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Glancing at her draft, she studied it again, and her mouth tightened.
Samantha leaned over and softly chided, “You have nothing to worry about. Your designs are very good.”
“I’ll hire you to work for me. That is if you wanted to live in the Green Bay area. More specifically, Harmony Lake. I’m looking for two more architects to join my firm.”
Her mouth opened then promptly closed. Samantha giggled and looked into her husband’s eyes. “I think she’s shocked, Gray.”
Gray glanced her way and smiled. They made the perfect couple. He broke into her thoughts. “Your drawings are good, and I like the fact that you haven’t built up any bad habits. But if you have a family here in Madison and aren’t interested in moving, I understand.”
Softly, she replied, “I don’t have a family. I mean, my mom, but she’s living in my hometown of Oshkosh.”
“Harmony Lake would be just over an hour from her, which saves you a couple of hours drive visiting her from there rather than here.”
Samantha pulled a card carrier from her purse and laid a business card on top of her drawing tablet. “We don’t want to pressure you, but please give it some thought and call us to make an appointment to come in and see our offices. We’ve worked very hard on an old building in town. I’d love to get your take on it.”
Picking up the card,Samantha Kinkaide, Presidentwritten in italics caught her eye. A smile spread her lips. “You run the company? How does that work? Are you his boss?” She pointed between the two of them, and they smiled.
Grayson took Samantha’s hand in his and looked into her eyes. “She’s the boss, and I draw pictures. It works very well.”
2
“Dad, the wedding is only ten weeks away. I need to finalize the guest list, write out the invitations, and check with the florist and baker. I’m overwhelmed. Can I take a rain check on dinner?”
“Of course you can, honey. I hate hearing you sound so stressed. Don’t you have bridesmaids to help you with some of this stuff? Or your mom?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sat back in his leather desk chair. Resting his head against the back, he looked at the exposed brick wall opposite his desk. His daughter, Leesa, was getting married. Unfuckingbelievable.
“Mom stresses me out more. She’s nervous about the wedding, and she’s worried about spending the whole evening with your side of the family. It’s the first time since the divorce, and she’s all nerved up about it and asking me a million questions.”
He let out a long, labored breath. “No one on my side of the family has ever treated her poorly. The fact that she’s trying to make this a thing pisses me off.”
Her voice dropped. “I know, Dad.”
He leaned forward, resting his forearm on the desk. “I’m sorry, honey.” He jiggled the mouse for his computer and smiled when the picture of his kids appeared on his monitor. He began fidgeting with a pad of notes that sat on his desktop. “I’m just frustrated about it all. I’ll give your mom a call in a bit and talk with her about this.”
Once again, he’d have to talk Rita down from her fantasy of being a victim of his family. They’d been divorced for almost ten years, and, honestly, his family rarely—if ever—spoke of her. Their divorce had been amicable enough, but it seemed to bother Rita that his sisters and brother hadn’t called her and whined at how much they missed her. There’d never been harsh words, no big fights or issues; they both just drifted apart, and Rita met Harold, her now-husband of nine years. When she’d told him of her love of Harold, besides the shock of hearing it, he’d almost felt relieved.
“Dad, I’d be so grateful if you’d call her. Honestly, it would really lighten my load.” The softening of her voice made his chest constrict.
“I promise, sweetheart; I’ll call her tonight.” His office door opened and Gray strode to sit in the chair facing his desk. Holding his forefinger up to let his friend know he’d be finished soon, he watched Gray cross his ankle over his knee and smirk at him.
“Gotta go, Daddy. I love you and thank you so much. Rain check on lunch for next week?”
“Love you, too, and yes on the lunch.”
The dial tone buzzed in his ear, and he tapped theend callicon on his phone and placed it on his desk.
His friend cleared his throat. “Wedding problems or ex-wife problems?”
Snickering, David responded, “What makes you think it’s either?”
“Ah, well, your eyebrows are drawn together, your mouth is turned down, and you’re fidgeting with the corner of your post-it pad. You only fidget and frown when there are issues.”
He promptly sat back in his chair, arms resting on the supports, and looked his friend in the eye. “Gotcha. Ex-wife mostly fabricating these wild ideas that my family will treat her poorly at the wedding.”
“David, you need to stop feeding Rita’s attention deprivation. Go meet a nice woman and have some fun. Sam has offered to help you out in that area. Just say the word.”
“Stop.” Brushing the hair away from his forehead, he leveled a gaze on Gray. “I’m going to guess that you didn’t come up here to check on my dating status, so, what’s up?”
"I’ve recently hired a new architect, and she needs a security system installed in her condo. She seems like a nice lady and Sam likes her. Sam asked me to help her, and we both know I would do anything Sam asked me. Call me a sucker." Gray chuckled.
