Page 56 of Love in Mission City
“Hope they didn’t skimp,” I muttered.
Knight held my gaze. “Simone was over there repeatedly to ensure they used the materials we chose. She’d have torn them a new one if they deviated from her design.”
Of that, I had no doubt.
Simone’s reputation in the industry was stellar. She’d even done a couple of guest lectures for my classes at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. One of my projects caught her eye, and when she prepared to go on maternity leave, she offered me this employment. At a salary that far exceeded what most of my classmates were making in their first jobs.
“Okay…” I closed my eyes, trying to envision this new project. “You’ve got the specs, right? And the model builder’s almost finished? So…I’ll call Xena and make certain she’s done. Or at least that she can have it here by Monday. If not…” I flapped my hand. “Well, we’ll cope. Xena’s pretty solid, though, and never leaves things until the last moment.” Another poor soul named after some famous Hollywood thingy. A television show in the nineties, she’d explained. Then commiserated with my Orlando situation. I played that up a lot, though. Personally, I liked thename, and it made a great conversation starter when I was in the gay bars on Davie Street in downtown Vancouver.
“Even if Xena’s got the model ready, I haven’t completed the packages. I’ve been busy with the Collard project.”
“Okay, sure, but we’ve got all weekend.” Today was Thursday morning—if we put in a good-faith effort, we should be finished Monday morning.
“You said tomorrow’s Canada Day. And weren’t you planning to go downtown tonight? To that bar on Davie Street?”
I blinked. “Okay, first, there are quite a few bars on or near Davie Street—I’m assuming you’re talking about Junction. Second, how do you know this? Are you listening in on my phone calls?”
He actually snorted. “I opened the company calendar and found the name of a bar that even I recognized, starred for tonight.”
“Uh, Knight, that was my personal calendar.”
He furrowed his brow. “Are you certain? Why would I have access to your personal calendar?”
“In case of emergencies.” I rubbed my forehead. “It’s labelledOrlando’s Personal Calendar. Simone had one as well.”
“Which I never went into.” He looked quite pleased with himself over that one.
“Good for you. You shouldn’t have gone into mine either.” Not that I put the truly personal stuff in it. Probably shouldn’t have put Junction, but I’d been feeling particularly reckless.And you hoped maybe he’d see it…Wait. I winced inwardly. In one of my bolder moments, I probablyhadput it in the company calendar. Considering the guy never used it, that’d seemed like a safe bet. “Right, we’re getting off track. I don’thaveto go to Junction tonight. I don’thaveto take tomorrow off. If I work it, you have to pay me way more money.”
“I’ll pay it.” He wiped his brow. “Whatever it takes.”
Given I’d been hoping to score tonight…and possibly find a companion for the entire weekend…this was going to cost him a pretty penny. “Why don’t I call Jeanie to push back Monday’s appointment and, while I do that, you figure out a to-do list. I’m certain you already have one…”
He nodded.
“Then pull it out and prioritize. What’s critical, what’s nice, and what doesn’t matter. Then we’ll, uh, roll up our sleeves and get to work.
“I can’t ask you—”
“You didn’t ask.” I met his gaze. “I offered. So that’s the last of that conversation. Good thing I already sent the gift to Paisley and Axton.”
He frowned. “What do my niece and nephew have to do with anything?”
“It’s their first Canada Day, and you sent them little sun hats with maple leaves on them.”
“I did?”
“Yes, you did.”
His frown didn’t lessen. “They’re only three months old.”
“And will look adorable in their hats. Simone will take a picture, and you’ll put it on your desk and remember that there are worse things than having me as your assistant.”
“Worse?”
“Well, you could be babysitting.”
He paled even more than when I’d come in. “Oh God.”
