Page 4 of Baking it Merry

“Are you going to be like this for the entire holiday season?Because I have to tell you, I’m not a fan.”

It would be very easy to remind her who exactly is in charge here, but he had a feeling he’d lose that argument.

“I don’thatethe holidays,” he said carefully.“I just think there’s a time and a place for things like those booths.Just like I don’t believe that everyone is entitled to not work simply because a couple of holidays are scheduled over the next nine weeks.If I’m here doing my job, why can’t everyone else?”

Her expression softened.

Well, it became a little less hostile.

“I have to agree about people using the holidays as an excuse not to work.However, those of us whoareworking deserve to have a little joy in our workday.And in this case, that joy is found in the lobby in the form of baked goods, homemade soaps and candles, hand-crafted jewelry, and pet portraits.”She leaned in closer.“I’ve already given the artist a picture of Mr.Whiskers so I can get a little gift for myself.”

He fought the urge to roll his eyes and instead smiled tightly.

“You should get one done for your mom!I bet she’d love a portrait of her pups!You know she’s always sharing pictures of them on Instagram, so it wouldn’t be hard to grab some and give them to Ann.I’m sure she could work off of them.”

“Ann?”

“The artist,” she clarified.“Want me to pick some for you?”

“Um…”

“Think of it as one less gift to shop for.”

“Done,” he readily agreed.“And uh…thanks.”

Now she smiled.“And where did we land on the baked goods?Want a muffin?Cupcake?Some sort of cookie?”

“No.I’m already going against my beliefs by getting a portrait from the pet lady.I’m not going to support any of the other businesses down there.”

She shrugged.“Your loss.”And with that, she walked away, closing the door behind her.

Leaning back in his chair, Tristan knew he wouldn’t feel at peace until he let his displeasure with the lobby situation be heard.Instead of calling the landlord, however, he decided to send him a short and direct email describing how he felt about the eyesores those booths were creating.Once he hit send, he pushed the last several minutes aside and put his focus on finding inspiration for whichever project he was going to tackle next.

Knight Architects was started by Tristan’s grandfather, and they were one of the most sought-after architectural firms in the tri-state region.Tristan was the head of their Raleigh office, his father ran their Chapel Hill office, and Tristan’s brothers each had an office in Greensboro and Charlotte.Hell, there were more architects and engineers in the family than seemed possible.Several of his cousins had offices in Virginia in Richmond, Norfolk, and Roanoke, while others were in Tennessee in Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville.They were a designing family and he felt like he was the lone Knight who couldn’t get a building in his base city.

Then he needed to remind himself that he’d designed several buildings in Raleigh.

Just not in the downtown area where he most wanted one.

“This is getting me nowhere,” he murmured.Straightening in his chair, he opened his laptop and began going through the files of his current clients.There were two smaller office buildings which were only four stories each, a massive renovation for an older building in north Raleigh, and a boutique hotel that was being planned for the city of Cary.The older building would be an easy design because it was basically a refit.They weren’t changing anything structural, so he put that aside.The office buildings were going to be even less inspiring because they were very cookie cutter.What he needed right now was something that was going to challenge him creatively, something that was going to be the perfect distraction from the overall disappointment he was feeling.

That left the boutique hotel.

Clicking on the file, he read through the notes on what the owners were looking for and immediately began envisioning it.They wanted something they described as industrial chic, something with a lot of character.Visions of exposed brick walls, columns, polished concrete floors came to mind, and before he knew it, Tristan was on his feet and going to his drafting table to sketch things out.It was a little old-school, but it worked for him.He liked to start with a drawing before taking things to the digital side and plugging it into his design program.

He drew like a man possessed and it wasn’t until Faye came in and asked him if he wanted her to call in something for lunch for him that he realized it had been several hours and he hadn’t moved from his spot.

Stretching, he shook his head.“Thanks, but I think I need to get out and get some fresh air.”It was after one, so he knew she had already taken her lunch break.“I’ll be back in an hour.”

Grabbing his coat, he strode out of the office and went to the elevators.There were several cafes nearby and while it would have been easy to order online and just pick something up, he felt like he needed to walk around and get a little inspiration from the local architecture.

In the lobby, he stepped out of the elevator and groaned.There were crowds of people scattered around each of the booths, and he kept his head down as he made his way toward the door.He was almost there when he walked into something.“Oof!”

He was met with a soft gasp, and when he looked up, he was met with a pair of wide green eyes.He quickly realized it was the baker woman—the one with the ridiculous gingerbread house.Tristan reached out to steady her, but didn’t offer an apology.After all, he had his head down and she clearly chose not to get out of the way.

“You need to watch where you’re going,” he said, his tone a bit harsh.“It’s already a zoo down here thanks to you and these vendors; the least you can do is show some consideration for those of us who actually work here.”

“Excuse me?”she said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

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