by Leslie North
At least he had his final drawings to show them. Even as he picked them up, he imagined Carolina writhing and moaning on them.
Pushing the image out of his head, he rolled the designs and placed them in a bag. A final coat on the last section of the building, and he was good to go.
And running late.
When he finally got to the office, Gabe and Stephen were both waiting for him outside the door.
“You’re late,” Gabe hissed. “The only reason that Wells hasn’t walked out is because Angie is in there charming him. Or terrifying him, I’m not too sure which. Let’s move, for God’s sake.”
“Easy,” Stephen muttered. “Let’s get this over with.” He opened the door. “Mr. Wells, thank you for your patience. Nathan is here with the model. Apparently he was having issues with his printer.”
Angie narrowed her eyes. “Issues with his printer?” she whispered in his ear.
“Issues with his girlfriend.”
“What?” Angie said loudly as her head snapped up, but Wells smiled.
“Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but it can be so complicated! Come in. Let’s see what you have.”
If Stephen was good at one thing, he was good at reading people. He could charm a contract out of anyone. Nathan carefully set the covered model on the table and reached out to shake Wells’ hand.
“Mr. Wells, I’m glad you understand. I know that you’re looking for something really special to draw a lot of attention, but I’ve been thinking of one of the biggest attractions in the area. Old Town. Have you been there lately?”
The older man leaned against the table and frowned, shaking his head. “No, I don’t think I know it.”
“The original structures still stand from the early 1900s, and the stores and restaurants within are all renovated to represent different eras. It’s hugely popular because it represents something that people can’t experience anymore. The structures that have been condemned on your property were built in the 1920s. Now, they are in terrible condition, but restored, they could be really something. I thought that blending the historical style with contemporary design would give you something unique. In addition, this design will help you conserve both water and energy.” Nathan clasped his hands together and waited.
Wells pointed his cane to the table. “Well? Get on with it boy!”
Taking a deep breath, Nathan pulled the sheet off his model and faced Wells. “There will be a brick exterior. This model isn’t quite right. The main building here will be at least three stories. Something like a giant clock on the front will give it a more stately look. There will be an observatory at the top, and a glass walkway that connects the buildings. Out front… here…will be two stories of restaurants and stores. Your luxury condos will be three stories in the back. You have your choice of condos or stores on the side. It’ll be mostly closed off, but there will be several entrances into the courtyard. Here in the center will be an open space. A park for people to enjoy, eat, and play.”
Wells leaned over on his cane to study the model. Nathan held his breath as he watched the old man’s expression. It was almost impossible to read.
But then a dark expression crossed his face. “I want this property to make me some money. I don’t give a damn about kids playing. This is ridiculous. I don’t want to blend history with the contemporary. I don’t want any of this!” he yelled. He turned and pointed his finger at Angie. “I’m going with Sherper Architectural. This is ridiculous!”
“Mr. Wells,” Angie’s smile faltered as she stepped forward and took the old man’s hand. “This is Nathan’s first design. He absolutely understands the process of getting to know the client. We still have a week before we close on the land behind your property. Nathan will take that time to come up with something that’s more to your liking.”
Nathan’s heart dropped as Wells screwed up his face. He’d spent countless hours on this project, and the man had barely even looked at it.
“Fine,” Wells growled. “I’ll expect something by the end of the week.” He put on his hat and hobbled slowly out of the room.
“Let me walk you out,” Angie said quickly as she jumped up. “I could use a little fresh air. This baby girl is taking her time coming along!”
Wells chuckled and linked arms with her as they slowly made their way to the elevator.
Gabe immediately whirled on Nathan. “You need to fix this. If we lose this account, Duncan Enterprises will take a huge hit.”
“I don’t understand,” Nathan muttered. “He said he wanted something different, something special. Now he wants a plain old condo community? If he wanted something ordinary, he could have found that anywhere.”
“He came to us because he’s friends with Duncan, and because we’ve handled other properties for him. He doesn’t need you trying to make a name for yourself.” Stephen narrowed his eyes. “Get your head in this project.”
“Where do you think my head has been?” Nathan argued.
“With Carolina!”
“Whoa,” Gabe stepped in and put his hands up. “Okay, guys, let’s take a step back and take a deep breath.”
Nathan felt his anger rising. They could say what they wanted about his damn design, but there was no reason to bring Carolina into this. “I spent weeks working on this design. If you don’t like the way Wells reacted to it, you should take that up with him, and leave my personal life out of this! One minute you’re telling me to take it easy, I’m overworking, the next it’s I’ve been wasting my time?”
“Instead of making accusations,” Gabe interrupted loudly. “Let’s talk about where we go from here. Nathan, can you come up with a design that Wells will like within a week?”
“If he doesn’t have his mind on other things, he might,’ Stephen grumbled.
Nathan opened his mouth to argue, but the truth was that Stephen was right. If Nathan was going to pull this off, he would have to block out all distractions. It wouldn’t have been the first time that he’d locked himself in a room to finish a project. When he worked on his capstone project in college, he didn’t leave his apartment for three weeks. It would be time-consuming, but if his brothers wanted Wells on board, he would give it his best shot.
Even though it meant abandoning quite possibly the best idea he ever had. And his integrity.
“I’ll get it done.” Nathan took one last look at his model then turned his back. Grabbing his bag, he started for the elevator.
“Don’t you want to take this with you?” Gabe called after him.
Nathan didn’t bother to answer his brother. He’d been incredibly proud of his design, and not one person had said they’d liked it, which while he’d expected lack of a reaction it still hurt. Despite how hard he fought, his brothers were still clueless when it came to sustainable design and he’d often felt that the only reason why they indulged him was to make the company look good. He couldn’t understand why they couldn’t wrap their minds around the need for better construction practices. Especially when it could save money in the long run. This wasn’t just a fad, this was a reality.
When the door opened, Angie stood inside rubbing her belly. “Nathan,” she said softly as she walked out. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about your precious Wells. I’ll give him what he wants. A faceless concrete block.”
“Nathan,” Angie called out in frustration, but the doors were already closing.
Alone, he slammed the side of his fist into the wall and lowered his head.
What the hell had he been thinking? Well that answer was easy. A part of him still hoped that his brothers would believe in him. That he wouldn’t constantly be fighting an uphill battle to turn around a company that put profits before the environment. This wasn’t the 1990s, where the very concept of LEED Certification and Green Building was unheard of. It’d been more than fifteen years since Green Builders cut their teeth on expensive products and pricey retrofits.
Today,
many sustainable building products are now cheaper than the less environmentally friendly competition, but you wouldn’t know it the way some builders reacted to those options.
What Wells was asking for was an abomination. If Nathan was going to compromise his principles, he would need a drink. Maybe the whole bottle.
12
The smell of burgers and beer still lingered in the carpets, but the space was otherwise clean. Carolina walked around the vacant restaurant and tried to envision how many tables and chairs they could pack in. The truth was that they hadn’t done a lot of dine-in service. Most of the regulars sat at the bar or ordered their food to-go. The location of this spot wouldn’t exactly bring in a lot of foot traffic, either.
That was made obvious by the fact that the previous tenants went under.
Carlita cooed from her stroller and the real estate agent bent over to smile at the toddler. “She is absolutely beautiful,” Clara said. “How old?”
“Terrible twos,” Carolina muttered. “How long did the previous renters stay?”
“Three years.” Clara straightened and cleared her throat. “When they first opened, they were the hit of the town, but I don’t think their cooking quality was consistent. I’m sure Maria’s Restaurant will do quite nicely here.”
Carolina frowned and glanced out the window. “There’s no shopping opportunities here. There’s a real estate agency, a dance studio, a doctor’s office, and a nail salon. People don’t stroll by in a place like this, so we might get some business from the people that work here, but it’s going to be hard to get new clientele, or people walking in off the street.”
“There’s a car dealership a half a mile up the road,” Clara said brightly. “An apartment complex four miles down, and the Charter Woods neighborhoods. I’m sure with some advertising; you’ll do quite well here.”
But not well enough to pay the rent. Carolina had spent two days searching for new premises for the restaurant. Her mother was refusing to come along, and now she was refusing to watch the kids.
According to her, since Carolina didn’t have a job now, she could damn well watch her own kids. Never mind the fact that it was hard to tote a toddler all across town in search of a new place for Maria’s Restaurant.
But Carolina put a lid on her temper and worked the best she could. This place was clearly another dud. She was about to open her mouth and say something when her phone rang.
Glancing at the screen, her mood dampened even more. It was Nathan. He assured her that they were going to try to make something work, but he’d already canceled the last two dates.
“Nathan,” she said tiredly as she answered. “I take it this has something to do with our date tonight?”
“I’m so sorry, babe. I have a lot going on here, and I don’t think I can get away. We’ll do something tomorrow night. I promise.”
His voice was strained, but Carolina was at the end of her rope. “I can’t go out tomorrow night, Nathan. This might surprise you, but I’m not waiting for you by the phone. Just because I’m not working right now doesn’t mean that I’m not busy. So, no. Tomorrow night doesn’t work for me,” she said icily.
“Carolina,” he said in a warning voice.
“I knew this wasn’t going to work, but you said that we could make this work. I haven’t seen you since that night. You’ve canceled three dates now. Why exactly should I wait around for a fourth?”
Her question was met with silence, but she could hear him breathing on the other end. “Carolina, I really am sorry. I can’t make it tonight. What can I do to make it up to you?”
“I need to know that this isn’t some fling for you. I know you have a lot going on in your life, Nathan, so if you’re not ready to jump into a relationship, all you have to do is tell me. I’m a big girl. I can handle it. What I can’t handle is you constantly brushing me off. Tell me what you want.”
“I’m not brushing you off,” he said quickly before he stopped. For a moment, he didn’t say anything, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft and apologetic. “I’m sorry. I know what it looks like. Give me tonight to work, and I will make it worth your while.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Tomorrow she had three appointments lined up to look at rental properties, but they were all after Tamara and Julio got out of school. None of her sisters could watch them, and her usual babysitter was out of town. “Since you’re free tomorrow night, you can watch Tamara, Julio, and Carlita for me. I’ve got something that I have to do.”
“That’s fine,” he said quickly. “You can drop them off here.”
“Nathan, if you think that you’re going to be able to work while you watch my kids, you are sorely mistaken.”
“They will have my undivided attention, I swear. I owe you that much.”
Carolina tapped her foot on the floor. “Fine. I’ll drop them off at four. I won’t be able to pick them up until at least ten.” She hung up before he could object then she whirled around on the real estate agent. “We’re a Latin American Fusion restaurant. We need a place where people can shop and walk by on a regular basis.”
Clara hesitated. “I know, but on your budget…”
“No,” Carolina snapped. “Don’t even say it. I’ll see you tomorrow, and I hope the places we’re looking at are better than this one!”
As she grabbed the stroller and marched out of the restaurant, she felt a little guilty. Clara was doing her best, and Carolina knew that she was probably asking for the impossible. But between her mother’s temper and Nathan’s strange new absence, Carolina was ready to scream.
It was just like a man to disappear right after she admitted that she wanted to explore something more. Why would she think that Nathan would be any different?
Nathan was still staring at a blank piece of paper when Carolina knocked on his door. He had three days left to show Wells a new idea, and he had nothing to show. His original idea was so perfect. He couldn’t imagine replacing it with anything else.
Pushing the papers aside, he got up and tried to plaster a smile on his face. “Hey! You guys ready to hang out with me?” he said as he opened the door.
“Nathan!” Julio shouted. “Can we build something?”
“You’re going to do your homework before anything else,” Carolina said with narrow eyes. When she looked at Nathan, she looked anything but happy with him. “They will do their homework.”
She was pissed. That was more than obvious, and Nathan really wanted to talk about it, but he didn’t want to do it in front of the kids. “I promise that they’ll do their homework. And I’ve ordered a pizza for dinner.”
“Pizza!” Tamara’s eye lit up with delight.
“Wonderful,” Carolina said with a sigh. She rolled the stroller in and unloaded the bag on her shoulder. “Okay, this is the pop-up playpen for Carlita. She moves fast, so you’ll have to keep an eye on her. There are the diapers and food for her in the bag. This is usually her naptime, but because she’s in a new place, she might be too excited to sleep. If that’s the case, there are a few DVDs of kids shows that she likes to watch in the bag. If she does sleep, there’s a movie in the bag for Julio and Tamara. They are not allowed to watch television, and I don’t want them playing outside after dark.”
“Carolina,” Nathan said as he grabbed her shoulders. “Relax. It will be fine.” He leaned in to give her a kiss, but she turned her head so that he gave her a peck on the cheek. He closed his eyes and ran his hands up her arms. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
“Thank you for helping me out tonight. I’ll call you later to check up on things. Tamara, Julio, you behave yourselves and do everything Nathan asks of you. If he gives you a good report, we’ll go out for ice cream after school tomorrow. Okay?”
“Okay, Momma,” they said in unison.
She gave them quick kisses on the head before leaving without even a glance at Nathan. “Damn,” he whispered as the door closed. She was really pissed.
“Okay,�
� he said as he whirled around. “The pizza will be here in a couple hours. How much homework do you have?”
“None,” Tamara said with a sweet smile.
Julio pushed her. “Don’t lie! You have to do your math problems, and read, and write on your map.”
“You’re such a tattle-tale,” his sister sneered.
“And you’re a poop-head!”
“Wow, okay, enough!” Nathan interjected. “I believe your mother promised you ice cream if you behave. This doesn’t sound like behaving.” The kids immediately quieted and stared at him with big eyes.
“That’s better. I expect you to work on your homework until the pizza gets here. I have no doubt that your mother is going to check on us tonight, and I don’t want her mad at you or me. Do we understand each other?”
They nodded their heads and climbed up on the kitchen chairs, pulling out their books and notebooks. Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. They were going to be quiet and work, so he could also be quiet and work.
The pop-up playpen was a little harder to put together than he wanted to admit, but soon he was tossing blankets and the stuffed animals from the bag inside. Carlita stuck out her tongue and tried to blow a raspberry as he moved her from the stroller to the pen. Instead of lying down to nap, she gripped the edge and tried to jump up and down.
“Okay, movie it is. I hope this lulls you to sleep, little girl.” He put the DVD in and watched as an animated blue goat and a little girl popped up on the screen. “No wonder kids grow up with issues,” he murmured.
Sitting back down at his desk, he started to sketch some base lines. Part of him felt guilty for doing any work after he promised Carolina that he wouldn’t, but he absolutely had to get this done. A lot of money rested on this project. Surely that was something Carolina would understand.
He started and stopped sketching several times, each time pushing the design away in disgust. He was getting nowhere fast. The movie that Carlita was watching seemed to be nothing more than one annoying song after another or possibly the same song over and over, it was getting difficult to tell as she insisted on singing along with it. After twenty minutes straight, Nathan couldn’t take it anymore and was relieved when Carlita had stopped singing.