Chapter 4 : Ready, Set, Start
Gabrielle woke to her alarm. She showered, dried her hair and put it in a high ponytail. Stretchy jeans, heeled boots, a long sleeve shirt and a long, heavy sweater was the outfit she chose this morning. She wanted to be professional and yet still comfortable. The basement they worked in was kept colder because of all the equipment they have running so warm clothes were pretty much a must for her. By the time she was ready she still had more than enough time to stop at her favorite coffee place on her way to work. Dark chocolate lavender with three shots of expresso. She always gets it iced even though she worked in a cold environment. When she got to work, Gabrielle found that she was the first on there. She booted up her machine, then the coffee pot and a few under-desk heaters. This way they were getting started on a somewhat warm note. She then went back to her desk and waited. The next person in was her boss, Wendell.
"Morning bossman." She greeted him
"Morning bosslady" Wendell greeted back in a cheeky tone.
Gabrielle blushed, "Not sure I'm going to get used to that ya know."
"That's not a bad thing." He chuckled, "You said at the party you wanted to make changes."
"Yes!" She answered, "I'd like to rearrange the room. One to get partners closer together. Two to put in a decompression corner."
"What do you think you would need for that corner?"
"Well I was thinking a couch, some big beanbag chairs, a table for board games and 3D puzzles. Things that will help them relax while keeping their brains engaged"
"I like it G." Wendell smiled "I'll get budget approval and you map out the room with the team."
"Thank you!" She damn near yelled, "We'll probably work on moving desks around today if that's alright."
"That's fine with me. If it helps go for it."
"Perfect."
"What's perfect, bosslady?" Sarah asked entering the room.
"We get to rearrange this place!"
Gabrielle's statement received sounds of approval from everyone coming in. Over the next several minutes she explained what her and Wendell had discussed. They got to work figuring out where everyone was goind to sit and then the best plan to move desks. They were each pretty heavy so they had to move them one at a time like a slide puzzle. It took them until lunch to move everything where they were happiest, but it was worth it. By the time they were done, the team was actually excited about the next project they were about to start. They spent lunch together mulling over the details and planning the beginning steps. When they got back, they each set to work. It was quite but it was a comfortable quiet.
They worked comfortably like this for a week before Wendell came back down to tell them he was able to get a budget approved for their comfort corner. It took the team two weeks to furnish the corner and stock it with games and puzzles. They were making wonderful headway on their project. There was five more months until the award show they had been nominated for and even Wendell was nervous. They had 2 years to work on this current game. Gabrielle knew they could get it done in that amount of time easy. The team was far more coherent now than even on their last project.
Dr. Lecter was correct though, she kept looking for signs that he had been in the house again. She knew better that that though. If she still had a detail, he had already taken a huge risk with the contact he had already made. She couldn't help but look though. Work helped get her mind off of it. She had started taking some of the storyboards home to brainstorm scripts for the game. The team would review them when she brought them back in. Not everything was accepted but that was okay. It meant the team was all in. If they followed her blindly she would be worried that they no longer had any interest. This early into the project would not be good.
"Gabs dear, don't you dare bring work home again tonight." Sarah demanded gently
"Why not?" Gabrielle almost whining, "We're moving at a great pace!"
"Yes, but you'll burn out and we need our leader refreshed and energized." Sarah answered back
"Oh no." Gabrielle shook her finger at Sarah, "Don't you dare pull that card on me already."
"You're forcing my hand." Sarah shrugged unbothered, "I know you're not used to being in charge, but im serious. You've been taking work home more nights than not. Take a break tonight please."
"Alright, alright, if you insist." Gabrielle caved, "Ruin my fun why don't you."
The two girls laughed and hugged. As everyone walked to their cars, Gabrielle contemplated dinner. She decided to stop and get sushi. It was Friday and as usual she decided to have a drink. She decided on white wine to go with her Unagi and edamame. She put "Beauty and the Beast" in the DVD player and she enjoyed her meal. After the movie and 2 glasses of wine she was ready to sleep. She was so comfortable on the couch she decided to sleep there. She found a deep, restful sleep for the first night in quite some time.