Donovan sank back onto his chair. “Good Lord, Ty, you really don’t know how to speak with women, do you?”
“Do you have a more helpful response?” Tyler’s shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath.
“You need to work on your people skills.”
“That’s not much better.” Tyler’s gaze moved restlessly around his friend’s office.
A stack of CDs stood on a shelf above Donovan’s desk. It shared space with vacation photos and an older group shot taken after their college commencement ceremony. Donovan, Xavier and Tyler were lined up in their caps and gowns, flexing their biceps for the camera. On the desk beside his computer was a large framed photograph of a young Donovan with his mother.
“Ty, once in a while, you need to step away from your computer, and talk with real people.” Donovan’s advice reclaimed Tyler’s attention.
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me.” Tyler sighed again.
“You should listen to us.”
“What do I do in the meantime?” Discussing his concern with Iris had seemed like a good idea at the time. But judging by Iris’s and Donovan’s reactions, it had been the dumbest decision ever. How did he fix it?
“Start with an apology, then pray for the best.” Donovan’s tone implied Tyler didn’t have a snowball’s chance of coming out of this situation unscathed.
Tyler winced. The initial encounter already had cost him a couple of layers of skin. He rose from the chair. “I’ll get started.” But what should he pray for first? Forgiveness for the stupid remarks he’d made or a speedy and successful product launch so he could stop fighting the attraction he’d had since he first saw Iris?
* * *
Tyler considered the closed and cautious expressions of the Anderson Adventures associates sitting stiffly in the lounge Wednesday morning. At least one representative from each of the company’s five departments was present for the focus group: human resources, information technology, sales, product development and finance.
The room held a couple of gray sofas, matching armchairs, Maplewood coffee tables, laminate dining tables, a refrigerator and microwaves. Tyler chose a seat on one of the square gray armchairs behind a coffee table. He only half listened as Iris explained the purpose of the meeting. Judging by their body language, this morning promised to be an even worse experience than Monday’s executive meeting. Tyler frowned again at the memory of his father second-guessing him.
A digital recorder sat on the coffee table, ready to document the session—if anyone spoke. He returned his attention to Iris, who stood about an arm’s length from him on his left. She’d been cool toward him since the executive meeting Monday. He wasn’t sure but he had a feeling she was still upset that he’d wrongfully accused her of flirting with Donovan. He knew now he’d been an idiot. How could he fix this?
“We want your candid input on this internal launch.” She gestured toward him. “So just ignore Ty.”
“That’s hard to do.” Ted Silvestri from the information technology department slid a blue-eyed glance toward Tyler before dropping his attention to the floor. “He’s scowling at us.”
Tyler met Iris’s gaze, surprised. “Sorry.”
Iris’s concern morphed into humor. “Let’s focus on the task at hand, shall we?” She turned back to their audience. “The internal product launch of ‘Osiris’s Journey’ is first and foremost a celebration of you, and recognition of your contributions.”
“Excuse me, Iris?” Sherry raised her hand. “I don’t mean to sound as though I’m not a team player but I don’t understand how the launch impacts me. I’m an administrative assistant. How did I contribute?”
“What contributions are you talking about?” Jarnett Smucker, director of human resources, asked. Behind large glasses, her small gray eyes were fixed on Iris. Her bright red hair sizzled from a bun on top of her head. “HR didn’t work on the game. The launch is only about production and sales.”
Tyler studied the fifteen employees in front of him. Did I hear them correctly? “You’re wrong.” He rose from his seat, trying to work through his confusion. “Sherry, you schedule all our development meetings and verify the outside vendor invoices. Isn’t that contributing to the product?”
Sherry’s bright blue eyes widened. “I guess it is.”
“You saved me a lot of time and trouble.” Tyler rolled up the sleeves of his cream knit shirt. He approached Ren Komura from the purchasing department. The middle-aged man sat beside Sherry on one of the navy sofas. “Ren, you found the best distribution services at the best price for ‘Osiris’s Journey.’”
“That’s right.” Ren swept his straight raven hair back from his wide forehead. His dark eyes were cautious as they met Tyler’s gaze. “I contacted several vendors to get a good bid.”
“And we appreciate your efforts.” Tyler looked to Jarnett. “HR is responsible for finding the best people for every position in our company. That’s just one of your contributions to all of our games.”
“Well, yes, that’s true.” Jarnett adjusted her glasses.
Tyler stepped back, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his navy blue slacks. He made eye contact with the associates as he spoke. “I’ve worked beside most of you in every department of this company as I learned Anderson Adventures’ operation. That’s how I know that everyone contributes to the success of our products.”
The silence was heavy as he returned to his chair. What were they thinking? Had his words even made a difference?
“Thank you for clarifying everyone’s contributions, Ty.” Iris’s coffee eyes were warm with approval.