Assignment 3

Adam Wright spoke on the phone, his eyes on her as she stood off to the side waiting for Nolan to direct her. He looked good behind the desk in his red T-shirt, that sun-kissed skin appearing darker than she remembered when they were at Anna and Nolan’s house. Jessie had to tear her eyes away from his intense gaze and ended up looking at the wooden floor.

“My desk is here,” Nolan said pointing to the empty one, a cluttered mess with stacks of papers, and telephone.

“And that is Adam’s,” Jessie said. The two desks were close together, with enough room for someone to walk in between them. Each had an extra chair sitting beside it.

Adam finished his call and stood. “Hello, Jessie.”

“Hi,” she returned.

“Adam is going to show you around today, start teaching you how we process orders. As soon as Bob opens, take her over there and get her a cell phone.”

Jessie stared at Nolan, did not know what to say. Although most people owned one, that was one expense she could never afford. “I don’t think that will be necessary,” she said.

Nolan smiled, the warmth of it lighting up those dark eyes like sunrays. “It will be. We all have one, it’s a business expense.” He walked over to Adam. “I have to run out to Corey’s house. Jack is having a bit of trouble with the kitchen cabinets.”

“Okay, take your time.”

“I’ll leave you in Adam’s capable hands.” Nolan headed for the door without a backward glance.

Jessie’s heart pounded at the idea of being alone with Adam, of spending an entire day with him. Butterflies took flight in her stomach, the fluttering making her breath ragged.

“Well, for now, you and I will have to share a desk. I believe Nolan put in an order for yours and it should arrive either today or tomorrow.” He glanced at the big white clock on the wall. She found herself watching and trying to figure out what he was looking at. “Since Bob doesn’t open for another three hours, we might as well start with some paperwork.”

He moved to the desk, slid his chair over, making room for a second one to sit beside it. He held out a hand toward it. “Have a seat.”

Jessie moved to the chair Adam vacated when they entered the office and sat down, her pulse racing. He grabbed the armrest of the other and dragged it beside her. Before he sat, he rummaged through some paperwork on his desk, giving Jessie a nice view of what he looked like in the tight jeans. The denim hugged his rounded backside in a loving way, remaining that way over his powerful thighs. Having Adam teach her the ropes would be a mistake, she realized. Being close to him every single day would make it hard for her to concentrate, to learn the job, and might make Nolan rethink hiring her in the first place.

She had to forget how incredible he looked and focus on this new venture.

“We have a computer system, but it doesn’t get much use.”

“Why don’t you use it?” she asked. To have it at their fingertips and not take advantage of it made no sense to her.

Adam smiled. “Well, Nolan is terribly slow when it comes to typing, or making any kind of change that would modernize the business. Up until a year ago, he was still driving out to the supply house, instead of faxing the order in.”

Jessie sat back in her chair, knowing that she would end up teaching them both. She gazed along the back wall, saw the four, four-drawer high file cabinets, and had a feeling she would be inputting records for the next year to come.

“Are you even aware there are programs out there that will keep track of every employee, what job they worked on, how much overtime they incurred over the duration of that one job? It can do the same for suppliers, telling you how much of particular lumber you bought, the price, which jobs they went to.” She got to her feet. “You could make things so much easier around here. Do the ordering online and cut out the phone calls and time on hold. Free up all the lines for actual clients.”


Their eyes met. Adam could tell she did not expect to find him staring at her intently. She shifted in her chair. He liked her nervousness. “And you know how to do all of this?”

Jessie nodded, still looking at him. In that all-consuming gaze, something ignited, sending heat sweeping over him, and he realized that Jessie liked him. That intriguing thought tugged the corner of his mouth, but he managed to stop the smile from forming.

“Yes, it’s just a matter of having the right software and uploading all of your data into it. Once you get the hang of it, you would see dramatic results in the way things run around here. Everything you need would be right at your fingertips in a matter of seconds instead of wasting your time digging through stacks of paper.”

He rested his hands on his hips. Adam stared at her, wondered if she could back up all she said, or if she was just talking. She straightened her spine like a steel rod, almost as if she could read his thoughts. The silence lingered. He could tell he made her uncomfortable, which did not bother him. What did, was the fact that a sudden cousin of Nolan’s could take away most of his job responsibilities. Where will that leave me?

“I think it would be a good idea if you spoke to Nolan about all this. I am sure the computer equipment is out of date. We have talked about getting a better printer but put that off because the system cannot handle what he would like to do with it. Until that time, why don’t I show you how we take care of the inventory?” He sat down beside her, thumbing through a stack of papers.

“I’m a bit more organized than Nolan, which you’ll find out all on your own, or by taking a look at his desk.” Adam laid out five pieces of paper before her. It entailed an order of lumber, all broken down into how many items of each kind and size of wood they kept on hand on a regular basis.

“Once it’s all verified, the paperwork gets put into our expense file for the month,” Adam said.

Jessie looked at the invoices, seemed to scrutinize every little detail. “Does this mean everything goes to an accountant?”

Adam nodded. “Yes. A local guy has been doing them for years.” She sighed, sat back in her chair. He rested his elbows on the desk and turned his head toward her. “Is that a problem too?” he asked, letting his instant irritation show.

Jessie stood, pushed the chair back and out of her way. “Yes. There are programs for that which would save the company a lot of money.” She walked around the desk, giving him a nice view of her bottom in the tight jeans, and moved to the front of the deck to face him. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you boys are doing everything ass-backward. I don’t know how you make any money at all with the way this operation is run.”

Adam smacked his hands on the desk and stood, making Jessie winch as she stared up at him. “I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. My job is to show you what you will be doing daily. Since that seems to be a task you are already having trouble with, I’ll give you an easy assignment.”

He marched past her and over to Nolan’s desk. She turned as he walked by, watching him with huge brown eyes. Adam slapped his big palm on the largest stack of papers and smirked. “All of these need to be filed. The first two cabinets are for suppliers, the last two are customers. We took the time to alphabetize them, we do have some order around here. Think you can handle that?”

Jessie stood her ground, raised her chin in defiance. “You got it.” She walked toward him, her posture stiff as if trying to make her stature somehow taller. She lifted half of the pile into her arms, pivoted on her heel, and walked to the filing cabinets along the back wall.

WC:1438