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She was gesturing and looking at something on the other side of Nic. But as he removed his coat and slid onto the seat, he saw nothing in that direction.
“You’re still in town,” Charity commented once he was settled and Noelle was seated next to him.
He shrugged. “I’m working remotely for a few days.”
A few days? When had a couple turned into a few? He’d only mentioned two days in the email to his boss, but he had a feeling his boss would barely notice he wasn’t on site. As long as he had someone to do the boots-on-the-ground work when he needed it, there was a lot Nic could do from here. He’d have to go back, though, and he probably should return before the end of the week.
“Thank you,” Noelle said as Jackie approached, ticket book in hand.
“No problem.” After handing a check from inside the booklet to Noelle, Jackie looked at Nic. “What can I get for you, fine sir?”
Nic couldn’t help but smile as he placed his order. A burger, onion rings, and a chocolate shake, plus a water.
“I’ll take one of those, too,” Charity said.
“A water?” Jackie looked over at her, a half-smile on his face. “I’m just messing with you. I get what you mean. You want one of those chocolate shakes. I could bring one shake and two straws.”
That was Jackie. Always teasing. But right now, his joke made things a little awkward.
“Just bring two shakes,” Noelle said, playfully slapping him on the forearm with the back of her hand. “And take this while you’re going. I have to get home. I have a one o’clock video call.”
Jackie gave Noelle a wink before rushing off with the order, her credit card, and her check. Silence settled over the table, and he noticed that Charity and Noelle exchanged a look.
“So, you’re working from home while you’re in town?” Nic asked, infinitely curious as to how that worked. “What is it you do, exactly?”
“Accounting,” she said. “Bookkeeping, mostly. I can do every bit of it from home, but my boss is one of those people who believes if he can’t see you, you’re not working.”
“How’d you get him to agree to this?” Nic asked.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Noelle tilt her head slightly. She was curious why he was asking so many questions, no doubt. If he was honest, he’d tell both of them that he’d been fascinated by the concept of working from home. He’d been jealous of his remote working friends for years now. The ones who could wake up in the morning and start working without even changing out of their pajamas. The ones who worked all day without having to get in the car and drive back and forth to a building.
But when he was honest with himself, he admitted it wouldn’t work for him. He loved the great outdoors, and he couldn’t imagine being cooped up in his apartment all day. No, he definitely had the best job for him.
“He knows he’s going to lose her,” Charity said. Noelle flashed her a surprised look, and Charity shrugged in response. “It’s true. You can do bookkeeping for anyone, anywhere, and live here.”
Noelle began nodding slowly. “I’ve been a loyal employee, but he’s been good to me too.”
“He hasn’t given you a raise in the four years you’ve worked for him,” Charity pointed out.
“Yeah, my rent keeps going up.” Noelle looked over at Nic. “I’d love to own a place, but everything’s just gotten so expensive in Knoxville.”
“Plus, you don’t want to put down roots there.”
“Exactly,” Noelle said.
Jackie was approaching by then. He handed over the ticket and moved to the next table, mouth open, as though ready to start speaking.
Noelle wasted no time signing the bill and setting it, face down, at the end of the table. “This is my chance to prove to my boss I can do this job from here. See you two later.”
She snatched up her laptop bag from the floor next to her and rushed out, waving a distracted goodbye to the two of them. Charity watched her go before turning back to face Nic.
“She seriously could get a job like that.” She snapped her fingers, then, with a sigh, slid her empty plate toward the edge of the table. “Plenty of people would let her work from home.”
“Yeah, I’d love that too, but my job kind of requires I be on site,” he said.
That seemed to get Charity’s attention. “But you said you’re working remotely right now.”
“I can do a lot of it from here, but it’s a temporary thing. It’s only a matter of time before I have to do a health check of the crops. That’s why they pay me the big bucks.”
