Page 81 of Do It With Me

It ate at me until I gave in, which was how I ended up sitting in the back row of his classroom again, my arms crossed and my jaw tight, pretending I wasn’t two seconds away from launching a stapler at his head as soon as he graced us with his presence.

Holden finally walked in just a couple minutes before the lecture was set to start, and it was like my world straightened itself out with his appearance. Everything that had been itchy and sore inside seemed to settle at the sight of him, the way things had been feeling off kilter lately suddenly completely gone.

He looked awful, though. As gorgeous as ever, of course. He couldn’t help that, but tired and a little wrecked around the edges.

Good.

I was equal parts worried and relieved as he walked to the lectern, blue eyes scanning the room until they landed on me. As soon as our gazes connected, I swore I saw his shoulders drop in relief and I felt my features immediately arrange into a scowl.

The nerve of this man.

“Alright, everyone,” he said after clearing his throat, his eyes still only on mine. “Today, we’re going to talk about perspective.”

He switched on the screen, clicked to the first slide, and the words The Renewal Initiative appeared in bold white letters. My stomach dropped all the way to China, my teeth grinding as I stared at those horrible words.

In the back of my mind, however, there was a voice whispering that at least, no matter what he said next, after this, I would know. All my unanswered questions about who he was and whether it had all been some kind of cruel game to him would finally be answered.

“There are a lot of ways to approach a project,” he said. “You can force things to fit your vision, or you can adapt to the situation. You can pick profits first, or people.”

He turned slightly, scanning the class. For just a moment, his gaze flicked toward me, but it was quick and unreadable.

“Case in point,” he continued. “The Renewal Initiative. This is one of mine.”

Another click and a diagram appeared. It featured a block I knew all too well, a couple of skyscrapers standing exactly where my store used to be. My blood went cold and my fight-or-flight instinct kicked in, but I refused to let my butt leave this chair. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“The original plan was to transform a historic city block into a pair of high-rise towers. Shops on the first floor, residential space above, and a courtyard in the middle. Nice, clean, and modern. There would be a Heritage Walk between the two, lined with high-end stores and services. All the kind of stuff that looks great in a proposal packet.”

He paused, hands braced on the podium, but he was looking at his own design like it disgusted him now. I gripped the edge of my desk, my heart hammering against my ribs. What the hell is he doing?

Holden took a step back and the next slide flickered up behind him. “On paper, it’s a great plan. Something investors drool over, but the people who live there now, those who work there, who love there, who cry there? It turns out they don’t want high-rise towers and fancy stores.”

His voice dropped to a tone that was much quieter and heavier. “They want to keep things how they are now. Just better.”

Something sharp twisted in my chest, but he clicked again, and the next slide that came up was a photo of my block. Complete with the old storefronts, the cracked sidewalks, a jumble of color and character that had seen better days.

“There’s a lot of space for better here,” he said, pointing out the obvious. “I think that’s something we can all agree on.”

When he clicked again, an overlay appeared on top of that picture, transparent sketches showing the same buildings but fixed up. New signs. Fresh paint. Flower boxes. Trees for shade. Little benches along the sidewalks.

A soft murmur rippled through the room. Holden kept going, steady but sure, like a man walking straight into his own storm without wavering. “Which brings me to the new plan for the Renewal Initiative.”

He gestured toward the slide featuring the overlay. “Rather than try to replace what’s already there, we can build on what’s working. We’ll give these businesses the resources to thrive without forcing anyone out. Most of those buildings don’t need to be torn down. They just need care. Repairs. Upgrades.”

He looked at the slide for another second before he turned toward the class, and I knew he wasn’t talking to them anymore at all. He was now only talking to me.

“Our plan is to create a grant system to help local shops upgrade equipment, repair damage, and maybe even expand. We’ll add new, fresh community spaces instead of wiping out the old ones. That way, we keep the charm but improve the infrastructure.”

He exhaled, shaking his head before he looked straight at me. “It’s not as flashy. It’s not as profitable, but it’s right, and as a long-term investment, it’ll pay off better than the initial plan.”

My throat burned with the emotion clawing its way up. He’d changed it. The whole project, and I didn’t know if I wanted to cry or walk up there and kiss him silly in front of everyone.

“We’ll still build the public area in the center,” Holden said, clicking to the last slide. It showed a digital mock-up of the square and overlaid on top of it was Second Story Sunday. He cleared his throat like it was feeling the same way as mine, but then he finished. “We can strengthen the community by investing in it. Not by bulldozing it.”

The room went so still, I could hear the hum of the projector. Meanwhile, he looked around like he was waiting for someone to challenge him and tell him this wasn’t what they’d signed up for.

Nobody did.

Finally, he nodded and clicked the remote again, switching off the screen. “That’s it for tonight. You’re dismissed.”

My fellow students gathered their things slowly, whispering to each other like they weren’t sure what the hell had just happened, but I was. And in the aftermath, all I could do was sit there, frozen, my bag still on the floor, watching him stack his notes like nothing seismic had just occurred.

He glanced up and caught me watching him, and something unspoken passed between us. In that moment, I knew that if this was real, then maybe, just maybe, he had pulled off the impossible. It was the miracle I’d been praying for. I just didn’t know yet if it was his or mine.