by Nicki Night
The two laughed and then eased into a sultry silence. Jewel and Sterling studied each other for a moment. The moonlight sparkled in his eyes. Jewel looked away first, turning her attention back to the lush gardens.
“Are you still as active?” Sterling asked after a while. His voice was slightly lower than the moments before.
“In the gym. Other than that, just some occasional horseback riding.”
Sterling nodded. A few more moments of silence passed. “I had such a crush on you in school.”
“Really?” Jewel was genuinely surprised.
“Yep. I was going to ask you to the prom, but Storm Wellington beat me to it.”
“Ha! Storm.” Jewel shook her head and smiled. “I haven’t seen him in years.”
“What ever happened to you two?”
“We dated that summer, went off to college, reconnected a few more summers and then everything just fizzled. He’s in Germany now. He went there for grad school and never came back. We spoke a couple of times. He’s doing well from what I understand.
“And you went to the prom with...” Jewel snapped her fingers and narrowed her eyes. “Angel?”
“Raven.”
“Yes. Raven. I don’t see her here tonight. What ever happened to her?”
“I married her.”
“Oh.” Jewel stood still, unsure of why that bit of information affected her. He’d mentioned his ex-wife inside, but hadn’t said her name. The picture of the little girl with the mess of curls came to mind and she remembered Raven’s face.
“She was pregnant.”
“What?” Jewel was still trapped in her own thoughts.
“The summer before our senior year of college. We got pregnant. So I married her after graduation. I wanted to do the right thing.”
Jewel simply raised her brows and tilted her head sideways, taking note of the fact that he’d said “we.” He was a gentleman.
“It didn’t last a year, but we have our beautiful Kylee. A few years ago Raven got a job offer in Chicago that offered her the opportunity to return to school and pursue her master’s. Our daughter spends summers and school breaks with me until she’s done with school.”
“Oh. That’s nice.” For once Jewel didn’t have much to say. She was ready to head back inside to the party, but not because she didn’t enjoy being alone with him. It just didn’t make sense to entertain his company any longer when she was sure it wouldn’t go anywhere. “Where did you go to school?” she had to ask.
His response was all the confirmation she needed. Sterling’s undergrad degree nor his MBA were earned at an Ivy League school. Jewel was far from judgmental. She still thought fondly of Sterling. He just couldn’t be the one for her. She was certain that there would be areas in life where they wouldn’t be able to relate. The one thing she listened to her mother about was being mindful of dating people you are compatible with. Jewel’s parents were a shining example of how successful a relationship could be when two were equally yoked.
“We should head back inside. The girls are probably looking for me.”
“Yeah. Noah’s probably looking for me, too.” Instead of moving, Sterling retrieved his wallet and pulled out a card. “I’d love to see you again. Perhaps over dinner.”
Jewel hesitated just a moment, smiled and took the card from him. “Sure.” She tucked it in her evening bag without looking it over.
Sterling had taken her hand again. She let him. Pulling away now would make things awkward. Their road ended there anyway. When she got home, she’d toss the card and forget about how piercing his eyes were and how his touch made her skin tingle because there was no way she could ever be with Sterling Bishop.
Chapter 6
Sterling drove to work with Jewel occupying his mind just like he had for the past few mornings. He was glad he listened to Stephan and decided to go the reunion. Seeing Jewel made it worthwhile. Sterling had also had a few inquiries about his technology service offerings since the reunion. Two meetings had already been set up as a result. His only regret was not taking Jewel’s card. He’d left his with her, but she hadn’t called. Sterling knew how women felt about being the first to call, but assumed Jewel was different. From what he remembered, she was a go-getter and Sterling couldn’t imagine her losing that zeal. He wasn’t concerned. Somehow, he’d find a way to get in front of Jewel. He had to.
Sterling couldn’t pinpoint it specifically, but there was something about seeing Jewel that piqued his interest in several ways and he was determined to satisfy his curiosities about her. One night out for dinner would do it. He’d be able to determine if his interest in her was from a lingering childhood crush, or something genuinely fresh and new.
“Mr. Bishop!” The panic in his secretary Ann’s voice snatched him from his thoughts of Jewel. She stood, alarming him with the speed in which she moved. “We have a situation.”
“Good morning, Ann. Please continue,” Sterling urged as he moved past her into his office.
“My apologies, sir. Good morning. I tried to call you and Mr. Stephan, but neither of you answered. There’s a problem at our east end server farm.”
Sterling pulled his phone from his belt and found that he had missed several calls, as well as text and email notifications. He wondered why he hadn’t heard them. “How long ago did this happen?” His jaw clenched when he realized he still had his phone on silent from the board meeting the previous night. It was obvious that he had forgotten to turn the sound back on.
“Only about ten minutes ago. For some reason one of the backup servers seems to be shorting out. It kicks on but won’t stay on.”
Sterling rubbed the back of his neck. “Thank you, Ann. Let me get Stephan on the phone.”
The first ring hadn’t completed before his brother picked up the phone. “I know. I just finished speaking to Phil at the server farm. There was some kind of major outage in the area that was caused by a fire. They’re working on getting the backups running smoothly. It keeps kicking off.”
Sterling washed his hands down his face. “Steph—”
“I know.” Stephan’s huff was audible. “I just pulled up. I’ll be inside in a sec.”
Within the next few minutes every employee on deck had hands in the mix trying to get the situation rectified. Stephan kept in touch with their staff managing the server farm. Sterling was in touch with the utility company regarding the fire that caused electrical transformers to blow and affect their equipment, which housed scores of data from the customers they served. They guaranteed that services would be back up within hours.
At the server farm, maintenance staff worked hard to keep the backup servers running to avoid any major catastrophes.
Stephan walked to Sterling’s office and paced. “This is all over the news.”
“I know.” Sterling pointed at his computer where he was watching the latest report and turned up the volume. Not one, but two major transformers had blown, causing electrical fires to light up electric lines in the area. Homes, businesses and schools in the surrounding area were all out of service. The utility company and local public service authorities were investigating to determine the cause of the problem. Stephan stopped pacing long enough to hear a few moments of the report. Sterling looked at his watch.
An hour had passed and every second counted. Their backup server was still shorting out. The team struggled to keep it up and running. Customers had the lines clogged, reporting issues with their IT systems. The entire office was in crisis management mode. Outside of Sterling’s door a frenzy of people moved to and fro with an urgent pace.
“We should cancel our meetings with prospective clients today.” Stephan returned to Sterling’s office with his suggestion.
“No! We need to go. We’ll work through this. I trust that Phil has the farm covered and he’ll keep us posted. We can deal with any concerns that may c
ome up from our prospective clients. Besides, it’s important for them to know that we are able to manage a crisis and still get business done.” Sterling believed in always moving forward.
“If you say so.” Stephan released a heavy sigh.
Just then, Sterling’s phone rang. He hesitated before answering since he didn’t know the number, but picked up anyway. “Sterling Bishop speaking.”
“Ah. Mr. Bishop. Bobby Dale Chandler of Chandler Food Corp here. How are you?”
“Fine, Mr. Chandler, and yourself?” Sterling stretched his eyes at Stephan. “How can I assist you?”
“A good friend of mine, Don Kota, referred me to you. You know Don, right? Kota Enterprises.”
Sterling put a smile in his voice. “I certainly do. Mr. Kota is a great friend and client.”
“That I know. I was speaking to him about help I was looking for and he said I should call you.”
“I’m happy to be of service. Would you mind if I add my partner to the call?”
“Of course not.”
Stephan eased into the chair on the opposite side of Sterling’s chair. He put Bobby Dale on speaker and after introductions, they listened to him speak about the services he sought. Chandler Food Corp was looking to overhaul their entire IT system and hire his company for ongoing IT maintenance of their network.
“We can certainly do that. The first thing we’d need to do is come by to take a look at what you have in place, get a few more details and we can draw up a proposal for you,” Stephan said, sounding much more cheerful than he had minutes before.
“Sounds like a plan. When can we meet?”
“If you don’t mind holding for one moment, we can check our schedules.” The brothers took a few seconds to pull up their calendars and agree on a date that worked for everyone.
“Wonderful! I’ll see you then. Looking forward to working with you gentlemen.”
Once the call ended, Sterling and Stephan slapped a high five.
“See! Despite setbacks we have to continue moving forward.”
“I’ll call Phil to see if there’s any progress at the farm.” Stephan stood and headed for the door.
“I’ll see what’s happening with the utility company and check in to see about our customers who are being affected.”
Despite being in the middle of their current crisis, Sterling felt better. They had a promising prospect to meet with today and now a major new prospect that also happened to be the company of the woman who recently infiltrated his curiosities. Sterling made a note to call Don, who was also his mentor, and thank him for the referral. It looked like fate was helping him get a little closer to Jewel after all.
With his brother at his side, Sterling jumped headlong back into the situation, striving to lead the company out of the problem they were facing. They ended their day with a visit to their sever farm to make sure their systems would continue working through the night. Damage to the electrical lines and transformers were still being repaired at nightfall, even though their company originally estimated it to be a few hours. News cameras captured every angle while reporters updated the public on all developments. As frustrating as the situation was for the brothers, Sterling excelled under pressure, feeding off the energy it generated. By the time he made it to bed some time in the wee hours of the morning, he felt exhausted, but also accomplished and excited about the upcoming meeting with Chandler Food Corp.
Chapter 7
Jewel took a deep breath before knocking on her father’s office door.
“Come in.” His voice bellowed from the other side.
Jewel tried not to let her nervousness show. Before coming to her father, she’d spoken to Dorothy, who’d prepped her to ask for the promotion. She also promised to coach Jewel and help her succeed in the position.
“Dad. I’d like to speak with you. Is this a good time?”
Bobby Dale peered over the rim of his glasses and sat back. The salt-and-pepper hairs along his temples and in his mustache gave him a distinguished look. “Anytime is a good time for you, my dear.”
“This is about business, Mr. Chandler.” Jewel stood straight. Bobby Dale wiggled his brows, seemingly amused by her serious demeanor. Jewel grinned letting on that she was teasing and sat.
Bobby Dale’s laugh was jovial. That eased the tension for Jewel.
“On a serious note, Dad. I’d really like to talk about the impact of Dorothy leaving and the possibility of me getting promoted to her position.”
Bobby Dale slid his glasses from his face, sat back and peered at Jewel. “Go on.” He encouraged her.
“Well.” Jewel sat up straighter in the chair. “I know that you’ll agree that Dorothy was a dedicated and accomplished leader. Under Dorothy’s and your tutelage, I’ve had the benefit of learning what I need to know to be an effective leader in operations. I recently requested feedback from her regarding what it would take to be successful in her position and determine potential areas for growth. With that, I believe I’m well positioned to take on the position of VP of operations and would love to discuss what it would take to gain that opportunity.” Jewel was relieved. She had gotten out her rehearsed speech without fumbling. She knew she had to exude confidence when speaking with her father as well as prove that she was capable and qualified.
Bobby Dale remained quiet. His expression was unreadable, which made Jewel nervous. She tried not to squirm. Jewel swallowed to keep from clearing her throat, not allowing her anxiety to show. She felt compelled to fill the silence that expanded between them. She’d played her hand. It was time for her father to play his hand and she wouldn’t ruin it with anxious chatter and shoot holes in her confident exterior.
Finally, Bobby Dale pressed his lips together and nodded. “You believe you are qualified?” It was more of a statement than a question. “Tell me why.”
Jewel went through the list of recent accomplishments she’d written down and practiced. Next she communicated the skills she’d developed through her experience and the impact that being coached by Dorothy had on her ability to meet and exceed the expectation of the position, resulting in positive outcomes for the company as a whole.
Bobby Dale went quiet again.
“Here’s what we’ll do. I will give you this new project to manage. If you prove yourself and excel in this role, within the next sixty days, we will discuss the possibility of a promotion. There’s still work and growing that you’ll need to do before you earn the role of VP. What do you think about that?”
“I think that’s a start. Thanks, Dad... I mean, Mr. Chandler.” Jewel’s chest tightened. She bit back her disappointment but wouldn’t let this get her down.
He chuckled. Jewel stood from her chair. She was getting that VP position. After proving herself this time, there would be no way he could deny her. Whatever this project was, she was sure she could meet and exceed her father’s expectations. She couldn’t wait to tell Chris about this meeting. He’d practiced with her both in person and on the phone.
“Wait!” Bobby Dale held up his hand. “We’re meeting with a company tomorrow about the project I just mentioned. We need to overhaul our IT system. Clear your calendar. This company also provides consultants to manage IT and routine maintenance, which is more cost effective for us than hiring a permanent IT professional.”
“Okay.” Jewel nodded waiting for more information.
“They were referred to me by Don. He mentioned that they are known to be the best in the area. Dorothy will join us for the initial meeting but won’t be around to manage the majority of the process. That will now be on you.”
“No problem. I’ll take care of it. Thank you for giving me this chance.”
“You’re welcome. I expect to be impressed by your professionalism.”
“You got it. Thanks again.” Jewel felt like pumping her fist. On the way out of her father’s office
, she paused and turned back. “By the way. What’s the name of the company so I can do my research?”
“SB Tech Solutions.”
Jewel made a mental note to look them up. She wasn’t sure why, but something about the name sounded familiar. “You won’t be disappointed,” she told her father.
Thrusting her chest forward, she bounced back to her office. That promotion was in her hands. She sent a few emails to clear her calendar for the next day and rearranged items on her to-do list. Jewel opened a tab on her browser and was typing in the company name her father had just given her when her phone rang. She picked it up and filled her brother in on the details of the meeting with her father. When Jewel got back to her emails, she had to shift her focus to handling a contract she’d been waiting on from a new supermarket chain.
When Jewel looked at the time again, she realized it was after five. She was scheduled for a six-thirty boot camp class. With rush hour traffic, she’d have just enough time to get there, change into her workout gear and get ready for class. Her office was only twenty-five minutes away from her gym, but at this time of the day, travel times easily stretched into forty to fifty minutes.
Jewel shut down her computer, grabbed her purse and headed to the car. She double-checked that her gym bag was in the back seat before pulling out. The boot camp was hard but she made it through. She’d come out looking as if she’d traveled through rain. When class was finally over Jewel was starving. On the way home she stopped to grab something to eat. In the house, she showered, ate and pulled out her laptop to review her personal email. Moments later, she woke up and found her fingers still on the keyboard. She had fallen asleep and wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Deciding to check the company out in the morning before the meeting, Jewel went to bed.
Jewel woke the next morning energized and ready for her new project. The moment she got to work, she pulled up the company name and headed to the ABOUT US section of their website. She admired the clean, sleek look and feel of the website. It was indicative of a savvy tech company. She perused the information that told of all the services the company provided. Before she could explore other sections her phone rang. Their meeting was set to take place in the executive boardroom and their guests had already arrived. Jewel realized she’d never asked what time the meeting was. First thing in the morning worked fine for her.