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She heard a sound in the hall and lifted her head. The room spun around a little, then settled. Slowly she rose, picked up her tea cup and the thick envelope and headed for her office.
There was a note on her desk, Mr. Williams would see her at one o’clock.
It was only a little after ten. She had almost three hours to get through.
She called Sophie’s extension.
“Human Resources,” her friend’s secretary answered.
“This is Cath, is Sophie available?”
“No, she’s in with Mr. Williams.”
“Have her call me when she’s free,” Cath said.
So her friend was one of the first to talk to the new man. She wondered what Sophie’s assessment would be. Could Cath get her opinion about how to deal with him? She couldn’t risk revealing anything. She wasn’t even sure Sophie knew she’d been seeing someone, she couldn’t tell her she’d slept with their new boss! She’d have to decide how to handle things on her own.
Reaching for a stack of phone messages, Cath saw several were from the East Coast. She’d get those returned first, then call the local ones. Might as well make best use of her time.
Promptly at one, Cath arrived at Ellie’s desk. She’d had some soup for lunch and was feeling marginally better. The rain had tapered off. All in all, the day seemed to be improving.
“I’m here for my appointment with Mr. Williams,” she said.
She’d brought the latest plans she and Thomas Ventner had discussed. Thomas was the current Director in Brussels. Scheduled to retire in December, he’d been grooming Cath for his position for months.
“Ben Haselton’s still in there. Be another minute or two,” Ellie said. “Trace has been good about not running over with anyone.” She peered at Cath. “Are you all right?”
“Think I’m coming down with the flu,” Cath said. “I’m trying to stay away from everyone so I don’t pass it around.”
“Have a seat, dear. I take public transportation. There’s no avoiding some illness during the winter months.”
Cath had scarcely sat when the door opened and Ben Haselton emerged. He looked upset. Charging ahead, he didn’t speak to either of them.
The buzzer sounded on Ellie’s desk.
“Is Cath Norris there?”
“She’s been waiting,” Ellie said, smiling at Cath.
Cath took a deep breath and rose, heading into Trace’s office like she was heading into a lion’s den. She still hadn’t a clue how to handle this interview. Did she pretend they had never met? Accuse him of dumping her? Or try to keep a cool facade and let him take the lead?
Trace stood near the window that overlooked San Francisco Bay. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. It had been shut for Ben and if anything personal was said, she’d just as soon Ellie not hear.
He turned and looked at her. For a moment their eyes met and she felt a catch in the region of her heart. He still had the ability to cause a flutter in her heart rate. She’d been well on her way for falling for the man. He’d called a halt and a good thing, too. She had her life mapped out and getting deeply involved with a man did not figure in her plans. She knew better.
“Hello, Trace,” she said, hoping he’d ask her to sit before her wobbly knees gave way.
“Cath. Have a seat. I won’t keep you long. I’ve already spoken with Thomas in Brussels. He brought me up to speed on the European division. He said you had a few new ideas you wanted to try when you’re at the helm. I’d like to see them. And get your assessment of our European standing.”
So he was playing it strictly business. She could deal with that. She placed the folder on his desk.
“The new plans, complete with rationale and implementation schedules, are all laid out. After you review them, I’d be happy to discuss any questions you have. Otherwise, I think you’ll find Thomas’s assessment matches mine—robust in the U.K. area, not so strong in Italy and France. Middling for the rest of the EU. We’re running into a lot of competition from local interests. But mobile devices are expanding and our new components are the best around. We just have to convince all customers of that.”
He nodded, sitting behind his desk. He drew the folder over and opened it. After a minute, he looked up, studying her for a moment.
“Are you all right?”
“I will be. I think I have a touch of the flu.”
