by Trin Denise
“You got me so damn flustered that I can’t even remember why I stopped here to begin with,” Sydney said, shaking her head.
Karen batted her eyes dramatically. “Yeah, I heard that I had that kind of effect on people.”
“I swear you are so not right,” Sydney said and she believed it to be true. Karen was in another world all by herself but that was a good thing.
Karen looked at the laptop bag slung over Sydney’s shoulder and the car keys in her hand. “Um ... are you by chance leaving for the day?” she asked.
“As a matter of fact I am and if you could find the time in your busy schedule, please forward all of my calls to my home office.”
“I will try my best to fit you in,” Karen said, giving a mock salute with her hand.
“You do that and I’ll see you tomorrow,” Sydney said with a wave of her hand.
“How did she manage all of this so quickly?” Rachel asked as she looked around the design room that Sydney had set up for her.
“She’s very resourceful when she has the right incentive,” Edna replied.
“So I’ve noticed,” Rachel said as she pulled out the high-backed stool sitting in front of the drafting table. She looked at the blueprint lying in front of her. It was a complete layout of the entire house.
“What did I tell you?” Edna asked. She was standing next to a large oak desk that had a computer monitor and color laser-jet printer sitting on it. She picked up a piece of paper lying on the keyboard, brought it over, and handed it to Rachel.
Rachel shook her head and laughed as she looked at it. It was a miniature map of the house. “I’d say you know her pretty well.”
“Yeah, I guess I do but then again, she’s quite predictable when it comes to certain things,” Edna said with a wink.
“How long have you worked for Sydney?” Rachel asked. She hated to admit it but her curiosity was starting to get the better of her.
Edna thought about it for a few seconds. “Going on twelve and a half years now, I’d say, give or take a couple months.”
Rachel’s mind whirled as she calculated the timeframe in her head. It must have not been long after Sydney and I went our separate ways. Just what have you been doing with yourself all these years Sydney Welsh, other than trying to take over the world and romancing beautiful women, she thought to herself.
“Well, if you don’t need anything else from me for awhile, I’ll let you get settled in,” Edna said, snapping Rachel from her thoughts.
Rachel smiled. “Thank you for the tour and especially for your company. I really enjoyed it.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Edna chuckled. “And I enjoyed your company just as much. It was a nice change from Fred Rick’s ramblin’. ”
Rachel frowned. “Who’s Fred Rick?”
“Our flamboyant chef,” Edna laughed. “Oh just you wait. You’re in for a real treat when you meet that one.”
Rachel smiled. “Well, if he’s half as nice as you, then I think I will like him very much.”
“Like who very much?” Sydney asked as she came into the room.
Rachel looked up in surprise and then felt her breath unexpectedly catch in her throat.
Edna looked at Sydney and grinned. “Your chef, that’s who she thinks she’s gonna like very much.”
Sydney met Rachel’s gaze for the first time since walking into the room. For several seconds they just stared at each other, both seemingly unable to break the eye contact.
Edna cleared her throat. “If you two need me, you know where I’ll be.”
Rachel, feeling slightly embarrassed looked down at her hands.
Sydney glanced at her watch. She smiled as she turned to look at Edna. “Yeah, you’ll be kicked back in a recliner getting ready for your soaps.”
Edna shrugged. “A girls gotta do what a girl’s gotta do when it comes to romance and when you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
Sydney shook her head. “I’ve been telling you for years that stuff’s gonna rot your brains out.”
“So that’s where they went,” Edna laughed and Rachel, unable to control herself, laughed too.
“Now look at what you’ve gone and done? She’s only been here for a few hours and you’re already corrupting Rachel,” Sydney teased.
“Ciao,” Edna said as she sashayed out of the room.
“She’s really something else,” Rachel said.
“She’s something else all right. What that something else is, still remains to be seen,” Sydney said, trying her best not to laugh.
“You kind of outdid yourself here, didn’t you?” Rachel asked, making a sweeping gesture with her hand around the room.
Sydney shrugged. “I just wanted to make sure you had everything you might need.”
“Well, you definitely did that,” Rachel said, looking Sydney in the eye. If she didn’t know any better, she could swear she saw Sydney’s eyes sparkle.
“If you can give me a few minutes, I need to go change out of my monkey suit and then we can sit down and discuss the changes I would like done.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll be right here waiting for you to get back,” Rachel said, her voice tinged with slight sarcasm.
The narrowing of Sydney’s eyes as she looked at Rachel indicated that the sarcasm hadn’t been lost on her either. Sydney’s gaze shifted to look out the window directly over Rachel’s right shoulder. She was silent for several seconds. “I’ll be right back,” she said finally. She glanced at Rachel for a split-second and then left the room.
Rachel hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath until she let it out. “How am I going to do this? How can I possibly be around her on a constant basis for the next few weeks? One minute I want to rip her head off and the next minute my thoughts turn to just how attractive she still is. I had no idea how damn sexy a pinstriped suit could look,” she whispered aloud without meaning to. No, no, no she chastised herself. I can’t have thoughts like this. “Business, stick to business, Rachel, because that’s all this is. That’s all it can or ever will be where she’s concerned,” she mumbled under her breath.
“I see you still have a habit of talking to yourself,” Sydney said, startling Rachel.
“Yes, I still talk to myself. Do you have a problem with that?” Rachel asked, her words came out sounding harsher than she intended because her mind had suddenly taken a wrong turn—a very wrong turn.
Try as she might she couldn’t help notice that Sydney had changed into a tight pair of black jeans that did little to hide the curve of her hips and the low cut t-shirt revealed more cleavage than what should be allowed by law.
“Down girl,” Sydney laughed as she walked further into the room and stopped less than a foot away from Rachel.
“And would you ... would you please not invade my space,” Rachel said, taking a step backward only to have her progress stopped by the drafting table.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” Sydney asked, her voice sounding husky to her own ears as she moved closer. Her eyes fell to Rachel’s breast, traveling upward to her neck. She watched the pulse point in Rachel’s neck as it beat rapidly. Her eyes continued their path up Rachel’s neck, stopping on her mouth. She unconsciously licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. Right now, the only thing Sydney could think about was kissing Rachel and by the look in Rachel’s eyes, she knew she was thinking the same thing.
Rachel tried to move further back but there was nowhere to go. Sydney moved closer, their thighs and breasts touching. Sydney leaned in, her lips just below Rachel’s ear. “Mmm, you smell so good,” she whispered, her breath caressing Rachel’s skin like satin.
Rachel placed her trembling hands on Sydney’s chest. She knew that if she didn’t move away, she was about to do something she was going to regret. “You know darn well what you’re doing,” she said, her voice shaking as she pushed Sydney away.
Sydney threw her head back and laughed. The move only served to make Rachel angrier. Sy
dney had switched gears so fast, it made Rachel’s head spin. “I’m glad you think it’s so funny,” she said in a stern voice.
“Not at all. So let’s get down to business then, shall we?” Sydney asked as she moved away and pulled out the extra stool tucked under the drafting table and sat down.
Rachel glanced at Sydney before sliding her own chair over. She sat down, taking extra care to make sure there was enough space between the two chairs so their legs wouldn’t touch.
Sydney picked up a red line pencil and proceeded to make circles around the family room, dining room, office, and her bedroom. These are the rooms I want changed first,” she said as she laid the pencil down on the table.
Rachel turned slightly in her chair so that she could look directly at Sydney. “May I ask you a question?”
Sydney leaned her head on her hand as she looked at Rachel. “You can ask but I can’t guarantee I will answer.”
“Edna gave me a tour of your house and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why you want to change it.”
“Is there a question somewhere in there?” Sydney asked, the corner of her lips curving into a slight grin.
Rachel’s right eyebrow shot upward and Sydney laughed.
“I was getting to the question and why are you laughing at me?” Rachel asked.
Sydney leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not really laughing at you. I was grinning because after all these years, you still do that quirky little eyebrow thingy when you get annoyed or angry.”
Rachel looked at Sydney with what she thought was her best glare. “Well, if I have to be around you for the next several weeks, I suggest you better get used to it,” she said.
Sydney clutched the area of her chest where her heart was. “I’m so heartbroken now, Rache. Are you trying to make me cry?”
“Don’t you have to have one first in order for it to get broken?” Rachel asked and immediately regretted it. For a brief instant, she thought she saw a flicker of pain flash in Sydney’s eyes and then it was gone faster than it had come.
Sydney cleared her throat. “So what was the question you wanted to ask me?”
“I would like to know why you want these design changes.”
Sydney thought about it for several seconds. There was no way she could tell Rachel the complete truth. “Because so many things in my life have changed lately and I figure why stop now.” She shrugged. “If I have to go through changes, my house should too.”
Rachel looked at her through narrow eyes. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to it than that?”
Sydney shrugged. “I don’t know why you have that feeling. Maybe it’s just indigestion.”
“I’m serious, Sydney,” Rachel said, an annoyed expression on her face.
“Okay, I’ll tell you why. Meredith did all of the decorating and for the most part, I’ve always hated it, especially what she did to my office and bedroom. She used dark woods, like walnut and cherry and maple and it’s just too damn depressing.” Although this was a partial truth, she waited, hoping this explanation was enough to satisfy Rachel’s curiosity.
She breathed a silent sigh of relief when Rachel turned to look at the blueprint.
“All right, which room would you like for me to tackle first?” Rachel asked.
Sydney shrugged, shaking her head at the same time. “I honestly don’t care. You’re the designer so you decide what room to do first.”
“Can you at least tell me what colors you have in mind?” Rachel asked in exasperation. Sydney was getting on her nerves and the worst part was that she seemed to be enjoying it.
Sydney laughed. “Nothing dark.”
“You’re not gonna make this easy on me, are you?” Rachel growled as she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration.
Sydney did a double take. That is one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen and heard at the same time, she thought as she continued to watch Rachel. Without meaning to, her eyes settled on Rachel’s lips before moving back up to her eyes.
Rachel slid her stool back away from the table. “I need colors, Sydney, you know like, blue, green, orange, etcetera, etcetera.”
“All right but no orange and it’s already decorated in blues. I want something different.” Sydney was quiet for several seconds as she thought about it. “How about, mauve, burgundy, cream, and maybe forest or hunter green mixed with some tans?”
Rachel smiled and Sydney felt her heart skip a beat. “Now that’s something I can work with. I love those color schemes,” she said, nodding her head.
“Good. I just don’t want any dark browns or blacks though and absolutely no reds. I hate red.”
Rachel looked down at the red t-shirt she was wearing and laughed. “I guess I should probably go change my shirt, huh?”
“Or ... you could just take it off,” Sydney said in a nonchalant manner. She felt her skin tingle as she pictured what Rachel would look like sitting there, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans.
Rachel leaned back in her chair. She tapped her index finger against her chin. “You know, I don’t remember you ever being this um ... what’s the word I’m looking for?”
“I have no idea,” Sydney laughed.
“Brazen, arrogant, obnoxious, egotistical, maddening, and—”
Sydney held her hand up in the air. “Okay, you can stop anytime. I get the picture and that was more than one word.”
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Rachel sighed.
Sydney slammed her hands on the table so hard, it made Rachel jump. “You know what? You’re right, absolutely right.” She got off her stool, walked over to the desk, and flipped the power ON button to the computer and dropped down in the chair. She turned and looked at Rachel. “Have you seen this little baby yet?” she asked.
“No, I haven’t got that far,” Rachel said, shaking her head.
“I think you’re really gonna love what Caitlyn and her group has done to EMCOR’s design software.”
“I can only imagine,” Rachel said, her expression softening at the mention of her daughter’s name.
“Have a seat,” Sydney said, motioning to the chair beside her.
Rachel pulled out the chair and sat down. She quickly jerked her leg back when it accidently touched against Sydney’s leg.
Sydney laughed. “I won’t bite, you know.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Rachel said as she folded her hands in her lap.
Once the computer was fully booted, Sydney clicked on an icon that was shaped like a door. She moved the mouse around, making several click through various screens. “Check this out,” Sydney said as she opened the file titled, Sydney’s House.
Rachel looked at the computer monitor and smiled. On the screen in 3D was a picture of Sydney’s house. “I can’t wait to see how it looks on the inside.”
“You’re gonna love it,” Sydney said and clicked an icon on the left that said “Family Room.”
“Amazing,” Rachel said as a 3D view of Sydney’s family room came into view. What made it incredible was that the picture displayed looked like it had been shot from a 35-millimeter camera in real-time.
“See this little directional arrow icon here,” Sydney said and tapped the screen with the tip of her fingernail.
Rachel nodded.
“Watch this,” Sydney said and clicked the down arrow. As she did, a circle appeared and as she slowly dragged her mouse pointer over it, the view of the room rotated. “Now check this out.” She clicked the mouse on the curtains hanging on the window next to the fireplace. A small popup box opened and gave a list of ten different types of curtains. She selected the one called “Crisscross” and as she did, the “Balloon Valance” curtains were replaced with ones that she had selected.
“Oh my,” Rachel exclaimed.
Sydney laughed. “And if you want to change the color, just right click and a whole palette will open up for you.”
“Can I try?” Rachel asked and
without waiting for an answer, slid her chair closer to Sydney. She was so excited she didn’t realize that her leg was fully pressed up against Sydney’s but Sydney sure noticed.
“Have at it,” Sydney said, sliding the mouse over to Rachel. She watched as Rachel excitedly changed colors and then added stripes to the Crisscross curtains. She then clicked on several of the other rooms, playing around with the software.
Rachel leaned back in her chair and smiled at Sydney. “Do you have any idea how groundbreaking this software is? This will save designers thousands of dollars just in time wasted alone, which will save our customers money in the end.”
“Yeah, I think I do realize it and not only will it be used at EMCOR, we will be designing an additional package that we’ll market and license to our competitors for a substantial profit.”
“I have to admit that I’m impressed. Where did you come up with the idea to do this?” Rachel asked.
Sydney leaned back in her chair and laced her hands behind her head. “Your daughter.”
“Caitlyn did this?” Rachel asked as she continued to play with the software.
“Yes, ma’am she did, along with her team of programmers and you are our very first user.”
“This is really something else, Sydney,” Rachel said, shaking her head.
“I would like for you to keep a few things in mind when you’re testing it.”
Rachel turned in her chair to look at Sydney. “Like what?”
“Like bugs or problems that you see, things that you feel would make it better or if you think we need to offer more choices such as the amount of curtains or fabrics, etcetera.”
Rachel grabbed the mouse and clicked on the couch in the family room. She right clicked it again and a popup box opened that listed several fabric types to choose from. “I can change the fabric, the carpet, the wallpaper. You name it and I can change it.”
Rachel was like a kid in a candy store and it made Sydney smile. “Anything that is clickable in the picture, you can make changes to it, even the paintings on the wall.”
Rachel looked at her. “Where did you get the idea to create something like this?”