Chapter 12

12

" Y ou can leave early today, Amy. Thanks for taking care of everything while I took a nap. I haven't been that zapped in a long time."

"I'm sure it wasn't just the lack of sleep," Amy said. "An emotional roller coaster can wear you out. I still can't believe that happened to y'all."

Faith smiled. "Yeah, there were a lot of emotions swirling around that small shack."

"When is Destiny supposed to be here?"

"Anytime," Faith replied, looking at her watch. "I'm sure she needed a nap as well."

"Okay," Amy said, gathering her things. "You probably want me out of here so y'all can talk."

"We need to work on this bid first," Faith said. "I so want to win this project. Working next to Destiny every day would be…"

"Like old times?" Amy suggested.

"Better." Faith smiled. "I'll find a way for her to trust me again."

Amy nodded. "Just be yourself. You've been a totally different person today. I've never seen you this…hopeful and light."

"Because I am," Faith said. "I haven't felt this hopeful in a very long time."

"I wonder if Destiny feels the same way," Amy mused.

Faith shrugged.

"We're about to find out," Amy said. "Here she comes."

Faith couldn't stop the smile that grew on her face as Destiny opened the front door. She had always been and would always be the most beautiful woman Faith had ever seen. When Destiny met her gaze Faith could tell she was holding back a smile, but she could see it in her eyes. This is a good start.

"Hi, Amy. I'm Destiny Green," she said, walking towards Amy and extending her hand. "I don't think we've met, but Mark told me you're the one that keeps this place going."

Amy chuckled and shook Destiny's hand. "That's a nice thing to say, but we all know who runs things." She gestured with her thumb towards Faith.

Destiny grinned and leaned in. "She can be quite the perfectionist."

Faith cleared her throat, getting their attention. She knew Destiny was teasing and it made her heart do this flutter thingy that only Destiny could do.

"Um, I'm right here," Faith said, holding up her hand.

"You two get to work and win us that contract," Amy said, walking towards the door. "It was nice to meet you."

"I hope to see you again, Amy," Destiny said with a smile.

Faith looked on and felt such warmth in her heart. Destiny had a way of making someone feel like they were the only person in the room. She was friendly and so charming. She made it look easy. Faith was always amazed because meeting new people was hard for her. She needed to remember to let Destiny present their bid to the contractor. Her charms would be an advantage.

"Why are you staring at me?" Destiny asked, her brow furrowed. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No." Faith smiled and shook her head. "I was just thinking that you need to present the bid to the contractor."

"Why?"

Faith tilted her head. "You know why." She grinned. "You put people at ease; it's one of your super powers."

Destiny grimaced. "I don't know about that. You can be very passionate and convincing when you present a project."

Faith smiled, pleased that Destiny saw her that way. "I'm glad you wanted to meet later in the day," she said. "Did you go home and take a nap?"

Destiny nodded. "Yeah, I had to rest." She shrugged. "I'm not as young as I used to be."

Faith chuckled. "I know what you mean."

"You're still just a baby," Destiny said. "But not for long. Your birthday is just around the corner."

Faith groaned. She wasn't surprised that Destiny remembered because she loved to make birthdays special, but being the center of attention wasn't Faith's favorite thing.

"This is a big birthday. It ends in a zero," Destiny said, raising her eyebrows.

Faith shrugged. "You know how I am about birthdays."

Destiny tilted her head and studied Faith for a moment.

"What?" Faith asked.

"Let's get our work done then maybe we could talk?" Destiny said cautiously.

"I'd like that." Faith smiled. "You can set your computer up over here." She cleared a space on her desk next to her laptop and pulled a chair over for Destiny. The idea of sitting next to her and working on a project together gave Faith a feeling of delight. Was that joy? She hadn't felt that in such a long time. Faith took a deep breath and slowly let it out, hoping to somewhat calm those feelings.

"I've got the business complex layout uploaded into the landscaping software so we can play around with ideas and see how they look," Destiny said, booting up her computer and opening the program.

Faith got her notebook out and opened it. She wondered if Destiny was feeling the same way. If so she wasn't showing it, but she didn't look unhappy or nervous either. "I've been going over my notes and thinking about different approaches to the property."

"Okay," Destiny said, leaning back in her chair.

Faith could feel Destiny's gaze on her and when she looked up Destiny smirked.

"Let me guess," Destiny said. "You want to do a garden."

Faith raised her brows. "Now why would you think that?"

Destiny smiled. "Because the building itself is rather bland and boring, plus… The people inside need something beautiful to look at and also something pleasing to the senses when they do get to go outside."

Faith couldn't hide her surprise as she stared at Destiny. That's exactly what she was thinking.

Destiny chuckled. "I know you, Faith."

"Yeah, you do." God how Faith had missed this. Why did she ever let Destiny go? Why were her fucked up insecurities so loud back then? Why couldn't she simply trust Destiny?

"I happen to agree with this plan," Destiny continued, clicking on a file. "Besides, we talked about it in the shack."

"You realize it will take more to maintain than some of our other options." Faith smirked. "I know you, too, and you're always thinking of upkeep costs for the customer."

"You're right," Destiny said with a smile. "I do, but in this instance I think we need to go big. The architecture is rather subdued and the landscaping can make it stand out. We simply have to convince the contractors."

"They don't seem to be the type to want to blend in," Faith said. "At least that's not the impression I got."

"Me neither," Destiny said. "Do you have an idea of what plants you want to use?"

Faith nodded.

"Okay." Destiny held her hands over the keyboard. "Tell me what you're thinking and I'll build it in the software."

Faith smiled. They had done this several times when they worked together before and easily fell back into their routine. "I think we need something here that's not as bushy," she said. "More sparse, you know what I mean."

"Like this?"

"Yes! Look at that, Des! When we add the color, that will be the perfect background."

Destiny stopped and looked over at Faith. "You know, I was thinking that we might build into the contract an option for us to come and reassess the property every so often. We could keep the landscape up to date as trends change as well as the seasons."

"That's a great idea," Faith said. "I don't think the big firms offer that."

"I would love to structure the bid so we do the maintenance and they pay us monthly," Destiny said. "A stream of income from a property like this would be huge. Don't you think?"

"Absolutely," Faith agreed. "Maybe we could structure the bid to give them options."

"Hmm," Destiny murmured. "It all begins with the design, but let's be honest. That can be subjective depending on who oversees the project and decides on the landscaping. If we give them options that include with or without maintenance and throw in the option for upgrades as trends change?—"

"That's so much more than landscaping!" Faith exclaimed. "No one does that, but we could."

Destiny smiled. "We certainly could."

"You've been thinking about this," Faith said, studying Destiny with a smile.

"I have," Destiny said quietly.

"Come on, Des. You're holding back. What aren't you telling me?"

Destiny put her hands in her lap and released a deep breath.

Faith recognized this behavior. Destiny wanted to share something, but was hesitant. "It's me," Faith said.

Destiny looked up at Faith. "I used to think up things we could offer, for when we started our own company, that would be different from the other landscaping companies."

"This was one of those ideas?"

Destiny nodded. "I haven't been able to implement anything like it because The Green Thumb is too small."

Faith raised her brows and her heart skipped a beat. "If we joined forces we could offer something like that."

"Yeah, I think we could."

Faith smiled as her thoughts jumped into the future. If there was hope for her and Destiny then maybe they could live their dream of working side by side and owning their own company, too. That would be too good to be true, she thought.

"I can tell by the look on your face that you like the idea," Destiny said.

Faith chuckled. "I like it very much."

"Then we'd better come up with a landscaping layout that will dazzle the contractor," Destiny said.

"Let's do it."

For the next hour Faith relayed the ideas she could see in her head and Destiny put them in place on their mock-up of the property in the computer. They added shrubs and trees here, then plants there. They took them away or exchanged them for different flowering plants. As they shared ideas, the layout around the main building came together on the screen.

Faith suggested a different variety of flowering plant in one section and when Destiny added it the landscape jumped off the screen.

They both gasped when Destiny clicked the button to show the new changes.

"That's it!" Destiny exclaimed. "My God, Faith. This is your best work," she said, putting her arm around Faith.

Faith stared at the screen. Destiny had once again transformed the ideas in her head and made them real. She felt Destiny's arm around her and closed her eyes, relishing the touch.

"Oh, sorry," Destiny muttered, dropping her arm.

"This is our best work," Faith said. "I don't know how you do it, but you see inside my head and make it come to life."

Destiny chuckled. "I just know how to listen to you."

"We get the chance to go look at the property again next week," Faith said.

"We should go together, but this time we'll be mindful of the time," Destiny replied.

Faith chuckled. "I'll set an alarm on my watch."

"We also need to go get prices from the nursery. Abel will make us a good deal."

"We can do that Monday afternoon then go out to the property," Faith said. "That will give us a better idea of what we can use and not use and still make money."

"We should keep this in mind," Destiny said, pointing at the screen. "Then Monday we'll figure out how to tie in the other buildings adjacent to the main structure."

Faith nodded. "That's a good plan."

"Wow," Destiny said, sitting back in her chair. "All the exhaustion I felt earlier is gone."

"Because this is exciting," Faith said. "We have a real shot at this, Destiny."

Destiny nodded and smiled. "I think that's all we can do for today."