Nickels (7 page)

The
beep-beep
of Brian’s car disarming sounded behind
her.  For the tenth time in the last minute, Niki wished she had driven
separately so she could put off facing her boss.  A soft
thud
announced
the car door closing.  Facing the car, she yanked the car door open.  She slid
into the passenger seat, hugging her purse close.  The tightness in her throat
restricted further as Brian remained silent.  The engine roared to life and
settled into a pleasant hum, the only sound dulling the strained quiet for the
entire ride to the restaurant.

When he pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car, he
angled towards Niki.  She kept her eyes straight ahead.

“Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”

“Which part?”

“All of it.”

Niki took a deep breath.  She explained how she knew Kyle
from high school, leaving out the part about her being the brunt of his
pranks.  She told him that Kyle just asked her about her late brother,
something very painful for her.  Then she explained why she thought Kyle should
have known about that.

“He told me that he was extremely sorry.  That he didn’t
know about your brother.”

She nodded hesitantly, unwilling to believe him.

“He said it was his fault. That he had been a complete jerk. 
He doesn’t want me to act rashly and do anything like take you off the
project.”

Niki stiffened in the car seat.

Both were silent for several moments before he spoke.  “So,
are you going to be able to work with this guy?”

She looked at him like he just grew a third arm.  “You mean
you would let me keep this project, despite all that?”

“The way I see it anyone faced with a similar situation
would have reacted as strongly.  You don’t normally fly off the handle or get
all emotional.  I’m not worried about it.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.  She wasn’t going to lose her
dream client.  All she had to do was get through the next six months of working
with Kyle Jacobs.  Then everything would be perfect again.

“I’ll make it work.  I don’t have to like the guy to work
with him.”

“Good.  Now put on that pretty smile of yours and let’s show
this motley crew what you’ve got.”

Her face twisted into an exaggerated goofy grin, bringing a
chuckle from Brian.

She opened the car door and headed into the restaurant with him
following a few steps behind.  The hostess led them to the rest of the group. 
The only two seats remaining were across from Kyle.  She took the one next to
Doug and Brian sat next to Todd.

As the server brought their drinks, the conversation
started.  Niki mentally rehearsed answers to the questions she expected the
client would ask.  Each client meet-and-greet repeated a similar pattern.

Todd leaped at the chance to grill her first.  “So, Niki,
tell us about your background.”

She smiled.  Not too much of a surprise there.  She gave him
the run down on her education before highlighting the key points of her career
at Elite.  “I’ve worked for several DoD clients.  I’d tell you which ones, but
then I’d have to kill ya,” she said with a wink and a smile.

Everyone laughed at her lame joke—except Todd.  Brian piped
up listing what several of her most recent clients said about her work,
probably hoping to reassure Todd that he was in good hands.  She looked at Kyle
as she reached for her diet soda.  He seemed impressed with her credentials. 
As he should be.  She worked hard to get where she was.

Setting her soda back on the table, the urge to question
Kyle intensified.  It bugged her that he was here.  Something did not add up
and she was going to figure it out.

“So, Kyle,” she said when there was a lull.  “Tell us about
your background and how you fit into the scheme of this project.”

He flashed that same charming smile again.  “I’m glad you
asked,” he said with a touch of amusement.  “For the last four years I’ve been
flying helicopters for CSAR—Combat Search And Rescue.”

He paused as she narrowed her eyes.  She knew what CSAR was.

“In Iraq and Afghanistan.  With my combat experience, I have
a good idea of what will work for pilots in the middle of chaos.”

“So why did you leave then?”

His smile dimmed and he shifted in his chair before
replying.  “I got tired of the late night rendezvous with IED’s.”

She looked down at her plate of food, certain there was more
to his answer than he let on.  She would play twenty questions with Marcy about
it later—right after she gave her an earful for failing to mention he moved
here.

Kyle’s voice interrupted her thoughts.  “Anyway, I’m here
now and I look forward to breaking your software.  It’ll be fun.”  He grinned
and got a round of laughs from everyone except her.

“Try your best, Jacobs.”  She despised arrogant men,
especially when they thought they could break her code.  She was good and she
would make sure he did not find a single thing wrong with it.

Doug butted in.  “Good luck with that.  Niki codes circles
around most of us.  If you break anyone’s code, it’ll be Jake’s.”

Laughter filled the table.  She even cracked a smile on that
one.  It wasn’t true, but it was fun to watch Jake squirm.

“More like yours, Doug,” Jake retorted.

Brian seemed nervous with the joshing.  This is how the gang
rolled, but maybe it was a bit much for a meet-and-greet.

Regardless, her tension melted.  Niki sighed in relief. 
Maybe this project would turn out okay.  Maybe.

Kyle studied Niki as she ate.  She looked and acted every
bit the professional.  Even her laugh seemed controlled.  When she smiled, her
face softened in the most feminine and attractive ways.  Too bad she masked it
when she looked at him.

The pale pink blouse she wore, didn’t seem to fit her
personality.  Underneath the professional veneer, he picked up on her humorous
side.  She seemed much more vibrant than the pink implied.

He did think the color brought out the blue of her eyes
nicely.

She sent the flash of a frown his direction.  He had been
caught in the act of staring at her.  Yet, he didn’t want to tear his eyes
away.

He dropped his gaze to the sandwich on his plate and shifted
in his chair.  Big mistake.  A sharp pain shot from his hip like lightening
down through his leg to his toes.  He shifted ever so slightly, hoping to ease
the awful feeling.  He would have to take some ibuprofen once he got back to
the office.

As the conversation floated around the table, he only paid
partial attention.  When someone asked Niki a question, he took the opportunity
to study her more.  Her long lashes flirted with her cheeks when one of the
other programmers teased her.  She was quick with a comeback.  Her lips looked
soft and plump.  Her curves were quite appealing.

Kyle kicked himself for the thought.  He was going to have
to work with her.  Somehow he needed to get his attraction under control.  And
fast.

He admitted being very impressed with her credentials.  She
couldn’t have been working in her career field for more than four years.  Yet,
she had several DoD stints under her belt.  If Brian’s praise could be
believed—he never fully trusted the words of a salesperson—she was top notch.

As the lunch wound down, he thought about the irony of
asking God for a second chance with her.  He never expected the answer would
mean he would have to work with her—not just in the same company, but on the
same project.  He would be interacting with her daily.  Any time he saw her
outside of work when he was hanging out with his sister—well, that would be a
bonus.

Tonight he would think about the best way to win her over. 
It would be an uphill battle, judging by the searing expressions she sent his
way.  But, he would not waste this second chance.  He needed to think this
through.

Chapter 8

After two days of practically non-stop meetings, Niki
finally was going to get to do some real work.  She entered her cube, still
annoyed by the very tall walls.  It made her feel like she was working in a
closet.  She set her laptop on the desk and powered it on.  Then she looked
around for a drawer to stow her purse.  Nothing.  Just the flat desk surface
and the five and a half foot tall cube walls.  Talk about minimalist.

She flexed her fingers as the code loaded on her screen. 
She scanned through the folder structure to get familiar with the layout. 
After a quick review, she had an idea where to start on her assigned section of
the program.

Popping in ear buds, she checked her playlists for the
loudest most obnoxious music she could find and hit play.  Her fingers blazed
across the keyboard pacing the beat of the music.  Logic and syntax danced in
harmony, flowing from her as if a natural outpouring of her mind.  Keystrokes
were occasionally interrupted by the click or scroll of the mouse.  She was in the
zone.

Nik.
The IM window popped up.  Doug.

Stop calling me that.

Never.  Need help.  Come over.

Only if you stop calling me Nik.

Nice try.  U owe me.
Doug answered.

She sighed.  Just when she got good and deep into the zone. 
Well, as technical lead, she would get interruptions often.  She better get
used to it.

When she stood, her back and legs were stiff.  How long had
she been sitting there?  Glancing at the clock on her computer, it was three
hours later than the last time she checked.  Crazy how she could completely
lose track of time when she was deep in thought.

She stepped from the tall cube and ran straight into Kyle. 
Coffee flew from his hand and down the front of her shirt.  She looked down. 
Drat.  Her new lilac colored shirt turned purple-brown as the coffee soaked
in.  Of course it was her new shirt.  She’d only worn it once before.

“Sorry,” Kyle said.  “Wait here.  Let me get some paper
towels or something.”

He set what little was left of his coffee on her desk before
he hobbled off to the break room.  She grabbed it and tossed it in the trash
and followed behind him, pausing briefly at Doug’s desk.

“Run into a coffee cart?” Doug teased.

“More like run over by a Kyle-sized coffee cart.  I’ll be
back in a minute.  Try not to add too many bugs to the code while I’m gone,
‘kay?”

As she hurried down the hall, Doug fired back, “Ha!  I’m the
bug masher!”

She smiled as she opened the door to the break room only to
run into Kyle a second time.  Her smile was instantly swallowed by a frown.

“Really, we have to stop meeting like this,” he said
stepping back.  He offered her a wad of paper towels.  “People are gonna talk.”

The humor in his voice was evident, but Niki was not in the
mood.  She snatched the towels from his hand and turned her back so she faced
the wall, trying to modestly wipe down her front.  She felt his eyes on her and
glanced over her shoulder.

“Don’t you have someplace to be?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure?”

She finished mopping up her shirt and tossed the towels in
the trash.  When she turned around to face him, he smiled that blasted charming
smile.  She wanted to smack it off his face.

“I was actually on my way to see you.”

“Oh, so the coffee attack was intentional then.”

He laughed in deep tones that reverberated in the small
room. “Yup.  I always scout out the most beautiful women in the office then
plot my attack on how to destroy their appearance.”

First an apology for throwing his coffee on her.  Then
running to grab paper towels to help her clean up.  Now a roundabout
compliment.  The Kyle she knew would have been laughing at her.  Who was this
masked man?

“And, why are you prejudiced against beautiful women?”

“They present too much competition for my mother—the most
beautiful woman of all.”

Oh brother.  A second ago she thought he was flirting with
her.  Now…  She had no idea.