The Project

Nine o'clock the next morning Julia sat in the R&D manager's office. Derek, the R&D manager, was in his early forties, with a receding hairline and glasses. He wasn't an overbearing sort of man but managed to keep the developers in line well enough. Perhaps because he used to be one himself. Julia knew from experience that engineers didn't tend to respect managers who didn't understand their work, which was why she made an effect to research the technical details of any project she was involved in. Technical knowledge wasn't necessary to manage a project but it certainly didn't hurt.

Julia and Derek were discussing the additional resource requirements of her project. "Have you thought about who else you could assign to my project?" she asked him.

"Yes, I have," he cleared his throat. "Steven can help you."

Julia wasn't happy with the suggestion but she kept her face neutral. "Really? I thought one of the senior developers would be more suitable. This is a high priority project and we have strict time constraints."

Derek looked surprised at her disinclination. "That's even more reason why you need Steven. He writes very good code, and quickly. He's also eager for the overtime since he's saving for a trip to Asia. I know he's only two years out of college but he really is your best choice and he's familiar with the product. Let's get him in here"

Julia didn't really have a good reason to refuse so she sighed inwardly and waited for him to fetch Steven. If he really was the best man for the job then she would just have deal with it and hope things didn't get too awkward.

When Steven appeared his hair looked even more unruly that yesterday, if that was possible. It was far too long and her fingers itched to take to his blond curls with some anti-frizz balm. He wore a different long-sleeved t-shirt to yesterday and the decidedly casual look was completed with a pair of scruffy trainers. He paused and smiled hesitantly when he saw her and Derek had to push him through the door.

"Have you two met before? Julia, this is Steven…"

"Yes, we've met," Julia said politely. She stood up and shook Steven's hand anyway. It felt very warm and he looked to be in danger of blushing again.

"Derek said you might be interested in joining the project team," she said to Steven.

"Uh, yes. I'm happy to help where I can," he replied.