Rush: A Second Chance Romance

by Ellen Lane

  How things changed.

  “I think,” Jackson went on, his smile turning wry, “That you seem incredibly uncertain for a man who so easily commands others.”

  At that, Vlad reddened slightly. It was true, he gave out a lot of orders in the office - but that was because he knew how he wanted things to be run - how his father would expect things to be run. But now he was on a timetable. He had a single year to be sure that he could run his father’s company effectively without him.

  And it didn’t seem like very much time at all.

  “Vlad, I think that when you’re finished with your vacation, it might be good for you to go to LA.” The sudden subject change had Vladimir looking to his father in confusion before the older man went on. “We’re working on a new building in the downtown area to serve as the West Coast headquarters and I’d like you to personally oversee the building and work with the architect. I can handle things in Manhattan while you’re gone.”

  The request was so sudden, Vlad didn’t know what to say. There was only one thing he could say. “Of course.” He managed, after a disjointed beat. Seeing as how they were in the middle of a budget overhaul, he would have thought his father might have wanted him back in the office as soon as possible, but it seemed as though Jackson had other plans.

  There was a glint in the older man’s eye as he grinned. “Wonderful. I’ll let them know you’re coming.”

  Vlad didn’t know if he liked that glint. It usually meant his father was up to something - and Jackson Kensley was a man who could be relentless in getting what he wanted.

  Chapter 2 - The Art of Confidence

  Charlotte was walking on air.

  Even two weeks after the fact, she still couldn’t believe that this was happening to her, of all people. She hadn’t even submitted a design - she’d been convinced that her father would tease that she had a leg-up because she knew the Kensleys personally; but that was a bit of an overstatement.

  He knew the Kensleys personally. In fact, Trevor Gardner had been close with Jackson Kensley since the two of them were boys. Her father had thought the CEO might have gone a bit overboard when he adopted five boys within three years, but he had gradually come to believe that Jackson made the right decision. After all, all five men were now pretty seamlessly installed in their father’s company.

  Well, four of them were, at least. The last Charlotte heard of Lucas, he was still struggling to find his feet - though there was no shame in that.

  In her wildest dreams, the young woman had never believed that she would have an opportunity like this one: designing a building for Jackson Kensley himself. Even if her father was close to the man, Charlotte herself had never met him or any of his family. She was far too busy chasing her own dreams, which, even at the best of times, were a bit outlandish.

  But that had never stopped her.

  Humming softly to herself, she tapped her pen rhythmically on the edge of the desk as she stared at the blank pad laid out before her. In the past six years, she’d spent more time at her drawing table than she had anywhere else, but now she was having trouble coming up with a suitable idea.

  She found herself somewhat torn.

  Like everyone else, when she heard that the Jackson Kensley was looking for someone to design his LA headquarters, she had been beside herself at the notion. However, upon looking at the rest of his company’s buildings around the world Charlotte quickly became disillusioned. The construction style that Kensley preferred seemed a bit boring to her - straight up and down buildings with little to no imagination, uninspired by the individual and intrepid cities in which they were housed.

  With centers in places like Madrid, Tokyo, and Shanghai, one might have thought the architects might have taken inspiration from the natural beauty of the cities. Instead, it was just like they had slapped something together. All the business centers looked the same - and Charlotte found the sight quite depressing.

  Though when she mentioned this to her father he had only laughed. She had, he reminded her, been one of the most imaginative women he’d ever known since she was very young. Perhaps Jackson Kensley might be drawn to some of that imagination.

  Charlotte found that she disagreed. This was, of course, why she hadn’t even taken the time to submit a design. She was still on her first position out of architecture school, and though her work was quickly gaining acclaim on the east coast, it was among a more artistic crowd. Those who tended more towards the avant-garde and greener building initiatives. A few more grounded builders even went so far as to say that, rather than trying to think outside the box, Charlotte was trying to remake the box.

  She took it as a compliment, much to the chagrin of her peers.

  Charlotte was completely surprised when her father told her that she had received a letter from his good friend. Things came into more perspective when he revealed to her that he’d sent the man a few of her designs, just for the fun of it. He was just as shocked as she was when Jackson told him immediately that he wanted Charlotte for the LA project.

  She was all but bouncing off the walls in elation - even though she knew it was ridiculous for a thirty-year-old woman to carry on like she was. Luckily, she had a friend or two who were just as enthusiastic as she was. The celebrations had gone on for a full week, and now, after her last few days in her old office, she was ready to start working on the Kensley Center.

  The redhead couldn’t deny there was a part of her that was nervous. She had staked her entire career on this, and Kensley hadn’t even approved the design. He had judged, from the ones her father had sent him, that he favored her style, but what if she drew out the plans and he changed his mind? Took back the deposit and put her out in the cold?

  The moment the thought entered her mind, Charlotte shook her head stubbornly. That wouldn’t happen. If anything, it said something that Kensley had hired her without even having the plans in his hands. He wanted her to implement her vision into his building, and she could certainly do that.

  Designing buildings with her special vision in mind was her forte, and Charlotte swore to herself that the Kensley center would be one of the most eye-catching towers in downtown LA.

  With that thought in mind, slowly, carefully, she began to draw.

  It was around six in the evening when she started, and a full eight hours had passed by the time her roommate, Delilah, came in around two in the morning. The younger woman did her best to enter quietly - at least until she realized that the light in Charlotte’s study was still on. Arching a brow in weary curiosity, she dropped her things and made her way down the hall to push the door open slowly.

  And there was her roommate, hunched over her drawing table. By the looks of the pile of crumpled paper at her feet, Charlotte must have been there for years. Her deep brown eyes were trained so intensely on the paper that she didn’t even notice when Delilah entered. Smiling in amusement, the blonde leaned back against the door to watch her friend.

  Charlotte was certainly a character. Lila met her when she was a student in architecture school and she came into the spa where she worked as a masseuse. She remembered vividly that Charlotte’s shoulders had been so locked up that she was surprised the elder woman could even move them. The redhead told her, quite enthusiastically in fact, that she was an architecture student and spent eight to ten hours a day bent over a drawing table. At the time, Lila had been both fascinated and horrified.

  She had quickly learned that Charlotte wouldn’t have things any other way. She loved what she did, and she was determined to make money doing it, despite what any naysayers around her might believe.

  The truth of the matter was that Charlotte was a brilliant architect, if a little eccentric. The latter fact was easily illustrated by the fact that she sat at her drawing table nude from the waist up, her long red hair swinging over her bare breasts.

  Sighing, Lila wondered how long she had been sitting there and when she had last eaten. Though she was loathed to interrupt the creative process, s
ometimes she liked to think she was the only reason Charlotte’s already slender form hadn’t wasted away.

  “Lottie.” The first time she called her friend’s name, the young woman didn’t even look up. When Charlotte was absorbed in her work, she was completely lost - nothing short of hellfire or flood could snap her out of her trance. “Lottie!” This time, she yelled so sharply that the redhead dropped her pencil with a gasp before spinning around in her chair.

  “Lila.” She smiled, her eyes bright and cheeks flushed with pleasure. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “No kidding,” the blonde returned in wry amusement. “I’m pretty sure someone could have murdered me in the living room and you wouldn’t have heard.”

  “Oh, that’s not true.” Charlotte returned, pushing a mass of bright curls from her face. “Bloodcurdling screams usually break through.”

  “Well, let’s put it this way,” Lila grinned, “Even if you had come to save me, my assailant would have gotten an eyeful.” Charlotte arched a brow before glancing down at her bare chest. Despite being no larger than a size two, by some enviable miracle, she had pretty generous tatas - something Lila always liked to tease her about.

  “Well, I could have taken him out while he was staring at my boobs. Works for me.” She hopped down from her drawing stool before turning back to her drawing to lean over it critically.

  “How long have you been at it this time?” Lila inquired, crossing the room to stand beside her and look over the drawing as well. Of course, architectural plans were half about figures and preciseness, half about aesthetic appearance, and so she usually couldn’t glean too much from the images that Charlotte came up with - but this one was different. The moment Lila’s eyes fell on the drawing, they widened in surprise.

  “Wow.” She couldn’t think of any other word that would do the building before her justice. The angles were incredible, there were almost more windows than there was wall space, and the entire affair was both eye-catching and astounding in its glory. “What’s this?”

  Charlotte smiled triumphantly, tracing her fingers lightly over the lines. “It’s the plan for the new Kensley Center.”

  Lila’s mouth dropped open. “Wait, the one you’re doing for Jackson Kensley. This!?”

  Her tone made her friend look over a bare shoulder at her inquiringly. “What’s wrong with it? I’m proud of it.”

  “As you should be!” Lila returned, reassuring Charlotte that she meant no offense, “But that thing...it’s going to completely remake the LA skyline.”

  “Won’t it, though?” Charlotte returned almost dreamily, her expression so besotted that she could have been talking about a lover.

  But Lila knew better than that. When it came to Charlotte, men didn’t tend to stick around for very long. The redhead liked to go back and forth when it came to major decisions, and while she tended to throw herself into relationships when she had them, her work always came first. It was enough to drive any man crazy, especially one intimidated by an architect that was rapidly becoming a common name in LA. For lack of a better term, Charlotte was a force of nature that couldn’t be tamed - not that several men hadn’t tried.

  What the woman needed in her life - at least, in Lila’s opinion - was stability. She was all over the place, and if there was someone who could bring her down and ground her in the moment…

  But she doubted that day would come anytime soon. When Charlotte got this project, she’d been so absorbed in it that she could hardly think of anything else. Not only was it the creative opportunity of the decade, but it would also provide her with the funds to start her own firm - something she’d wanted since she became an architect. Everything was falling into place for her - and she probably wouldn’t be slowing down anytime soon.

  “Did you want to grab dinner or something?” Charlotte seemed to snap from her reverie, looking over at Lila in question. “Since you’re home.”

  Lila laughed in incredulity. “Lottie, it’s like two in the morning.”

  “Oh.” Charlotte looked over at the clock, her expression only registering slight surprise. “Fuck.”

  “‘Oh fuck is right.” Still snickering, Lila reached into her bag to pull out the remains of the Chinese she’d eaten four or five hours earlier. She found herself grateful that she elected to bring them home rather than tossing them at the spa - if she hadn’t Lottie probably wouldn’t have thought very much of going to bed without a dinner as well. “Here, eat this. I swear, you’re not human.”

  “Definitely human.” Charlotte took the bag from her with a grateful smile. “Or else I wouldn’t be hungry.”

  She didn’t even bother to go into the kitchen, instead merely moving her precious plans aside to tear into the cold Chinese right there on her drawing table - still nearly bare as the day she was born. Sighing, Lila merely shook her head. “Is there any food in the fridge?”

  “Probably not,” Charlotte covered her mouth as she spoke to keep from spraying Lila with Lo Mein as she spoke. “I meant to go shopping earlier, but I got a little side-tracked.”

  “A little.” Lila smirked. “There’s no such thing as getting side-tracked in moderation with you.”

  “That’s why you love me.” Swallowing the bite in her mouth, Charlotte grinned at her. “Because I’m so unpredictable.”

  “Crazy,” Lila corrected her, without missing a beat, “You’re completely out of your mind. And that’s why I love you.”

  Charlotte merely smiled fondly at her before going back to her dinner. “I’m going to bed, Lottie. Long day.” With a yawn, Lila looked over the chaos that was her roommate’s study. “Are you going to be up much longer?”

  “Probably not. Want to get up early to refine the plans later.”

  Of course she did. Lila couldn’t say that she was surprised. “Well, if you ever come out of the study, I’m off tomorrow. We can go see a movie or something.”

  “Ooooo, slasher-horror or action-explosion?”

  Lila chuckled. “Which one would be more likely to draw you out of seclusion?” Charlotte appeared to think about it for a moment.

  “Probably action. Definitely action.”

  “Action it is.” With a fond smile, Lila took in the tall, slender woman before her, every inch of her bare skin covered in riotous freckles, her red curls in complete and total disarray. Shaking her head in amusement, she shifted her bag higher on her shoulder. “Don’t work too hard, ok? The last time I gave you a massage, I was pretty sure I was going to break my fingers.”

  “No finger-breaking.” Charlotte waved her off. “Now go to bed. Recharge. Goodnight.”

  Charlotte would, Lila told herself, undoubtedly be up for at least another one or two hours before she finally got to bed, and then she’d wake up well before the blonde in the morning. Charlotte was a hopeless insomniac, which she liked to say fed her talent as an artist. She rarely ever got more than four hours of sleep at night, and she dealt with it far better than people who were convinced that insomnia was their curse. She was an enigma, to be sure - and Lila was pretty sure she was one of the only people on earth that could deal with Charlotte affectively.

  And love her unconditionally.

  Though she spent the morning traipsing around the house in her towel, Charlotte made sure to get dressed before Lila woke around ten or so. She was lounging on the couch in one of her favorite black maxi-dresses by the time the other woman trudged into the room in her pajamas, still yawning. At the sight of Charlotte on the couch, Lila merely groaned.

  “Like I said: inhuman.”

  “Coming from you, that’s a compliment.” Charlotte merely smiled, sipping from the glass of juice she held. Compared to the previous night, she was almost prim, her crazy curls tamed into a tight knot at the base of her neck as she surfed through channels on television. She was lucky, she knew, to have a roommate like Lila who didn’t really care how much she wore around the apartment. The masseuse understood her like few people could, and dealt with her crazy hour
s without complaint.

  She was a diamond in the rough.

  “So, did you finish the plans?”

  The question made Charlotte frown. “I had to take a break. If I look at something for too long…”

  “I know,” Lila finished before she could with a knowing smile. “You end up scrapping it. Then regretting it.”

  “Bingo.” Sighing, Charlotte took another sip of her juice. “So, what’s on your docket for today?”

  “Well,” Crossing the room, the blonde took up the glass of juice that Charlotte had been sipping on to have some herself, “Besides the movie, I thought...maybe...we could go on a double date.” Charlotte’s expression changed from amiable to skeptical so fast Lila’s head might have spun.

  “Lila…” When she spoke, her words held thinly veiled warning. Despite the fact that Charlotte had nothing against men in general, she almost never dated when she was working on a major project. Her excuse was that it threw her concentration off. It wasn’t that Lila didn’t respect her friend’s proclivities, it was simply that she liked to take any opportunity she could to steer Charlotte towards a more...healthy relationship.

  That was...one where she felt like the guy wouldn’t run for the hills when he realized how particular her friend was.

  “Oh, come on, Charlotte. It’s one of Benny’s friends. You like Benny.”

  Indeed, Lila had been pretty surprised when Charlotte announced that she’d taken a liking to her boyfriend. Though the architect was polite to people in general, there were few people that she actually liked. Benjamin Thompson was easy-going and fun - a Doctor over at Hamilton General Hospital, about ten miles away. While most men in his position might be stuck up or anal about their line of work, Benny was the most laid-back doctor Lila had ever met. Perhaps that was why she liked him so much - and by default, Charlotte seemed to be pretty fond of him as well.

  “Is that supposed to mean I’m going to fall all over his friend?” Charlotte arched a brow, taking her juice back with a wry smile.