She spent the next day walled up in the data room. Getting Jackson’s research facility fully set up with the cloud had gone well, helped along by several calls to IT back at her office to assist with the stuff she didn’t know how to do. She felt a great sense of accomplishment from helping Jackson out, but talking with the office also reminded her of the heavy expectations on her head for this assignment.
She sat back in her chair, thinking about the conversation she’d just had with her boss, Justin Carey. His first comment after picking up the call had been to express disappointment she hadn’t checked in sooner.
“We’re expecting to hear from you several times a week, Carla. In case that wasn’t made clear.”
“No, it’s clear. It’s just difficult. It’s remote out here and signal strength isn’t good in every building. I—”
“Has Rivard signed on as a client?”
“Not yet. It’s only been a few days and he’s skeptical.”
“This won’t be considered successful if you don’t get him.”
“I realize that.” You jerk.
“Have you come up with demonstration analytics?
He may not understand the complexity and breadth of our portfolio offerings.”
“He understands just fine, Justin. The man’s not an idiot. He’s a research scientist with a Ph.D.” “Yeah, well. He researches snakes, let’s not forget that. Just get him signed on.”
Click.
What a horse’s ass! She’d wanted to throw her phone against the wall but she kept her cool. Remember Paris. That’ll get you through this. It should, anyway, although it didn’t seem to be doing the trick at the moment.
The time slid toward noon. She knew people would start heading over to the caf, stomachs growling for lunch, but food was the last thing on her mind. She could thank Justin for ruining her appetite as well as her mood. Deciding to work off her irritation with a vigorous walk, she grabbed a sparkling water from the small fridge and headed out.
The temperature had soared since the morning, but the lush vegetation around the facility provided decent shade. She headed down a path she knew led to the bayou, enjoying the chirps and whistles of bird calls and the low drone of insects. She smiled, imagining herself on an exotic trek through the Amazon jungle.
Her illusion shattered with the buzz of her cell phone. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. A text from her mother.
Have u called Bryce yet?
Crap. She bit back a growl of frustration. The day just went from bad to worse. She jabbed “reply” on the screen and started pounding out a text back, fingers flying over the keypad as she explained how time consuming the assignment was, leaving her no time to focus on everything she had to accomplish and keep Bryce uppermost in her mind, when the crack of a branch interrupted her agitated opus.
She looked up and took in the loping wolf gait of Jackson heading her way. His hair was in wind-blown disarray as always, probably due more to him forgetting to get it cut rather than trying to achieve any type of look. He wore dark green cargo pants very nicely outlining his long, muscular legs, and a white T-shirt that clung like a lover to his sweaty chest. Just like that, the sun came out. Her breath hitched in her throat.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to disturb you.” He glanced at the phone in her hand. “Looks like you’re busy.”
“I— No. This can wait. I’m just going for a short walk. I hope it’s not a problem?”
He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Why would it be?”
“Well, I’m on company time. I shouldn’t be wasting it.”
“This isn’t an office, Carla. We don’t keep schedules around here.” He nodded in the direction she’d been headed. “I’ll join you on that walk if you like.”
Yeah, she liked. “Definitely. Thanks.”
They turned onto the path, for a time strolling in companionable silence. Then Jackson asked, “You were headed to the bayou?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I thought it might relax me. Water usually does.”
“Same for me.” He paused, then added, “There’s something about the stillness of the water. It’s soothing, and takes away my stress. I walk down here a lot.”
“That’s too bad.”
His brows furrowed. “What?”
“Well, you said you walk here to get rid of anxiety and you come here a lot. If that’s the case, it must mean you’re pretty stressed.”
His eyes twinkled as he grinned. “They teach you that logic in business school?”
“No, I actually came up with it on my own.” He let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”
“I thought so.”
Wow, his teasing was pretty darn impressive, too. She felt her heart stand up and do a backflip. Her pocket buzzed again and she yanked the phone out, glancing at the screen. Her very impatient mother, likely wondering why Carla hadn’t yet replied to her text. She stuffed the phone back into her pocket. “I’m guessing that phone is contributing to your need to walk?”
“It is,” she admitted. “But how—”
“You’ve got stress lines around your mouth that weren’t there a minute ago.”
“Hmm.” She nodded her approval. “You’re pretty good at reaching conclusions yourself.”
“And I didn’t even go to business school.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. It felt good being with him, so surprisingly easy.
They reached the edge of the bayou, greeted by a chorus of insects and the site of a white ibis plucking through the water as it searched for lunch. Jackson pointed to a grey lump in the water some distance away. “You see that?”
“The log in the water?”
He shook his head. “Not a log, it’s an alligator.
“Shit!” She jumped back, arms swinging to catch her balance.