by Lexy Timms
I was ecstatic that I’d hired someone who saw the potential I did. I’d gotten to know him a bit and was absolutely giddy with excitement when he told me his terms. He had a passion to help the community like I did, and that was the sign I needed to know I was hiring the right person for the job. He not only understood my community outreach spirit, but he engaged in it himself, and I was more than honored for my art gallery to be part of his portfolio.
Anything to help a business that held the same values mine would.
But still, that stab of guilt was there kicking me in the kidney. I wasn’t being completely honest with him. I’d lied to him about being at that memorial service, and I’d kept my mouth shut on the painting he had held. I could see it in his eyes, how drawn to it he had become. When he requested that one of the paintings I give him be that one, it didn’t shock me in the slightest.
But it did have me very, very worried.
I’d have to tell him before I handed those paintings over. I’d have to tell him about what had happened in Los Angeles all those years ago.
A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about how that conversation might go.
But even still, the art I had stowed away deserved to see the light of day. It needed to reach the masses. All of them. All of the art therapy students I’d taken on, the ones who had passed before their time and the ones who had given in to the darkness and couldn’t claw their way back and the spirit of the people who inspired the track my art now took. It all deserved to bask in the glory of the beauty of this earth.
It deserved to create its own pocket of peace.
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. My mind automatically drifted back to his tattoos. The more he was around, the more I got a better look at them. The 3-D spiral pattern looked as if it descending into his arm. The shaded geometric pattern still mesmerized me to this day. I finally got a better look at that rose on his arm during our meeting, and I realized the rose petals weren’t rose petals at all but a piano keyboard shaped to the outline of rose petals.
I wanted to ask him where his inspiration for that one came from. Maybe he played piano or his parents had. Maybe he was just a fan of music.
Maybe John had even played.
Those tattoos sat on a bed of muscles that no one could deny. While my eyes were always grazing up and down his tattoos, fascinated with his ability to choose and be happy with them for the rest of his life, I had to admit his arms were incredibly defined. They rippled and flexed with every movement they made. He definitely worked more on his job sites than he’d let on in our meeting. I could see his broad shoulders, the muscle mounds lightly rising over his collarbone before they blended into his strong, thick neck.
I could still feel his broad, solid chest against mine as I reveled in how warm his body had been when I hugged him.
My cell phone ringing interrupted my thoughts. I’d been biting my lower lip even though I hadn’t been aware of it, and I cleared my throat as I reached for my phone. Anna was calling. Probably wondering if construction had begun yet. I took a deep breath and tried to clear the lust from my voice before I answered the phone.
The last thing she needed to know was how incredibly handsome the leader of this project was.
“Hey there, sis,” I said.
“Hey! So, question. How do you feel about me coming to visit soon?”
“Funny, I thought you were calling about the business,” I said, grinning.
“Well, I thought I’d plan my visit around the time the construction started. You have any idea when that’s supposed to take place?”
“Some guys have already been around there, making notes and getting equipment set up, so they should start any day now,” I said.
“Perfect. Fancy a sister weekend?” she asked.
“Well, I’m going to be pretty busy with the gallery. I’ll be spending a lot of time there, especially once they start on the interior decorating part of things.”
“Which was why I wanted to hit this at the beginning. You know, when they’re still updating shit you’re clueless on.”
“Oh, a cuss word. Something’s gone down in Anna’s life. Talk to me, sis. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Work’s kind of getting to me, I guess,” she said.
“You know what might help with that?” I asked.
“What?”
“Singing lessons.”
“Or I could get laid.”
“Yep. Work’s really getting to you then,” I said. “When were you thinking of coming?”
“I figured maybe around the Fourth of July? Just for a few days, nothing long term. We could do a little cookout, maybe feed the workers on the site or something.”
“They won’t work. It’s a federal holiday,” I said.
“Then we could cook for them or something beforehand. I don’t know. Something fun.”
“Feeding a bunch of sweaty construction workers is fun?” I asked.
“Sweaty, you say?”
“Most of them will be homeless men,” I said.
“Wait, what?” she asked.
“Yeah. That was one of the stipulations to hiring B.D. Construction. That’s how they do community outreach. They hire a homeless person or two to come work. Give them a paycheck. Clean them up. Get them some work experience. It’s really awesome. I’ve hired someone who holds sort of the same morals I do,” I said.
I heard the rustling of papers in the background as I sighed into the phone.
“Anna.”
“Hold on. I’m just checking the paperwork,” she said.
“Anna. It’s not a big deal.”
“Yes, it is. If one of those men steals some of your artwork, I want to make sure they’re liable for the price.”
“Anna, come on. Seriously?” I asked.
“I just want to protect you as much as possible. Ah. Yes. It’s in here. There are no explicit protections against stuff of yours they might steal or ruin, but I can talk with the project manager about that when I come down.”
“No, you won’t,” I said.
“Yes, I will. I’m going to protect your shit even if you don’t want to. Got it?”
“Yeah. You definitely need to come here for a few days,” I said.
“Around the fourth all right?” she asked.
“Yep. That’s just fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
I honestly wasn’t. With everything swirling around this project and the risks I was taking just hiring Bryan for this was enough. My head was spinning every night when I rolled into bed, and I knew my sister would be able to pinpoint it the moment she saw me. I’d have to do some serious prep work in order for me to cover my tracks and emotional states before she got here, and right now, just thinking about it made me exhausted.
“Oh, I see. I know what’s going on here.”
“You do?” I asked.
“And it’s about damn time you came clean,” she said.
“What?” I asked breathlessly.
“What’s his name?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“His name? The guy you’re hooking up with. You don’t want me there because it means staggering your fun little evenings, doesn’t it? Damn, I’m so glad you got out and found yourself a little piece. You’re too cooped up in that apartment.”
“I’m not hooking up with anyone, Anna.”
“Oh, you can tell me. It’s fine. What does he look like? What’s his name? Does he have a nice ass? I know you’ve always been an ass woman.”
“Anna. I just moved to San Diego. I don’t have a ‘piece of ass’ already. Yikes. You need a vacation,” I said.
“Which is why I’m so excited to be coming to see you.”
“Maybe we’ll get you laid while you’re down here,” I said.
“The project manager isn’t homeless, is he?” she asked.
I froze at her statement as Bryan’s face popped back up into my mind. Why was I so unwilling to answer her question?
“Oh, shit. It’s a woman, isn’t it? Oh well, better luck next time.”
“You’re the most insane human being when you’re pushed to your limits,” I said.
“Love you, too, sis. I can’t wait to see you. Thanks for letting me come down.”
“Anytime, Anna. Love you.”
“Get yourself laid,” she said.
“Get yourself a massage so you don’t murder people at your job,” I said.
I hung up the phone and groaned. If she was going to come here and badger me about how good looking Bryan was the entire time, it was going to be a long Fourth of July holiday. With construction starting at the beginning of June, Anna knew damn good and well she wasn’t coming at the beginning of the project. She was going to want to stick her nose in everything and make sure all the inside layouts were absolutely perfect. She was going to use these few days to try and live the free life I knew she wanted to live deep down.
Only she was going to control this project as a way to try and do it.
But even with my mind swirling the way it was, all I could do was lay on the couch and close my eyes. I only had a few more days until construction officially began, and that’s when I’d have to stay out of their way and trust they were doing the right thing for my gallery.
That was going to be the hardest part of all.
Chapter 9
Bryan
June had officially arrived, and it was time to start on the gallery. I’d filled Drew in on the project I was taking on, and he was absolutely shocked. I told him it would be the start of our commercial property sector of the company I wanted him to head up, but because of the deal I was cutting in order to get this into our portfolio, I wanted to head up the project. I brought Drew down with me, so he could survey all the work it would take, and I told him by the time August came around, it should be done, and we could officially launch that new part of our business.
It was a sector I genuinely had no interest in, so I was willing to completely turn it over to Drew once this project was completed.
He kept asking me why I wanted to do the project if commercial property didn’t interest me, and I kept telling him it was because of the crew of homeless men I’d employed. It would be me and two other men who worked full time at the company, and the other four men would be from the homeless shelter up the road. I told Drew I wanted to keep my eyes on them as well as make sure nothing of Hailey’s gotten ruined or stolen, but the moment I mentioned her name, he smiled.
“Hailey, huh?” he has teased. “She hot?”
I balked at the question, scolding him for not being more professional, but scolding him just gave him more ammunition. Yes, Hailey was a beautiful woman, one who was plaguing my dreams. But I didn’t take this job just because she was beautiful. If Drew was serious about this commercial property branch of the business, this would be a really good place to start our portfolio, especially with the ethics and community outreach Hailey held close to her heart.
A couple of the homeless guys were new, faces I’d seen on the street who held signs like “will work for food” and “can do anything for money.” The other two homeless guys were people who had impressed me on other sites, men who had picked up the skills and could use a few others we were about to use on this project. I wanted to groom them for future jobs and give them the tools they needed to interview for other manual labor positions. Or maybe even a position in this new commercial property branch we were apparently starting now.
Hailey was there to greet us with iced green tea and biscuits. The men already on the worksite were grateful, and the smile she had beaming from ear to ear brightened my day. She was walking around and chatting with people, asking them their names and how long they’d been working for the company. When she got to the homeless men, it seemed as if they simply gravitated toward her. While I walked a couple of them through the jobs they were going to be tackling today, the other two were simply spilling their life stories to her.
And she listened with an intent ear and an innocent wonderment in her eyes.
We had to straighten some things up and get everything hooked up to an outside power source before we could get going. We had to bring our own gas generator until we could update her electrical and use it, and all of the setting up alone would take most of the morning. Once we got going, I saw Hailey step out the back door, and for a split second, I wanted her to come back in.
She brightened up a room whenever she walked into it.
I had one of the guys setting up the generator while the rest of us hauled equipment. Drew came by for a little bit to get an idea of how everything would eventually be set up before he took off for the office. Everyone was quick to clean everything of hers out of the way without damaging it, and soon Hailey came in and started carrying things to storage while we got the equipment roaring to life.
As the men were gutting into the nasty sheetrock, with masks on their faces and goggles over their eyes, I told them the first thing we needed to tackle was updating the electrical. I was overseeing the two more experienced homeless guys, so I could teach them about how this all worked while one of my other guys took the other two and started teaching them basic plumbing. The sooner we could get those basic amenities up and running in this building, the faster the project would fly by.
Mostly because we wouldn’t have to run across the street to use the bathroom.
Once all the sheetrock was taken down, one of the guys relieved me from my post. I went outside to take some deep breaths, coughing up the dust from my lungs as I took in the salted air. Hailey came up and stood beside me, her body automatically warming my arm. She had a smile on her face that shone as bright as the sun reflecting off the waters of the ocean, and I couldn’t help being drawn to her.
“I want to double-check and make sure everything’s all right with you,” I said.
“It seems like everything’s going okay. Why?” she asked.
“Well, our first order of business is to get the electrical and plumbing updated and going so we can hook into the power here instead of using a gas generator. Don’t worry, the bills on the place while we’re here, the company absorbs and pays for, so it won’t come out of your pocket.”
“Wasn’t worried about that,” she said, grinning.
“Are you worried about something?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “I trust you.”
“You seem clipped,” I said.
“I’m just ...”
She heaved a heavy sigh, and I could tell something was weighing on her mind. I wanted to ask her what it was and see if it was something I could fix. If there was anything I was good at, it was fixing stuff. Sinks. Plumbing. Yard work. Uneven home foundations. Termite damage. I could fix it all.
If she talked to me, I was sure I could fix whatever it was that was bothering her.
“I’m so grateful for all you’ve done for me,” she said.
I saw a smile break out on her face even though a tear slowly slipped from the side of her eye. I hadn’t realized until then the impact our deal had on her life. I saw all her hopes and dreams shining brightly in her eyes, now reachable with what I’d agreed to do for her. To me, I was just helping her build a building.
To her, however, I had become the catalyst for the future she painted for her life.
“I’m more than happy to do it,” I said.
“You sound surprised,” she said, giggling.
“I honestly am a bit.”
“Why’s that?” she asked.
“Eh, some people in my company don’t like that I’m still so hands-on as an owner.”
“I’ve never understood why people believe an owner isn’t hands-on,” she said.
“Exactly. And some people don’t like that I employ some of the homeless community. You know, to train them and stuff.”
“A lot of people didn’t like my art therapy when I was bouncing around cities,” she said. “You encounter people like that everywhere you go. I, perso
nally, admire it. It’s one of the reasons why I took your deal.”
“Really? I thought it was because I was slashing the pricing in half,” I said, grinning.
“No,” she said, “though that was a perk. It was because of what you do for the homeless community, the outreach you have a passion for, that solidified it for me. I hired someone who holds the same morals I do. That’s important to me.”
I was simply in awe of her, and I was glad she was still staring across the street because I sure as hell wasn’t doing a good job of covering it up.
“I’ve run into a lot of people who have been down on their luck. And, while I can’t always help them, some people only need a hand to pull them up.”
I could see a darkness drift over her gaze, a sadness that crept up quickly behind her eyes. She heaved a heavy sigh again, her mind drifting back to whatever was bothering her, and now, the need to fix it only intensified in my gut.
“Sometimes they just get tired of floundering, and they need someone kind enough to reach down and be there for them,” she said.
The way she talked. The words she spoke. The way she crossed her arms around her chest and the way her eyes were misting over. She was speaking from experience. A personal struggle she was currently floundering with. Was this her way of asking me for help? Was this her way of asking me to stick my arm out so she could grab on?
Was that even appropriate, given our current relationship?
“People helped me out all through my life,” she said, taking in a deep breath. “Including my sister.”
“The one who gave you the investment,” I said.
“The one and only.”
“I had a brother,” I said
I immediately saw her tense. She caught the verbiage I’d used. It just flew out of my mouth before I could catch it.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” she said breathlessly.
I looked back over at her, and I saw tears cresting her eyes again. This time, her entire body had darkened. Like the weight of my sorrow was crushing her into the ground. Before I could think, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she immediately curled into me like she’d been waiting for me to do it this entire time.
