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“I’m glad you asked. He said that he came here for vacation, and you put the documents together, checked them and then submitted them. He said you gave him enough time to fall in love and find a life.”
Jessica had to blink away the hot moisture that came to her eyes. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Mr. Middleton had always seemed a bit distant and gruff, but now she realized that he might have been the only one who truly saw her. She had spent so long feeling overlooked and underappreciated, but his recommendation brought with it a sense of validation.
Jessica felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. For the first time she felt like she belonged somewhere.
“I know this might be a shock, Jessica. I always thought he just liked you because you were pretty, but never once did he tell me how pretty you were. He always said how sharp you were and how quick thinking.”
Jessica nodded.
“Now Brian is a dependable man. I don’t know that he has your intuition on numbers but he’s a solid employee and he doesn’t frazzle. I’m telling you this because I want you to know what I’m looking at and when I come to a decision, Peter will side with me, and we’ll present our option to the board. Who will most likely agree since it’s an interim spot.”
Jessica stood up and held her hand out.
“It was a pleasure to meet you. I want to thank you for the information, and I’d like to say may the best woman win your endorsement.”
Pilar laughed. “Oh yes, Peter did say you had a sense of humor and a can-do attitude.”
“I’ve got both. Until we meet again.”
“Of course.”
Jessica did her best to walk for as long as she could. She wanted to make sure she was out of eyesight of Pilar. As soon as the coast was clear, she ran like she was five years old. She had to tell her bestie she was in the running for a better job than she could have ever thought of, and it was against the guy she thought she was falling for.
Chapter Ten
Brian was tired, but not too tired to not think about Jessica. He had gone over the numbers with Blue twice and he was sure he understood them. Normally after a job like this, he would be thrilled. The excitement of finishing and making something better than when he left it would have been a natural booster for him.
The problem was his mind was on a very cute, contrary young lady he couldn’t wait to see. He didn’t want to look at why he felt he needed to see her, for now he was dealing with it. Tonight, he also had to deal with the idea that there was going to be a party in town.
He had gotten a text while he was doing the numbers with Blue. The text had come from Pilar Corsca. She said she wanted to tell him something. While he really wanted to say no, it was hard to say that to the woman who had basically fast tracked him to make it to the C-suite, if he was reading the signs correctly. He anticipated this was going to be some pep talk and some mentoring tonight.
Brian wasn’t sure he was going to be able to concentrate on whatever came out of Pilar’s mouth. He could safely say that all of his thoughts were with Jessica. It was true he was a little intimidated after he had seen all the awards she had won. In fact, he would ask around and see if he could help her to get a better position. He was worried about her. He wondered if the Shell was still standing. He hoped she and Beth had found food. It almost made him regret bringing Clay with him, instead of leaving him behind to care for Jessica.
He'd never admit it, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her in her long flannel nightgown. He knew men who would call their partners and wives as they walked to their cars. He thought they were silly and hoped they didn’t get hit by one. Now he found himself doing the same thing and that was just further proof he needed to address whatever was going on between him and Jessica.
It was 6:30 and the Straw Hat was packed. Brian knew places tended to get full when someone else was footing the bill. Tonight, the bill was being taken care of by Pilar herself. He couldn't remember the last time she had thrown a party this big. She must have something really big to tell him and Brian was pretty sure he knew what it was. As soon as he was offered the opportunity to finish up the books, he knew that the offer for Interim CFO wouldn't be too far behind.
The Straw Hat wasn't going to win any awards, according to New York restaurants. It was one of those places that you went to for a celebration, but no one was required to dress up. The tables were sturdy, even if one or two of them needed a wedge to make them stable. The chair was sturdy, and as long as you didn’t look at the batting sticking out from the bottom of one or two of them, it would pass the first round of onlookers.
Clay and him walked into the Straw Hat and took a seat at a table in the middle of the room. Clay and him had come to an understanding. Brian couldn’t say they were the best of friends, but he could say that Clay was a loyal guy. Clay had already been expressing his concern on the car drive to the Straw Hat.
Clay opened his mouth and Brian held up his hand.
“I know what you are going to say,” Brian said.
“I haven’t said a thing yet,” complained Clay.
“You’ve been saying the same thing the whole way here,” Brian replied.
“Well, since you know there isn’t a purpose to hiding what I want to say… This isn’t right. I know Pilar is the boss and we want to keep in her good graces, but I’ve never heard of a party being put on this quickly. I thought about the last time there was a party this big, people got laid off.”
“Listen, I’m pretty sure on what this is.”
“You know who is getting canned?” Clay asked.
“No one is getting canned. This is probably just an update on the interim position,” Brian consoled. Finally, Pilar arrived. When Brian stood up so she could see him, she nodded and went to the stage. Brian didn’t think on it. He supposed she wanted to get her business done and then she’d be gone. Brian couldn’t blame her.
