Page 51 of Until We Weren't

“Me, too,” Faith agreed. “Hey, what was Monica saying about landscape wars?”

“Oh,” Destiny groaned. “She wanted to pitch a reality show about warring landscape companies.”

“Let me guess,” Faith said. “We were the stars because we were always going after the same accounts?”

“Something like that,” Destiny said.

“Maybe that’s what we’re walking into on this project. Except now we’re on the same team,” Faith said. “I think that makes us hard to beat.”

Destiny looked over at her and smiled. “I hope so.”

Faith pulled into the parking lot at the office complex. They got out of her truck and checked in with the security guard at the gate. There would be no issues with dogs or the clock this time.

Destiny led them over to the building she had looked over the last time they were there. “This is the area I think we could do the rock cairns in. Imagine several trees placed away from the building providing shade for this area.” Destiny spread her arms out. “We put the rocks here, a bench here, and another bench over here,” she said, stepping to each location.

“Okay.” Faith nodded. “We could make it a triangular space from here at the front, back to where that wing of the building begins.” She walked off the area talking as she gestured.

“I like it,” Destiny said.

“On the building on the other side of the main structure we can do the same shape because the buildings are identical. Only over there, we can do a water feature,” Faith explained.

“This garden will be shielded from the afternoon sun so the rocks should work,” Destiny said.

“The other building gets the sun so we could use that to make the water feature glisten in the evenings.”

“These people aren’t going to want to stay inside to work,” Destiny said with a grin. “They’ll want to be outside in our gardens.”

Faith laughed. “We still need to tie them together with the landscaping around the main building.”

They walked toward the main building and surveyed the area. “We’ve got to have trees,” Destiny said.

“Yeah,” Faith agreed. “It is so sparse out here.”

“In an area like this sparse is easy to maintain,” a voice said from behind them.

Faith and Destiny both wheeled around when they recognized the voice.

“Of course you two probably don’t know that,” Gloria said with a fake smile.

“Sparse may be easy to maintain, but it isn’t much to look at,” Faith said.

“We know what you did,” Destiny said with a bite to her voice.

Gloria looked from Destiny to Faith as a snide grin grew on her face. “I never dreamed you would both quit, much less break up. Did that ever work out for me! I thought while you were figuring it out, I’d get the project which then led me here, running one of the largest landscaping firms in the country.”

“You’d better be careful and not trip on your ego, Gloria,” Destiny said. “You might fall off your pedestal and land down here in the dirt with the rest of us.”

Gloria laughed. “I think it’s sweet how the contractor is entertaining bids from little landscaping companies like yours.”

“Watch out,” Destiny said. “We have something you don’t. It’s called creativity. Your firm is known for planting flowers in a row and hoping they bloom.”

“Wouldn’t it be a shame if someone came along and dug them up,” Faith said, joining the conversation.

Gloria stood a little straighter and eyed them both. She gave them an evil smile before turning and walking back towards the parking lot.

“Come on,” Destiny said, grabbing Faith’s hand and walking towards the other building. “There’s no way we’re going to let that bitch beat us.”

A smile crept onto Faith’s face as Destiny squeezed her hand even tighter. Faith was usually the one quick to anger, but in this moment she could feel Destiny’s need to protect her. She didn’t care for that in most instances, but right now, it was Destiny’s way to show her love and Faith was all for that.

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