"Good," I laughed. "I'm here to meet with Jack about the warehouse renovations and how we're going to keep business booming while the construction's going on."
"He's almost ready. Hey, where's that darlin' little girl of yours?" Norma asked as she pulled a bag full of treats from under her desk. "I went on a little shopping spree over lunch, and I thought she might like some of my purchases."
"Norma, you're going to spoil that child rotten!" I laughed as she held out the bag. "She's finishing her homework, and then Burt's got some adventure for her to go on."
"I'll just wander down there a little later and see how that sweetie is doing," Norma said as the phone rang. She turned to answer it as Jack opened his door and motioned for me to join him.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked.
"Let's talk about how we're going to manage the orders that are coming in while the construction is going on," he said as he pulled up a set of plans on his computer and motioned for me to pull up a chair. "The way I see it, we keep the boxes over here, and we have the warehouse crew alter their fulfillment route according to where the construction crew is positioned each day."
I leaned in and looked at the plans as he clicked through each day of construction. He'd obviously spent a lot of time planning the moves, and he knew the warehouse almost as well as those of us who worked in it. I was impressed.
"That's a great plan," I said and pointed to one part of the plan that I thought was a little shaky. "But I think that if you move things over here rather than here, we'd be more efficient and the crew would be happier."
Jack leaned in toward me, and I suddenly realized that we were only inches away from one another. I turned my head, and he stared at me for a fraction of a second before leaning in. I could feel his lips almost brush mine, and I closed my eyes in anticipation.
"Well, well, well, isn't this just cozy!" Sloan said in an overly cheerful voice as she walked across the office and set her purse down on Jack's desk. "You two working everything out in the warehouse, are you?"
"Yes," Jack said clearing his throat and moving out of kissing range. I suddenly felt ashamed and wondered if he did, too.
"How are you, Leah?" Sloan asked in a voice dripping with fake interest. "Everything working out well down there while we're setting up construction?"
"I'm good, thank you, yes, it's fine," I said, dropping my head and looking at the floor. Jack didn't attempt to rescue me from Sloan's interrogation, and I suddenly felt the need to escape. I got up and headed for the door mumbling an excuse before I made my exit.
"Bye, Leah!" Sloan chirped as I marched past Norma's empty desk and headed back down to my office.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jack
"Why do you always have to be so mean?" I asked as I stared at Slone disapprovingly.
"Why darlin', whatever do you mean?" she replied with a fake Southern accent. "I thought that was just manners."
"What do you want, Sloan?" I asked as I decided to forgo the battle over manners, knowing she would find a way to worm out of any culpability.
"I want to talk about the plan for the warehouse and how we're going fill all of the new orders I've gathered," she smiled as she held out the customer sheets that she'd filled out.
"You're generating a lot of business," I said, sifting through the new customer orders. It was a good sign that she'd brought in so much new business in such a short period of time, but it was also a concern because construction was going to slow us down a bit.
"I thought you might like that," she said as she sat down and crossed one long leg over the other, exposing her smooth thigh and the lacy edge of the stockings that covered it. She added, "I've got plenty more where those came from."
I swallowed hard and looked away, not sure if she was talking about the orders anymore. As I looked through them, I realized that she'd targeted some of the biggest buyers in all of Manhattan and had brought in orders that would elevate our output by a substantial amount.
"When are these companies expecting delivery?" I asked as I tried to figure out how quickly we could get the warehouse ready to start shipping.
"That's the catch," she said as she dug in her purse. "We need to be ready to start filling orders by next week."
"Sloan, what the fuck!" I said a little louder than I'd intended. "You know we're in the middle of the warehouse renovation. What in the hell possessed you to make promises you weren't sure we could keep?"
"I knew you'd find a way," she said as she held my gaze, daring me to disagree with her. I shook my head and realized I was playing chicken with a woman who liked losing even less than I did.
"You seriously piss me off," I muttered as I reorganized the forms in my hand, trying to figure out just how we could make this work.
"I know," she grinned. "And it makes you want to bend me over your desk and have your way with me, doesn't it?"
"Why do you always revert to sex, Sloan?" I asked.