Chapter Nine #3
“I’d love to!” She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed speaking to another human until now. “My apartment AI said there were thirty-two humans on the whole planet, so I figured the odds were against there being any here.”
“Until you came along, I was the only one,” he said as they picked out a vacant table. “I told my apartment AI to alert me if or when any other humans came to work here. I’d hoped I’d run into him—which turned out to be not a him but you.”
Duh. Why hadn’t she asked Aaia if OberTech employed other humans?
“What do you do here? What department do you work in?” Hesitantly, she took a bite of her meal. Brad had pegged it right. Chickenish, the way turkey, duck, and goose, could be described as chickenish.
“Data Analytics, right now. I’m in a job exchange program. I came here; an Oberian took my place on Earth. I’m a floater, spending six weeks in a department then moving to a new one.”
“This is good!” She gestured at her meal with the utensil. “Thanks for the recommendation.”
“Glad you like it.”
“I would find the rotation challenging. About the time I got to where I might be figuring things out, I’d be starting over. It would be hard enough to manage on Earth, but in an alien culture?” She shook her head.
He laughed. “You’ve pretty much described it. What do you do here?”
“I’m an executive assistant. I work for the VP of Research and Development.”
Brad glanced around and then leaned forward. “Is Stratos as bad as everyone says?”
“I’m not privy to the gossip, so I can’t answer that.” She couldn’t lie and say he was wonderful, but bad-mouthing the boss was never good for job security. Besides, she felt oddly protective of him. He didn’t always act like a jerk.
“I’m filling in because his regular executive assistant is on maternity leave. I got the job through GAL Friday,” she offered to divert the conversation away from her boss. “The agency provides temp help across the galaxy.”
“So, you’re only here for a few months.”
She chuckled and explained about the gestation period.
“Wow. I had no idea. Pregnancy is quite a commitment!” he said.
“When Verilla returns, I don’t know what I’ll do.
I haven’t planned that far ahead.” One step at a time.
Save money. Repair her professional reputation.
Then review the options. Maybe she could work for someone else at OberTech.
Or, by then, she might be able to get a job on Earth.
Last resort—she’d go to another alien planet.
However, it wouldn’t surprise her if Verilla didn’t return. If the options were staying home with an adorable new baby or putting up with a grumpy, demanding boss, it was hard to believe she would pick Stratos. “What are your plans when you finish your rotation?” she asked.
“Go home to my husband. Anderson would kill me if I stayed away longer. We’re newlyweds.
We’d just gotten married when this opportunity came up.
I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the galaxy and work on an alien planet.
Anderson agreed to allow me one stint—to get it out of my system, he said.
He was hoping I’d hate it.” He chuckled.
“I’ve been here almost seven months. I’m in my fifth rotation with three more to go—if I stay the whole year.
I’m most interested in the product and tech departments, not so much in the support functions like personnel, security, or purchasing. ”
She couldn’t imagine being a newlywed and abandoning her spouse, but military people did it all the time. “Have you been home at all since you started?
“I just got back recently. At the six-month mark, I got two weeks’ leave. I assume you’re not married. I guess I shouldn’t assume, since I am.”
“I’m not married.” She had no family ties at all. She was an only child. Her dad had died shortly after her high school graduation; her mom had passed a little over two years ago. I miss you, Mom.
Her mother had met Gavin when she dropped by the office one day, long before the affair. “Watch out for him,” she had said. “There’s something about him…”
Savannah had laughed off the warning as maternal overprotectiveness.
She wished she’d paid more attention to her mother’s sixth sense, but ironically, her mother’s death indirectly led to the affair.
Grief-stricken and heartbroken, with no siblings to turn to for support, she’d felt totally alone in the world.
Gavin had been so understanding and solicitous, giving her time off, drawing her out, talking to her, listening to her.
She’d begun thinking of him as a friend, not just her boss, and one thing led to another.
“I’m footloose and fancy free,” she said to Brad.
“Best time of life to see the galaxy.”
“You’re right.” She’d viewed the GAL Friday position as a last resort, blowing smoke up Stratos’ ass by claiming she’d come for adventure, but shouldn’t she be looking at it that way?
Regardless of how she’d gotten here, visiting another planet and mingling with aliens was the opportunity of a lifetime!
How many people got to leave Earth? Very, very few.
If it got to where she couldn’t stand Stratos any more, she could get another job.
That was the beauty of temp work—it was temporary.
Besides, he wasn’t that bad. He was curt, borderline rude—well, more than borderline, and stingy with the praise (she hadn’t received any praise at all).
But, while he could get impatient, he didn’t micromanage.
He seemed to value her opinion and had accepted the suggestions she offered.
This morning, he’d thanked her. Twice!
And maybe she enjoyed sparring with him just a little. If she thought he was full of crap, she could tell him so—in exactly those words. Not even with Gavin had she felt that comfortable speaking her mind.
Stratos would never do to anyone what Gavin had done to her. In the two weeks she’d worked for him, she’d witnessed his integrity. He might act like an asshole, but he was an ethical asshole.
This morning, she’d caught a glimpse of the hidden man who loved creating, designing, inventing. She wondered if some of his grouchiness was because he disliked being a vice president.
Thinking of him reminded her he probably wouldn’t eat unless she brought him something. “I enjoyed talking to you, Brad. This was nice. And I appreciate the food recommendation! I’d better grab the boss man some lunch and get to work.”
“Same! I’m so glad I ran into you. I take lunch around this time every day, if you want to share a table again.”
“That sounds great.” With a wave, she strode to the food line.