Club Destiny 1 Conviction

 

 

 

 

Conviction

A
Club Destiny
Novel

 

 

 

 

 

Nicole Edwards

 

Copyright © 2012 by Nicole
Edwards

All rights reserved.

Conviction – A Club Destiny Novel
is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of
the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This book may not be resold or
redistributed without the express consent of the author.

Cover Image by:

© Branislav Ostojic |
Dreamstime.com

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Samantha Kielty only thought the
typically short commute into work couldn’t get any longer. Coming to an abrupt
halt at another red light, she realized she’d been wrong. Again. Obviously
venting her frustration in the middle of rush hour traffic wasn’t going to get
her anywhere, so she gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned
white, and focused on breathing in and out.

Weren’t Friday’s supposed to be
the day when things slowed down, time to wrap things up from the hectic week
and prepare for the relaxing weekend?

With the incessant rumble of
James’ voice reverberating through her head
and
her truck – thanks to
the Bluetooth connection that offered him in stereo –it didn’t appear there
would be a moment’s peace today. Not even on the drive in to work. Hell, he
hadn’t even given her a chance to get there before he called.

Tapping her fingers on the
steering wheel, her eyes alert to the light in front of her, Sam waited for James
to take a breath so she could interrupt.

He wasn’t offering her many
opportunities.

Just as the traffic light changed
to green, Samantha pressed her foot on the gas and headed through the
intersection. Although the morning traffic was heavy, it wasn’t any worse than
usual. Apparently the drive only felt longer than normal, but it must’ve been
her boss’s constant rambling that had obscured her judgment of time.

“James, I hear what you’re saying
loud and…”

Well, hell
. He wasn’t going to let her get
a word in edgewise, thanks to his need to fill the silence with words, which he
was famous for.

It probably wouldn’t do any good,
but when the opportunity presented itself a few seconds later, she decided to
try again.

“James, I understand that you
think –” Cut off again.

In the five years Sam had worked
for James Banten, she had never heard him speak quite so much, and that was
saying something because when the man started talking, he never seemed to shut
up. Like now.

“James, I get it, but I don’t
think…”
it’s a good idea;
she finished the sentence in her head since
the stubborn old man just wasn’t going to listen to her.

The conversation was going
nowhere fast, and Sam was rapidly losing her patience. Not that her patience
hadn’t been stretched a little thin lately anyway.

“James! I understand that, but I
don’t think it is a” –she plowed on through his attempted interruption – “Good
grief, James! Will you listen to me for a minute?”

Oops.

This time she was the one who
paused. She thought for a second that he might have hung up, but ultimately she
knew she wouldn’t get that lucky. His signature sigh echoed through the truck,
her indication that he would attempt to be silent for at least sixty seconds.
That mysterious stop watch in his brain was probably halfway around the dial by
now.

With a deep breath, she
continued, “James, I understand you think this is a good opportunity for me, I
really do, but I’m not sure now is the right time. We have so many things going
on here, with the SJ2 project in the stabilization phase and LX1 about to
launch. Who will keep an eye on those if I leave?”

Now she had no choice to but to
let him speak. The best she could hope for would be a debate worthy response to
her valid questions. The silence filled the car as he fumbled around with his
answers, but just as she suspected, he came up with something immediately.

A man known for his quick wit and
intelligence, James Banten never seemed to disappoint. He was skilled at
thinking on the fly – something she had been working on for years – and even
though he often spoke over people, he usually did have fresh ideas. Those ideas
landed him the position he was in, and Sam respected him for it. But they still
weren’t the answers she wanted to hear.

When he paused, probably to take
a sip from his morning coffee, which was always the same – large, skinny
Vanilla latte – Sam took the opportunity to plead her case again.

“Ok, I get what you’re saying,
James, I honestly do. What I don’t get is how this opportunity will be
different from what I currently do here.”

Sam was all for climbing the
corporate ladder; hell, she’d been busting her ass for years trying to get
ahead. But did James seriously think sending her to Dallas was going to be in
her best interest? The idea seemed so far out of left field, Sam felt a little
off balance.

However, if she was perfectly
honest with herself, which she tried to be on a regular basis, she knew the
timing couldn’t have been worse.

Or better.

The idea of being some two
hundred miles from her regular routine was somewhat daunting, although a little
intriguing at the same time. Ok, so maybe more intriguing than anything else,
but still.

The rational side of her agreed
with James. The opportunity could be a well-timed boost to her career and give
her some of the exposure her superiors were constantly telling her she needed.
Not to mention, it would be a pleasant change in her rather mundane – as of
late – life.

Listening with half an ear as he
gave his best sales pitch, Sam continued driving, doing her best to focus on
the road and not on the man ranting in her ear – elaborating on all of the
reasons she should consider this opportunity. Based on the way he was ticking
off one reason after another, she knew there was a list sitting in front of
him. James was the type of man – sort of like Santa Claus - to make a list and
he probably checked it twice, if not more.

“Yes, it makes sense.” Samantha
finally caved. “Can we sit down and talk about this for a little while? I’m on
my way to the office now. About five minutes away.”

The trip would be more like ten
minutes because now she had to stop off to get her morning coffee. There was no
way she could go up against him without a serious dose of caffeine.

 “I’ll see you in a few.” She
told him when he finally conceded.

As she pulled into the parking
lot of her favorite coffee shop, Sam replayed the conversation over and over in
her head. The proposal was unexpected, yet, with little ego involved, Sam
realized she was likely the best candidate for the job. At least at the moment.

The project they wanted her to
lead wasn’t just any run of the mill project; this was one that had been in the
works for a while and it would give her the opportunity to show her superiors what
she was made of. Although it had been on the radar for six months, few
preparations had been made for it, which would leave Sam with plenty of working
room. It truly was a project manager’s dream job.

Wow, and ok, that sounded
downright cheesy, even to her. It was a testament to how utterly boring her
life had become.

With some serious consideration,
Sam knew she could take this assignment to the next level. After all, she had a
lot of ideas. Although it seemed a little arrogant, Sam knew that if she was
placed in charge of something, it would be done on time, and it would be done
right. That was one characteristic she prided herself on.

As Sam waited – again not so
patiently - in the drive thru line, she continued with her mental pep talk. She
knew she had to put up a reasonable amount of resistance because they expected that
from her, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t be excited about it.

By the time Sam pulled into the
parking lot of XTX’s remote branch, she had begun making a mental list of what
she needed to address even before she left town.
Huh.
To have already
made a decision, despite her lack of information, Sam was somewhat surprised
with herself.

There were question that needed
to be answered long before she gave a definitive answer, but at this point, it
was clear which way she was leaning.
How long would something like this
take? Did they plan to relocate her permanently or just for the time they
allotted?
Those were two of the most pressing questions, and she realized
they actually didn’t have much to do with the project itself.

Using her mental calculator, Sam
estimated it would take at least six months to get the requirements gathered
and documented as well as get the team in place. All of that would happen
before the actual project work began.

No wonder her social life had
become so stale, she spent way too much time thinking about work.

Sam grabbed her coffee, her
purse, and her laptop bag before she shut the truck door behind her. As she
stood in the parking lot, both bags now hoisted over her shoulder, she stared
at her SUV, realizing
exactly
how dull her life had become. The fact
that her most prized possession was the vehicle she drove said way too much
about her mental state. At thirty, that almost felt like a midlife crisis
waiting to happen.

Acknowledging the time, Sam
turned toward the building and stepped up the pace. By now James would be
staring out of his office window waiting for her arrival.

As she surveyed the small two
story building, a smile crept on. The familiarity of her surroundings gave her
pause. Could she even think of leaving this place?

She’d been working here, day in
and day out, sometimes seven days a week, for what? Almost ten years? She
couldn’t picture herself anywhere else.

When she had interviewed with XTX,
one of a handful of companies she’d received any communication back from, she
knew she wasn’t the most qualified for a project management position; after
all, her degree was in marketing. She hadn’t let that stop her though.

With determination on her side,
she put her heart into it and landed the job within days of applying. To this
point, XTX hadn’t let her down, and she felt good in knowing she hadn’t let
them down either.