The Executive's Decision

by Bernadette Marie

  “I’m here to ask a favor.” She winced when she said it. She’d only had her job a week, and barely felt comfortable enough to ask him. “My brother is between jobs right now. He’s a junior high school math teacher, but currently out of work.”

  “I see. And you want to know if I can use him?”

  “Yes. I probably shouldn’t even ask, but…”

  “Has he worked construction before?” he interrupted her before she could back out of the conversation.

  “He did for a short time to earn money through college. He’s not a master of any specific trade, but he’s a hard worker.”

  “I see.” John took a bite of his hot dog and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “So it could be temporary if he gets a teaching job?”

  She nodded, realizing that wasn’t a great asset when asking for a job.

  “I can see what I can do. I have a few guys leaving the job next week. Would that be soon enough?”

  “Really? You can use him?” Her voice shot up in delight.

  John rested his hand on hers. “For you, I’ll make sure I can.”

  “Oh, thank you. He’ll be a good worker. I promise.” Excitement bubbled inside her. She couldn’t wait to tell Carlos.

  “If not, he goes.” He was matter-of-fact about it, and she nodded. That she understood. But Carlos wouldn’t let her down, or John Forrester for that matter.

  The moment Zach stepped into his office the following Monday morning, he sighed with relief. He was home. He’d never much minded business trips, but his trip to L.A. had been tedious and drawn out. The investor was not one of his most favorite people to work with, but he brought millions to the bargaining table, which Zach couldn't ignore. But not having Regan there, with her meticulous note taking and her keen ears and eyes, he’d hoped he hadn’t missed anything. Worse yet, he couldn’t ask for her help on anything to do with the project for the time being. When the time was right, she’d be brought up to speed on the events of the build, and so would John Forrester. In fact, he could discuss minor things with John before he could let Regan in on his deal.

  He couldn’t be sure why the man always wanted to work the details out without anyone else being in on it. Obviously, he had something to hide. It only infuriated him that he couldn’t have his people working on it.

  Zach blew out a ragged breath. He’d built buildings with the man before. This one would be just as successful and twice the size of all the others. It would all be fine, he reminded himself, even if he had to grit his teeth throughout the entire process.

  He set his keys and sunglasses on his desk. His papers were set out, just as he liked them.

  The key to the elevator sat next to his phone with a note addressed to Mr. Benson under it. He opened it to find Regan’s handwriting scrawled in it. Thank you for the parking permit. I appreciate it. I’ll leave the elevator key. Thank you, Regan.

  He wasn’t too surprised. A small part of him hoped she’d call and yell at him for it anyway. He’d leave it right where it was in case she changed her mind.

  His coffee mug was full and hot, waiting for him. He smiled when he saw the cinnamon roll next to the coffee mug. After the tiramisu, he was confident in assuming it was homemade.

  Trying to regain control over his mind, he sat down with his coffee and newspapers and thumbed through them.

  The cinnamon roll was to die for.

  He looked at his watch. He’d stalled exactly nine minutes and twenty-seven seconds. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to see her.

  He reached for the button on his phone to summon her, but that wouldn’t do. Instead, he plucked a flower from the vase on the coffee table and twirled it in his fingers. He opened the door only to be disappointed that she wasn’t at her desk.

  “A flower for me? You shouldn’t have,” Kirk Peterson laughed as he walked toward him.

  Zach put on a smile, hoping the disappointment that he felt in the pit of his stomach didn’t show on his face. He pulled the flower back casually as though he’d picked it up off the floor and tossed it into the trash can.

  Kirk waved a file at him. “I wanted to talk to you about the Memphis project.”

  “Yeah, why don’t you come in?” Zach stepped back to let him through and gave one more look down the hall, but still there was no sign of Regan.

  An hour and a half later, Kirk Peterson finally left his office. Zach rubbed the bridge of his nose to ward off the headache he felt coming on. Regan sat at her desk just as Peterson walked out of his office. She glanced at Zach for a moment, then rose from her desk and handed him two aspirin and a glass of water.

  “Do you have anything stronger?” he joked, tossing the pills into his mouth and swallowing them with the water. “I’m going to have to fire you. You weren’t here to arrange an emergency so I could get him out of my office faster.”

  “Well, did you eat the cinnamon roll? I was really hoping that would save me from any mistakes I might make for a week, like not being here to ward off Kirk Peterson.” She batted her eyes at him. He was glad to see she’d loosened up a bit.

  “Yes, and thank you.” He tossed the cup into the trash. “Okay, I’ll let you keep your job, but only if you have something good for me on the agenda.”

  “A walk around with John Forrester? They had a few inspections today, and he’s afraid there will have to be some minor electrical changes.”

  “Great.” He rubbed his temples. “What else does my day entail?”

  “We need to discuss the ground breaking in Dallas, and someone called from L.A., but she wouldn’t leave a name or contact information. She just said to call L.A.” She shrugged. “Then you should be safe to hit the gym, the bar, or wherever you go to unwind.”

  With a nod, he headed back to his office to claim his own notebook. “Are you coming to the meeting with John?” he called from his office.

  “No, I have to get the plans for Memphis back from the architecture department, and I have contracts in legal. I’ll be able to fill you in on…”

  She was talking about the Memphis project, but he realized he wasn’t hearing a word she was saying. Her lips were full, pink, and precise with her words. He had an overwhelming urge to gather her in his arms and just hold her.

  His mind wandered more as she walked through his office continuing her conversation with him. There had to be a way to get her to see him, spend time with him socially, but she was very specific about that area of her life. A faint ache settled in his chest, at odds with the pressure he felt elsewhere.

  “And by the way, your mother called three times.” She tilted her head to look at him. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Sorry.” He shook off the desire that burned through him. “I’ll get going. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Zach turned back toward his office. “By the way.” He turned back to her. “I’ll leave the key on my desk. If you change your mind or want to use the elevator when I’m out of town, feel free.” He smiled and left through his office.

  Zach drove to the Nashville site with the car’s air-conditioning set to arctic. Maybe that would cool his thoughts of his executive assistant. He parked the car by the offices, grabbed his notebook, and put on his hard hat. John held open the door to the office.

  His mind was already hot from wandering to thoughts of Regan, and the heat from the trailer that housed the office hit him like a wall. John grabbed his shoulders and sat him down, then retrieved a paper cup from the water cooler and filled it.

  “Sucks, doesn’t it?” John smiled as he handed him the cup.

  “What is it, a hundred and fifty degrees in here?” He sipped the water and opened the collar of his shirt.

  “Air is out. We’ll fix it tomorrow.”

  “God, why wait?”

  “Deadline and inspections are holding us back. That electrical contractor working in the residential units is going to cost us some time.” He reached for the file on his desk and handed it to Zach. “Here’s all the bad news.�
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  Zach opened the file. He sucked in the thick air and wiped the beads of sweat from his brow. He’d have Regan call someone to fix the air for John. If John was hell bent on waiting so he could concentrate on the build site—and Zach knew he was—he’d sure as hell give him some cool air to do it in. “Damn. It looks like they have to rerun the wiring for that whole floor.”

  “That’s why you have the degree. I just get to walk them through and have them tell me what’s wrong.”

  Zach studied the inspector’s notes. “I’ll bet if we do a few minor changes, we can get it to pass with minimal restructuring.”

  “Do you want to go up and look at it?”

  “Yeah, I guess I’d better.” He finished off the water and looked forward to the eighty-degree humidity outside.

  The men stepped into the elevator and John latched the gate. A worker walked by with metal poles balanced over each shoulder.

  “Carlos!” John yelled, and the man looked up. “Find Stu. He needed your help with a fitting.” The man nodded and kept walking as John started the elevator.

  “Who was that?” Zach watched the man pass the pipes to another man and then hurry over to Stu, who looked to be wrestling with another pipe.

  “Carlos,” he said looking up, watching for the floor.

  “When did he start?”

  “Few days ago.”

  Zach kept his eyes on the ground moving farther and farther from him, watching the man nod as he took instructions from Stu and then pulled a wrench from his work belt. He looked very familiar, but Zach couldn’t pinpoint why.

  His walkthrough with John took longer than he had thought. In the end, the men had decided to discuss the changes over lunch and then do some rough drafting on the sight. The changes weren't hard, but it all had to be in the plans and submitted before they could start the work He couldn’t afford any delays on the project, so he’d spend all night making the changes to the plans.

  By the time he made it back to the office, everyone was gone, including Regan. He couldn’t help but be disappointed, but it was for the best. He needed to bunker down and start planning the changes to the wiring in the residential units.

  Much of what made Benson, Benson and Hart so successful was their hands-on approach. Sure, they were a multi-million-dollar company. Sure, they built high-rises and condominiums in almost every state. They employed thousands of people. But they also had a hands-on approach you couldn’t find anywhere else. Tyler Benson, his father, and Zachary Hart, his grandfather, had made sure Zach was just as hands-on. They’d sent him to the best college to study and learn architecture. He knew everything there was to building. Well, the technical parts. If he had to take a hammer to the wood, things might not work out so well, but he could plan every detail meticulously. What the subcontractors did with his plans was another story.

  He changed out of his suit and found a pair of jeans and an Oxford University T-shirt that was almost fifteen years old in the bag he kept in the closet of his office. After hanging up his suit, he placed his shirt in the bag that would go home with him so he could have it laundered. He pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge, turned on some jazz, and headed to the conference room that adjoined his office. He set out the plans and got to work.

  He began to make markings and measured out other ideas. Then he began to create. Keeping within the same basic plans, he continued to design what the inspectors were looking for. He kept the reports nearby, sure not to miss any detail. It wouldn’t be a Benson, Benson, and Hart building if it wasn’t perfect.

  It was nearly six thirty when he heard drawers slamming and papers flying from beyond his office. Cautiously he stood and walked toward the door.

  Regan lifted files, shifted papers, opened drawers, and started digging through her trash can.

  “Hi,” he said softly.

  “Shit!” She yelled the curse and grabbed for her chest. “Ya scared the hell outta me.”

  Her accent had grown thicker with that one sentence, and it had Zach’s heart racing. “I could say the same thing. I thought you’d left for the day.”

  “I did. Then I remembered that you hadn’t signed the contracts I was waiting for from the legal department. You were at your meeting with John. I have to get them to New York overnight.” Her skin was pale, and he knew it wasn’t the scare she’d taken. This was a different kind of panic.

  “Where are they?” He kept his tone soft to calm her.

  “They were right here.” She kept looking around.

  “Regan, would these be them?” He looked in the basket that she kept for items he needed to see.

  Color filled her cheeks and made her even more adorable. “Oh, God! I can’t believe I didn’t get them to you. I should have walked down there. I should have found you. That’s my job.”

  He didn’t like the fear in her voice. Not one bit. “We’ll take care of this.” He walked over to her desk and found a pen. He signed all the areas she’d marked with red flags and sealed them in the envelope marked OVERNIGHT. He looked at the time on his Rolex watch and bit down on his lip. “The annex is only three miles from here. They’re open until eight,” he said with a smile. This wasn’t the first time he’d gone through this. “They’ll make it to New York in time,” he assured her. “But we have to go now.” He walked back through his office with the contracts in his hand.

  “I’ll take them. It was my oversight.” She followed him right to the elevator.

  “Fine. You take them in. I’ll drive.” He pulled her inside and hit the button for the parking garage. The papers in her hand shook, and he clasped his hand on them to steady them. “Really, Regan, this is going to be okay.”

  “No. No, this is one of those costly mistakes that loses you millions of dollars and hours of time.”

  He watched her intently. Perhaps the last man she’d worked for was stricter than he was. You learned from mistakes, his father and grandfather had said. He hadn’t been there. Her workday was over. It wasn’t as though she tucked them away in a mess. No, her desk was immaculate.

  He opened the car door for her then walked around and stared the car. “You know. I’ll be here all night. Why don’t we get some dinner before we come back?”

  “Zach…”

  “C’mon. It’s the least you could do.” He played on her guilt. “Unless you have some hot date.” He raised one eyebrow.

  “No. No hot date tonight.” She looked down at the papers in her lap and shook her head. “It’s been a long while since I had one of those.”

  The mystery of Regan Keller had just become more intriguing.

  Regan had confirmed that the contracts would arrive on time when she handed them over to the courier. She was pleased that it had worked out, but she was still disappointed in herself for having to go back to the office, and now she’d been talked into having dinner with the very man she shouldn’t be spending time with. Reluctantly she climbed back in Zach’s car.

  He drove only a few more miles and pulled into the parking lot of Steve’s BBQ Pit with Beer. Even from the parking lot she could smell the familiar scent of barbeque and smoke.

  She laughed when she saw the sign and the forty motorcycles parked out front next to a few BMWs and town cars. “Is this one of your hangouts?” she asked as she slid from the car.

  “Oh, yeah. Best pork sandwiches this side of the Mississippi.”

  The restaurant was an eclectic mix of professionals and bikers. The building looked like an old shack with its walls decorated in a myriad of garage sale items. Some still had tags on them.

  It was far from the kind of place she would think Zachary Benson would frequent. Then she had to remind herself she’d met him on the bus. Perhaps she’d never completely figure him out.

  The air was smoky with barbeque and the stench of stale beer made her crave one. Patsy Cline filled her ears with “Sweet Dreams” as Zach led her to a booth.

  “This is great.” She found herself raising her voice over the noise.<
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  “I thought you’d like it.”

  A waitress with skintight jeans, cropped T-shirt, and full bosom, moved to the table. She chomped on a piece of gum, and Regan was sure she’d long ago crossed her fortieth birthday.

  “Zach, sweetie, it’s been a while.” She smiled with a wink.

  “Too long, Hilary.” Zach smiled back as though he were happy to see an old friend who’d known him his whole life.

  “How ya doin’, hon?” She looked at Regan and sized her up then gave Zach an approving nod.

  “I’m doin’ fine.” Regan gave her back a bit of southern hospitality in her accent.

  “Whatcha up for?” She took a pen from behind her ear and her order pad from her apron pocket.

  “I’ll have a beer,” he looked at Regan and she nodded. “Make that two. Oh and, Hilary, bring us some of that hot cornbread.” He raised his eyebrows and smiled.

  “You havin’ your usual?”

  “Yep, make it two.”

  “You’re easy to please, doll,” she said with a smile as she sauntered off.

  Regan felt the urge to burst with laughter. When Zach had spoken of his mother catering everything, she never would have thought he frequented a barbeque joint enough to be on a first-name basis with the wait staff. “Seems like this is a home of sorts for ya.”

  He leaned back against the booth and draped his arm over the back of it. “You could say that. It was one of my dad’s favorite places. Can you imagine, next to stress, why he’s had three heart attacks?” He watched the crowd and then lifted his hand to wave at someone who walked by.

  “Is that why he retired?”

  “Yep. Couldn’t stand the thought of me finding him dead behind his desk. Really I just wanted his office, so I fired him.”

  Regan laughed. “Ah, motivation,” she said as Hilary returned with their beers and cornbread.