Page 78 of Heart of Stone

Deciding to keep her out of the loop for a little while longer, I pocketed the phone rather than calling her. I looked over to where Kimberly and Josh were standing. Kimberly was pointing to something on the ceiling.

What would Krsytina want in a workspace?

I thought about Krystina’s apartment as I made my over to the engineers. Her home wasn’t flashy, the colors more muted. Her bedroom was much of the same, only slightly more eclectic, with its Maya Angelou quotes and lily printed bed comforter. Her space was soft. Feminine.

“Josh and I were talking, and we thought about opening up the ceiling. Exposing the ducts will give the floor a more industrial and modern –,” Kimberly started when I reached them.

“No, nothing too trendy,” I interrupted.

“Oh, um…okay,” Kimberly said, glancing at Josh.

But neither of them knew Krystina like I did, even if my knowledge was limited. She had a conventional way about her. She would want her office to be warm and inviting, not looking like a busted open industrialized warehouse. It would be too cold for her tastes.

“Stick with traditional. Earth tones will be best,” I advised.

“I can work with that. Once we figure out the floor plan, I’ll collect some paint chips, and then Josh and I will go through them together to decide what color is going where.”

“And lily’s,” I added as an afterthought. “Miss Cole likes lily’s.”

They both took on a curious look, but neither of them asked how I knew that piece of information. They knew better than to question me.

“Music, earth tones, and lily’s. I’m sure I can find a way to tie it all together,” Kimberly said confidently.

Josh looked skeptical, but I paid him no mind. Kimberly was the best in her field. She had twenty years of experience, and five of them were spent working for me. I knew she would find a way to incorporate my wishes into a design that would flow seamlessly.

“I don’t care how you do it, as long as it’s done right.”

****

I left Kimberly and Josh to tackle their new project and headed back to my office. Once I was there, I went through the last few remaining items in my calendar. I sent off an email to my accountant with an update on the construction, and I responded to a few others that needed my attention.

I noticed that Laura had scheduled an appointment with the selling agent in Westchester, and I was pleased to see the notes that she had included in the calendar. Laura was the best PA that I’ve had in my employment to date. Not only was she efficient, but she also had a knack for obtaining useful information. Apparently, the seller was anxious to move on the property.

Back taxes.

That would make negotiations all that much easier. I made a mental note to give Laura a raise.

A call to Justine was the last order of business. I almost dreaded it, only because I knew she was probably waiting for an update on the Charlie situation. However, as much as I wished that she’d let it go and let me handle things, a call to her was a necessity today. We needed to discuss the charity dinner that would take place in a few weeks.

Justine was the driving force behind the fundraising efforts for The Stoneworks Foundation, and I wanted to check on the progress of the largest annual fundraiser that the foundation hosted. The success of this dinner would ensure that Stone’s Hope Woman’s Shelter would open on time.

I dialed her cell number and waited for her to answer.

“Hey, Justine. It’s me,” I said once she picked up.

“I’m so glad you called. I don’t know what you did, Alex, but Charlie hasn’t called or text in the past twenty-four hours,” she launched in immediately, just as I knew she would.

“I told you that I’d take care of it, and I did.”

“Can I ask? What did you do?”

“We got him to sign off on a gag order, or else face an extortion charge. It was a piece of cake. Don’t worry about it. The contract is air tight and the secret is safe.”

“I know that you’re only doing this for me. I’m so sorry,” she said regretfully. “I didn’t want to have to involve you. You don’t know how much it means to me.”

I leaned back in my chair and sighed.

“Yeah, well…if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have to worry about the media. Besides, I don’t want a media fiasco any more than you do. Have you talked with Suzanne?”

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