Nori's Delta (Delta Team Three #1) - Lori Ryan Page 0,2
over a shoulder. And she was still trying to cram her notes into the side pocket of said bag.
If her assistant was with her, she’d have handed the notes to her to put in the immaculately organized accordion file Beth kept with her at all times. There would be tabs and notes and everything cross referenced for Eleanor. But Beth would be coming in on a flight two hours from now so until then, Eleanor was on her own.
Truth be told, she was normally more organized than this herself, but flying always got to her. It was the one part of her job she didn’t love.
Eleanor could have had a car take her ahead to the base, but she didn’t much see the point in that when she could just as easily find a seat here and work while she waited the short time for Beth. They’d travel to the base together and meet up with the rest of the people that would be going into this negotiation with her.
She’d chosen people she had worked with in the past and trusted to be her support team. Marcus was a fantastic analyst and was easy to work with. He was younger than the others in the group, but his boyish, blond good looks belied a quick mind.
Geoff could be as prickly as his salt and pepper beard, but his mind was sharp and she liked the way he could break down issues with ease when they were in the middle of a situation.
Sharon was one of the fastest researchers they had in their office and Eleanor knew she might need that kind of talent when dealing with Onur Demir.
Her stomach flipped again and this time it wasn’t the dregs of motion sickness from the flight. It was the thought of the negotiation.
It wasn’t that she was nervous about it. It was just that she knew this was a make or break moment for her career. Normally her boss would handle this, but there were timing constraints involved and her boss was in Europe meeting with the leaders of three nations whose support was crucial to the success of several US endeavors going forward.
Eleanor spotted a chair in the far corner of the long room, well past the noise and chaos of the baggage pickup. It was just the type of quiet spot she needed. If she put her headphones on and focused on the upcoming meeting, she’d get just as much done there as she would if she went to the base.
She’d settle in and then let Beth know where to find her.
“Ms. Bonham!”
Eleanor slowed and searched for the sound of the voice. A man in fatigue pants and a buttoned-down shirt with rolled sleeves approached holding out an ID card.
“I’m glad I found you. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to,” he said in heavily accented English.
“Can I help you?” Eleanor shifted the bag on her shoulder and faced the man.
“I’ve been sent to pick you up. Your assistant’s flight was moved up so she arrived earlier and was taken to the base already. We are to meet her and the rest of your team there.”
Eleanor studied his ID card, looking up to be sure his face matched. She nodded and switched her trajectory, following the man toward the doors heading outside. She’d planned to review the file on Onur Demir while she waited for Beth, but she could do that while the man drove. Hopefully he’d let her work in peace. Most of the time, if she didn’t start up a conversation and gave only short answers to any attempts from the other person, she could get people to leave her alone pretty quickly.
She pulled her phone out as she followed the man. She could at least check messages quickly before they got in the car. The man was guiding her through the crowd, talking about the need to hurry to the base before night fell, though she didn’t know why. Adana wasn’t a dangerous city, as far as she knew.
She kept one eye on the path the man was making for her as they made their way along the walkway and slid her thumb over her messages.
“Ma’am, we should get to the car. There is time for that once we’re on the road.”
Eleanor wanted to roll her eyes but didn’t. Like she couldn’t walk and read at the same time.
As the crowd fell away behind them and they moved further along the walkway to a more isolated