Chapter 8: As One Passes Another Arrives

With the help of the Crook County College administration staff, we were able to communicate with three different small colleges with a view to examining their scheduling system to see if it might be compatible with our requirements. That meant some travel, something I hadn’t anticipated.

“There’s no point in trying to do this by remote, Joel. We need to visit and talk to these people one-on-one. Have you given any thought about which ones we should single out?” she asked.

“Geary Polytechnic jumps out as the first on the list,” I noted. “We should talk to them first to see if they are interested in helping us.”

“Agreed,” Naomi said immediately. “They are first on my list also and well established, as well as the right size for our needs. Let’s start with them.”

“Do you have a contact?” I wondered.

“Yes. Why don’t we set up a conference call and talk to them before we make the visit?”

“Agreed,” I said immediately.

“Geary were very good about helping us. I hope they’ve got a system we can use.”

“It sounds promising,” Naomi agreed. “I’ll go over the design when I receive the email with the attachment. That should tell me if it’s a practical program. You should be here when I receive it. They said they’d send it up later today.”

“That’s quick,” I said, pleased that we wouldn’t have to wait to have a chance to examine their scheduling system.

“What’s interesting is that they would be prepared to lease it to us for a reasonable fee, providing we didn’t redistribute it elsewhere,” Naomi reminded me. “That could keep our costs down and make it easier to convince the Crook College administration. They don’t have a very large budget for this.”

“Well, that confirms it, Joel. This system looks like it will do what we want it to. I’d say we should arrange a visit to discuss it with the Geary IT people and see if we can come to some agreement. Any financial arrangements will have to be approved by Crook’s administration.”

“Yeah. That outline they sent us looks very straightforward,” I agreed. “Makes sense to see it in action. Let’s go!”

I was sitting beside Naomi on the commuter turboprop as we flew back from San Francisco. We were both in a pretty good mood as we headed home to get approval for the tentative lease on the scheduling system Geary had offered. Our conversations with their IT people convinced us that it would do what we wanted it to do without over-complicating our task. It was a surprise when I felt Naomi’s hand on mine. I turned to her and saw a comfortable smile on her face.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked quietly.

“You ... and just how well we work together,” she answered. “I’m sure we’ll make this system work for us and we’ll both get a reward for success.”

“I haven’t really contributed much, Naomi. You’re the brains of the outfit. I’m just going along with your evaluation,” I said.

“Don’t underestimate yourself, Joel,” she smiled warmly. “You asked some very pointed questions today. They were directed at how the system could be used and how easy or difficult it would be to edit or expand it. You also brought up a subject that I should have thought of: security. They certainly don’t want anyone hacking into it. That’s the practical side that you are to concentrate on. I was thinking about other things and you reminded me that your side was just as important to making this work for us.”

“Well, then I guess I did my job,” smiling as I basked in her approval.

I felt her hand squeeze mine and I looked at her in mild surprise. Was there a message there? Maybe I’d learn it was just the rush of finding a possible solution to our project.

“That was surprisingly easy, I thought,” Naomi said as we left the meeting with the Crook College committee. “They didn’t seem surprised at our proposal for a lease, or the cost that Geary was proposing. None of them had enough technical knowledge to ask those kinds of questions, but they certainly asked about the security and future growth. Your answers seemed to satisfy them,” she smiled.

“How long do think it will be before we get an answer of go or no-go?” I wondered.

She shrugged. “It’s a committee,” she chuckled. “You know what they say about committees. Ask them to design a horse and they end up with a camel,” she chuckled.

“I hope they don’t leave us dangling too long. We’ve got only so much time to implement the system. We’ll need some help with that, won’t we?” I suggested.

“Too early to know, Joel. Just relax. It’s out of our control until they make a decision. Then we go to work,” she said, squeezing my hand once more. I was curious about her sudden more familiar actions, but perhaps it was just the euphoria of having successfully reached our primary goal. I admit, I was tense during the meetings with both the Crook College administration, and the IT people at Geary. I felt very good about the direction we were going now. I kept reminding myself to stick to the Kiss Principle as my mantra.

“It’s going to be late by the time we get home, Joel. Why don’t you stop at my place and I’ll make dinner for you, then drive you home?”

“Oh ... that’s nice but you don’t have to go to all that trouble,” I said.

“No trouble at all. I’ve got some lasagna in the freezer that I can defrost and reheat. A couple of rolls and a tossed salad and we’d be in business. Sound okay?”

“Well, if it’s no trouble for you, I’d enjoy that. Thank you,” I smiled.

We were finishing up with the dishes and I was preparing to leave for home. “Thank you for the meal, Naomi. It was very good.”

“I enjoyed not eating by myself for a change,” she reminded me. “You’ve still got some wine, so relax. It’s early yet,” she said with a subtle smile.

I agreed, not really anxious to end a pleasant evening. I’d been nursing a glass of red wine and it was getting near the end. Before I could protest, she topped up my glass, then hers.

“There, that will give a little more time to get to know each other better,” she smiled seductively.

Seductively? Is that what it was? The last thing I wanted to do was to assume she was coming on to me if in fact, she wasn’t. Her intentions were all up to her, and if she really was coming on to me, I was not going to resist. Women like Naomi come along once in a lifetime and I wasn’t about throw away what might be my one and only chance.

“You are a very interesting person, Joel. You don’t act anything like a high school boy. You’re more mature than I expected. When Marcus suggested I work with you, I was reluctant. I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t you. I’m beginning to see how you could implement that program at your father’s plant. You stick to business when it comes to business and no slacking off. At least I know you ski and have a girlfriend, so you aren’t all work and no play,” she grinned.

“Had a girlfriend,” I corrected her.

“What happened to Teresa?”

“I think she assumed you were competition and decided she couldn’t compete. She jumped to the conclusion when you first met that I would drop her in favor of you. She never bothered to ask me, of course. She just got it into her head that you would replace her. I don’t have time for that juvenile shit. I explained that this was an opportunity to gain some early credits at Crook College and nothing more. I don’t think she believed me.”

I’m not sure the wine wasn’t doing some of the talking for me, but I thought she might as well know what happened.

“Well, how do you feel about that?” she asked, turning toward me on the sofa.

I shrugged. “Pissed off, to some degree. I thought she was a little more mature than that, but I guess I was wrong. A high school junior is still just a high school junior. Been there and I know what it’s like.”

Again, my language wasn’t what I would normally use, but it was what I felt about Teresa.

“Maybe she wasn’t so far from the truth,” she said quietly.

I turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“It means you act much more like a mature young man than the average high school senior. She probably recognizes that and since I’m older than her, she makes the leap to connect a new set of dots. She doesn’t think she can compete.” There was a smile on her lips when she finished.

I had no idea how to respond to that. I wasn’t that I didn’t have a strong attraction to Naomi, but more that I held out no expectation that she would be attracted to me. Could I be wrong? If she was serious, Teresa was right ... she didn’t stand a chance.

“I can see you’re tongue-tied and surprised,” she smiled. “What’s so unusual about a woman being interested in an intriguing younger man? It happens all the time.”

“Uh ... well ... not to me,” I managed, trying desperately to come up with a way to respond to the direction our conversation was headed. What was she trying to tell me? And how much younger was I?

She had never lost that knowing smile as we moved to the sofa in the front room. She sat right next to me, her legs curled up underneath her, her body turned half towards me.

“Here’s to our mutual success, Joel. I have a feeling we’re going to make a formidable team.”

I raised my glass, never taking my eyes off her. With the low light and the effect of the wine now well established, I was drawn in by her beauty and even more by her apparently seductive pose as she looked at me, unblinking. What message was I to take from this? I decided to take a chance.

“You’re very beautiful, Naomi. I’m very lucky to have met you ... and to be able to spend some time with you ... on this project,” I stumbled.

Her smile got wider. “Am I making you uncomfortable, Joel? I don’t want to. Relax, I won’t bite.” Her smile had turned almost feral and her eyes had narrowed. She looked all the more like a cat ready to pounce on ... me?

That sounded like a direct invitation, so gathering up my courage, I reached for her and pulled her into my arms. She came willingly.

“There you go,” she said softly as she nuzzled into my neck. “That’s much more comfortable isn’t it?”

I tipped her head up and lowered mine to her lips. We met softly and I heard a sigh from her that said she was welcoming my advances. I slipped my tongue into her mouth and accepted hers in reply. I felt her hand on my thigh as it moved upward toward my crotch. I knew what she was going to discover as she advanced her hand, but then, so did she. Emboldened, I placed my hand on the side of her breast and softly massaged it. We stayed like that for what seemed like several minutes; kissing and stroking ... with the occasional sigh included.

She pulled back, still smiling, took my hand and said, “Come with me.”

We rose together and she led me to her bedroom. It was simply decorated, but my main interest was the bed. It was more than large enough for the two of us.

There was no tearing off of clothes. She seemed to be doing everything in slow motion, and I simply copied her. There was no rush and I wanted this to be very right for her. As she revealed herself, I was once more struck by her beauty. She was flawless. I kept asking myself “How did a dumb high school kid end up with a woman like this?” Well, I did and I wasn’t about to over think it. I would let Naomi lead the way and I would be a willing follower.

When we were both naked, she dimmed the lights, pulled back the comforter and invited me to join her. I wanted to make love to every inch of her glorious body, but something told me to wait and let her tell me what she wanted.