Chapter 12 Tingly Again

I parked outside the office building and looked up through the front windshield. Luc Enterprises took up almost a third of the space in the high-rise. I had come here often when I had been an intern. Since that time though, I had hardly been. When a meeting was needed Mr. Jones always came to me, but even those times were few and far between.

That was why my anxiety levels were spiking right now. Between being summonsed, something that never happened, and the guy's continuous harping on Pierce's possible ulterior motives I was a bit of a nervous mess. And between the two I didn't know which I was most jumpy about.

My work was important to me. It was something that was mine completely, something I had done alone. For a person like myself that was a really big deal.

It seemed like for most of my adult life I always had someone standing nearby lending a hand, helping me out, even fighting my battles. But not with my work. I did that all by myself; my anxiety ridden, antisocial, nerdish self.

As far as accomplishments went, it was a big one, so when it came to the thought of it being in jeopardy in any way, butterflies didn't come close to describing the pterodactyl sized wingspan of the thing flailing in my stomach right now.

That combined with all the different scenarios Archer, Mick, and Branson had come up with last night I was a feeling a bit jumpy. For the most part I thought they were overreacting. I had even told them that.

It had made Branson and Mick angry but it had actually made Archer back off a bit. He had stared at me for a long moment as if considering something and then he had simply nodded his head. That hadn't made Branson or Mick happy but I had appreciated it.

I had finally managed to get them to leave. Branson and Mick had left first with instructions to call the minute I needed them. Archer had stuck behind for a few minutes. I knew it meant he wanted to talk privately.

He had looked down at me for a long minute.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" he had finally asked.

I nodded up at him.

"Anything," he had repeated with emphasis. "Like I did with you," he added, his eyes searching mine and sudden understanding had dawned.

I knew my eyes had widened and my cheeks had flushed. Archer had grinned down gently at me and patted my shoulder.

"Just in case you're not as ace as we thought," he said, hinting with his words what I had been trying since Friday night to hide from.

With a sigh, I climbed out of the car and started walking towards the entrance. Mr. Jones's email indicated he would meet me inside the door and escort me the rest of the way. I was glad for that. I did not know my way around the place and this would save time.

As I walked through the doors, Mr. Jones was right where he said he would be. His short stocky frame dressed in a navy-blue suit walked towards me with a small smile of greeting. The smile bolstered my spirits a bit. Mr. Jones's expression tended to reflect his mood rather obviously. The fact that he was smiling was a good sign.

Thankfully, Mr. Jones and I didn't feel the need to exchange formal handshakes. We had agreed years ago that the handshake was implied. Neither he or I enjoyed the practice. Today, considering how nervous I felt, I was pretty sure Mr. Jones wouldn't have enjoyed the clamminess of my palm.

I swiped my hand down my pant leg as I stepped into the elevator with him. I focused on my breathing as the lift carried us upward. It stopped on floor eleven.

I swallowed as Mr. Jones stepped out and I had no choice but to do so as well. Knowing I was getting closer to Pierce by the second, made me feel funny. I was anxious and nervous but I also felt a little excited. As Mr. Jones knocked on a door and a deep voice instructed us to enter, I realized that that newer sensation I had encountered on Saturday had returned.

I felt... tingly again.

I tried to control my expression as I walked into a small conference room obviously set up for this meeting. Pierce was sitting at the end of the rectangular conference table with two people on his left and one on his right. There were two chairs remaining. Mr. Jones took the one at the end of the table, opposite of Pierce, leaving me the seat directly to his right.

Feeling self-conscious I quickly walked towards my chair. I was not expecting Pierce to stand let alone hold his hand out to me to shake.

"Jackson," he murmured, his eyes flitting over my tense face. "It's good to see you again."

I flushed as I felt heads turn our way. I could tell the few people in the room were curious as to when we had met the first time.

With only the slightest of hesitations I did manage to lift my hand and place it in his. I was so busy worrying about the moist warmth of mine that I wasn't paying much attention. When his warm dry hand met mine, my insides jumped. My eyes flew to Pierce's to see if he had noticed. His lifted brow and half smile said he had.

I gave a nervous cough, and withdrew my hand before a proper shake was exchanged but I couldn't help it. The tingles were multiplying and had graduated to quivers. It was the last thing I wanted him to know. If he had continued to hold my hand, he would have felt the pulsing vibrations against his palm. It was too embarrassing to contemplate.

Pierce gave me one last lingering look, his half-smile still engaged. For the first time I did not see mockery but genuine humor. For whatever reason that just made me more nervous.

Thankfully, Pierce turned and introduced me to the room at large. Any concerns I had he would be anything less than professional were quickly put to rest. Both my jumpy nerves and I were appreciative.

I learned quickly who I was meeting with. Amber, the intern who had made the mistake in the email to me and who looked even more pale and trembly than I did. Then there was Fern, the manager of this particular project who looked stern and unforgiving and his assistant TJ who looked half-harassed, most likely by Fern, I figured.

Their expressions weren't exactly comforting. I figured they were probably as nervous as me. I nodded my head in greeting to each. Only Amber responded with a wobbly smile. Fern and TJ didn't appear to feel the need for social niceties. I didn't mind that. We weren't friends. We were here to work.

Pierce indicated I should take my chair as he sat back down in his. When the meeting began, I was surprised that it was Mr. Jones who led it and not Pierce. As a matter of fact, as the meeting continued, he didn't say much at all. He observed.

I felt his eyes on me several times throughout the meeting. It seemed that every time my eyes strayed towards him; his eyes were trained on me. It flustered me though I tried to pretend it didn't. It was especially difficult when it was my turn to talk.

His eyes were definitely focused on me as I spoke. I have never been more aware of someone watching me as I was as I spoke. It was nerve racking. I faltered a few times but for the most part I thought I hid my discomfort well.

The one good thing that did come out of the meeting, for me at least, was learning that it was a known fact by all that I was in no way being held responsible for the delay. Mr. Jones succinctly sung my praises for discovering and filtering through the erroneous information and getting us back on track.

Fern looked distinctly displeased as Mr. Jones bragged on me. He glared first at Amber and then TJ as Mr. Jones went on further to describe where the breakdown occurred and what should be done in future to make sure there was not a repeat.

To my surprise, that was when Pierce interjected, and his words took me aback.

"Fern, I want you to write up a report and a new policy and procedures manual for collecting, storing, and distributing data for projects. We can't let these mistakes happen again. We lose valuable time and it gives our competition a chance to get ahead. If they get ahead, we lose."

"Yes, Amber made the mistake," Pierce continued nodding towards the flushed intern. "but she is an intern. You're in charge. Looking closer Mr. Jones and I, both believe the setup of the information was more at fault than the actual sender. It quickly became apparent to us why she sent the incorrect information. There needs to be a better and more clear system in place."

I watched as Fern's cheeks darkened to an unbecoming shade of red. He didn't like being called out. I could tell he wanted to blame Amber and TJ and I had a feeling that both of them would be on the unhappy end of an ugly conversation when the meeting convened.

What I didn't expect was what came next.

"When you have the information gathered set up a presentation and send it to Jackson. He will evaluate it and get back to you with the changes he wants made. Once that's complete, we will meet again and go over the procedures and discuss any issues then. Have it to him within two weeks."

I sat as still as I could throughout Pierce's instruction. Though I looked straight forward and at no one in particular I was still able to see from my peripheral vision, Fern shooting dark not so discreet looks my way.

I hated being put in the middle like this. I wasn't Fern's boss and I was half his age. I could understand his resentment. He didn't know me so I knew he was wondering why the hell he was now reporting to me. I had to wonder the same thing.

I looked at Pierce whose eyes were once again trained on me. I wondered what he was thinking. This was the man who only a few short days ago was questioning my life choices. He had questioned whether he should continue to trust me with his sensitive information. Now he was handing me more.

I couldn't help but feel pleased, even if it also felt awkward given Fern's reaction. He was having difficulty containing his ire. I did notice however it didn't extend to outright confronting Pierce over it. He swallowed back whatever unpleasant words he wished to say and only nodded his head in acquiescence.

I wondered if I would bear the brunt of his anger later. He didn't seem like a pleasant guy to begin with. The meeting hadn't helped. I dreaded the thought of dealing with him.

I could see the passive aggressive exchanges now and I sighed internally. I hated dealing with catty manipulative encounters as much as the in your face confrontational ones. The next few weeks would be interesting and most likely stressful.

Pierce adjourned the meeting and everyone gathered their things and began to walk out of the room. Fern, TJ, and Amber left first. They practically bolted. I was in no less of a hurry but I didn't want to look like I was fleeing. Mr. Jones's phone rang and he quickly excused himself.

I nodded at Pierce and said a quick goodbye before making to turn away to head towards the door. I didn't even make a first step before his hand shot out and he grabbed my wrist lightly. Surprised I stopped and turned back to face him.

"Have lunch with me."