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"Okay, then." Noah rubbed his hands together. "I think it's worth suggesting to Jackie that the developers report to Simon and not the MADS manager. We won't assume anything about the project manager thing."
Claire reached over and touched Noah's arm. "When you have that conversation, you need to let Jackie know about us. She's your friend. It's likely she'll want to help you."
Noah nodded. "I'll talk to her tomorrow." Claire smiled. He was so confident that this would work out. She just hoped there weren't any casualties along the way. Specifically, Caprock's newest employee.
"You guys are boring," Lucinda complained. "That wasn't even much of a challenge. All right. What are we doing after supper? Trivia night? Dirty joke contest? Strip poker?"
The group laughed, and the teasing began. Claire leaned back against the couch, confident they could work it out. Tomorrow, they would finally share their secret with everyone and find out what the future held.
Chapter 36
Plan B
The next morning, Noah and Claire arrived ready to face the team. Noah planned to speak to Jackie—and Simon, if possible—before the two o'clock project meeting, where they would announce their relationship to everyone.
The halls buzzed with a nervous energy that had Noah studying the faces around him for clues. Something was up. He steered Claire to the war room to get the skinny and found the same tense undercurrent vibrating through the project team.
"What's happened?" he asked Rick as they entered.
"Not sure. Something with the Caprock leadership team, but I don't know the details." Rick shrugged. Noah got it. As far as Rick was concerned, he was there to do a job for the client, not get wrapped up in office politics. Plus, he was busy wrapping everything up before he headed out for paternity leave.
He scanned the room to see if anyone else seemed knowledgeable, but they were all busy, aside from the project coordinator, who glared at him. Or was it Claire she aimed her menacing scowl at? Before he could ask Vicki anything, Simon entered the room, with Larry strolling in behind him. Noah raised his eyebrow in question at Larry, who shot a shit-eating grin his way. Well, that can't be good. He directed Claire to an open seat and took the chair beside her.
"Okay, settle down. Since you're all here, we've got company news. It shouldn't affect the project, but it might affect some team members." Simon's gaze met Noah's before sliding back to the room's occupants.
"What's happened?" Noah growled. He sounded like a parrot and was tired of repeating himself.
"Duncan Brooks has accepted a position in one of Caprock's sister companies," Simon announced.
"Duncan Brooks, the Chief Operating Officer?" Claire asked.
"Yes. He has accepted the position of president of Tubular Products, another subsidiary owned by our parent company. He's leaving Caprock."
Noah inhaled sharply and sat back. Shite! When he focused on the room again, he found Simon watching him. "Mitch Talbot is replacing Duncan as COO," Simon said.
Noah exhaled as time slowed down. All eyes on were on him. "And Mitch's replacement as plant manager for England?"
Simon smiled briefly before replying. "No announcement has been made, but I think we all know who's first pick for the opening."
Noah grabbed the edge of the table as his head spun, and the surrounding conversation faded. Had Jackie known about this when she made her offer last week? He needed to talk to Mitch and find out exactly what was happening. Who should he call first? Jackie or Mitch?
He looked at Claire, whose gaze bore into him. She smiled timidly and he tried to smile back, but was afraid he'd only bared his teeth at her. His phone rang, bringing his erratic thoughts under control. Mitch was calling him. He excused himself from the room to take the call.
"Congratulations, Mitch. I just heard," Noah said. He walked toward his office, where he could shut the door and ensure privacy.
"Hmph. I had hoped to speak with you before they made the announcement, but it appears someone leaked the news. I won't beat about the bush, Noah. It's midafternoon here and I've been caught unaware. They should have handled this better. I've given your name as my intended replacement as the England plant manager."
Noah sat in his chair and rubbed his temple. He tried Claire's trick of breathing calmly to slow his racing pulse.
"When is all this going into effect?" he asked.
"It depends on how fast Duncan moves to Tubular. I don't think it's public knowledge, but the man he's replacing was recently diagnosed with a severe illness, and I believe they want him to step in immediately. They'll likely use quarter end as the official date, but I imagine Duncan will move over quickly. Perhaps as early as next week, so he can learn from his successor before the man leaves." Mitch sighed. "And since we're sister companies, they assume I can transition quickly into my new role, thinking Duncan will be available. They're not usually rational when setting timelines on things like this."
"What about the MADS project? I'm embedded deeply. Am I supposed to drop it and go back to England?" Noah asked.
"Yes." Mitch sounded surprised he'd asked. "You can't do both." His tone softened. "You've done a great job splitting your time between the project and running the shop, but the weight of the divided responsibility was already showing. No one—not even someone as talented as you—can keep up two full-time jobs concurrently."
Noah blew out a breath and thought of Claire. Her laughter last weekend as they'd watched a group of children playing in the water at the park near her apartment. Her shy smile waking up next to him in bed. Six months ago, he'd have been ecstatic at being able to choose between two promotion prospects. Today, it was a terrible burden.
