Page 7 of Protected By West
TRACY
Tracy walked into the morning session of the security conference smiling and she wasn’t generally a morning person.
Sure, after a cup of coffee and something to eat to take the edge off of waking up before the sun, she was functioning, but after the amazing night at the bar and at the Grill, she felt like she could take on the world. Sure, she hadn't gotten a full night's sleep, but here she was, walking with a little lift in her step.
Lifting a hand to wave at a few of the other Credit Union folks she knew in the crowd, she found a seat beside her assistant manager, Jaime.
Jaime handed her a cup of coffee and gave her an appraising look. “Well, you look happy this morning.”
Tracy smiled and set her bag down on the table before she leaned her hip against the edge of the table. "Feeling good."
Jaime took a sip of her own cappuccino before leaning closer to whisper under her breath. “So… did you have one fun last night? Meet someone... interesting?”
Tracy didn’t want to talk about her impromptu dinner date where curious ears might hear, but still she couldn’t keep all of it inside. “I might have met someone last night.” Sitting up in herchair, Tracy looked around the room for Weston, but she didn’t see him.
For a moment she wondered if she’d been played, but she tamped down that feeling. He said he was a presenter, so he might be in one of the breakout rooms.
"What do you mean 'might' have met someone?" Jaime grinned at her. "It's either a yes or no."
Tracy took a sip of her coffee and felt the delicious warmth in her stomach and a blush steal into her cheeks. "Yes. I met him in the bar-"
Jaime's eyes widened a little. "The bar?"
Chuckling, Tracy nodded. "Then we went out to eat dinner."
"And..."
"And then we came back here."
Jaime's eyes widened a little. "And..."
"And I went to bed."
Even though Jaime worked at the credit union as the manager they'd become good friends over the last few years. And given as much time as she spent working, they'd become good friends as they rarely spent time with anyone else.
People didn't understand that there was so much more to keeping a credit union running from a day-to-day basis than working in a bank. Tracy had seen both sides, working for a bank right out of college. When she'd seen the open applications for a similar position at a local credit union near her work, she'd taken the plunge and applied not really expecting much of anything.
But it was like night and day when she'd started. And Jaime had been along for the ride from then on. The two of them had gone through the ranks and moved over to Military City Credit Union together. It wasn't all that difficult a job when you had someone that you trusted. Someone who had your back as much as you had theirs. There were long hours involved, not justplanning for the safety of the members' money, but also for new opportunities to save and offer better benefits.
They'd built a stronger member base and were already offering more options, but along with a better base there were more security concerns.
That's why Tracy had signed up to come to a conference looking for ways to improve their safety at work. Having Jaime along meant that they could go to different breakout sessions and cover as much ground as they could.
She trusted Jaime with her life after the years they'd spent working together.
That also meant that they spent a lot of time together in and out of the building, so she knew the look on Jaime's face had several different layers to it.
There was the hopeful look that made Tracy smile. But it was also a wistful look that they both understood all too well. It would be nice for them both to find a boyfriend who could become something more in time
Long hours weren't exactly conducive to meeting guys who wanted more than a drinking buddy or a 'piece of ass.'
A smile quickly tugged at the corners of her mouth when she remembered just how good Weston's hand felt on her-
"Good morning, everyone!"
Tracy fought down her smile and tried for a more professional mien on her face.
"Morning!" "Morning." There were even a few mild groans in the audience as well.
