The Executive's Decision

by Bernadette Marie

“This one is my favorite.” He pulled a drawing from the pile and watched again as her eyes widened.

  “Yes, that one is wonderful.”

  “I designed it.”

  “You’re amazing.” She looked up at him.

  His eyes zeroed in on hers and softened. “I was hoping you’d tell me that someday.”

  “Zach…”

  “I’m kidding.” He gathered up the pictures. “You’ll have to think about city living. Nice view, roomy living accommodations, ample room for entertaining…”

  “More money than I will ever make in my life.” She laughed as she gathered her notes and the files.

  “So what is your ideal home?” He sat back in his chair and watched her.

  “Oh, Tennessee sprawling land. A few horses, bank of trees, a porch wrapped around the house with rockers for me and…” She stopped and shook her head. “Well let’s just say not here in town.”

  “That does sound nice.”

  “I’d better get these filed. I’ll call on the project in Kansas City tomorrow, and I’ll check your itinerary for Monday morning.” Regan stood and left the office.

  Zach turned his chair toward the windows. He could see the condo project from here. It would be over a year before the first residents could move in.

  When building large buildings, there had to be patience, and he’d always had that. That was, until the moment he met Regan Keller.

  Since the moment she’d landed in his lap two days earlier, he couldn’t clear his head of her.

  For the rest of the week he kept his distance from her. There were no more lunches out or coffee in the morning, and he heard Mr. Benson more times than he liked.

  They had a meeting with John Forrester at the condo project, which was less than a mile down the river. Regan suggested they walk to the site, and he looked at her high heels and laughed. But just to get the opportunity to spend a few moments, with her he agreed.

  She excused herself, and a minute later, walked back into his office wearing tennis shoes.

  “You’re one of those women who plan for everything, aren’t you?” he asked, enjoying the subtle difference in the way her calves looked in flat shoes as they walked out of the building.

  Her hand brushed the silver necklace. “Not really, but I thought it best not to wear my good shoes on a site.”

  “Mary Ellen only thought of that once we were on site and she was falling over rocks and construction debris.” Regan wasn’t like Mary Ellen much at all. She took care of him, but she didn’t coddle him. She was prepared for anything, and he appreciated that. Then again, he found there wasn’t much about Regan Keller that he didn’t appreciate, except for her emotional distance.

  Regan carried a notebook against her chest with items they would need to address with John. Zach walked a step behind her to watch her walk. The way the ponytail she wore at the base of her neck swung from side to side made him want to loosen it and run his fingers through her hair. But when she talked he’d catch up and hope she didn’t notice him ogling.

  “Until this week I never noticed how many job sites have your company name on them. I must have seen three on my way to work this morning.” She clutched the notebook closer to her chest.

  “I have twenty of them in five states, but I personally oversee four of them. They’re the four I designed and acquired. I’m meeting next week with an investor for a new project in Los Angeles.” He adjusted the hard hats he carried under his arm and thought how proud his grandfather would be to see what he’d done with the company.

  “Where do you live? In a high-rise condo that you designed?” She shook her head when she said it. He knew the reaction well. Just because his name was on the side of the building, everyone assumed he had to live the lavish life. Then again, he always had. Even in adulthood he was judged.

  “Would it disappoint you if I told you I don’t live all that far from you in a condo I rent?” He handed her a hard hat and put on his.

  “Thank you,” she said, taking the hat and putting it on. “You rent a condo?”

  “See, I did shock you.”

  “Yes you did.” She smiled. He didn’t want her to think he was above the men and women that worked for him, but the world thought differently when you had money.

  They entered the work site. Dust kicked up, and they both shielded their faces until the breeze died down. He breathed in the thick scents of dirt and sawdust. The sounds of progress embraced him. Cranes, forklifts, drills, saws, and the vivid curses of men working hard. This was his project, and seeing it physically standing before him, he couldn’t think of a better feeling.

  “Just so you don’t go home disappointed, I get the suite on the top floor of this building, but that’ll be a year away.” They both looked up at the top floor of the building, which was only a structural skeleton.

  “Now that makes more sense. You deserve the top floor.” She smiled and headed toward the offices that were located in a temporary trailer on the edge of the lot. He stood, still in awe of her. Maybe she’d be the first person in the world who understood how hard he worked to keep his name on the letterhead on which those lengthy contracts were written.

  John Forrester stood from behind the old metal desk, his hand already extended toward Zach as they walked through the door. “Finally, you grace us with your presence.”

  “Funny, very funny.” Zach took the stab with the humor John intended. He’d been on site every three days, sometimes more often than that just to check in, even if he didn’t go through the building every time. This particular structure had been the last one his father had overseen before his retirement. Zach had promised himself he’d never take it all so seriously that it would take three heart attacks to get him out from behind the desk. However, even as he had promised, he knew he was lying. He loved what he did.

  “You must be Regan.” John extended his hand toward her.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Forrester.”

  “Manners. You’ve got yourself a prize.” He smiled at Zach, who nodded and gave her a grateful glance, but she quickly looked away. “Please, call me John. Mary Ellen said you’d fit right in. You look like you do.” He shifted his glance back to Zach. “Well, let’s head up.”

  “Up?”

  The quiver in Regan’s voice put humor on John’s face.

  “Yes, the work isn’t all here on the ground.” John headed toward an orange cage that hung to the side of the half-finished building.

  Zach reached for her arm, but when she took a quick step back, he dropped his hand. “If you’d rather stay down here, I can go through the notes,” he offered, hating the fear that he saw in her eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder if the fear was of him or the climb to the top of the building. Regan shook her head.

  “If the job is up, then I go up.”

  As they rode to the top Zach watched Regan carefully. She was pale, and her knuckles were white where she gripped her fingers around the notebook in her hands. What was it that drove him to want to wrap his arms around her and let her bury her face in his chest as they rode higher and higher? Did Mary Ellen fear heights that bad? Why had he never noticed?

  When the elevator jarred to a stop, he laid a gentle hand on her back to steady her and ease her out of the cage. His father had done it to him as a child. The wind at the top raced through the space with its open walls. She didn’t flinch this time, but he heard her suck in a breath when she saw the view for the first time.

  Nashville lay below them like a colorful map of trees, streets, and buildings. The child in him wanted to take her to the edge so she could see how small humanity could be from such a height.

  John began showing Regan around. “We’ve got six units on each floor.”

  Zach kept his eyes on her. The color was returning to her cheeks, and she’d released the grip on the notebook so that she could open it and begin to take notes. Finally she was comfortable. One thing he was learning about Regan Keller was she would adapt to any situation, but
she wouldn’t give in to others.

  John continued his tour. “So far each floor looks much like this. We have the interior walls framed up, and the electrical and plumbing have been run throughout the building. The glasswork will be done floor by floor. We’ll get to this floor next week.”

  “And when John Forrester says it’ll be done next week, it will be,” Zach added.

  “Damn straight. I’ve never gone over on budget or on time with a project. I run my crews tight. There is no screwing around on my site.” He tucked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels.

  “And that’s why I use and abuse him like I do.”

  Regan looked up from her notebook.

  “Electrical inspections?”

  “Scheduled for a week from Wednesday,” John answered, and she jotted the answer down.

  “Structural inspection?”

  “You sure are on top of it,” John said with a smile when she looked up at him. “In a few days. They want to get a look at the penthouses.”

  Regan nodded. She fired off a few more questions about budget and scheduling, and John answered even her simplest questions with enthusiasm, which was why Zach liked to work with him. He lived for his work.

  When they’d returned to the trailer and finished their meeting, John leaned back in his chair. “Regan, it was a pleasure having you visit today. You should come in with this slob every time.” Zach caught his eye and narrowed his stare. John gave a silent nod. It was understood that Zach had eyes for Regan, though he’d never assume John would venture toward a relationship, he now knew better.

  “Thank you.” She stood and so did John. “It was nice to meet you. We’ll touch base in a few days.” Regan extended her hand shook his hand again and turned to Zach.

  Zach gave her a nod. “Go ahead and start back. I’ll be right behind you.”

  She nodded and let herself out of the trailer.

  John rested his hand on Zach’s shoulder as they watched her walk away. “She’s a keeper.”

  “She’s very efficient.”

  “That’s not what I mean and you know it. That’s one very sexy, very confident woman you have manning your office. Are you man enough to handle that?”

  Zach gave a snort. “She’s not much into the workplace relationship.”

  “This is the one you let ride to work on your lap?” John slapped him on the shoulder then walked back around his desk. “Mary Ellen mentioned it. I went to see the baby.”

  “Fairly efficient yourself,” Zach joked, and then watched the sway of Regan’s hips as she turned the corner from the site to the street. “Yeah, she’s the one.”

  “Just remember you have to work with her, and she’s the one with all the inside knowledge to screw you over.”

  “Thanks for the warning.”

  “Though I don’t think she’s like that.”

  “No, I don’t either.” As tight-lipped as he’d found Regan to be, he couldn’t imagine she’d be the kind of woman to ruffle anyone’s feathers.

  John sat back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the desk. “Good luck with all of that. I have to say, I like her.”

  Zach liked her too—and wasn’t that cause for serious concern. He said goodbye to John and followed her.

  She’d taken off the hard hat and freed her hair from the band that had held it in place. She was running her fingers through her hair when he met up with her.

  She clutched her note pad and hat close to her chest as she walked, like a schoolgirl with a stack of books. She looked innocent and happy. But just from the way she usually reacted to him, he knew she was protective against men.

  Without looking at him, she acknowledged him by speaking. “I’ve never ridden that far up in a construction elevator before.”

  “I thought you were an executive’s assistant in real estate.”

  “Sure, but he didn’t build buildings. He had them built for him. By the time I rode the elevators, they were inside the building, and so were the walls.”

  “It can be a little unnerving the first time.”

  “To say the least. How old were you the first time you walked twenty stories in the air with no walls?”

  “I was six and as excited as any boy could have been seeing the big machines that built buildings.” Even as a grown man, the thought made his stomach bubble with excitement. “My father had his finger looped through my belt buckle the entire time. I think he knew I would try to run from one side to the other and not stop.”

  She laughed, and it unleashed that need for her that she wouldn’t release to him. Her laugh would haunt him in his dreams if he let it.

  She kept her eyes forward as they walked. “So what are your big plans for the weekend?”

  “Well, of course the luncheon at my mother’s. Then I have tickets to the symphony on Sunday.”

  “Symphony? Oh, that sounds nice. Well you’ll enjoy yourself. I haven’t been in years.” She sighed with a smile. “Sunday I have dinner plans that include pie.”

  “Ah.” He wondered if she’d added that quickly so that he wouldn’t be tempted to ask her to attend the symphony with him, which he’d intended to do. “Dinner with the doctor?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact.” She lowered her head and bit down on her lip. Zach wondered if there was a problem with the doctor. Perhaps the other man who’d answered her door.

  “I guess I won’t see you until Friday then, or even Monday if everything goes as planned in Los Angeles.”

  As they neared the office building, she swung her arms freely, the notebook still in her hands. “Your suitcase is by your elevator. Your folder with your tickets and itinerary are on your desk. A car will be waiting for you at the airport. And the tiramisu is in the fridge in your office. I cut it into servable slices. She just needs to put it on an elegant tray.”

  “You got the tiramisu?” He stopped and she turned to him.

  “Yes. It’s in the fridge.”

  “I’d forgotten about it. I just threw that in the mix, never assuming…”

  “If you say you need it, I get it done. That is my job.” She lifted her brows, smiled, and started to walk again.

  He jogged to catch up to her. “Let me know where you bought it. She’ll expect me to come up with it again.”

  “I didn’t buy it, I made it. I’ll bill you,” she said on an airy laugh as she walked through the revolving door and toward the bank of elevators while he stood on the sidewalk wondering how on earth he was going to prove to her she could trust her heart with him.

  Carlos threw bags of barbecue on the table then turned and grabbed two forks. He handed one to Regan and sat down across from her.

  Regan opened one of the takeout trays and stuck her fork into the potato salad. “Since you started sleeping on the couch, I swear it’s started to sag. Not to mention, you’re going to make me fat by bringing in all this beer and takeout every night.”

  “Mom wouldn’t want me starving you on my time off.” He set down two glasses filled with ice and split a can of soda between them.

  “Speaking of time off, haven’t found a job?”

  “No. No one wants a Puerto Rican dancer with a receding hairline.”

  She covered her mouth to keep the food from flying out. “Puerto Rican dancer? Is that your new talent?”

  “No, but hell of a way to pick up ladies,” he said spooning potato salad into his mouth with a smile and a raise of his brows.

  “Didn’t think you were interested in the ladies right now.”

  “I got divorced, Regan. I didn’t die.” He grabbed a rib from another container and began to pull the meat from the bone with his teeth. “I think I should be thinking of other women. It’s healthy. At least if I’m thinking of other women, I’m not thinking of Madeline and that man.”

  “It’s been two years,” she said softly, resting her hand on his.

  “Two years to just give up, is that what you’re saying?”

  “Carl
os…”

  “Sorry. I’m just in a bad mood about it all. You share your life with someone, and then one day it’s over. Worse is when she runs to your best friend for support and now he’s married to her.”

  “She didn’t run off with him.”

  “I know. It just makes me feel better about being so mad.” He drank down his soda. “Anyway, I’m just looking for that silver lining that Mom’s always talking about. Single and sleeping on my sister’s couch is not a positive in my life, no offense.”

  “None taken. It isn’t really my couch.” She smiled.

  “It’s just… Eduardo needs braces. Christen needs a new uniform for football, and now Clara wants to dance. Money’s too tight to let them do everything they want to do, but I don’t want to turn them down. Just because Maddie and I couldn’t see eye to eye doesn’t mean they should suffer. So the job thing’s just got me down. I got passed over for another one today.”

  “The private school in Memphis?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No big.” He shrugged.

  “Well, I was thinking,” Regan began, to change the subject. “If you were interested, I think I could get you a job on a site. One right here in Nashville.”

  “You mean on one of your building sites?” He sat up straighter in his seat.

  “Yes, that’s what I mean.” She shook her head. Carlos was a brilliant man, but he kept that in check by acting the imbecile most of the time.

  “Sure, college, graduate school. Yeah, I’ve reached the level I could pound nails into wood.” He retrieved another soda from the fridge and drank right from the can this time.

  “I didn’t mean to insult you. I just wanted to help.”

  “I know. I’ve applied to eight schools in three districts. I’ve already gotten the thanks but no thanks from three of them.”

  “Well then, there are five who need to decide you’d be the best for their kids.”

  He nodded. “I’ve got three months to do something. My savings is almost depleted, and if Arianna comes back in July and sees the dent in her couch, I’ll have one in my head.”

  “You don’t think she already knows you’re sleeping on the couch?”