Page 76 of Forever Never
“Did you kidnap my son from his grandparents?” Kimber asked.
“Tonight he’s not your son,” Remi said. “Everyone, meet our technology officer, Ian.”
They moved to a bigger table, and Brick cursed his luck when Remi managed to end up at the opposite end as far away from him as possible. The grinning Carlos at her elbow as they debated sharing an appetizer.
The top button of her thermal shirt was undone, like an invitation to appreciate the swell of her breasts. He should not be thinking about her breasts. Not in front of her sister and impressionable nephew.
Orders placed, Kimber interlaced her fingers on the table. “Who wants to explain why my son isn’t with Grandma and Grandpa finishing his homework?” she asked, a hint of brittleness in her tone.
“There’s a good reason for it,” Remi promised. “Why don’t we start with how far you two got on the volunteer front, and then we’ll get to Ian and Carlos?”
Kimber and Brick shared a glance. He shrugged at her. He was the one who called the meeting and assumed that was effort enough.
“I have it on my list to call Mira Rathbun and Mayor Early to talk to them about rounding up some volunteers,” Kimber said grudgingly. “And that’s as far as I got.”
Remi nodded enthusiastically. “Great.” She waited a beat, and when no one else added anything, she winked at Ian. “While Ian sets up his presentation, I’ll add that I spoke to Dad, who was able to get ten volunteers to officially commit. Then I reached out to Carlos here since he’s such a well-liked, friendly member of both the police department and the community.”
That was definitely a dig at him, Brick decided. And she’d delivered it without looking at him.
Remi leaned forward and continued. “Carlos was able to provide the complete list of the people the department checks in on during the winter. I reached out to half of them so far and divided them into two lists. Ones with low-technology acumen who preferred to commit to a day of the week for their visit. And ones who are willing to help test the Visit Request functionality you’re about to see.”
“Oh,” Kimber said, looking as surprised as Brick felt.
“All set, Aunt Remi—I mean Technology Coordinator Remington,” Ian announced from the head of the table. He spun the iPad around on its stand. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Mackinac Visits end user interface.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later,food forgotten in front of him, Brick listened with rapt attention.
“So the volunteer list receives an email every time a new visit request is made. They can decide if they want to accept the request and add it to their own calendar, which will also include the birthdates and anniversaries of visitees and volunteers,” Remi explained as Ian’s chubby little hands flew over the wireless keyboard. “We’re also discussing additional capabilities like a forum for volunteers to share notes about their visits. And as my colleague Ian explained before, everyone’s private information remains secure behind the login and firewall. Any questions?”
“How did you do all this?” Kimber asked, still looking stunned.
Remi winked at Ian. “I borrowed the school’s Online Media Club yesterday and today. They were already working with the kind of modules this project needed. The Branding Club heard about it and got involved with writing the copy and finalizing the photos. They’re also working on email automation for new people who fill out the volunteer form that includes a campaign advising what to do or talk about during visits.”
Brick blew out a breath. “That’s…impressive.” He was fucking dazzled by her. She’d known he and Kimber would have expected nothing from her. So she’d delivered the entire project on a platter as a subtle but effective “fuck you.” What she was able to accomplish when motivated by revenge was awe-inspiring. And terrifying.
There was no way he was going to survive this.
Remi looked at Ian instead of him and beamed. “You hear that, Chief Technology Officer? You’re impressive.”
“Hey, Mom. Does this mean I can have a brownie explosion for dessert?” Ian asked, looking hopeful.
“I can’t come up with a good reason to say no,” Kimber admitted.
Ian celebrated by pumping his fist and then digging back in to his dinner of pancakes.
“I think if we spend all of next week testing it, we could be ready to roll it out the week after,” Remi announced.
“Chief’s gonna love this,” Carlos predicted, flashing a grin in Brick’s direction that made him want to punch the man in the face.
“On that note,” Remi said. “I’m heading out.”
“I’ve gotta go, too. You want a ride home?” Carlos volunteered.
“That would be great. Thanks,” she said, showering the jackass with unnecessary and excessive attention.
“I’ll go warm up the sled,” he said, pushing his chair back.
