Page 79 of The Mastermind

Normally, Howard replied right away, but he didn’t this time, and that worried me. Was there something wrong with my vision for the parking garage? I sent Howard a text.

R:What do you think about my plan?

H:It’s perfect. I’ve been waiting for you to do this.

R:You have? Why? Is the garage that bad?

H:No, idiot.

Howard was the only one allowed to call me that off-hours. Outside of work, we were friends, and friends called each other idiots among other things.

R:Done being an ass? What’s the deal?

H:I’ve been waiting for this transformation from you, this “change.” It’s a new direction. A good one.

R:You lost me.

H:This is the first acquisition you’re keeping. That’s a huge deal, Remi.

I paused and blinked at his text as if it was enlightenment. Howard was right. It hadn’t occurred to me I was veering off my normal path.

H:Wanna know what else is different?

I was afraid to find out.

R:What?

H:You got lip problems now. LOL

R:WHAT? U asking for a demotion?

H:You’re SMILING a lot more. I like it. Makes my meetings more enjoyable. (big grin emoji)

I rolled my eyes.

H:What pills r u taking? I want some.

R:Asshole.

H:Asshole pills will only make my wife unhappy.

What the hell was wrong with Howard today? Obviously, he was the idiot on something, but I didn’t want to bait him. I needed answers.

He probably sensed my impatience.

H:Blueprint for the renovation looks fantastic. Gotta go. Date with wife.

R:K, thanks. Enjoy.

I scanned the conversation to the part about me keeping Starke Vision.

Audri had infiltrated my mind, heart, and soul, transforming me slowly, profoundly. I didn’t know the exact moment it happened. It was a series of special moments. The time I saw her being intimate with my car, the visit to her apartment involving barbecue sauce, the sumo match, shopping with her, dancing with her, making love to her, buying her jewelry . . . there were so many moments.

This was monumental, and I didn’t know if I was ready for this kind of massive transformation. All I knew was that being with her made me smile and gave me “lip problems,” as Howard had put it.

For now, I didn’t want to think about the person I was becoming versus the person I was leaving behind. Maybe I was merging them, the past and present becoming one with an unpredictable future. It was complicated, so I stopped thinking about it and just focused on enjoying her company.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE

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