Page 59 of Love in Mission City
Chapter Four
Orlando
Easier said than done.
What had felt so straightforward yesterday was proving to be anything but, today. Of course I’d known today would be a statutory holiday. I just hadn’t anticipated how few people would actually be answering the phone. All my contacts had, apparently, taken the day off.
Don’t they know how important this job is? Everything is riding on it.
Well, noteverything.If Knight lost the job, he’d find something else. Subliminal was a substantial project. I had so many ideas for the nightclub, and I’d been cruising gay bars in Vancouver and Washington state ever since I’d met Coralie. I’d even swung down to Seattle one weekend—on my own dime—to see what they had to offer. I would’ve headed to Portland, had I been able to find more time. As it was, I’d been pretty exhausted when I’d shown up to work that Monday morning. Knight had offhandedly commented that I must’ve had a fun weekend.
Since I had, I hadn’t corrected his clear assumption I’d been off partying.
Well, I’d sort of hooked up with a guy in Seattle and had so much fun. He’d wanted my number. I’d pointed out I was Canadian. He said he didn’t care. I said I was in lust with my boss who didn’t look at me that way. He offered me another shot of Grey Goose. Then we’d fucked again…me thinking of Knight the entire time.
Too bad he doesn’t think of youthatway…
Shut up. Must work.
Which was great in theory as I scoured paint swatches, fabric swatches, different tile selections, and cabinet choices. Everything felt so different from the near-cardboard stuff my parents’ kitchen cupboards were made from. These choices were sturdy and designed to last for years. I’d been encouraging my parents to do some serious renovations. My dad had a good job with the territorial government. Still, though, I had three younger siblings at home, all of whom needed to get an education. Aurora College in Yellowknife was a great school, but all my siblings were whip-smart. Certainly smarter than me. Scholarships to southern schools would help, but my parents still had to foot travel expenses. That alone was why I almost never went home. I wasn’t profligate with my money, but living this close to Vancouver was damn expensive.
“Are we making progress?”
Knight shuffled from his office into the conference room. I often worked at my desk—since I was also the receptionist—but with this project, we needed to spread out. And we wouldn’t be expecting either walk-ins or appointments. No one until Jacqui on Monday morning, that was.
I pointed to the various cabinet samples. “I’ve got most of the bathroom options figured out. And I’ve got twelve tile selections for you to approve.”
“We could do that—”
“But I’m really stuck on the kitchen cabinets, and the tile selections might change if we go with different cabinets.”
“How can this be so difficult? Simone always—”
I growled. “It’s alwaysSimone could do better.”
His eyes widened.
“You probably don’t realize how often you say her name. And most of the time, I just let it roll off my back because I know you worked together for years. I mean, you had her in your employ before she even married Marvin.”
Knight winced. Whether from my pointing out his insensitivity or his brother—or his brother’s unfortunate name—I couldn’t be certain. “I’m sorry I’m always comparing you to Simone. That’s wrong of me. You’re beyond competent and have proven yourself over and over. It’s just…when you work with someone for as long as Simone and I have…”
“I get it.” My lower lip trembled. “Maybe if I offered to babysit the twins, she could come and help.”
“What?”
Knight’s brow knit in that way I found adorable.
So not the time.
“I don’t understand.” He rubbed his forehead. “I don’t want Simone here. She’s got…babies and, uh, stuff. Like post-partum…stuff. Marvin’s really had to step up—which is definitely not his thing. I’ve even had to go over a couple of times when Simone went for counselling, which is way more than I should be telling you except to say that me and babies arenota good mix, and you said you’ve got siblings, right? Which would mean you could probably do a great job with those two little demanding monsters, but I need you here. Just because Simone didn’t fret over cupboards, doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong, and you probably were just thinking I’d come in here and approve everything.”
He took a breath.
I gaped. In three months, he’d never—not once—strung together so many words at one time. Run-on sentences were my jam. Not his.
My eyes stung, and I blinked rapidly. Hetrustedme. He thought I did a good job. He’d never really come out and said that. He made passing remarks to being happy with the work, but never that he’d wanted me here instead of Simone.
If that was what he’d said. I’d gotten lost somewhere around thetwo little demanding monsters. We’d have to have a chat about how he referred to Paisley and Axton.
