7. Back in Houston
Back in Houston
Noah stretched his neck as he strolled down the hall in the IT wing of the Houston office.
His flight got in late yesterday, and his stiff muscles testified to his quality of sleep last night.
Out of habit, he'd checked his email while drinking his morning coffee and found an email from Jackie, asking him to stop by first thing.
He'd known the IT director before she took the position at Caprock, back when she worked for one of their vendors.
In fact, she was a motivating factor for him to pursue advancement within the company.
She'd been part of the implementation team for a new piece of equipment and had led the training on the accompanying software.
She'd become an unexpected mentor during that time, praising him for his intelligence and encouraging him to reach higher.
He'd been happy when she'd joined Caprock and become their IT director.
A quiet laugh caught in his throat. Jackie would be horrified to know he thought of her as a big sister.
She didn't subscribe to anything "touchy-feely," and she certainly didn't like to be reminded of her age.
He reached her office door and gave two sharp raps before stepping into her space.
The slender woman smiled and got up to greet him.
"How was your flight?" she asked as she air kissed each cheek in the European tradition.
He lightly squeezed her upper arms with affection. "Long. I truly don't fit in those bloody seats."
"Why didn't you fly business class?"
"I waited too long to book and was forced to take what was available."
"You've known about this trip for months!" Jackie stood with her fists propped on her hips, an exact replica of his mother when she scolded him.
Noah's mouth twitched. "Can we skip the mum lecture? I'm here now."
Jackie snorted and sat down, nodding to the chairs facing her desk. "Have a seat. I've got a couple of things I want to talk to you about."
She waited for Noah to settle in before continuing. "It's an exciting time for us in IT. After the reorganization, we were able to take ownership of our network and redesign our infrastructure."
Noah nodded. Under the previous owners, bureaucratic procedures had siphoned all information to the parent company, leaving Caprock working in the dark. Every department felt the strain, and the impact showed in their declining profits.
When the company reorganized a few years ago, the new owners empowered Caprock's leadership to manage the company as they saw fit.
Many of the improvements made were changes brought by Jackie and her IT team.
Easier access to data, backups that ran when convenient for all locations, and a follow-the-sun approach for support where users around the world could get help when they needed it, not only during Houston office hours.
"The leadership team has important plans for us. They're able to get information now, but they want it faster. The MADS update is the first step toward our data warehouse, and you've helped to get us this far."
She paused, and Noah raised an eyebrow. "I know all this. Why the recap? Where are you going with it?"
"Tell me what you think of us hiring the in-house developer."
Claire's ginger tresses popped into his head and Noah sat up, surprised at the change of topic. He leaned forward. Jackie obviously had something on her mind, but wasn't ready to spit it out yet. And the direction of this conversation aligned with items on his agenda.
"Are you asking my opinion of the position? Or of her specifically?"
"Both."
"Okay, but first, I have a question for you."
Jackie nodded. "Shoot," she said before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Is Claire Broussard a spy?"
Jackie sputtered, then choked on her drink. She waved Noah back to his seat when he rose to help her. She coughed twice and dabbed her mouth with a tissue. Once she stopped coughing, she asked, "Why would you ask?"
"You hired her to appease upper management." Noah watched Jackie go still. "Is she just a snitch to report back to them? Or is she actually here to do a job?"
The woman sighed and rubbed her face. "I was afraid of that."
Noah took a moment and studied his friend.
She looked tired. Jackie was at least a decade older than him, but he'd never physically noticed their age difference before.
Fine wrinkles around her eyes stood out in the harsh lighting of her office.
Her cheekbones seemed more prominent than usual, and the crisp suit she wore hung loosely on her shoulders.
She was slender by nature and didn't have any excess weight to lose.
"Is everything okay with you?" he asked, concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine." She flashed a smile to soften the terse reply. "It's been a rough couple of months. The VIG group wasn't the only one in trouble over Weaselgate." She wiped her desk with the wadded-up tissue and tossed it in the bin.
His eyebrows lifted. Well, damn. It had never occurred to him that Jackie's job might be at risk after that royal mess. He waited for her to continue.
"Look, hiring Claire served two purposes.
We'd already planned to hire in-house developers down the road.
Using third-party contractors to maintain these customizations isn't a long-term solution.
And, yes, hiring her now came with the added benefit of soothing the leadership team over the security breach. We need her and it made them happy."
"So she's not a snitch."
"She's not a snitch." Jackie sat back in her chair.
Noah's shoulders loosened, and he relaxed in his. A knot unfurled in his belly. He hadn't realized how badly he wanted that rumor to be false.
"And the VIG guys? Are their jobs safe?"
Jackie raised an eyebrow. "As far as I know. Vickerman hasn't made any noises about any of them being in trouble. Wesley was new and Dan Vickerman took full responsibility for the failure of his screening process."
"Good. They've been worried." Another knot of tension unraveled.
She made a note on her notepad. "I'll let him know so he can reassure them. Anything else?" She put down her pen and rested her hands on her desk, fingers entwined.
"Yes, one more thing. And mostly because I'm curious.
Where was this job posted? And did you get many applicants?
" Although the question felt a little out of line for him—what business was it of his to ask about the job posting—it had just occurred to him to wonder how they found her.
And, well, Jackie had opened the door. Now he waited to see if she'd tell him to mind his Ps and Qs or if she'd actually answer.
"We posted both internally and externally and received quite a few CVs—er, résumés.
" She rolled her eyes when he snickered.
"Give me a break. I'm still working on Americanizing my words.
Back to the point. Claire was better qualified than most external candidates and both internal applicants.
" She raised an eyebrow at him and waited, giving him her best resting bitch face.
"Anything else you think you need to know? "
He smiled. "No. Thank you for sharing." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Okay. Now, what do you think of Claire?"
Noah rested his right ankle on his left knee and rubbed his thumb along the inside of the chair's armrest, before crossing his arms. Thoughts of Claire's soft drawl on his voicemail recordings flashed through his mind, and he shoved away the unwelcome memory to focus on Jackie's question.
"She's a pain in the arse. I've spent the past month explaining how everything works.
Every week it's a new slew of questions.
She knows very little about manufacturing or how we do things.
" Realizing how negative he sounded, he uncrossed his arms and held up his hands to ward off any objections.
"To be fair, she's a quick study. And, now that I know she's not a corporate informer…
" He rubbed his neck and sighed. "Look, she's fine.
She asks smart questions and is eager to learn.
Honestly, my biggest complaint is the drag on my time.
I'm already split between the project and my regular job, and now I'm cutting into that time again to train someone new. "
Jackie leaned forward. "Exactly what I want to talk to you about.
You've done an excellent job of bringing Claire up-to-date.
She's able to ask knowledgeable questions like she's worked here for months instead of weeks.
You've always been good at communicating information to people who have no clue.
" She paused, doodling on her notepad, before looking him in the eye.
Noah cocked his head and waited. She'd spill it soon enough.
"How's work back in England? You still happy in your position?"
He blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic. His gaze dropped to his shoes, as he pondered how quickly he could beat feet out of there. Dread crept up his spine as the conversation entered shaky territory. Wondering where she was going with this, he asked, "Why do you ask?"
"No reason. We haven't talked in a while. You've been a production manager for a few years now, yeah?"
He tried not to fidget under her scrutiny.
All his efforts to squash his growing dissatisfaction with the job and in two minutes, she'd pulled it straight to the forefront of his mind.
But he wasn't ready to share those thoughts with anyone yet.
He was too confused about what he was feeling to actually verbalize anything to anyone else.
"Almost four years now, and it's going great. We've gained some efficiencies on the line that have made everyone's job easier and increased productivity."
Jackie lifted her coffee for another drink. "And you still enjoy working for Mitch?"