35. Counter Moves
Counter Moves
Noah stretched out on the bed in his corporate apartment, holding his phone against his ear as he recapped for Claire the earlier conversation with Rick. He'd promised to call after the game, so they could say goodnight, but he was wound up enough, he didn't think sleep was coming soon.
"I'm kind of excited to get this brain trust together and come up with some kind of counterproposal that will work for us."
"So you finally told Rick about us?" she asked.
Noah snorted. "Yeah, and he didn't even blink. But he's known I was attracted to you for a long time. And he's an observant fellow."
"Okay, who do you want to invite over?" she asked. "What I cook will depend on how many people are coming. Also, that means anyone else you invite over will be in on our secret."
"Yeah, just you, me, and Rick for dinner, but I'd like to invite Lucinda to join us remotely. Think she'd join?"
"Lucinda?" She sounded surprised.
"Sure. An outsider's opinion would be nice.
She and Rick have seen the way other businesses run and they'll both be able to provide perspective outside my limited scope.
" At least he hoped so. He needed all the ammunition he could get if he were going to propose changes to a director's vision for her department.
"That makes sense." Claire yawned on her end and Noah pictured her curled up in bed, her hair spread out around her on her pillow. It made him wish he were there beside her. "What else are you thinking?"
They talked for a while about the new position, and what he expected his duties would be.
"I wish this job was in operations. Nothing against IT.
My experience on the MADS project has opened my eyes to the different roles each side of the business takes, but operations is where my heart is.
And ever since Jackie brought this up, I've been thinking about how much ops could use someone like this who has the bird's-eye view of all the plants.
Someone other than the COO, of course. He's too busy doing executive stuff to get hands on. "
Noah rubbed his face and continued, "Oh, well. Like my pops always said, 'If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas.'"
Claire giggled into the phone. "Wait, wait, I've got one for you. From my dad. 'If a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump its butt when it walked.'"
They laughed and shared some more idioms, before Claire brought the conversation back around to their meal for tomorrow night. Noah smiled, acknowledging that food was a priority for her.
"I'm thinking I'll make chicken pot pie. It'll make a nice meal for three and it's pretty easy since I already have a broiled chicken in the fridge. I was planning to make it this weekend, but this will work just fine."
Noah smiled, listening as she rattled off ingredients and prep steps with more detail than usual. She was talking fast. Really getting into the particulars. His smile faded.
"You okay, Claire?" He asked gently. "Something on your mind?"
She paused, and he heard a sigh. "Do you think there's going to be any fallout for me?"
Noah exhaled sharply. He'd been so caught up in what this meant to him—as an employee, as a couple dating within the company—he hadn't even considered how it might affect her.
"Shit, Claire. I'm sorry. I've been so focused on doing what I can for us that it never occurred to me that I should be worrying about you individually.
" He paused, collecting his thoughts. "I think it's because your position feels absolutely solid to me.
Like I need to orbit around you to make everything work out.
Yeah, I'm not worried about you at all. They need you.
I'm not sure they need me as much as I'm convenient for them. "
Noah waited for her reply, absently straightening the sheets and adjusting his pillow, wondering what was going through her head.
When she spoke, her voice was soft, her warmth settling in his chest. "I love you, Noah. And you're right. It will all work out."
She yawned again, and he jumped in before she could say anything else.
"You're tired, and it's late. Let's finish this in the morning. I'll pick you up at our usual time. Night, love."
"Goodnight. See you tomorrow."
"Question," Noah said, before stuffing another bite of Claire's homemade chicken pot pie in his mouth.
Rick, Noah, and Claire cloistered around the coffee table in Claire's living room, and Lucinda's face lit up the flat screen TV Noah had brought with him.
Rick had set it up to cast Lucinda's video chat while they brainstormed ideas on how to address the job offer from Jackie.
He finished his bite and continued, "Why would the developers report to the person in charge of MADS, et al.?"
Claire covered her mouth and barely avoided spewing her iced tea all over everyone. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth. Everyone waited. "Did you just use 'et al.' in a sentence?"
Rick ducked his head while Noah looked perplexed. Lucinda's chuckles came across the speakers and Noah scowled at her. "Yes. What's so funny?"
"Nothing. Sorry!" Claire answered. "I don't think I've ever heard someone actually say that out loud. I'm sorry, please continue." She made a motion with her hand, encouraging him to proceed.
Noah shook his head. "I get why they'd want the application admins to report to this position.
It makes sense to have someone managing the big picture and making sure all the moving parts align.
But the developers?" He looked at Rick. "You guys also work on other systems for Caprock, right? Not just MADS."
Rick swallowed his bite and took a drink before answering. "True. We've helped update multiple applications here and in the UK. Plus, I'm pretty sure we're in talks to help with your upcoming data warehouse project."
"It could be because of the project," Lucinda piped in as she stirred the bowl she held. When she'd heard what dish Claire was planning to cook for dinner tonight, she'd ordered her own chicken pot pie from a local bistro, tickled to "match their food energy."
"What do you mean?" Claire asked.
"Maybe your big boss based the structure on your current project, without considering what future projects look like. Claire, remember when Nano did the same on the Jones-Bailey thing?" Lucinda shook her head. "What a mess."
Rick cleared his throat. "It could be they want you to take over Simon's role in managing the project so he could move on to the data warehouse."
Noah perked up. "Right. Project-wise, the developers report to the project manager, who is currently Simon. But once the MADS update is complete, there's no reason the MADS manager should be their boss because they'd be on to new and unrelated projects."
Lucinda spoke up again. "So, tell your director the developers need to report to that Simon dude in the organizational structure. I mean, that fixes everything, right?"
"What if they make me the project manager? Then we're back to square one, with Claire reporting to me."
Claire spoke up. "Typically, project teams consist of people who report to a functional manager—you know, their day job boss?—with a dotted line to the project manager. It's a standard part of running projects."
Rick nodded. "Unless Caprock gets real picky suddenly, I don't see them having a problem with a soft reporting link like that. I mean, unless you were in charge of the budget and Claire was the person writing the checks or something else directly tied to money handling," he said.
"Okay, then." Noah rubbed his hands together. "I think it's worth suggesting to Jackie that the developers report to Simon and not the MADS manager. We won't assume anything about the project manager thing."
Claire reached over and touched Noah's arm. "When you have that conversation, you need to let Jackie know about us. She's your friend. It's likely she'll want to help you."
Noah nodded. "I'll talk to her tomorrow." Claire smiled. He was so confident that this would work out. She just hoped there weren't any casualties along the way. Specifically, Caprock's newest employee.
"You guys are boring," Lucinda complained. "That wasn't even much of a challenge. All right. What are we doing after supper? Trivia night? Dirty joke contest? Strip poker?"
The group laughed, and the teasing began. Claire leaned back against the couch, confident they could work it out. Tomorrow, they would finally share their secret with everyone and find out what the future held.