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When he set her down, he gave her a big kiss and took her hand. “Come and see what’s been completed so far.”
She happily walked over to where his second office would be. The walls had been installed, and contractors were working on the doors. The glass walls were in six sections, with each section containing sixty smaller panes of glass framed in oak and stained a medium color. They looked so rich and fit the feel of the room. She squealed and raised her hands to her face.
“So, I guess that means you like them.”
She looked up at him, smiling. “Of course, I like them. What’s not to like? They’re beautiful.”
The French doors matched the walls, and they would open wide enough to allow for the larger table to be brought in. The finishing area walls were the same, except they would be on tracks to open all the way allowing larger pieces to be brought in. Then, when working on a piece, she could open the walls so it wouldn’t get stuffy and close the walls when she was painting or staining. They also installed ceiling fans throughout the space to keep air circulating and venting to suck dirty air out. She couldn’t wait to start working up here.
A blonde woman stood across the room watching them closely. “Gray, who is that woman across the room?”
He glanced up at the woman, then into her eyes, “That’s Amanda. She’s Ethan and my administrative assistant.”
“She doesn’t look very happy. What’s that all about?” Sam asked, looking at Amanda, who seemed to be glaring. Slightly plump, her hair cut into a sharp bob, heavy dark eyeliner, gave her the appearance of being unapproachable.
Gray looked back down at her. “I don’t know what her issue is. This week she started complaining about what was going on up here, first to Ethan then to me. I don’t see how it affects her, but she’s been asking a lot of questions and rolling her eyes a lot. Today, she’s come up here several times, looking around and then leaving again.”
Watching her leave, Sam asked, “Have you ever dated her?”
“Good God, no. I would never date someone who worked for me. Why would you even ask that question?”
She shrugged. “Well, the looks she was shooting at me tell me she is focusing at least some of her irritation on me specifically. I can’t imagine where that comes from, so I wondered.”
Gray looked at where Amanda had been standing and shrugged; then he turned Sam to look at the plans for more lighting. She saw him furrow his forehead and thought he was wondering the same. Another woman they could add to the mix of exes and troubles was not what she’d hoped for today.
They finalized the lighting plans and looked once more at their progress.
“I can’t wait to start working up here with you, Sam. Did you eat lunch? Should we go somewhere?”
“I can’t wait to start working with you here, either. Yes, please, let’s go have lunch.”
They took the stairs down, and Sam noticed the new railing had been put in as well.
“Wow, you didn’t tell me these had been installed. They look great!”
They were wrought iron, painted a deep rust, which Sam thought went well with the old building. They didn’t have a lot of detail to them—straight, squared spindles with every fourth spindle having a circle and a K in the middle of the circle. Sam liked the way it looked simple, old world, and yet customized.
Gray laughed. “I wanted to surprise you. The guys put them in yesterday. I wasn’t sure they would get them all installed. I like the way they look. You have great taste, Sam.”
She giggled at his praise and squeezed his hand.
“So do you, Gray. We make a great team.”
He kissed her lightly again, and they continued walking down to the first floor. Once there, they walked to Gray’s office, to make sure he didn’t have any voicemails waiting for his immediate attention. Before they got to his office, Sam noticed Amanda’s workstation. She hadn’t noticed it before. Amanda sat at her computer, but she was watching Gray and Sam. She squeezed Gray’s hand as she noticed Amanda and Gray glanced in her direction, too. Her expression was dark.
“Amanda, have you met Sam? Sam, this is Amanda, our administrative assistant.”
Sam walked over to shake Amanda’s hand, but Amanda crossed her arms. “Hello. I’ve been hearing a lot about you.”
“It’s nice to meet you. How long have you worked here, Amanda?” Trying civility.
Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “I guess about a year. Oh, Gray, you have some messages on your desk. Should I order you some lunch, your favorite?”
Interesting. Gray leaned down and kissed the side of Sam’s head.
“No, Sam and I are going out to lunch. I’ll grab my messages and return calls later, maybe while I’m upstairs. If anything important happens, call my cell. See you later.”
Gray turned them toward his office, grabbed his messages from the desk and they began leaving. When they were a few steps away, he let go of her hand and put his arm around her waist and squeezed her.
