I'm what's holding you back. And you've known me less than six months. I'm a roadblock for you. I'm your code block."
He laughed and kissed her. "You're not my code block. You're the light at the end of my tunnel." She was adorable when she worried.
He watched the blush creep up her neck to her face. She fanned herself and exaggerated her West Texas drawl. "Oh my, you sweet charmer, you."
He touched those red cheeks and brushed her hair back. "Listen, Claire. I meant what I said about having a life with you. I love you. And I have an idea to propose to Mitch about a new position in operations that will give us that life."
Claire raised her eyebrows, but he continued, "Until today, I'd planned to accept Jackie's offer as long as she let me negotiate you not reporting to me. Even though I still had doubts about us working in the same department. What if some management thing came up that I knew about, but couldn't share with you? Like, I don't know, someone about to get laid off, or some major policy change? That would put us both in a weird place."
"Oh. Yeah, that would be awkward. I never thought about that."
"Exactly. I've been thinking about how useful it's been to have someone with a global perspective—someone who understands the big picture but also knows how the pieces fit together on the ground. I didn't realize it, but I've been forming an idea for a new role. It's been churning in my head for a while and I'm going to pitch it to Mitch."
