Chapter 6

6

F aith walked up the street towards the main building in the complex. There was a parking lot on either side of the street then it wound around to the smaller buildings that made up the office park. Each building would have their own landscaping as well as walkways that connected to the main building.

A smile played at the corner of Faith's mouth. This was a huge job, but she could imagine doing this work. It would be completed in stages just as the buildings were being constructed.

She'd noticed several other landscaping companies' representatives walking around the property, but she preferred to do her appraisal alone. Faith would take in the entire scene and let the property talk to her. That way she could get a feel for what aesthetic fit the property best. Then she could envision the plants, shrubs, trees, and turf she would use.

Faith closed her eyes for a moment but before she could picture the property, a memory of doing this same thing with Destiny filled her head. They used to walk around a potential project and bounce ideas off each other until they came up with the best one.

She figured Destiny would be touring the property, but it was almost as if she could feel her nearby. Faith shuddered and tried to focus on the task at hand.

"Do you see a garden or a prairie," a familiar voice said from behind her, "or some other style?"

Faith turned around feeling like she'd conjured Destiny up from thin air.

Destiny smiled. "It's bigger than I imagined."

Faith nodded. "But it's doable."

"Thank goodness they're doing it in stages," Destiny said. "I'd have to hire extra help otherwise."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "Did you see who all is here?"

"Yep," Destiny replied. "I knew all the biggies would be here." She turned to look at Faith. "But that doesn't mean you or I couldn't do this job."

"I know," Faith said, staring at the building.

"I want to see around back," Destiny said. "Have you been there yet?"

Faith shook her head. Destiny started to walk away then turned around to look at Faith.

Faith hesitated, trying to decide whether to walk with Destiny or not. "They didn't give us much time to look around," she said. "The guy at the gate said they lock up the entire site at six."

"Maybe we could get a better idea if we walked together," Destiny suggested, raising her brows.

"You go around that way and I'll go to the right," Faith said. "I'll meet you at the back of the main building. We can compare notes." She could see the disappointment on Destiny's face when she suggested they split up, but Faith needed to concentrate on the job. It was hard to do that when Destiny was around.

"Okay," Destiny said, turning and walking away.

Faith took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Maybe Mark was right. The universe seemed to be putting her in Destiny's path more and more lately, but why? She shrugged the thought off and headed to the other side of the massive building.

Destiny walked around the building and jotted down a few ideas as they came to her. She took her time and tried to visualize how to make the landscaping flow. A few people she knew from the other landscaping companies waved or said hello to her as she walked by them.

Destiny detoured near one of the other buildings, trying to get a better idea of what that walk would be like for the employees. One thing she tried to do with outdoor spaces she created was make a walk like this an experience, not just moving from one building to the next.

Sometimes people need a moment to simply take a breath in the middle of their workday. Destiny remembered when her head would be crammed full of numbers and all she wanted was to take a short walk and let them out.

She meandered along the sidewalk to the side of the main building, taking in the view, then took the path around towards the back. She noticed a cloud of dust off in the distance near where she'd parked her truck. A steady stream of vehicles was leaving the parking lot.

She glanced at her watch and realized it was past six o'clock. It occurred to her that she hadn't seen any of the other landscapers for quite some time. The man at the gate had advised her that they locked everything up at night to deter would-be thieves.

She hurried to the back of the building just in case Faith was waiting for her. Destiny had been pleasantly surprised at Faith's lack of contempt for her when she walked up beside her earlier. She'd expected her typical nasty demeanor, but she was almost friendly.

Time had gotten away from her and she didn't want to get them both in trouble with security or the company she was trying to secure the landscaping contract from.

She saw Faith in the distance just as movement caught her eye.

"Oh shit!" Destiny exclaimed. "Those are guard dogs!"

Destiny took off running towards Faith and as she ran, she looked for a place to get away from the dogs.

Faith looked confused, but Destiny could tell she knew something was wrong. She watched as Faith glanced over her shoulder and saw the dogs.

"Over here!" Destiny yelled, running towards a small shack at the back of the property.

Faith had just about reached Destiny when she turned her head to look behind at the dogs' progress.

Just then Destiny saw Faith's foot land in a hole and she went tumbling to the ground.

Without a thought, Destiny ran over, grabbed Faith by the back of her shirt, and pulled them both into the shack, slamming the door just as the dogs, barking ferociously, jumped against it.

"Holy shit!" Destiny exclaimed, her chest heaving for a breath. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern in her voice.

Faith was on the floor with a dazed look on her face.

Destiny bent down and looked into her eyes. "Faith," she said softly. "Hey, it's okay. We're safe."

Faith met Destiny's eyes and raised her eyebrows.

Destiny could see the fear in her eyes and reached to put her hands on Faith's upper arms. She squeezed them gently. "I've got you."

Faith blinked her eyes and found her voice. "What the hell was that?"

Destiny smiled as she saw the fear fade from Faith's eyes. "I'm guessing they lock everything up and release guard dogs as security."

"Fuck," Faith said, her eyes wide.

"I know," Destiny said. "Is your ankle okay?"

Faith looked down at her foot and wiggled it in a circle. "Yeah, it's okay."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Destiny asked.

Faith let out a deep breath and nodded. "When I was a kid," she began, "a dog chased me on the way home from school one day. It scared the shit out of me." She nervously chuckled. "That's probably why I became such a fast runner." She shrugged. "At least it helped me get through college."

"You never told me that," Destiny said, still kneeling in front of Faith. "I wouldn't have kept asking you for us to get a dog."

Faith looked into Destiny's eyes and smiled. "I'm not afraid of dogs. I just don't like them chasing after me like they want to eat me!"

Destiny dropped her head and chuckled. "Yeah, I don't like it either." She got up and looked out of the window next to the door. One dog was sitting, staring at the door, ready to pounce when it opened. The other was pacing up and down in front of the small shack.

"You're not having us for supper," Destiny said, watching the dogs for a moment.

"What is this place?" Faith stood up and looked around the small building.

"It looks like something they brought in before construction started."

"I think they store things they've forgotten about," Faith said, picking up dusty tools.

"I don't see anyone walking around out there." Destiny peered through the dirty window. "Surely they look around before they lock the place up for the night and release the dogs."

"Obviously not!" Faith exclaimed. "Otherwise those little fuckers wouldn't have been chasing us!"

Destiny laughed.

"Oh, that's funny?"

"No," Destiny said. "I was scared, too."

"Of course," Faith said. "That was your nervous laugh."

"Yeah, I don't know why I do that." Destiny shrugged. "Anyway, let's call someone for help." She reached into her pocket for her phone.

Faith suddenly laughed. "Would you look at us," she said. "We were running for our lives, but neither one of us dropped our notebooks."

Destiny looked at the notebook in her hand and joined her laughter. "Always focused on the job."

"Here's the number for the project manager who was giving the tours," Faith said.

Destiny started to punch in the number and groaned. "Oh, fuck. I don't have any service."

"What!" Faith exclaimed, taking out her own phone. "I don't either. What do we do now?"

Destiny raised her brows. "I'm not going out there."

Faith scoffed. "Duh, I know that. Neither am I."

Destiny walked around the small shack, trying to see if there was service in another area. "Nothing."

Faith sighed. She walked over to the window in the back of the building and stared out. "I don't see another soul."

"Yeah, me either."

"What about our friends?"

"Oh, one is staring menacingly at me while the other is sitting, staring at the door," Destiny replied.

"I don't get how their handlers couldn't have seen them take off after us," Faith said.

"They must have already been gone," Destiny said. "I noticed people leaving and looked at my watch. It was just after six o'clock then. I hurried back here to find you and that's when I saw the dogs."

"That gate guard said they lock up at six on the dot," Faith said. "He wasn't fucking kidding."

Destiny scoffed. "No shit."

"Wait—you hurried back here to find me?"

Destiny turned away from the window to look at Faith. "Yeah, you said you'd meet me in the back of the building. I kind of detoured to the others along the walkway. I didn't mean to take so long. Sorry. Maybe if I'd gotten back here sooner this wouldn't have happened."

Faith smiled. "I did the same thing."

"Did you have plans tonight?"

Faith furrowed her brow and stared at Destiny. "What?"

Destiny sighed, but she was smiling. "Will anyone be wondering where you are and come looking for us?"

"Oh," Faith said. "Sorry." She shrugged. "Nope. Amy was locking up and checking with the crews before she left for the day."

Destiny turned back to the window and gazed at the dogs who were still standing guard outside the shack.

"How about you?" Faith asked.

Destiny shook her head and let out a discouraged breath. "It's going to get hot in here," she said, wrestling with the window.

Faith tried to open the window in the back, but couldn't get it to budge. "This one is stuck."

Destiny looked around on the floor and found a screwdriver. "Do you see anything we could use for a hammer?"

Faith rummaged through the random stuff in the corner and found a flat piece of iron. "How about this?"

Destiny took it and tried to pry the window open by holding the screwdriver under the metal frame of the window and hitting it with the piece of iron. Every time she hit it, the screwdriver slipped. She turned to Faith and looked her in the eye.

"I'll hold the screwdriver with both hands if you'll whack it with this," Destiny said, handing the makeshift hammer to Faith.

"Okay," Faith replied.

Destiny worked the blade of the screwdriver under the window frame and nodded at Faith. But before Faith could hit the handle of the screwdriver, Destiny stopped and pulled it away. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at Faith.

"What?" Faith asked. "Oh, come on. I won't hit your hands."

Destiny smirked and once again put the blade of the screwdriver under the window frame.

Faith smacked the end of the handle several times until the window began to move.

"Okay," Destiny said. "I think that's good."