The I.T. Girl Read Online Free PDF

mean... I really want to make friends.
You know, I’ve been here six months and haven’t seen a musical yet.’
    ‘I definitely think you should make other friends for that.’ He helped himself to ice-cream.
    ‘Right? Also after the break up, I don’t
feel as if I’m ready for something serious yet.’
    ‘Whoa. Who said anything about something serious?’
    Now it was my turn to flinch. ‘Oh... no... I mean... I’m just
trying to explain. I really do enjoy spending time with you,’ I finished miserably.
    We said no to coffees. The waitress dismantled Vietnam and brought
us the bill.

 
    Sam was stubborn, I thought, as I waited for the IT Support guy
to set up a teleconference between me and the METX Exchange. Our first Monday morning
meeting as a merged group with programmers and business analysts all in the one
role hadn’t gone so well. Everyone had cleared out in silence leaving me to set
up my conference. Well, maybe Sam’s protest was right. Analysing market data and
anticipating client needs was not his area of interest or expertise. And with no
allowance in project schedules for our learning curve, how were we to deliver quality
work? But then, Sam was stubborn. He’d probably be kicking up no matter what.
    Gary, my Networks contact, came in as the IT Support guy passed
him out the door.
    ‘Hi.’ We smiled at each other.
    ‘Am I late?’ he asked, pulling a chair closer.
    ‘No. You’re just in time.’ I held up the phone-pad now connected
to the large flat-screen T.V.
    ‘You got a time line?’ Gary asked, settling with a notebook in
front of him.
    ‘Well, for the whole project? Around six weeks to two months.
But we need the lease lines finalised in about four at the latest.’ It was the advice
Cameron had given.
    ‘Can the Exchange provide the infrastructure for that?’
    ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ I felt caught off guard. ‘Hopefully we can
confirm that today.’
    ‘Okay. You’ll have to raise its priority in order for us to get
it moving from our side too, yeah.’ His head bobbed when he spoke. ‘Any information like volume of data or peak times?’
    ‘Let’s ask about that now,’ I said, making notes as he spoke.
We sat back and waited for the phone to ring.
    ‘So how long you been with CouperDaye ?’ I asked him.
    ‘About seven years. I was in the army before. Comms .’
    ‘How’s this compare then?’
    ‘Different,’ Gary said. ‘You think keeping comms up to save lives is important until you’re keeping comms up so people can make money.’
    I barked a small laugh at the nonchalance of his tone. But I
was reminded of the warning I had received on Saturday night.
    The phone rang and I pressed the button to put us on speaker.
A man’s voice crackled through saying they hadn’t been able to setup a video call
to give us the presentation but could make this an introductory call instead.
    ‘Cowboys,’ Gary wrote on my notepad.
     

 
 
    Chapter Three

 
    Escaped dust filled my bedsit, billowing over an unsteady lamp
and up to a bookshelf that was empty except for a group of huddled porcelain figures.
The couch was pushed against a wall and in its place cardboard boxes covered the
floor. Only an overnight bag sat open, along with my clothes for the morning. The
scene reminded me of when I moved into the basement flat, two weeks after arriving
in London. It was small and bare but I had been relieved to be out of the poky hotel
room. Now I was moving again into an apartment that I actually owned. The exchange
had gone smoothly though I didn’t dare let out my breath until the keys were in
my hand. Everyone at work kept remarking on how calm I seemed about moving house
considering I was working on METX at the same time. But packing hadn’t been difficult;
I only had what I came to London with, plus a few extra work clothes. I had a methodical
way of doing things that meant a lot of situations that were generally considered
stressful were actually therapeutic for me.