The characters in this book were very interesting to work with. There's a lot of me in her. However, I have no idea where he came from. I sometimes wonder about that, where some of the things I write come from. Stop back tomorrow to see what he does to prove his point.
My boss was tied up out on the site. He said he didn’t mind. He’d wait. So there we were. Me flitting from project to project, doing a little of this, making some progress on a little of that. Him standing stock-still in all his dark, handsome broodiness, watching, scowling a little more each time I switched. Silent. The more he towered over me, the more nervous I became and the more often I jumped tasks.
I guess it got to be too much for him because he finally said, “Stop.”
“What?” I asked, not really understanding his objection.
“How can you work like that? You never get anywhere with anything.”
“Of course I do,” I explained. “I do a little on each thing and then everything’s done at once.”
“But it would be more efficient to do one thing at a time to completion and then move on.”
“Says who? That’s not how I work.”
“Well you should.”
It was my turn to stare. “Of all the nerve!” He was beginning to piss me off with his high-handed attitude. All right so perhaps he wasn’t the one with the attitude. No, that was me. He was still standing there, immobile, watching in silent recrimination as I shifted screens yet again.
“Nerve has nothing to do with it,” he stated mildly. “It’s what I do.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m an efficiency expert. I get paid to observe and cut out the deadwood.”
My mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. Deadwood! Who was he calling deadwood? Not to mention stupid, which was how I interpreted his comment. “I know what an efficiency expert does. But not everyone works the same way you know. Some of us are perfectly capable of multitasking, no problem.”
“Multitasking is all well and good when it’s called for. You’re just wasting time.”
God, I hated his even, reasonable tone. “Just what business is this of yours anyway? I’ve never had any complaints. Everything’s always done on time. What’s your problem?”
Nothing. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have a chance because that was the second my boss arrived, getting him off the hook. As they were on their way out he looked back over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. Of course I took it as him mocking me. Damn him!
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