Page 34 of Idle

“Yeah. Although, what do you think of turning it into a nursery? The next owners might have kids.”

For a split second, the picture of a baby girl with sandy brown hair and large, milk chocolate eyes pops into my mind. Clearing my throat, I reply, “They might. But I do think this apartment screams uptown chic, so perhaps their child would be older?”

She taps my forearm. “I think you’re right. We’ll make this bedroom for an upscale kid.” She claps. “Done.” For the first time, Paige hums while she works.Guess that’s what a delightful date does to her.

I tune her out and focus on my work. Considering I’ve been tasked with creating the bedframe, dresser, and side tables for the bedroom as well as the desk I designed and a credenza for the office, not to mention the enormous amount of knickknacks and doodads to complete the looks, I’ve got plenty on my plate.

I’m working on the desk when Paige stops by the large work area set up by Renovation TV in an empty apartment for all of us to use when creating larger pieces after we finished our public spaces. “This is looking great.”

“Thanks.”

She walks about the piece, studying it from every angle. “I heard Bo mention something about creating a secret drawer in a desk he did for a client in Texas. What do you think about adding in something like that? It’d be unexpected.”

I drop my tools onto the floor. I’m not about to take design advice from a cowboy with a hammer. “I wouldn’t want to steal someone else’s idea.”

“You’re not stealing it. Who knows if he’s even thinking about doing it in here?”

Despite my best efforts, I can’t keep the snark at bay. “I’d rather do something bigger than a stupid drawer,” I snap.

Paige takes a step backward. “I was only making a suggestion.”

I inhale and hold my breath for five seconds. After exhaling, I reply, “I know you were.” I cast about for a different idea to get us out of this current mess. “What do you think about a cutting-edge shelving design above the credenza?”

“That could work. I guess.”

The disappointment on her face makes me want to throw my ever-present tape measure across the room. Bo’s idea can go to hell, for all I care. Shoving my tape measure into my back pocket, I hold my hands up against the wall. “Picture it. I could make large X’s to hold things like staplers, tape, and paper clip holders.” I know I’m reaching, but I need to do whatever I can to get her mind away from a trivial hidden drawer.

She steps closer to me, her citrus and woodsy blend wafting into my nose. Placing her hand high on the wall, she says, “Not X’s. I think if you take shelves and put a design over them, it would be more useful.” As she talks, she becomes more animated. She grabs her sketch pad and slashes her pencil across it. “Like this.”

Taking the pad from her, I review her design. It’s distinctive. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I bet the judges will love it.”

She takes the paper from me, tapping her pencil against it. “You like this? Really?”

“I do. You’re super talented.”

“I think this design is fantastic, if I do say so myself.” She claps. “Let’s do it!”

Her eagerness propels me forward and, without my voluntary direction, my arms steal around her body. Closing them, I squeeze her for a hug, taking the moment to revel in her body plastered against mine like she was made for me. As soon as this thought enters my mind, I disengage.

Stepping back, I salute her. “On it, boss.”

An hour later, she pops back into the work area. “Oh, wow. This looks even better than on paper. You’re a fantastic carpenter, Jesse. What on earth are you doing in banking?”

A question I ask myself on the regular.

Not ready to give her the unvarnished truth, I explain, “My father’s a chief compliance officer at a bank. I always found it fascinating to make sure all the ‘i’s’ are dotted and ‘t’s’ crossed. Working with the regulators to ensure the bank’s doing everything right provides me satisfaction.”

“I guess that can be challenging.”

“You have no idea.” I launch into my oft-repeated story about how I did research that uncovered a tangle of shell companies serving as a front for a drug cartel and worked with the government to bring them all down. “Many branches of the bank were involved, but I was proud of my part to expose them.”

“Oh.” She bites her lip. “I wonder if that’s how my father—” She trails off.

Shit. When I’ve told this story to my other friends, they all were impressed. Should’ve known Paige would be different.She’sdifferent. “VOW-cubed didn’t have any accounts at my bank.” I checked when the news broke, but don’t need to fill her in. I force a smile. “We’re here not to think about real world stuff, but to create amazingly beautiful spaces that will make life easier. Your designs are fantastic, so I have every confidence we’re going to move on to the next round.”

After a minute, her face morphs into a sunny expression rivaling the rays outside. “‘Every confidence,’ huh?” She hip-checks me.

I pull her into a side hug. “Yup.”Dude, what are you doing?I let her go and crack my knuckles. “I better get back to the credenza. It’s not going to build itself.”

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