Feisty Heroines Romance Collection of Shorts

by D. F. Jones

  Chapter 6

  Audrey

  The office had been bare before Audrey had returned from school. Now, it was a plant utopia, with a number of different plants in every corner of the room. Her father was already in his own office when she entered, closing the glass door behind her gently so that the bell didn’t go off again. She hated that sound in the morning, yet her father insisted on keeping it around. She assumed Jenine was already out with Christopher and Kayley to the other properties that they maintained, just as extra coin to the business.

  There were always lawns that needed care, shrubs that needed to be pruned, and flowers that needed to be watered. It was the best part of the business when it came to getting extra money, and kept them afloat throughout the year.

  She could see her father through the window in his door. He’d obviously heard her as she came in but didn’t bother to look up. Instead, his eyes were lowered to a pile of papers on his wooden desk. Audrey brought the travel mug in her hand to her lips and shrugged. He was always worrying about something or other. The man was riddled with anxiety, to the point where she was nervous it impacted his health. Despite her numerous attempts, though, he never accepted her advice or help.

  “Will you come in here?”

  She raised her eyebrows and took a sip of the warm coffee, which was sweetened by a little cinnamon. It was warm to her lips and was the first one she’d had so far that day — caffeination was necessary.

  Her father still appeared concerned as she opened the door to his office. There were two leather chairs in front of his desk, and she could see the wrinkles near his mouth, deepening as he frowned and lifted his eyes to meet hers. She could tell it wasn’t going to be the best of news.

  “Remember that man you sent the portfolio to a week ago?”

  How could she forget? Audrey kept her words to herself and nodded in response.

  “He’s given us a quote,” he said, his voice low. “They want us to take on the project at the museum.”

  Audrey’s heart fell and her stomach filled with butterflies. His words didn’t make any sense in that moment. Damien wanted to work with her father’s company? That meant he would be working alongside her. They would be spending time together...again. It didn’t seem possible. Why would he have chosen them?

  Her father raised his eyes to meet hers, and there was a glint of promise there. Regardless of whether or not she had to work alongside Damien, she had to take on the project. For the sake of the company and her family. She just had to get out of her own way and shove her heart into her back pocket, where it belonged. “The quote is unbelievable, and they’re giving us a realistic goal for timing. I can’t believe it.”

  “Neither can I.”

  “Do you know what this means, sweetheart? We can finally hire some new people. This will make it so that we can pick and choose our projects. It’s incredible!”

  The enthusiasm of his voice made her smile. It had been too long since she’d heard him call her sweetheart. It may have been years, even.

  “That young man is coming over to the offices today, so clean up your end of things. I’ll speak to him and then have you come up with some ideas for the design with him afterwards.”

  It was like lightning struck. “What? Don’t they have someone else that I can talk to about that? Like the museum director?”

  Her dad shrugged casually. “Apparently, Damien is the team leader in charge of museum planning, or some damn thing. He’s the one you talk to, anyhow. It’s a great opportunity, and I know you’ll come up with something amazing that he can show to that board of directors, or whoever they are.”

  “That’s great.”

  Her dad was grinning as he sighed contentedly. She knew she couldn’t let him down. It meant so much to have such a huge contract. It would open doors for the company later, and it would show off their skills in ways other projects never could. She had to ace this. She just wasn’t sure if she could mentally take the strain of being this close to Damien. He’d been someone that she’d never thought she’d see again.

  Later that afternoon while working on the project, Audrey’s back stiffened when she heard Damien’s voice emanating from her father’s office. It was just across the short hall that led to the kitchen and staff room. She tried to focus her attention to searching the native species to the area, including the wildlife and their habitats. But knowing Damien was in the next room made it difficult.

  Audrey worked on creating a visual style with the land while also creating an ecosystem. It sounded way easier when said aloud. Her hand was starting to hurt from drawing and writing down the Latin names of flowers that she was fond of in the area.

  She could remember her mother taking her through a field of natural lavender and honeysuckles, which had made the air smell divine. She knew they would play a big part in creating a visually appealing experience for museum goers.

  The knock on the door caused her to jump, and seeing Damien’s face caused her to want to hide. She’d prepared herself better than when she’d seen him after planting for an entire day, but it didn’t seem to matter much. It didn’t matter what she looked like. She knew the best way to get back at him was showing him how talented she was.

  “Damien, this is my daughter Audrey. You weren’t properly introduced last time, as she had some cleaning up to do after we worked on your aunt’s estate. She’s our resident landscape designer, so I’m sure you two have a lot to discuss.”

  Audrey could feel her cheeks growing red, and she gave Damien a small smile. “I’ve already started on some of the research for this project.”

  She had to lower her eyes away from his. He looked even better that day than he had when she saw him at the estate. He was wearing a black and navy dress shirt with perfectly tailored gray dress pants that showed off his well-muscled legs. Apparently, even glancing down towards the ground couldn’t get her mind off of their past. It was hard to focus with him in her vicinity, especially when she could smell his cologne from the doorway.

  “It’s so nice to meet you. Your father’s been telling me all about your work, and from what I saw in the company portfolio — I have to say that I was really impressed.”

  She rolled her eyes without saying another word. Words were unnecessary in her line of work when it came to clients. She let the results speak for themselves.

  “Well,” her father said finally, clapping his hands together awkwardly. “I’m going to leave the two of you to talk. Show him what research you have, and I’m sure you’ll both come up with an idea to present as the next step.”

  “Thank you, George. I’m sure we will.”

  Audrey wanted nothing more than to run out of the room.

  Chapter 7

  Damien

  She looked the same as he remembered. Her strawberry-blonde hair was wrapped in a high messy bun, and there was a pencil mark on the bottom half of her face. He could remember all those days he saw her sketching, hoping to get down every plant in their vicinity before sundown. Despite all of it, her blue eyes were enticing, and he held his breath when she lowered them to the floor. So, she could barely stand to look at him. That didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

  He watched as her father passed and tapped him on his shoulder, as if to say good luck. He may not know their history, but it was obvious he knew when his daughter was upset with someone. There were always signs with Audrey, and there always would be. That was just the kind of woman she was.

  Damien took a step closer and watched as Audrey flinched. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and spin her around in her white computer chair. It took everything in him to hold back years of emotions that wanted to spill out. He inhaled deeply, knowing that it would only make things worse. He had to take things slow.

  “These are just some of the natural fauna,” she said, holding up her notebook without looking at him. “I’m thinking of incorporating flowers along the trails, a pond, and a few features like wood carvings that could be used to ho
use squirrels or birds during the spring.”

  He pored over the sketches, impressed with what he saw. She’d already come up with concepts for the trails and canopy above, alongside the flowers that would be in separate areas of the grounds.

  “Will there be an area for —”

  “For kids? Yeah. A sensory garden where they can take seeds and plant them. You could have parents pay for planters in the gift shop and have the children choose which seeds they want based on their favorite plant.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You thought of all that in a week?”

  “I knew we’d get the contract. Our work speaks for itself.”

  She hadn’t changed. Audrey was still the work obsessed woman he’d met all those years ago.

  “You sound a little egotistical when you say that.”

  He watched as she leaned forward in her chair and turned to her computer screen, which was on a metallic, rotating arm so that she looked up at it. He could see all the meticulous notes she’d made about the area.

  “I can come up with a visual mockup in a few days, if you’re in a time crunch.”

  “The board wants me to oversee any ideas you come up with.”

  “And that means what to me, exactly?”

  He placed the notebook down on her white desk and took a step back. “It means we’ll be working together for a few days.”

  He could see the tension rising in her body at the prospect. The board hadn’t recommended it — he had. It was the only way he could think of getting her alone. It had to work, even if it took months. He’d get the courage to tell her.

  She sighed at her desk and kept her eyes on the monitor. “Fine. Whatever. You’ll have to help me build the model, then. You can work from the staff room.”

  He smiled and quickly reverted to his serious demeanor. “Sounds good. I can do that.”

  Chapter 8

  Audrey

  It was like some kind of sick joke. As soon as she entered the office the next morning, there he was waiting at the reception desk with a trayful of coffee. She watched as he removed one for her and gave his signature smirk. Girls had gone crazy over that smirk back in school. To Audrey, however, it had lost all of its charm.

  “I bring my own coffee,” she said, lifting her travel mug as she brushed by him. “Leave it for Linda. She comes in at ten.”

  He didn’t reply to her as she passed, and she didn’t look back to see if he was upset.

  It was strange working not too far from him. She could hear him typing furiously from the staff room, and he’d already okayed the design she’d come up with. Now, she just had to build it. Any good landscaper knew that this was the difficult part.

  She’d already measured out the bottom and was beginning to draw along the edges when she heard his footsteps nearing her doorway. She kept her eyes on the work ahead and ignored him. If he didn’t have anything relevant to say, there was no reason to pay him any mind. She just had to focus on her work.

  “Do you need any help?”

  “Can you draw a plant to save your life?”

  He cleared his throat at her reply. “Not really, but I’m sure I can help with some of the model stuff. Like the figures or something.”

  “The figures?”

  “Yeah. I can help with that.”

  She lifted her eyes to his for the first time that day. “Just do your job, Damien. I’m fine.”

  “All right,” he said, running his fingers through his dark, thick hair. “Let me know if you need anything, though. We do have to work on this together.”

  He left the room, and there was a tense silence. She could feel her heart quivering in her chest. She just had to get through the next week and a half. It was the quickest she’d ever put together a model, but she didn’t need his help or his distractions.

  Chapter 9

  Damien

  He decided to surprise her the next day with flowers picked from the meadow near his condo. He placed them on her desk as she sat at her computer chair. The model on the table at the other end of her office was coming along surprisingly quickly. He didn’t want her to finish.

  “Figured I’d get you the real thing,” he said and placed his hand in his pocket. “For reference.”

  She didn’t respond at all. He was expecting at least a smile, as he knew lavender was one of her favorites. He thought he’d at least get some softness from her, but there was none to be found. Damien knew he had to try harder.

  He moved closer to her so that he could look at the screen alongside her, which caused her to flinch. “Are those the trees you’re thinking of adding?”

  “Yes.”

  He grazed her shoulder as he brought his finger to the screen. “That’s a willow tree, right? Like from Pocahontas?”

  She rolled her head to look at him. “From Pocahontas? That’s the only reference you know about willow trees? They’re only the most gorgeous trees to exist.”

  There was one thing he knew about Audrey — she hated people who took plants for granted. If she thought something was beautiful, she’d convince the next person to believe her, even if it meant arguing. He could remember all the times they’d spent in the field where he’d use that exact same tactic to get a rise out of her. Seeing her bright blue eyes flare with passion always caused him to smile. He loved that she had such dedication in something.

  “I think everyone will love them. How many are you adding in?”

  “Didn’t you go over the plans?”

  “I did.”

  “Then you should know,” she said bluntly, her ears going red. They always did when she was frustrated. “There’s going to be three. Their roots take up a lot of space, and I don’t want them causing damage to any pipelines to the museum, or strangling the roots of other plants. Was the board interested or something?”

  “No,” he said, leaning a little closer to her. “Just me.”

  He could see her cheeks flushing at their proximity. If there was one thing he knew about women, it was he seemed to have a way with them. If his charm wouldn’t work on her, he’d use his looks. There had to be something he could do that would get him closer to winning her over.

  “I have to get back to work if you don’t mind.”

  He purposely grazed her arm as he stood up straight. “Works for me. Only a few more days until the model needs to be finished.”

  He eased out of the room, watching as her frustration grew. Smiling, he knew that any reaction was a good reaction.

  Chapter 10

  Audrey

  She felt like she was part of some comedy sketch and Damien was the lead actor. Each day he would enter her office for no reason whatsoever, as though pissing her off was his new hobby. It was driving her mad. She barely managed to scrape her daily work quote for the day. She always checked her phone to knock off an extra task on her list. She’d look over from the model and there he’d be, hovering like some kind of specter.

  She knew that working with him would have its difficulties, but she never imagined it would be that bad. She could only imagine that he was bored.

  The effect he had on her, though, was obvious. He must’ve known. She tried her best to hold in her frustration or the fact that he flustered her still, but it was difficult. Damien had always had his good looks and it still surprised her each day how much better looking he’d become than when they had been together. In university, he wasn’t nearly as filled out. He’d somehow shifted from a young man to a man’s man in just a few years.

  He looked like he should be on the cover of GQ, the men’s fashion magazine.

  She hated it.

  She stared at the model and placed her hands on her hips. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was the best she could do in the time she was given. If only the deadline hadn’t been so tight. She walked to her doorway and poked her head out. There he was, exactly where he always sat every day for the past week. He was typing on his laptop at the staff room table. Rain pattered on the windows behind him and
helped mask some of the typing which had caused Audrey to start wearing headphones every day at work.

  “It’s finished,” she said, causing him to glance up from the screen.

  He’d somehow managed to continue typing as he met her eyes. “The model’s finished?”

  He sounded surprised. Typical. Everyone underestimated her. “It’s finished. If you want to come take a look, I’d like you to approve of it so we can go to the board and present it.”

  He stopped typing finally and scraped the old metal chair he was sitting in against the floor as he rose to his feet. She watched as he lifted the cuffs of his black dress shirt and made his way toward her. She could see the veins in his arms as he walked towards the doorway.

  She stepped aside for him to enter and was almost knocked over by his scent. Why did he always have to smell so damn good? It was one of her biggest things with men — they had to smell good. It was like Damien made a point of it every day.

  “It looks amazing,” he said, sounding genuine. “I think this might actually work.”

  “Of course, it will.”

  “Will you be ready to present in two days?”

  Audrey’s eyes widened. “That’s not really a lot of time.”

  “There’s never enough time,” he told her, his voice low. “The board wants to move quickly with this, though. The museum is already built, so they’re looking to have the outside finished as soon as possible.”

  “I can present then.”

  “Are you sure? You don’t have to.”

  “No,” she said firmly. “I can present.”

  At least, she hoped she could. It had been a while since she’d presented anything. Her father was the one who took the helm at meetings. For some reason, however, her father had told her that she would be the one to present it alongside Damien. Hopefully, it worked.