Using her ID, she logged into the computer system and synced the new tablet with her laptop and the desktop, making sure all the screens worked, separately and together. She felt a sense of giddy excitement at all the new and shiny electronics and technology around her. She noticed that the IT department had already transferred her internal files to this location, and she worked her way through her calendar to make sure all the meetings and conferences that had been set up in Savannah before her decision to move had been canceled or reassigned to the architects who had taken over her projects.
Just as she closed everything down in preparation to leave for lunch, she heard a tap on her door. “Come in,” she called loudly enough for her voice to carry to the door at the other end of the room.
The door opened and in walked…Jon? Maybe Ken? Either way, a grin crossed her face. “Hello!”
“Hi, sunshine,” her greeter said. Definitely Jon, ever the charmer. “Aren’t you a sight?”
“Jon!” With a laugh, she accepted his friendly hug. “What a treat. I guess I knew I’d be working with Brad, but some part of my mind assumed you and Ken would be out and about.”
“Sometimes we are. Right now, we’re both in town. I’m just recently back, actually.” He slipped his hands into the pockets of his khaki pants. She couldn’t help but compare his black collared shirt stitched with the red Dixon Contracting logo to Brad, three floors above her, who had on a gray suit with a sharp red tie. “Mom sent me here to invite you to dinner tonight. She said she’d call you, but she didn’t know your new office number.”
Valerie pulled her phone out of her pocket to make sure she hadn’t missed any calls. “She could have called my cell.”
“Uh, we’re talking about my mother,” Jon said dryly. “She doesn’t call cells if you’re anywhere near, and I quote, a ‘real phone.’”
Valerie laughed comfortably, feeling the years melt away. “I will definitely be there for dinner. What time?”
“She’s working around a meeting dad and Brad have tonight, so it will be a little later. Maybe seven?”
Later worked better for her, for no reason other than she wouldn’t have to contend with the Atlanta traffic right after work. “That sounds great. I’ll be able to get a lot done between now and then.”
“Great. I’ll see you there.” He stepped backward and put his hand on the door. “Let me know if you need to follow me or anything. I know it’s been a while since you came out to the house.”
After he left, she gathered her purse and keys, and went to find the best place to grab lunch. She hoped to find something in easy walking distance. She ignored the stares of the people on her floor. Curiosity about the new girl prompted the glances, she knew. She also knew that some of them knew her from Savannah and had some idea about what had happened. Perhaps some of the stares were people trying to see a scar, or a limp, or some other sign of distress that would give them an opening to whisper behind their hands while they relived her personal terror from four years ago.
Determined not to let any of those thoughts show, she put a smile on her face, waved a few times, and made it to the elevator without totally collapsing.
Ever since she moved out of Tyrone’s apartment and into her own, she had a hard time with change. A disruption in her schedule or plans threw her out of whack. It caused anxiety that manifested with scattered thoughts, dizziness, pounding heart. She knew she would feel out of sorts until she got used to the routine here, until the new became normal. The intellectual knowledge helped a little bit, but it didn’t stop the anxiety attack from manifesting. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths through her nose, let them out slowly through her mouth, envisioning herself standing in the doorway of a grass hut looking out onto the warm sand and gently rolling surf.
By the time she reached the ground floor, she felt more centered. She entered the moderately busy lobby with confidence. As she started toward the front doors, she smelled grilled bread. Her stomach rumbled in response and she glanced around, seeing the sign pointing to the café. Instead of heading out onto the street, she turned and walked past the guard desk and through the glass doors into the café area.
At lunchtime, the place bustled with traffic and noise. She maneuvered her way around little round tables and fellow Dixon Contracting employees and made her way to the back of the line. As she inched forward, she glanced through the menu hanging above the cashier. Everything sounded good and was made with local, fresh ingredients. By the time she made it to the front of the line, she’d settled on a sweet potato hash with a poached egg and fresh spring greens tossed with a light vinaigrette.
Once she placed her order, she stepped to the side to wait for it to come to the counter.
“Fancy meeting you here,” a deep voice said in her ear.
Her heart froze in panic a split second before she turned and saw Ken. He had on a black T-shirt with the red Dixon Contracting logo over the pocket. He looked like he could have used a haircut about two weeks ago. Putting a hand on her heart, she laughed and nudged his shoulder. “Goodness. Don’t sneak up on me like that, Ken.”
“Sorry to scare you, Val.” She could see the contrite look in his eyes and immediately felt bad for overreacting.
“It’s okay. I think I was lost in my own head.” She gestured at the counter. “When did y’all put a restaurant in?”
He pursed his lips. “Three years ago, I think. It’s just easier for everyone. We bought the building across the road on this side of the building and installed the IT department there, which freed up this entire area.”
She thought of the massive amount of equipment that they would have had to move across the street. “Did you have to dig the street up for the cabling?”
He laughed, and his eyes wrinkled with laugh lines. “It’s so much fun to work here and to talk to people who think like me.”
Ken nodded to the woman on the other side of the counter who held out a paper bag to him. He took it but kept talking to Valerie. “Yeah. We dug up the road and ran the cables. Actually created an underground culvert that would even allow us to send someone in there if we have to. It was stupidly expensive, but it beats having to get a backhoe every time we need to repair a cable or update the system.”
He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and fielded a text. “Ah. Have to run. Got a meeting.” He started to turn away but stopped and looked at her again. “Mom said you’re coming tonight?”
“Yes. Dinner. Seven.”
“Awesome. See you then, Val. You look amazing, by the way.”
Waving him off and laughing, she accepted her tray of food and found an empty table. As she sat down, it occurred to her that she’d greeted Brad with a polite handshake and business talk. Jon and Ken had come to her with hugs and lifelong friendship. Would she ever relax around him, or would she always feel clumsy and foolish, flushed with a crush that he did not reciprocate?
