by H. B. Stumbo
To say I felt like shit in the morning was an understatement. The sleep aid had knocked me out cold, but even that couldn’t keep Vance Wait from invading my dreams. I dreamt of dark rooms and empty hallways, little boys who were lost, boats and deep blue eyes piercing my soul. What in the fuck was all of this for?
By the time I got to work, I was a little more with it and I owed that in large part to the black coffee with two shots of espresso I ordered from the small shop around the corner. I needed to keep my mind busy and lucky for me I had several emails to answer to and a follow up with a client from spring. The morning passed in a breeze and it wasn’t until lunch that I realized I never turned my phone on after shutting it down out of fear last night.
I sat it down and retreated to the break room and pulled out a wrap I had brought from home. I wasn’t as hungry as I usually was and I knew it was nerves of having to deal with Vance later tonight. I headed back to my desk and cracked open a diet coke, if anything I needed more caffeine I thought to myself. I was already jittery and nervous, why did I think I should add fuel to the fire?
Glancing at my phone I noticed two text messages from Vance and I swallowed hard.
The first was from last night, right after I powered down my phone.
I meant it when I said it.
I blushed as I focused on the fact that he thought I was beautiful. The second was from this morning.
I’m assuming by your lack of response last night you just fell asleep. Either that or you’re just really embarrassed. Don’t forget, 5:30 sharp.
If my mind wasn’t swirling before, now it was a cyclone. What was this guy’s deal? Yes, I was flattered that he thought I was attractive he was a God himself, but I didn’t even know him, I knew nothing about him other than he seemed to inherit a lot of land and money, had a somewhat shitty childhood, and was incredibly confident.
I spent the rest of the day as a bundle of nerves. I thought about calling Aunt Lara and filling her in on things but she would just worry. After the bought with Jackson, she wanted me to live with her and Rich permanently, they were so worried about my safety and me being alone. I know that Lara worried more than she even let on, and if she found out I was going to a client’s house, a man’s house really, out in the boonies alone, she’d have a coronary.
It was nearing five and Rick made his way to my desk.
“What’s the verdict on the Wait project?”
I smiled and held up the binder I had compiled, “Meeting tonight at 5:30.”
Rick clasped his hands together. “Great! I know he’ll be impressed with your designs, everyone always is. Keep me in the loop with where things go.” He walked away and I rolled my eyes. I wish he had been the one to head up this venture, and then I wouldn’t be knee deep in all of this.
I made my way to the bathroom and decided to touch up my makeup. I applied some blush and mascara and scrunched my already curly hair. It fell in loose curls around my shoulders. My bangs were hopeless and I brushed them to the side with my fingers. I smoothed my now crinkled yellow sundress and smiled at myself in the mirror. This will have to do. I thought to myself.
I left the office and headed west towards Water’s Road. I made my way down the long and sparsely populated road and let my mind wander. I hoped Riley would be there, he was so nice and warm, the opposite of Vance. I tried to remind myself that could this be a really quick meeting, get in and get out. I remembered then than he wanted me to come hungry and I sighed. There was really no way out of this one.
When I pulled up the house I noticed Riley lingering on the porch. He retreated inside and by the time I was out of the car he reappeared. I started towards the porch and he met me on the steps.
“Hey Char – how’s it going?” His smile made me feel home but there was a sadness behind his eyes when he looked at me. It was a sadness that wasn’t there before and it disappeared pretty quickly.
I blinked oddly at the use of my nickname that was usually reserved for close friends or family, but I shrugged it off. “Hi Riley, I’m good thanks. How are you?”
“Great! Heading to New Orleans for a couple days with some friends to catch a concert, I invited Vance, but he said he had this thing with you and the house or whatever. You’re both more than welcome to come!” His spontaneity made me wish I lived a life like that. I could never just pick up and go, I needed a well thought out plan, but I envied people who just went wherever the breeze took them.
I smiled at his genuine kindness and shook my head. “Thanks but I need to get all this stuff squared away for work.” A pang of disappointment shot through me when I realized it would just Vance and me in the too large house, “Another time, maybe?”
Riley’s smile spread to his eyes, “Absolutely!” He waved and headed towards the garage; I could be friends with Riley easily, I wished he had been the one I was dealing with. I sighed as I headed for the door, I knocked lightly and heard Vance yell “come in” from beyond the foyer. Taking a deep breath I headed in and was immediately hit with the smell of something cooking and the light sound of music coming from the kitchen.
I walked in and when I reached the kitchen, I smiled to myself as I noticed Vance at the stove sautéing asparagus. He had a towel draped over his shoulder and was humming along to the singer who was crooning on his guitar about a big black car.
I cleared my throat and his body tensed up, he turned around and smiled lightly. He was dressed in a deep blue V-neck shirt that made his eyes pop even more if possible. His hair was tamed down, not like last time and I noticed it wasn’t as curly but it still lay in a beautiful mess on top of his head.
“Charlotte,” his voice was softer and more melodic than before. “Right on time,” he said glancing up at the clock on the wall.
“Hi.” My voice was soft, scared even and I found it difficult to look in his eyes. I noticed he looked me once over and smiled to himself before turning his attention back to the pan.
“I hope you like chicken.” He seemed so normal in this moment, but I knew better.
“Yes, I’m not picky at all really.”
He turned the burner off and removed the towel, turning towards me he rested his hands on the counter and smiled. “Good, we’ll eat and then we’ll talk business.”
I nodded at him and he took a sip of beer that was poured into a pilsner glass. “Would you like something to drink? Beer, wine, tea?”
I swallowed hard, as good as a glass of wine sounded I needed to keep a level head and I had a tendency to chug down wine. “Beer please, whatever you have is fine.”
He smiled and grabbed a bottle out of the fridge, he poured it into a glass and handed it to me. His fingers brushed against mine as he did so and I looked down and blushed as that same jolt of energy flooded my veins.
I watched him work on plating our meals. The chicken had been grilled and stuffed with some kind of Mediterranean looking cheese and olives. The asparagus was seasoned and looked like it was cooked to perfection, and I noticed he has roasted some red skin potatoes that smelled wonderful. I suddenly felt very hungry, no doubt from my lack of lunch earlier. I smiled as he sat the plate in front of me at the island and joined me in the seat next to me.
He turned towards me and raised his glass, “To…new beginnings, and new friends.” He smiled a wolfish grin and I clanked glasses with him.
“Cheers” I mumbled before taking a long sip of beer.
I dove into the chicken which was out of this world. The potatoes were seasoned perfectly and I couldn’t get enough of them. I could see him smiling to my right and I took another sip of beer. “This is really good, where’d you learn to cook like this?”
His smile faded briefly and was replaced with something else. “Just something I picked up.” He pinched his nose and took a sip of his beer as Rick’s words from earlier flooded my mind. I suddenly had an image of him and Riley as children, cold and scared trying to find something to eat. I swallowed the lump in my throat and went back to eating.
We ate in silence for the most part, every now and again he would sit back in his chair and I could feel his eyes on me, burning into my soul, but he would regain eating. When I couldn’t eat anymore I pushed my plate forward and sighed.
“That was really good, thank you Vance.”
He smiled and turned his gaze to me, when his eyes met mine I inhaled sharply; they were on fire. His face was calm and kind and a small smile danced on the corners of his mouth. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, it’s the least I could do, especially after you put in all of that hard work over the weekend for me.”
I flushed and looked down at my hands. Vance rose and collected my plate and took his own to the sink. He rinsed them both off and turned back towards me.
“Do you want help cleaning up?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ll get it later.” He turned around and his eyes met with mine again, their burning deep blue gaze was hypnotizing.
“Do you cook often?”
He nodded and looked down. “Yes, I’ve always enjoyed it. Riley complains when I don’t…he’s helpless when it comes to cooking.” A small smile spread across his face and it helped me realize how deep his love for his brother must be.
“So you typically just cook for the two of you?” His eyes were back on mine, he knew what I was getting at, our conversation from last week and my unanswered questions filled my mind.
“I think you’re here to talk business plans. Let’s get on that.”
“Right,” I replied quickly. I gathered up my binder and he walked around the island and reached for my hand. He grabbed it quickly, before I had any time to register exactly what he was doing or pull it away. He tugged on it and gently pulled me out of the kitchen.
“This way.”
He led me into a large living room that felt so cozy I could have fallen into a deep sleep for days whether I was tired or nor. Sitting down on a large sofa he instructed me to use the huge andold coffee table for my presentation. Taking a deep breath I opened up the binder and pulled out the pictures I had taken. I laid them out according to how the yard looked now. I could sense Vance’s eyes on me but I tried to focus on what I did best, design. Flipping through the pages in the binder I opened it up to the whole backyard and what my plans were. I pulled out some pens and scrap paper and took a deep breath.
“This is my best plan for attack. Right now the yard is…depressed. There’s too much going on that it doesn’t flow right. I think we should clear out all of the weeds and ivy and start fresh. The only thing I think you should leave besides the trees are the peach roses. What you need are some huge low maintenance perennials that won’t require a lot of upkeep from yourself just some weeding and trimming. They’ll only get larger every year and you won’t have to worry about doing much other than trimming them.” I glanced up at him and he was staring at my design and the pictures. He was in complete business mode right now, so I continued.
“We can get a lot of hydrangeas, I think you should stick with white, it’s classic like the house. Some random shrubs would help dress up the areas around house. Maybe a few dwarf Alberta’s or junipers, Purple Cone Flowers and Black Eyed Susans would be a great touch in the areas where you want to brush hog, they are great fillers and spread every year. That’s just my opinion though; we can do whatever you want. We will redo the cobblestone and level out the yard before relaying it.”
He was resting his hand on his chin and looked sincerely deep in thought. When he didn’t say anything I continued on with the plans for the dock. I went over how big the dock needed to be to be able to tie up the boat and still have room for movement. I showed him how we could utilize a floating dock to help with the changing of the tides, he nodded approvingly and I continued on, showing him a small walkway that would be for the jet skis.
When I finished my pitch, he sat back against the couch and nodded. “This is good, really good. I knew you came highly recommended by Rick but I didn’t expect this.”
I smiled and felt my stomach knot up. “Thank you. As far as the plants and shrubs go, when it gets closer to the time to put them in, we can add and take away as you desire. Obviously we’ll add lawn ornaments and lights, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to utilize the old fountain in the back either as long as it’s in working condition. We may have to paint the pillars where the ivy has taken over but we won’t know until it’s gone. ”
He nodded and flipped through my designs again. “You’ve really got a feel for this.” His voice trailed off as he flipped through the pictures. I nodded and smiled to myself.
“Like I said, I enjoy what I do.”
His gaze met mine and he smiled directly at me, my insides caved. “I can tell, it really shows.” He glanced back at a few pictures and then looked back at me. “What’s the damage going to be?”
I fidgeted in my seat, this part always made me nervous. “Betting on the fact that we don’t run into any surprises, the whole project will cost between $50,000 and $75,000. Because of the dock and everything that will be going into that, I’d plan for the latter.” I could tell I was babbling. “We can get you a cut though, I know you said you wanted to pay for this but you own part of the company, you shouldn’t have to do that.”
Vance reached over and grabbed my hand. “Hey, relax. I knew it was going to be costly and I can afford it. Don’t be ashamed about how much it’s going to be, I’d donate the money anyway if Rick wouldn’t take no for answer.”
This was a new reaction. Normally clients would hem and haw around about the final cost, but Vance seemed prepared. I silently wondered to myself how he had as much money as he did.
“Should I give you some of it now or all of it now?” He asked politely, breaking my train of thought.
“No, I’ll have to have Rick draw up a contract first, and then you can decide what you want to do. I’d recommend only paying half now and waiting on the final amount to pay the rest.”
He nodded and that’s when I realized he was still holding my hand, glancing down at it he pulled away quickly and ran his other hand through his hair. The pang of emotion that had seared through me while he held it disappeared.
“You shouldn’t have to pay at all.” I murmured.
“Well then how would you get paid?”
I shrugged my shoulders, to that I didn’t have an answer or an idea. It just didn’t seem right that he should have to pay anything when he owned a share. I sighed and noticed he was not too far from me, the distance between us was almost too close for comfort.
“I can have the contract ready by late tomorrow or Wednesday and a crew here Friday.” I tried to shift the subject back to logistics and shift away from him.
He nodded but didn’t say anything.
We sat there for a few more moments and the silence grew thick. I could hear the frogs and crickets begin to peep and I was aware it was probably starting to turn to dusk. I started collecting the photos and placing them back in the envelope.
“Well if that’s all you need, I think we’re done here.” My voice was quiet.
His attention was back on me and he smiled softly. “Yeah, that sounds good. When you get the contract drew up, will you text me?”
I nodded and looked down at my binder. “You’ll have to come in to the office to fill it out, though. Rick has to be part of that.”
“Oh.” His voice was low and laced with disappointment.
“Is that going to be a problem?” I asked kindly.
“No, it’s just…I was going to see if you wanted to come back for dinner again when the contract was ready to be signed.”
I looked down at my hands and sighed. “Vance, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re a client and I’m…well I’m…” my voice trailed off.
“You’re what exactly?” He was prying.
“Unavailable.” I whispered and immediately felt my cheeks burn.
Vance sat back against the couch and eyed me oddly, “Unavailable, how exactly?” The corners of his mouth turned
slightly upward like he was suppressing a grin. He knew I was uncomfortable and he was using that against me.
“I just can’t, I mean I won’t…” I was stuttering and his beautiful face was not helping.
“Are you meaning you’re unavailable in regards to work or in regards to something else?” His eyebrows rose in question and I knew he meant a relationship, something beyond a friendship.
“Oh just stop it!” My voice raised an octave and he looked amused. “Look, I’m here for a job and you’re making it…awkward. My first impression of you was that you doubted me and that you were arrogant, and then you shift into this charming man who tells me I’m beautiful and you don’t even know me. And now you want me to come back for dinner?”
His lips twitched and he brushed his thumb across them. “Yes, to sign a contract.”
“Why do I get the feeling that’s not what you meant when you first asked me?”
He shrugged and cocked his head to the side. “I don’t know, why do I get the feeling you enjoy avoiding people?”
He was pressing my buttons and I didn’t like it. I had a hard enough time explaining my thoughts to my best friends, I sure as shit wasn’t going to sit here and explain them to a stranger. “That really is none of your business.”
He ran a hand through his hair and messed it up a little more. It was distracting how good looking he was and he eyed me oddly as he did so and smirked, he knew I was admiring the view.
“Why are you so against being friends with your clients?”
“Why are you prying? Why do you care?” I fired back.
“Because I’m investing enough in this project. Is it wrong that I want to know the person I’m putting all my faith into?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But the way you talk to me, the things you say, are borderline too friendly.” I swallowed hard and eyed him coldly. “Besides that you never answer any of my questions about you or this place. When you do answer my questions, they are cryptic and confusing. So I’ll ask you again, why did you call me beautiful?”
He shrugged. “I’ll tell you the same thing as before…because you are. That’s not cryptic at all.”
