Promises Made and Promises Kept Pt. 01

"Okay," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow," Judy replied. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye," I said before hanging up.

I sat there for a short time, gathering my wits. Talking with Judy was so easy. It was as if we were on the same wavelength. I sighed and then got back to work.

When 5 PM rolled up, I shut down my computer, put my phone on voicemail, and packed my bag before heading home. As I walked through the parking garage to my car, I felt like I had made an accomplishment and that I was going to enjoy working here at Raytheon. I was really looking forward to tomorrow, and hopefully, many more days to come.

The next morning, I got up early because I wanted to call Alex and tell her the good news. I called, and she picked up on the second ring. "This is Major Summers. How may I help you?" she asked.

"Hello, Major Summers. This is Virginia. I've got good news!" I said.

"Virginia, it's so good to hear your voice. What's the good news?" Alex queried.

"I started my new job yesterday. I took the position of Configuration Management manager at Raytheon here in El Segundo," I said in a rush.

"That's wonderful," Alex gushed. Then a pause before she asked, "Have you met a Judy Liles there?"

I was stunned. Why would Alex name the one person at Raytheon that I had an interest in? I said, "Yes, I have. She's the lead for the in-house software development group. I'll be working with her a lot. In fact, I have a meeting with her today."

"What a small world," Alex mused after a long pause. Then she said, "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you. I know you're going to do great there. Have you told the CEO to look out for his job yet?"

"No, not the CEO," I said. "However, the CTO is already on notice that I plan to get him promoted so I can have his job," I snarked.

"That's the spirit," Alex enthused. "Take baby steps. First, go for the CTO, and then go for the CEO."

"Well, like you said, one step at a time. I need to nail this position down first before I can move up," I said.

"Knowing you," Alex mused, "that's a given. Anyway, I'll be pinning on next week. I was going to call you, but you beat me to it."

"That's wonderful!" I gushed. "I wish I could be there for you," I finished, with a small sigh.

"I do, too," Alex said quietly. "But, it's not meant to be. I'll send you a picture if you want?"

"I'd love that," I said. "Well, I'd better let you go. Have a great day!"

"You too," Alex said. Then she whispered, "I love you, Virginia."

"I love you, too, Alex," I whispered back before hanging up the phone.

When I got to work, as I entered the lobby, Peggy called out, "Good morning, Virginia. I have your permanent badge here for you."

I walked up to Peggy, smiled at her, and said, "Good morning, Peggy."

Peggy smiled back as she handed me my badge. She said, "Here you go, Virginia. Have a great day!"

"I will, thank you," I said as I turned and headed to the elevators. I thought to myself that I needed to find the stairs to get some exercise instead of using the elevator every time.

I got to my office and saw that Cathy was already at her desk. I smiled at her and said, "Good morning, Cathy."

Cathy smiled back and said, "Good morning, Virginia. Are you ready for a busy day?"

"I will be when I get a cup of tea. Is there a place on this floor where I can get a cup of tea?" I asked.

"Yes, there is. Let me show you where it's at," Cathy replied.

"Okay, lead on," I said.

We went down the hallway, and just before we got to the restrooms, there was a small alcove with a coffee maker and all of the accouterments for making tea. I thanked Cathy and made myself a cup of tea.

I got back to my office, turned on my computer, and pulled a couple of framed photographs from my bag to put on my desk. The first photograph was a family portrait of Bonnie, myself, Matthew, and Mark. It had been taken just before we had moved to Ohio. The second photograph was a picture of Bonnie and me wearing hiking gear from our trip to Yosemite with the iconic Half Dome behind us. We looked so happy in that picture. I will always remember it as a day that came as close to being a perfect day as anyone could imagine.

I misted up, reached out, and brushed my fingertips over her smiling face, missing her so terribly that my heart hurt. I chastised myself, "Get it together, Virginia. She wouldn't want you moping around."

Just then, my computer beeped, indicating that I had received an e-mail. I composed myself before opening it up. I saw that it was from Judy with the details of our meeting this afternoon. I noted the location on my calendar and prepared for my first one-on-one meeting of the day.

Noon found me having completed six meetings. I was ready for lunch. I went down to the cafeteria and made myself a delicious chef salad. As I went to sit down, I noticed that Judy was there, sitting with another woman. I decided not to bother her and went to sit at a table by myself.

I was nearly done when I felt a touch on my shoulder and a voice that made my heart clench, say, "Mind if I join you?"

I looked up and saw Judy standing there with a shy smile on her face. I smiled and said, "Please, I'd love it if you did."

Judy's smile brightened as she sat down across from me. Her eyes were dilated, and I could tell that she was a little nervous. "So, how is your second day going so far?" she asked.

"It's going great. I have to say that it looks like I have a great bunch of people to work with," I said, barely able to breathe from being so close to her. I hoped my body's reaction to her wasn't all that obvious.

"I figured you would," Judy said. She looked down at her hands, which were nervously clenching each other before continuing. "I had worked a lot with the previous manager, Rick Allred, and he ran a tight ship."

"Well, I hope we can work well together," I said, smiling at her while my gut was doing flip-flops. I reached across the table and lightly touched the back of her hand with my fingertips.

Judy's eyes widened when I did that, her breath hitched, and I could see a blush on her throat. I pulled my hand back and, taking a deep breath, decided to go for broke, and asked, "Do you, by any chance, know Alex Summers?"

"Do you mean Major Alex Summers?" Judy asked, a questioning look coming over her face.

My suspicion confirmed, I smiled and said, "Yes, Major Alex Summers, USAF."

"Yes, I do. Why do you ask?" Judy asked.

"I was talking to Alex this morning. She asked me if I had met you, and she said, 'What a small world' when I said that I had," I responded, seeing Judy's face light up.

"So, you are the Virginia she was telling me about," Judy mused, almost to herself. She shook herself and started standing up, saying, "Well, I'd better get going. I'll see you at 2 PM?"

"Yes, I'll be there," I said, confused by Judy's abrupt wanting to leave. "Is everything okay?" I asked, my heart rising in my throat.

"Yes," Judy said, almost absentmindedly. "I just need to take care of something before our meeting."

Judy walked off, leaving me sitting there, wondering if I had said something wrong. I finished my salad and went back to my office. I answered a couple of e-mails. I went over my calendar with Cathy before heading to the conference room for my 2 PM meeting with Judy and her people who worked on the e-ConFig tool.

When I got there, Judy and four other people were waiting for me. When I walked in, Judy smiled at me with a genuine smile. It made my heart clench. Whatever had happened during lunch was behind her. I smiled back and said, "I appreciate you asking me to meet with you. I really want to understand the e-ConFig tool and who better but the people who built it to learn from."

Judy indicated the seat next to her, and I went around the table to sit next to her. As I walked past her, I got a whiff of her perfume, and my gut churned, and my nipples tightened as I recognized the scent as Bonnie's favorite. As I sat down, we locked eyes, and Judy must have seen something in my eyes because she reached over and lightly touched the back of my hand, sending a shock to my pussy.

We both hitched our breaths, and I almost moaned from the sensations I was feeling. We both looked away, the emotions almost too much to bear. Judy cleared her throat and said, "Let's get this started. Let me introduce my team members responsible for e-ConFig." She then went on to introduce me to them.

Once we were done with the introductions, we spent the next ninety minutes going over the tool and the requirements used to create it. I was impressed with the effort that had gone into developing the application, and I let them know that. Once we were done, I thanked them for their time. I told them that once I was up to speed with how the tool worked now, I'd love to spend some time talking about some ideas for improving the tool.

The four developers left after saying their goodbyes. As I got up to go, Judy touched the back of my hand as she asked, "Virginia, can I talk to you for a minute?"