7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

ROMAN

I woke up with thoughts of a future I couldn’t see anymore. I pushed the covers off rather forcefully and went into my closet to throw on some workout clothes. Time to go to the gym and see if I can turn this obsessiveness over her into something productive.

She’s right, the pool is like therapy. The water is so still and quiet you can really think clearly in here.

Here’s a question that needs answering, “Why would I be following all of Alex’s workouts that she does to quiet her mind when it’s clearly not doing her any good” I hoisted myself out of the pool and sat on the side massaging the knot out of my calf. What’s it helping her with, seriously?

I lowered myself into the hot water of the hot tub and turned the jets on. The heat from the water was relaxing, and I needed to focus on work and not losing it on her in our meeting, whenever that will be.

I stopped at Amelia’s desk to get my messages and check on meetings for the day. She had a smile on her face as she put her cell phone in the drawer.

I leaned against her desk as I reached for the messages. “It’s a good message, I’m guessing?” I asked with a smirk on my face.

She stopped smiling and glared at me. “It’s none of your business is what it is.”

I pushed away from the desk and put my hands up in surrender.

“Ok, sorry.” Jesus, maybe it was Alex again. I needed a break from these crazy women. I wished I could go back to the days where I would just go out, have a few drinks, pick up a willing participant and get laid with no strings.

“I emailed you your schedule. I fit Ms. Kennedy in at 2:00 pm.” She said as she ignored my apology. I took a deep breath and headed into my office and shut the door without slamming it somehow. Wonder what’s crawled up her ass?

As I was going through my schedule and getting ready to call Matt to confirm our meeting today, the door flies open. Harrison barges in, shuts the door hard and sits down in the chair in front of my desk with a thud. He didn’t say a word, just sat there staring at me questioningly .

Annoyed, I ask, “Can I help you?” He waited a good minute just looking me over.

“I was just checking on your mood today. I have a date tonight, so I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to because you lost your shit.”

Oh, I see what this is, dick.

“You’ve got jokes today. Good one. Now get out.”

“Glad you’re feeling better.” He looked back and flipped me the bird before he closed the door.

“Hey Matt, we still on for 1:00 pm today?” I said as Matt answered the phone.

“Yeah, I’ve got some good news about Burrow Township, too. Also, I know Grant is doing a great job, but we really need to see if we can get Alex back on this. She’s got the time to focus on it and the residents trust her.”

He sounded very optimistic and I’m not the only one missing our girl, I see.

“I have a meeting with her today about something business related so I’ll see what I can do. Maybe reach out to Grant and see if he can’t talk her into it. She went to see them the other day, so she’s getting there, I guess.”

“I like that she’s reaching out to you.” Although I felt like I forced her to.

“Well, she’s being strictly business about it. Just asking me to do her a favor. I really have no idea what it’s about.”

“Baby steps, then. We’ve been trying to get her over to the house to hang out with the kids. She never had that sleepover. The kids don’t know why she canceled or why she hasn’t come to see them. They’re just too young to explain, but again, baby steps. She’s making progress with the girls. With Abby pregnant, hopefully that’ll bring her by more.” Matt sounded positive and to me that was good news.

“We can only hope, but it’s going to have to be on her terms, in her time. This court case isn’t going to help. I’m supposed to be getting a call from the DA this week about possibly testifying if it goes to court.” Maybe he’d be willing to let me in on something– anything.

“Yeah, I heard. I’m trying to stay out of it since I’m part of her counsel. It’s hard not to want to include you but we don’t need anything getting in the way since these two are politically connected.” Guess I won’t be getting any information after all. I stared at my pen as I tapped it on the desk.

“I understand and I’m not going to ask any questions. Except one, is there a start date to this case yet?” I’m looking forward to getting it done and over with. I moved the pen toward my calendar to hopefully mark a date for it.

“I’m hearing that it’s tentatively set for two weeks from now if he doesn’t plead out.” I doodled circles next to a possible date then laid the pen down.

“Well let’s hope for the best. She doesn’t need any more shit than she’s already dealt with.”

“Amen to that. I’ll see you after lunch.”

I called Amelia into my office.

“Yes?” She looked almost irritated with me. I wonder what the hell I did, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

“What’s after my two o’clock?”

She looked at her phone and said, “It’s an update meeting on some local projects. Nothing to do with the zoning stuff. Oh, and your four o’clock rescheduled to tomorrow morning at 10:00am.”

Great, so nothing this afternoon. Maybe I can talk Alex into going to dinner with me after her training session .

“Amelia, can you reschedule my afternoon meeting and see if they can just email me that info? Also, what are you doing for lunch today? Are we still on?” I sat back and glared at her, daring her to say anything other than yes.

“Yes, we are, and I’ll send an email out to get that three o’clock taken care of. I’ll just order something to have delivered. Is there anything special that you want?” Not sure what I’d do without her, but I planned to find out what her problem was.

“Whatever’s fine. Thank you for putting up with me lately.” I could probably take some of the blame for her mood, honestly. “It’ll be nice to get back on the same page again. I know it’s been somewhat my fault.” She smiled as she turned around.

“I’ll meet you back here for lunch.” She quietly closed the door behind her. Maybe it’s just my bad attitude rubbing off on her.

I hated on-site meetings, but every now and then you have to check on the work yourself to make sure it’s getting done right. I was meeting the investor, Stewart, at the apartments to go over the plans the architect drew up for the renovation of that 500-unit apartment complex.

***

ALEX

Fantastic, I thought annoyingly, as red puffy eyes met me in the bathroom mirror. I may have only gotten about three total hours of sleep. I looked like a Cabbage Patch doll that’s been put through the ringer and been living in an attic for twenty years. I washed my face with cold water to try and help with the puffiness. Now off to the gym .

I stretched my muscles swimming laps in the pool. The pull on my arms was like trying to drag a twenty-pound sack of potatoes with me through the water. I thought yoga would be relaxing but I was so stiff and hungover each pose burned. Finally, I sat in the sauna and started to unwind. My body was too tired to think or fight the heat, so I just melted to the slats and let the alcohol seep out of my pores. I needed to work out the nervous tension, somehow, since I have that meeting with Roman at two, but I didn’t need to overdo it since I have my first one-on-one training after that.

The shower worked its magic, and I threw on my robe and decided to make a decent breakfast for a change. I took into consideration getting in touch with Dr. King as I was finishing up the last bite of eggs. That may be a good idea, but I needed to see what kind of help Bruce was going to give me first. I didn’t want to undo everything one or the other would be helping me with. Ugh! I’m going to stress myself out trying to work this out in my head. What if the best thing would be for them to help me simultaneously? They might be a compliment for the other.

I cleaned up the kitchen and went back to my bedroom to change but sprawled out on the bed staring up at the ceiling instead. I wasn’t sure how long the meeting with Roman was going to take and my training session is at 4:00 pm, so I’m probably just going to bring clothes to change into. I checked off the imaginary to-do list I was visualizing on the ceiling. I hated walking into his building during working hours dressed too casually, since everyone is always dressed so designery. God, why do I even care?

I put on a black fitted pants suit with black heels and my usual simple gold jewelry. Hopefully, I can keep this professional and stay away from answering anything personal he may try to squeeze in. Especially after last night, I didn’t think he would let that go. Nice to see I didn’t look too bad. My makeup is covering up the effects of crying and my hair actually looks under control. I flipped my hair back over my shoulder and gave myself one last look in the mirror.

This time I really didn’t have a plan. I was about to go in there and say, “This kid needs a break and I’m asking you to give him one.” No power point, nothing profound, just a genuine favor. I wondered if he was into granting wishes out of the goodness of his heart without needing anything in return. It’s probably going to end up giving him the perfect opportunity to see what he can get. This is a bad idea.

I shook my head, taking a deep centering breath. I should’ve made him do this over the phone. This connection we have was still too strong and I don’t know what kind of mind fuck my own brain was going to play on me. I wished I had already been through Bruce’s ice-cold training. I’d feel like I was better equipped to take on Mr. Perfect’s empathic powers.

Deep breath. Get out of the car and your head and get your ass up there. This is not for you; this is for Darius . I needed to refocus on the task at hand. I went straight from the parking garage to the elevator without making eye contact with anyone in the lobby, avoiding any awkward stares. I didn’t have to stop at reception because Amelia’s email gave me instructions to bypass those ladies. My first meeting with them was a bit frosty.

The ding of the elevator on a random floor made me jump. When the doors opened my heart skipped a beat when I saw a familiar face – Harrison. I found myself holding my breath then letting it out slowly. I scooted to the back of the elevator, smiling cautiously hoping somehow he wouldn’t recognize me.

“Hey, Alex, what’re you doing here? Come to give Roman some more shit, because he’s a mess, so I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

What? What did Roman tell him? Now my heart sank because I wasn’t expecting that even though I’m sure I already knew it, especially after our conversation last night. He leaned against the elevator wall and crossed his feet at the ankle and stuck his hands in his pockets. Probably just keeping them there so he didn’t try to strangle me.

“Hi Harrison. No, I’m just here to see if he has any job openings for a friend.”

He snorted. I clenched my hands tight at my side so that I didn’t fidget.

“I hear you’re jobless, is it you who needs work?”

I rolled my lips to keep from smiling. I didn’t want to set him off, but that was funny. I don’t know if I ever thought of Harrison as the protective brother type, but he sure wasn’t holding back with me right now. I find it to be endearing, so I’m not going to engage if that’s what he’s looking for; it’s actually putting me at ease.

“No, it’s not me. I have enough to do without a job right now.” I took a deep breath and looked down to avoid an emotional confrontation with him.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about your mom. I really hope you’re doing well.” He said as he looked somewhere else. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second to gain some composure back.

“Thanks, Harrison.” He looked back to me full of sympathy with a nod and I gave him a faint smile as the doors opened to the fifteenth floor and we both got out. I watched him walk in the opposite direction down the hall without looking back.

Amelia was at her desk just finishing up a call when I walked up. She was doing her best to keep a professional attitude, but she must’ve seen Harrison and I get off the elevator together.

“How did that ride go?” She looked genuinely concerned as her eyes followed Harrison down the hall .

“He doesn’t seem too happy with me right now.” I had both hands on the counter of Amelia’s desk and my head down, staring at my feet.

“Yeah, Roman’s left him with a few extra tasks to do lately while he’s been dealing with things after what’s happened.” What is she talking about? My head popped up and I looked right at her.

“How so? What’s happened?” Amelia’s eyes shifted somewhere over my shoulder, and I knew he was standing somewhere nearby. I could feel the energy and smell his cologne.

“Ms. Kennedy, are you ready?” My eyes closed for a second as I took a deep breath and Amelia gave me what at first looked like a sympathetic smile, but I knew it was more like a warning to be careful with him. Time to get a grip. I lifted my head and put on my game face.

“Thanks Amelia, I’ll call you later.” I gave her my best, “I'm doing just fine smile.” She simply nodded. I turned around and walked into Roman’s office with barely a glance in his direction.

***

ROMAN

As much as I don’t like going to these sites because of the nails in my tires, the hard hats, the scaffolding and the dirt, I really love seeing the before and after pictures of the projects. This was basically a rundown apartment complex that had a slumlord for a landlord who didn’t care how people lived as long as he was getting paid. At least we didn’t have to kick anyone out before we started the project. It was in such bad shape we probably could’ve condemned it, but it had major potential and impressive structural integrity. The foundation and bones were still intact which would be good; we won’t have to start from scratch .

Today we’re going over the designs for the renovations to see where we need to start. This part totally fascinates me and even though I went to college for architectural design, I learned so much more right here in the thick of it. I should really start thinking about a training facility at the office so I can hire teams from within and not do any more subcontracting. That way I can do most of these meetings from the office and really get to know who I’m dealing with as far as project managers. I’ll text that to Amelia and see if we can pow wow about that later and meet with some of my builders and architects to see what they think.

Charlie, Stewart, and I spread the plans out on a fold out table they had set up under a tent. Charlie is my foreman on this project. He’s about the only one of my subcontractors I truly trust. The plans look amazing and everything seems to be on schedule so I can head back to the office for lunch with Amelia. Plus, I have to get my mind ready for my meeting with Alex.

Amelia had lunch set up in the conference room and an hourglass on the table. I shot her a confused but curious look as I eyed the hourglass and went into my office to hang up my suit jacket on the hook behind the door. I threw my phone and keys on the desk– I didn’t want to be distracted. I needed her to help me figure my shit out where it concerned Alex.

I walked in, gesturing to the hourglass asked, “What’s all this?” The expression on her face was so serious I almost got worried. Maybe that’s all the time I have left before she kills me.

“Well, this is a therapy session.”

A what?

I laughed .

“And I’m expecting a raise. You have a lot of issues that we can’t fit into an hour, so I brought a timer.” I laughed as I dropped into the nearest chair.

“You know you’re the best, don’t you?”

She quickly responded, “Yes, now pay accordingly.”

I told her about the conversation I had with Alex last night and she said, “For someone so tough on the outside, she sure is fragile.”

“She seems terrified of breaking or breaking me.”

“Has she reached out to your mom?”

“Not that I know of, but I told her she needed to.” Amelia seemed to be contemplating something.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to tell her she needs therapy?”

“I mean it was just a suggestion.” I thought back to our conversation to see if maybe I told her she needed therapy.

“It’s like you’re telling her she’s crazy.”

I’ve done that before. “You think so?” I ticked off the short list in my head of why I thought she needed a therapist.

Amelia said, “Hey there dreamer, time’s almost up and you have another meeting at one.”

I snapped out of it. “Shit, sorry I was just thinking about something.”

She arched her brows and said, “Care to share?”

I shook my head. I'm not admitting she was right. “Nope.” She laughed and I helped her clean up the table and got ready for my one o’clock with Matt.

** *

“Hey Matt, let’s have a seat over there.” I gestured to the dark leather sofas.

Matt said as we got situated, “So, I’d like to discuss Burrow Township first. Grant’s been helping us locate property in my district to relocate the residents, and he’s sent me some houses, but I don’t have time to look into this, and neither does he. I’m worried we can’t do our best. This is where I think we can get Alex involved again. Maybe if she focuses on something helpful it will keep her distracted from the case and maybe help her get her mind back.”

“I’ll bring it up at the meeting today. She’s asking for favors so maybe she’ll be willing to reciprocate if it doesn’t have anything to do with me.” Maybe the key to her mind is distraction.

“It seems to me, regardless of what the meeting is about today, it has everything to do with you. She found a way to keep you in her life even if she doesn’t want to admit it to herself. She’s doing the same thing with the girls. She didn’t quit those classes.” That was an interesting way of looking at things, I guess.

“You might have a point. She had lunch with Amelia yesterday too. Maybe subconsciously our presence might be enough for her for now.” Matt nodded.

“Your mom is a psychologist, isn’t she?” I laughed thinking what a terrible psychologist I’d be. Not really that observant or patient.

“Yeah, it’s kind of a habit of mine, analyzing people because of it.”

He said, “Sounds like a good talent to have where Alex is concerned.”

“Except it’s a little scary trying to figure out what’s going on in her mind.”

“It’s not just Alex, I promise. She might have a little more going on because of what happened, but I can assure you I’d rather stay out of Maggie’s head too.” I don't know if that’s good to know or terrifying that there are more women out there like Alex.

I walked Matt to the elevator thinking I had a better handle on how I was going to approach Alex now. At five minutes till two I got a text.

HARRISON: “She’s here, just a heads up. Pull it together.”

ME: “Thanks (Middle Finger Emoji)”.

I put my phone down on the desk and walked to the door. She looked very professional and absolutely gorgeous. With everything she’s been through and all she’s got going on, she sure as hell hides it well. That’s one hell of a suit of armor that girl wears. Keep it professional I reminded myself and other parts of my anatomy…

“Ms. Kennedy, are you ready?”

She walked right past me without so much as a glance in my direction and I smiled, then shook my head as I walked inside and shut the door.