She looked over her shoulder at the hallway to the office, waiting for her father to come bounding in with news. If it were a quick vendor call, he’d have handled it out on the deck. The fact that he’d gone to the office meant it was something that required his laptop or his full attention or both.
Lakeside.Please let it be Lakeside.
As though on cue, Dad’s footsteps behind her were swift and certain, making her spin around to stare at him walking from the hall into the main living area.
He held his phone in one hand and his reading glasses in the other, his face maddeningly neutral.
“Everything okay?” Peter asked, pausing mid-mango peel.
Eli looked at Peter. Then at Jonah. Then, slowly, he turned to Meredith.
“Dad.” She closed her laptop, wanting to stand but not trusting her legs. “Who was it?”
“Greg Hollister.”
She gasped at the name of the president of Pippin Lake Development Group.
Meredith’s entire body went still. She didn’t exhale. She didn’t blink. She just waited, because the next sentence was either going to make her year or ruin her afternoon, and she needed to be completely motionless for either outcome.
“Who’s that?” Connor asked.
A slow smile spread over her father’s face. “Our new client.”
For a full second, nothing happened. The words landed in the kitchen like a stone dropped into still water, and then the ripples started, launched by Meredith’s noisy squeal as she shot to her feet.
“Are you kidding?” Her voice sounded strained with hope.
“I am not kidding and I would have come out sooner, but I had to stop and thank God for this blessing.”
Of course he did.
In one second, they all started hooting and cheering so loud even Atlas joined in.
Dad reached for her. “We got it, kiddo,” he exclaimed into a hug. “They want us. They were overjoyed to get you as the project manager. In fact, Greg said it was your Alastair model that put us over the edge. They think it will be the most popular floor plan, and he loved that coastal farmhouse elevation. He already sold two of them on spec.”
“Oh, my… Really? That’s amazing!” She pulled back, gripping Eli’s arms. “I cannot believe this! It’s huge!”
“I’ll say! Three hundred and twelve residential units, a mixed-use clubhouse, and a neighborhood park. Acacia is the exclusive architect.” He spoke like he’d memorized every word. “And my daughter, project manager over the whole thing.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “You earned this, Meredith Lawson.”
As they all gathered and cheered the win, Peter grinned and clapped Eli on the back. Jonah tried to calm Atlas while simultaneously high-fiving Meredith from across the kitchen island.
In the wild hugging, even Connor gave her a careful congratulatory embrace, but not so careful that she failed to notice the six-pack he was hiding under his college logo T-shirt.
“This is amazing,” Peter said. “Eli, congratulations. Both of you. What a coup.”
“It’s enormous.” Dad’s eyes were bright. “And get this—they’re giving us an on-site private office in the sales and design center. Three desks, all access, a conference room, and a lock on the door, exclusively for Acacia. No more work at the kitchen table, Mer. We have a Destin office.”
As it all sank in, she dropped back into the chair at the table to open her laptop, mind whirring.
There was so much to do! Moving into a new office, setting up systems, arranging meetings, not to mention the building stuff—permit applications and zoning discussions and developer check-ins. Oh, there would be environmental impact reviews, survey schedules. They were semi-custom homes, so change orders and style templates and?—
“Mer.” Jonah was watching her with knowing amusement. “You’re already planning.”
“Of course I’m already planning. Do you have any idea how much coordination a project this size requires?”
Ignoring the chaos, she started typing, her fingers moving fast. Her father’s hand landed on her shoulder.
“Take five minutes to celebrate, honey.”
