Professional Boundaries by Jennifer Peel Page B

south.”
    He kind of laughed. “You might like it.”
    I just shook my head no and pulled out my crunchy peanut butter and plum jam on whole wheat bread sandwich.
    Before I took a bite, he looked at my sandwich, “Remember that day in the park when …” he trailed off.
    I looked over to him as he continued to stare at my sandwich and then he looked at me. For a brief moment, I saw the old Ian. It was a little disconcerting, but then, just like that, it was gone.
    He shook his head. “I can’t believe you still eat those.”
    I had probably eaten more peanut butter and jam sandwiches than I could count, but I still loved them. They were a reminder of childhood and happy times. Some of those happy times even included him. I wondered what day in the park he had remembered, because there were several to choose from. It was our favorite place to study and engage in other activities.
    I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, I can’t believe people eat raw fish.”
    He held up sushi roll in response and downed it.
    I went back to my plain sandwich. “So what did you want to discuss?” I asked after a few bites.
    He wiped his mouth with a napkin and then pulled up a file on the laptop closest to him.
    “I wanted to discuss the direction of the product, new feature enhancements, branding etc.”
    “Great, I’ve been working on a roadmap …”
    He didn’t even let me finish my sentence before he began showing me mock ups of a totally revamped product. It looked nothing like the original. It was very sleek and slightly complicated.
    “Have you ever worked with banks and credit unions before?” I interrupted him after several minutes.
    “A few,” he responded.
    “Ok. Then did you know that most marketing departments, especially in smaller financial institutions, don’t have access to IT departments, and most of them lack high tech skills?”
    “This product doesn’t just have to be utilized by financial clients.”
    “I agree, and I would like to branch out to other verticals, but I don’t want to alienate our current clientele in the meantime. I believe the roadmap I’ve created addresses both issues.”
    He sat back in his chair and folded his arms. “Show me what you have.” It was like he was daring me to dazzle him.
    No problem , I thought. I pulled up my road map that included a presentation outlining what I believed to be key feature enhancements like an expanded ad library and tools to create your own ads with ability to add branding and logos. I discussed my idea for tier levels of features and support with varying price points, and I also mapped out a free version with a limited feature set with just enough to water their mouths in the hopes of turning them into paying customers. Intermittently, I looked at Mr. Greyson and found him engrossed in the presentation. When I was done, I turned toward him.
    He grinned and nodded his head. “I’m impressed.”
    “You sound surprised.”
    “I am,” he said with no hint of apology.
    I couldn’t help it, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “What did you expect?”
    He briefly touched my hand, but quickly he seemed to realize that was crossing professional boundaries; he pulled it back, but it wasn’t quick enough. It was like my hand was saying, “Hey, I remember that touch.” And unfortunately it liked it. Dumb hand.
    “You’re taking that wrong.”
    “Oh really, how should I take it?”
    He leaned forward, toward me. “Are you going to be sensitive about everything I say?”
    I leaned closer.
    “Do you plan on continually being condescending, Mr. Greyson?”
    We both stared hard at one another for several moments. Boss walked in and caught us in our staring battle. We both quickly moved apart and sat up straight. I smoothed out my blouse. Boss looked between the two of us. I could feel my cheeks redden out of embarrassment and anger.
    “Great, I’m glad to find you both together,” Boss said.
    “Ms. Bryant was just showing me her roadmap,”