Give and Take

by Lee Kilraine

  “Settling in great, thanks for asking. And Wyatt and I are feeling each other out and figuring how to get along. Your brother is so easygoing he’s making this shared office deal a breeze.” Ha! Take that, Wyatt.

  Another discrete noise from behind Wyatt’s desk, only this one I couldn’t interpret. If he kept it up, I’d need to find some how-to-speak-caveman translation dictionary.

  “That’s Wyatt, calm and serene,” Eli said. “I can even tell him I’m going to be late with my requested change orders, and he doesn’t bat an eye.”

  “He may not bat an eye, but he’ll be unhappy,” Wyatt said, still focused on his computer. “If you’re talking about the Whistler Mansion job, he’ll be more than unhappy.”

  “No, it’s the Tate job. I just emailed you with the changes Mr. Tate wants now that he’s seen it framed.” Eli took a pencil from the gorgeous handcrafted wooden holder on Wyatt’s desk and grabbed the nearest piece of paper—an envelope on the top of a perfectly neat stack—then leaned over to sketch the change. “He’s not happy with the tray ceiling.”

  Wyatt had finally taken his gaze from his computer to look at Eli’s diagram. “He picked the tray ceiling, even when I recommended vaulting it instead. I believe Gray said he didn’t want to pay for the beam necessary to make the vault happen.”

  “Well, now he wants it vaulted and thinks the beam expense is worth it. Like this.” Eli stood, sliding the envelope in front of Wyatt.

  “Hmm.” That was it. That was all Wyatt said before turning back to his computer.

  Eli had just tucked the pencil behind his ear when Wyatt made one of those quiet noises, like a polite growl almost, making Eli snag the pencil and drop it on the surface of Wyatt’s desk.

  I watched it roll a few inches before Wyatt calmly reached out, picked it up, and dropped it back into the pencil holder. All without taking his focus off his work.

  “Oh, hey. In case you’re free, Rhia, we’re all heading over to Big Eddie’s after work.” I’d found Eli to be the friendliest of the brothers, very easygoing and ready with a smile.

  “Thanks. I’ve got a meeting with a client later, but if it wraps up early enough, it sounds like fun.”

  “Great. Wyatt’s buying the first round, since he failed to invite you.”

  Wyatt made another sound, and Eli laughed on his way over to the large conference table.

  The other brothers wandered in, Gray and Asher, who I was told worked part-time during hockey’s off-season, but often dropped by before his daily practices over at the Roughnecks’ Arena. Looked like they only needed Beck to make it a family reunion.

  “Oh, wait. Are you guys having a company meeting? Let me clear out….” I grabbed my phone from my desk charger and peeked around for the kitten but didn’t see it. It had taken to playing and napping in the storage closet, so I decided to leave it be. I’d just sit up in the reception area with Sister and return phone messages.

  “You can stay, Rhia,” Gray said. “I don’t think anyone would mind if your time here became a bit of a business mentorship along with the office space.”

  “Thank you, Gray. I appreciate it.” I glanced over to see Wyatt frowning as he took his place at the meeting table. “I’ve got a ton of messages to return, though, but thank you.”

  I listened to my first message as I walked out of the room and down the hall. It was my father, and his message stopped me short.

  “Rhia, this can’t go on. You can’t keep flitting with every whim that strikes you. At least teaching was a real job even if it wasn’t at the university level. Throwing parties, Rhia? That’s not a career. Look, your Uncle Monty’s business is booming, and he could use help. Don’t forget all the years he let you work at his pharmacy during high school and breaks during college. Your mother and I think it’s time you get serious. We can talk Sunday.”

  Time I get serious? I was totally serious about my business.

  No matter what my parents thought, I wasn’t flitting around on a whim. I was seriously aware of my adult responsibilities. My meager bank balance after paying my bills and student loans each month was a strong reminder. And yes, I’d promised myself if I couldn’t make Seize the Day a success that it would be time to settle for a “real” job. A job with a regular, dependable paycheck.

  Working at Uncle Monty’s pharmacy would do that. Plus, my parents would approve because…science! But the idea of doing the same thing every day for the rest of my working life just might break me. I knew some people found comfort in that routine, but not me.

  So, I wasn’t inventing some new polymer or stitching someone back together. My job was still important and valid, darn it. Once I got my business on solid footing, once my family saw I was a serious professional event planner, surely they’d be proud of me.

  Was it time to give up on finding a job that fed my creative soul?

  No. Not yet. I had to make Seize the Day a success. To that end, I ignored the memory of Wyatt’s frown and turned right around and went back for the meeting. I was on a mission to learn everything there was to know about running a successful business.

  Beck was just settling Sister Mary Teresa, the nun/receptionist who wasn’t actually a nun nor a receptionist, into the chair at the head of the table before taking a seat himself next to a pretty blond.

  “You decided to join us after all. Good deal.” Gray winked at me and pulled out the chair next to him. He tilted his head to the blond. “Sam, this is Rhia. Rhia, Sam Devine, Beck’s better half.”

  “Most definitely,” Beck said.

  Sam stood, leaned over the table to shake my hand with a bright welcoming smile. “Rhia, thanks for being such a trooper with the office space. I swear, as soon as we’ve got our boutique back in shape, I will personally help you move back into your own space.”

  “It’s been no trouble really.”

  Wyatt said something under his breath, which I chose to ignore.

  “Okay, let’s get going,” Beck said. “First up, it’s with deep regret that we say goodbye to Sister Mary Teresa. We wanted to mark your last day with us, Sister. Our office won’t be the same without you.”

  “Here, here!” Eli said. “Oh, I forgot!” He jumped up, sped out of the room, and returned carrying a cake with sparkler candles. He placed it down in front of Sister with a wide, wobbly smile.

  “I’m touched.” Sister looked tiny wrapped up in her nun habit, her eyes huge behind thick glasses. “I may be losing it, some days are worse than others, but on my good days, you better believe I know exactly what you boys did for this crazy old lady.”

  Aw. Both Sam and I got teary-eyed. Eli actually cried and gave Sister a big bear hug before she cut the cake and passed around thick slices.

  “Don’t mind me. I’m just going to sit here and eat my cake. Go ahead with the rest of your meeting,” Sister said, motioning with her fork in between bites.

  Beck gave a nod. “Okay, we’ve got Sam’s job on the front burner. I’m sure we’d all like to get Sam back up and running.”

  “You guys are the best,” Sam said. “I still can’t believe the inspector I paid could have missed the old knob and tube wiring?”

  “Idiot. Next time, Sam, I’ll do your inspection,” Eli said.

  “Wyatt, did Eli talk to you about the change order for the Tate job?” Beck glanced down the table at Wyatt.

  “Yep.” He gave one nod and kept eating his cake.

  “What about the historical society? Did they get back to you?” Gray asked.

  “They did,” Wyatt said. “Yesterday. They only want one small change. It’s doable.”

  “Great timing. That keeps us on schedule.” Beck looked around the table. “Any other issues that need to be addressed? Gray, the Madigan job?”

  “The Madigan job is on hold for the time being.” Gray sat back with a grin. “She’s decided she may not like our
proposal after all and is thinking about getting other bids.”

  “So, you’re saying we may lose this job?” Ash leaned forward, his arms crossed on the table. “Please tell me you didn’t piss her off on purpose.”

  “Not on purpose. And I apologized.” Gray shrugged. “Honestly, the woman has no idea what she wants. She’s not ready to commit to any designer yet. I think she might be bored and just amusing herself at our expense.”

  Beck’s gaze took Gray in; then he nodded. “I guess time will tell.”

  “Any word from Sinclair?” Eli asked.

  I had no idea who Sinclair was. All I knew was his name made all the brothers go serious and tense. Sam reached over and squeezed Beck’s hand.

  “He said his information looks good. He’s working on making contact when the location and timing work. He gave us no timeframe.”

  The level of tension in the room went exponentially higher, like everyone had stopped breathing for a second and lungs were about to burst. Sam’s hand squeezed Beck’s so tight her knuckles went white. Gazes were whipping around so sharply I was afraid I’d get sliced up. And I thought my family get-togethers were stressful.

  “So, we wait,” Ash said, looking mighty impatient.

  “Yes.” Beck nodded. “Okay, last up…any grievances for the week?”

  “Me,” Eli said. “Gray, you didn’t place the balls back in the bag after your turn in the batting cage.”

  “Sorry,” Gray said. “I’d just left a meeting for the Madigan job. Won’t happen again.”

  “All right. If that’s it…”

  Wyatt sat silently across the table, staring at me.

  “I have one,” I said. “Wyatt keeps staring at me while I’m trying to work.”

  “Actually, Rhia, the way our grievances work is you must air your complaint directly to the person.” Eli tilted his head toward Wyatt and winked at me.

  “Wyatt.” I looked him right in his gorgeous blue eyes. “I dislike the way you stare at me.”

  “Wyatt?” Grey, Beck, and Ash said together.

  “I was looking at her kitten.”

  “Kitten? Do you think he means that euphemistically?” Eli whispered down at the other end of the table.

  “He does not,” Wyatt said, not taking his eyes off me.

  “Anyone else worried about Wyatt? He’s talking disrespectfully about women and referring to himself in the third person.” Eli stroked his blond beard, his forehead creased, eyes narrowed over at Wyatt.

  “Excuse me,” Beck said. “You want to run that by again, Wy?”

  Sam sat next to him wide-eyed, her lips forming a surprised “O.”

  “What the hell, Wyatt?” Ash sat up with a snap.

  Wyatt rolled his eyes, rose from his chair, walked to look in my bottom drawer, only to slam it shut and move to his bookshelf and then to the closet.

  “What’s he looking for?” Sister asked, now on her third piece of cake.

  “His ability to share?” Gray said.

  “His first-person pronouns?” Eli said.

  “There you are,” Wyatt said from inside the closet.

  “His sanity, I hope,” Ash added.

  He returned, sat back on his chair, and placed the kitten on the table. “Like I said, I was looking at her kitten.”

  “Aww,” Sam said. “It’s adorable. An office cat. What’s its name?”

  “You can’t name it!” Wyatt and I said together.

  “If you name it, you end up keeping it,” Wyatt explained as I’d explained to him once.

  The kitten blinked at us all adorably, walked up and down the table, checking everyone out, before turning around and trotting right past me—the traitor—and back to Wyatt, trying to find a way onto his lap.

  “So, to answer your grievance, as soon as the cat’s gone, I won’t be staring in your direction anymore.”

  Huh. I felt a bit deflated at that prospect.

  Chapter 11

  Wyatt

  A week later, I was in a rare rotten mood. Okay, maybe not rare. Not since I took my exam last week. It hadn’t gone well. I’d taken the first three sections without any real problems. Sure, I knew the tests weren’t supposed to be easy, but that was why I’d studied so much. Why I’d worked my way through as many practice vignettes as possible.

  But I’d walked out of all the other exams feeling confident and good about my knowledge. That wasn’t the case this time. I wasn’t confident at all. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d failed this section, dammit.

  I stopped by my mentor’s office to see if he could offer me any words of wisdom.

  “Wyatt! How’d it go last week?” Dave Malcom sat at his drafting table, glasses perched low on his nose, in an office I knew well. “What was it, structural systems this time?”

  “Yes, sir. To be honest, this one didn’t feel that great.” I’d done my apprenticeship hours with Mr. Malcom. He’d taken on a lot of extra work when he’d agreed to take me on, and I wanted to make him proud. I wanted him to see I didn’t take his time for granted.

  “You’ll be fine. Look, if you fail a division, you simply retake it two months later. But I doubt you failed. I’ve seen the work you put in, so relax.” He gave me a pat on the back. “Wait until you see the latest project I’m working on….”

  I stayed talking shop with Mr. Malcom for an hour before heading back to the office. I wished I could say talking with him had settled my doubt. It hadn’t. Seeing him only made me more anxious about failing and disappointing him. And when I thought about how much time I’d lose by having to retake part of the test, I wanted to kick my own ass for being distracted.

  If I’d had the time, I’d have just gone home for the day. But because of my studying, I now had to catch up on work. To top it all off, seeing a new receptionist in the lobby reminded me that Sister was gone, which put me in an even worse mood. I felt like a stick of dynamite with a flame held close to the fuse.

  You know what else wasn’t helping? Two to three times a week I bolted awake, sitting up in bed in the middle of the night with the damn baby dream. Only for the first time in my memory the baby was older. Maybe three or four. And for the first time ever, not alone. And not crying. There was a cat cuddled up next to him. The kid still reached his chubby little hands out to me. Frantic. Desperate. I didn’t know who the kid was. All I knew was I needed to reach him. Yep, my reoccurring dream was back in full force, and it was messing with my sleep, which only added to my crappy mood.

  I nodded to the new receptionist on my way by, not even bothering to introduce myself. It was unlike me to be rude, but I needed to work long enough to calm down, and then I could deal with some of the changes around here. People leaving and new people arriving.

  As soon as I entered my office, I settled behind my desk and shook out two aspirin for the headache trying to crack my skull open from the inside out.

  I could only imagine the expression on my face; it must have been grim because even Rhia, who normally sent me the most sugary-sweet greeting, looked up, and, for the first time since I’d met her, said nothing.

  After securing each sleeve up my forearms, I rolled back my shoulders to ease the tension and fired up my computer, ready to catch up on work. I’d only been at it a few minutes when Rhia’s phone rang…and rang…and rang.

  “Rhia?”

  “I hear it. Sorry!” I watched her hand slip over and switch the volume over to vibrate.

  Have you ever heard a phone vibrate on a wooden desk? It’s damn loud. Especially when a person already had a headache. Especially when a person was in a crappy mood because he might have fucked up an exam, and a sweet little old lady who’d wormed her way into his heart had abandoned him. I mean, left. She’d left.

  The point was a vibrating phone was almost as annoying as one blaring “Eye of the Tiger.”

/>   “Rhia, why the heck don’t you ever answer your phone?”

  “Because it’s no one important.”

  “Well, no one keeps calling you. Maybe they are important.”

  “Nope.”

  “How do you know it’s not a client?”

  “It’s not a client.”

  “Then how about you turn your phone off if you don’t plan on answering it?”

  “Because then I might miss a client’s call. I try to never let a client, especially a potential client, leave a message.”

  “Rhia, I’ve had a crap week. And I think I’ve been more than patient with your phone ringing, and your clients popping in, and even your cat—” I looked around the room and realized kitty hadn’t come said hello the way she always did. “Where is she?”

  “She who?”

  “The cat. Where is she? She normally finds a way to hide in my desk drawer or climb my pant leg while I’m working at my drafting table.”

  “I found a home for her. My Aunt Tia lost her cat a few months ago and didn’t think she could love another one. But one look at kitty’s face and she was a goner.”

  “Oh.” I nodded. Yeah, one look into her eyes and I was a goner too. “Well, that’s good then. Excellent even.”

  “I told you she’d only be here a few days.”

  First Sister Mary Teresa left. Now the cat. Fuck.

  Rhia’s phone picked the wrong time to ring. Excruciating loud vibrations against the wood in the silence of my sad, empty, abandoned-twice-in-one-week chest.

  I was not having it.

  “Rhia, either you answer your damn phone, or I’ll run it through my table saw out back.”

  “Look, Wyatt, here’s the deal. Those phone calls I’m ignoring—that man who sat annoying you in the office—they’re all men my family is trying to set me up with. I do not want to talk with them.”

  “That doesn’t seem normal. Is that normal? Is that what parents do to their daughters? I have no idea.”

  “Not even close to normal. It’s so far out of normal it’s downright crazy.”