Tell me about it, girlfriend. He’s a hunk and a half.
At least Cassie didn’t have to work with him in person. She hadn’t gotten laid in over a year and didn’t know how well she’d be able to control herself around such a gorgeous man. The last boyfriend she’d had couldn’t deal with her success, but something told her Ian was a very secure man. He was successful too, but he seemed the type to not let money get in the way of what he wanted. Of course she didn’t know this for sure, and if she was smart, she would never know. She needed to keep her interaction with him strictly professional. She sat back and sipped her coffee, figuring she should focus on the meeting.
“Cassandra Tucker.”
Cassie’s head shot up. She coughed, trying not to spit out the brew. Oh shit. They were talking about her.
All heads turned in her direction as she gently placed her cup on the table beside her laptop, dabbing her mouth, and prepared to fake her way through this so as not to embarrass herself further.
Shame on you. Got caught not paying attention.
Cassie read the IM, automatically thinking it was from Sasha. Why would she try to distract her when she should know Cassie needed her wits about her?
It was from Ian, not Sasha.
Double oh shit!
“I think I can take it from here, Mac,” Ian volunteered. “As Mac was saying…” He hesitated, throwing a pointed look in Cassie’s direction. “We need a prototype built for our client by the tenth of this month. That’s next week. I’ll be working with Tucker to get it built. It’ll be our top priority until it’s completed.”
“Is this going to cause any problems with your other projects?” Richard asked her.
Cassie straightened in her chair, thankful for Ian’s save. “No. I’m finalizing the other large project I’m working on, which is ahead of schedule.” She cleared her throat. “Sasha Jones was lead developer on the original build of this application. We could use her team to make the necessary modifications.”
“No dice,” Mac said suddenly. All eyes turned to him at his outburst. “Cope already has a team in place who’s met with our client. They know their needs, and it’ll just waste time bringing her team up to speed on the new requirements.”
That is bullshit! Sasha messaged to Cassie.
Cassie gave her a sympathetic look. She was right, but from the firm set of Mac’s face, it was apparent there’d be no discussion on the matter. Cassie had to tamp down her own irritation.
“Okay, I’ll get with Ian Cope this afternoon to get started. If he’s available.”
“How about two?” he asked.
“Works for me.” Cassie didn’t look at him, her mind reeling over the implications of this.
“Good. That’s all. We’ll touch base later on the status,” Mac said and disconnected the call after a few courtesy goodbyes.
Cassie stared at Richard because Sasha looked as if she were about to blow a gasket, and Cassie wasn’t that far behind either. “What the hell’s going on? Why is Mac acting holier than thou, not letting Sasha’s team in on this?”
Richard raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Don’t take it out on me. I have no idea why they don’t want to use her team.” He looked at Sasha and shrugged.
“Well, it seems to me if they didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, then they’d use the same developers who coded the application,” Sasha spat.
Cassie shook her head and sighed, reining in her anger. “Sasha, everything is in the data library. They can pull the work that was done and use it. I have a feeling they’ve already done that.”
Richard’s cheeks tinged red and he looked down. It was evident that was exactly what had happened.
“Oh my God! Why didn’t you give us a heads-up?” Sasha demanded.
“It was out of my hands.” He sounded defeated, so there really was no reason in berating him over this.
“C’mon, Sasha. You can help me go over the coding, so at least I’m prepared for my meeting this afternoon.”
Cassie grabbed Sasha’s arm and hauled her out of the conference room and to her cubicle.
“This is such bullshit!” Sasha whispered as she put her laptop on her docking station and booted it back up.
“I know. But I need you to focus. I’ve already been caught sitting down on the job.”
“Oh please. No one knew you were distracted, chatting with me during the meeting.” Sasha waved her hand dismissively.
“Not true. Ian sent me an IM. He wanted it known that he, at least, caught me, so now I have to make sure I do a really great job on this.”
Sasha’s eyes got wide, then narrowed. “You tell that hunk of man to kiss your ass. I don’t care how sexy he is. Don’t let him bully you on this project.”
“Oh I won’t, but since Weiner threw me to the wolves wrapped in raw meat, I want to make sure I’m prepared for my next encounter.”
Sasha chuckled. “Now why in the hell does Richard Weiner call everyone by their last names when he was cursed with the one he got? I mean, really? Dick Weiner? I’d cut my dad’s pecker off in his sleep if he named me that!”
Cassie laughed with Sasha, and it eased the tension of the morning. Now Cassie had to focus. She had a new project, and she damn sure was going to do a good job.
Ian Cope was finally getting what he’d wished for—a chance to work with Cassie Tucker. When Mac had told him they’d be pulling her in on this project, Ian had covered his excitement. He’d had a thing for her for the past two years, waiting for the right opportunity to work with her while dropping subtle hints to his boss whenever an opportunity presented itself. Mac had finally listened, but she
