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"What happens after the project is over? They will have replaced me at the plant, and I won't have a position in operations to return to."
"Or there might be a future in IT."
He laughed. "Right. Transfer to the dark side. I'm not an IT geek."
She smiled and leaned back. "Neither was I. Neither was Simon nor Larry. Most IT managers I've met have come from somewhere else. You have a natural proclivity toward logic and technology, and you're bright enough to learn the technical bits. It's your institutional knowledge and your ease with users that makes you invaluable in an environment where we manage and distill data. With your years of working in the business, from the shop floor to a management position, you know all the ins and outs of how things work, why they're set up the way they are, and the changes we need to make them work better. I'd like you to join IT permanently."
Jackie lifted her coffee cup and took another sip while Noah absorbed everything she'd said. It's true he'd been looking for a change, but he'd never considered making a lateral move to the administrative side of the company. He'd thought the global reach of the project might open doors at other locations. Then again, as he'd told Claire, he truly enjoyed his work on this project.
"What exactly would my position be?"
"You'd be Simon's second. The official title is to be determined, but something like IT Application Manager. As far as the MADS update project goes, your day-to-day duties would stay the same, but your authority would increase. Right now, you're a subject matter expert who represents the users and can only make suggestions. With this change, you'd have the power to make decisions and guide the team. Something, I might add, you're already doing without the official authority."
Noah's brain kicked in to high gear, thinking through the ramifications. "Where would I sit?"
"Here in Houston, if you're willing to relocate." She shrugged. "If you don't want to move, we could work with you in England, but it would be far easier having you here at headquarters where all the action is." Shock at the thought of moving away from his family threatened to take over, but he ruthlessly shoved it aside. He reminded himself he'd been willing to consider Australia just a few weeks ago.
Jackie folded her hands on her desk. "There's a pay raise involved."
"What?" The whirlwind of thoughts spinning in his head froze and dropped, splintering like icicles knocked from their dangling perch.
"You'd be starting as a level ten manager. That's higher than you are now." The building apprehension slid backward and, in its place, excitement slowly crept in. He didn't want to get too hopeful, but this sounded better and better the more they talked. "Your duties inside the project would continue, but outside the project, you'd be supervising IT staff."
Warning bells rang, and he clenched his fists. "IT staff?"
"Simon has too many direct reports. He's the enterprise application manager. It's hard to keep your eye on the bigger picture when you're busy managing all the bits and pieces. We want to build a layer between him and those who manage the specific applications. You'd manage those tied to the MADS system while he focuses on governance, oversight, and the proposed data warehouse and application links feeding it."
His blood froze in his veins, Claire's face springing to mind. "And the developers?"
"Yes. The VIG contractors, Claire Broussard, and the staff who manage secondary applications feeding into and retrieving data from the MADS system. Excluding those managed by the financial team, of course."
His stomach twisted. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. He'd be Claire's manager. A huge conflict of interest and definitely not allowed. Jackie had presented him with a fantastic solution to his career dilemma. A solution made impossible to accept if he wanted a relationship with Claire. The excitement that had been building took a sudden dive and his stomach turned sour.
"What happens if I decline?"
Jackie frowned, then shrugged. "I honestly hadn't expected you to hesitate. Let's see… you'd stay on the team for now, but I'll have to hire someone eventually for the role. At that time, you'd go back to your day job."
Noah's stomach knotted again and threatened to evacuate its contents, but he kept his face straight. His first impulse was to say no and walk away, but he'd been unhappy with his career prospects long before Claire entered his life. However, if he said no, what would happen to him and Claire? Jackie made it sound like they would replace him altogether and send him back to the production floor in England. The idea of going back to his old position almost set off a panic attack, the realization coming as a shock. He'd had random thoughts that he was outgrowing his current job. But right here, in this moment? He couldn't deny it. He couldn't go back to what he'd been doing.
"Give me some time to consider it?" When she stared at him, he reached for the charm he was known for and added, "Relocating my entire life isn't exactly a snap decision. Surely you can give me more than two minutes to wrap my head around it?"
"Yes, of course." She turned in her chair and focused on her laptop, effectively dismissing him. "I'll send you the job description with timelines for you to review. I'd like to know your answer soon, so I can start the paperwork to get you transferred. Or not."
"Sure." He stood to leave, taking a moment to make sure his wobbly knees would support him. "And, Jackie… " He waited until she looked up. "Thanks."
She smiled and waved him out.
Chapter 33
Quandary
Claire eyeballed Noah as he navigated the remnants of rush hour and focused on driving them through downtown traffic. "You've been awfully quiet all day," she commented. "Is everything okay?"
He startled, as if coming back to her from somewhere far away. "Oh, sorry. I've got a lot on my mind."
"I thought the purchasing testing went well? No problems, right?" Claire worried at the cuticle on her thumb with her teeth. The last couple of weeks, their dynamic had changed and stiff silences between them were a thing of the past. Noah's sudden preoccupation had her concerned that something was wrong. He'd had reservations about workplace romances long before he'd met her, and she wondered if something had come up about them.
"Yes, everything worked as expected. The remaining fixes are cosmetic, and you guys will get it sorted easily enough." He drove with one hand and rubbed his five o'clock shadow with another.
