Judy Hubbard - Our First Embrace

“You’ll find I’m not afraid of hard work, Mr. James,” she promised.

“For your sake I hope not.” He smiled without humor. “You have a lot of catching up to do.”

“For goodness’ sake, I’m only a week late—not a month,” she snapped.

“A lot of work can be lost in a week,” he informed tightly. “I don’t like wasting time.”

“Neither do I, Mr. James.”

“Really?” He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Actions speak louder than words, Miss Carter. I hope I didn’t make a mistake hiring you.”

She visibly bristled at his insinuation. “You didn’t.”

“Time will tell.” He wasn’t at all convinced. “I’m going to start you on the Bettina line. I trust you had time to familiarize yourself with the information packet I sent you.”

“Yes, I did,” she assured him. “Bettina is your casual and affordable chic line catering to the twenty to twenty-five age range.”

When he showed no signs of being impressed with her answer, she snapped open her portfolio and handed him five sketches.

“What are these?”

“Sketches I took the liberty of preparing while I kept you waiting.” Her voice was tinged with sarcasm, prompting him to raise one of his eyebrows.

Without a word, he flipped from one sketch to the next, purposefully keeping his expression unreadable. They were good, very good, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that yet. He needed to see what she was made of—find out if she possessed the dedication and stamina to handle the demands he would place on her.

He wasn’t running a nursery, and he had no intention of coddling her or any of his employees. Her actions made him question his choosing her for the coveted position with his company, and he didn’t like second-guessing himself. She’d cut it or she’d be out on the door before she could blink her pretty brown eyes. After a cursory exploration of the designs, he placed them on his desk and stared at her silently.

“Well?” She bristled under his cool scrutiny.

“It’s nice to know you gave some thought to work while we waited for you to show up.”

“What do you think of them?” She seemed to be fighting the urge to scream in frustration.

“They’re adequate.” He shrugged. “They could have been passable had you been here on time.”

He almost smiled when her eyes darkened angrily. “Mr. James, how many times...”

“I hope you had a nice time while you kept us waiting, Miss Carter, because I’m going to work you until you drop,” he darkly promised, interrupting her tirade before it could begin.

“Give it your best shot, Mr. James.” She picked up her sketches and replaced them in her portfolio.

He punched a button on his phone, “Jean, send in Monique.” He stood and returned his attention to Nicole. “That’ll be all, Miss Carter. Monique, one of my dedicated head designers, will show you to your workstation. If you need anything, let her know.”

Right on cue, a rap sounded on his door, and it opened to admit Monique, a smiling, slender African-American woman who honed in on Nicole. She and Nicole were about the same height, though Monique was a couple of years older. Her long black hair was pulled away from her smiling face.

“Hi, Nicole. I’m Monique.” She extended a hand, which Nicole shook. “Welcome to Alexander’s.”

“Thank you.” Nicole smiled at her genuine welcome. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You, too.” Monique glanced at a stoic Alexander. “I’ll show you around if the boss is done with you.”

“We’re through for now,” Alex agreed, sitting back down behind his desk. “Thanks, Monique.”

“Sure thing, boss.” Monique opened the door and waited for her to gather her belongings. “Ready, Nicole?”

“More than.” Nicole sighed and left the office. Alex watched them go, his eyes boring into her back.

* * *

She repressed the urge to stomp out of his office as she preceded Monique through the door. What an infuriating man! She sighed audibly once the door closed behind them.

Monique chuckled. “That bad, huh?”

“No, it was fine.” At Monique’s skeptical look she elaborated. “He is...” She paused, not sure if she was talking to a friend or a foe. “It was fine,” she reiterated.

Monique laughed, linked her arm through Nicole’s and pulled her away. “Oh, I’ll bet!” She smiled and whispered conspiratorially, “You can trust me. I’m a fellow New Yorker.”

“Really?” Nicole brightened at the mention of home.

“Mmm-hmm, born and raised. I transferred from Alexander’s New York office five years ago. You’re planning on transferring to that office after your six months here, right?”

“Yes,” Nicole confirmed. Right now, she couldn’t wait for that day to come. “Do you like it here?”

“I love it.” Monique beamed. “You will, too. I promise.”

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me. I plan to make the most of it.”

“I’ll help you any way I can,” Monique promised. “I predict we’re going to be good friends.”

“I think so, too,” Nicole agreed.

“Definitely,” Monique assured. “How about some coffee before I show you to your station?”

“I’d love some.” Nicole groaned gratefully, and Monique laughed.

“The break room is in here.”

Monique led her into an attractive white room with rows of laminate tables and matching padded chairs. There was a full kitchen, including several refrigerators, microwaves and conventional ovens. Her eyes widened as Monique poured two cups of coffee not into Styrofoam, but into china cups.

“Very nice.” Nicole took the offered cup from Monique.

“The boss believes in doing little things like this to keep us happy.” Monique shrugged as they sat down at one of the tables. “He’s really not bad once you get to know him.”

“Time will tell.” After adding cream and sugar, Nicole sipped her coffee and felt some of the tension leaving her. “He’s upset because I’m late.”

“You had a wedding to attend, right?”

“Yes.” Nicole smiled fondly. “My brother’s.”

“Well, you couldn’t miss that.”

“No, I couldn’t.” Nicole sighed. “I wish Mr. James understood that.”

“He’ll get over it,” Monique predicted. “Just wow him with your fabulous work ethic and tremendous talent.”

“I’ll try.”

“You’ll be fine, and like I said, I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Monique squeezed her hand and winked. “We New Yorkers have to stick together.”

“Definitely.” Nicole returned her smile, feeling at ease for the first time that morning.

* * *

Victor James entered his older brother’s office without knocking. He chuckled at Alex’s raised eyebrow as he plopped down on the edge of his desk.

“Hey bro, what’s up?”

Alex frowned. “I’m trying to get some work done.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here.” At his brother’s confused stare, Victor reminded him, “You said your computer was, in your words, acting squirrely.”

“Oh, yeah.” Alex sighed, pushing away from his desk and motioning for Victor to come over. “I don’t know what’s wrong with this thing.”

“Let me see what you’ve done to her.” Victor’s sigh elicited a chuckle from his brother.

“She is right,” Alex disgustedly agreed. “This thing is as temperamental as any woman I’ve ever known.”

“You just don’t know how to handle her,” Victor chided as he continued typing on the keyboard, turning the screen completely black.

“I guess I don’t,” Alex agreed as he watched his brother work his magic. The man was a genius with computers.