The Storm (Fairhope) Read Free Page B

be an option for him.”
    Oh, no. I had forgotten.
    Sympathetically, I placed my hand over hers briefly. Her emergency hysterectomy the year before worried us all sick. Thankfully, she was okay, but her dream of having children was killed forever.
    “You will,” I replied quietly.
    She smiled in reply, but the sadness in her eyes was unmistakable.
    I opted for a subject change, smiling. “I need a partner in crime for pampering after work today. Up for a pedi?”
    She grinned. “Always! I need to be in prime princess condition, in case Mr. Right shows up unexpectedly.”
    “Or even Mr. Right Now,” I teased.
    Her initial comment made me think. Briefly, I ran through a mental list of all of the females who worked for Covington in Alabama. I frowned, realizing that I could not think of many who had children. No females in leadership in our area had any, at least to my knowledge.
    As Sadie walked off, Chris sauntered up to the table, snapping me back to the present. He flashed his classic cheerful grin. “Hey there! Sorry I’m a few minutes late. I had a call with the boss man.”
    “How did yesterday’s case go?”
    Chris rolled his eyes. “It was fine; ran late. We have a lot of work to do in that hospital. ” He was very direct, which was one of the dozens of reasons why I liked working with him.
    “I have news for you.”
    I leaned forward nervously. This could be good, or this could be bad. Had our performance slipped?“Okay, what’s that?”
    Pausing a tad bit dramatically, Chris sipped his Diet Coke while I waited impatiently for his response. “Upper management has made a decision to expand our division, and some territories will now be shared.” He smiled, peering closely at me to observe my reaction. “Certain areas will be adding additional managers.”
    Territory managers? That would be a serious upgrade to my current situation, an opportunity I had not expected for at least another year.
    Butterflies swirled in my growling stomach. “Really … when?”
    “Not sure of that yet. We don’t have all of the details, but top performing associates will be considered first. That will present opportunities for you, and with your annual evaluation last year, you’ll be a prime candidate.” He raised his eyebrows. “What do you think?”
    After I was named as Covington Company’s Rookie of the Year the previous year, our boss assured me I was easily on track to meet my goal of becoming a territory manager when a position opened up.
    “I’m really excited,” I blurted out before his last question was completely out of his mouth. “That’s awesome! What about here? Will you have a partner?”
    “No, Jana. We don’t have the potential here. However, Jeff Tyler will be adding a new rep, centered in Mobile. Have you met Jeff yet? He has been with Covington for about two years now.”
    My heart pounded in my chest. Anthony wants to know if we want to … move back to Fairhope. Andrew’s words echoed in my mind. Fairhope, my quaint town on the outskirts of Mobile where families wanted to live and children were safe to play, would fall in that geography.
    “Yes, I met him at the national sales meeting last year.”
    “You’re leaving me, huh?” He pouted. “I knew it. I almost didn’t tell you.”
    “Oh, come on—that’s a big if ,” I stammered, my heart pounding. “You will find a fantastic new associate. How should I start preparing?”
    Territory manager equaled big bucks. Eventually, I might pass Andrew up. I was okay with it, but he was eaten up with that Southern gentleman provider mentality. Maybe he wouldn’t micromanage my spending so much if I moved up. I could shop in material bliss, and he could still reach his goal of financial peace. Insert eye roll here.
    “I have a few mock interview questions that we can go over to help prepare you,” Chris said matter-of-factly. “And update your portfolio—for interviewing—accordingly. You really don’t have anything to worry