Claudia

Could my sister be any more of a pain in the ass?

"Is your iced tea freshly brewed?" Mara asked the waitress.

"No. It's from a mix."

Mara wrinkled her nose. "What about sparkling water. Do you have any of that?"

I could tell the girl was trying not to roll her eyes. "No. Just regular water."

Mara sighed. If this were on social media, I'd have added #firstworldproblems. "Fine. I'll have a water with, do you have lime?"

"Yes."

"Perfect," Mara said, beaming. "And we'll get an order of the fried eggplant to start."

The waitress turned to leave.

"But—"

I covered my hand with my mouth so Mara wouldn't see me laughing.

"Could we also get some ranch for dipping, not just marinara?"

Silently, the waitress stared for a moment. "A Diet Coke. Water with lime. And eggplant with ranch instead of marinara," she said flatly. "Anything else?"

Mara looked at me. "You like the marinara, though. Right?"

"Ranch and marinara," the waitress amended. "Anything else?"

"Nope. That's it." My voice was overly bright. I gave her what I hoped was an apologetic look. I adored my sister, but ordering with her was like being an extra in When Harry Met Sally.

Once we were alone, she turned to me. "So. Dad's driving you nuts."

I slumped back in my chair with a sigh. "Yes. No. A little. Mostly it's Larry."

Mara rolled her eyes. "You are a better woman than I. I'd kill him if I had to work with him. Being someone's friend is vastly different than being able to work together."

Larry was not only a long-time employee of Durdee Work, he was one of my parents' closest friends. And Mara's godfather. But he was old-fashioned as hell.

"So what's the project Dad assigned you?"

Excitement bubbled in my chest. I had so many great ideas, if Larry would just let me try them. "Do you know the MacArthur group?"

"Isn't that the guys who just bought the Dragons?" Mara's eyes lit up. She was still at the bottom of the evolutionary chain at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, but her dream was to be a sports reporter. And football was her preference. She'd been bugging me to set up an interview for her with AJ's older brother.

"Technically the company didn't buy the team. Some kind of NFL rule. But the three primary MacArthur shareholders did." I shook my head. I hadn't paid too close of attention when AJ explained all that corporate mumbo jumbo that had no bearing on my work. I'd been more focused on how long we had to wait until he could get it up again.

"But more or less. Anyway, they're developing a two-block area downtown. They have the rough blueprints for the buildings, which will be retail with apartments above. And we're putting in a bid for the landscape design."

"And Larry doesn't like your ideas?"

The waitress appeared with a plastic red basket heaped with deep-fried eggplant. My mouth watered when the scent hit my nose. Heaven in a basket.

"Ready to order?" She looked at me. Probably saving my sister's impossible order for last.

"We'll split a medium pizza. Just pepperoni on my half." Handing her my menu, I gave her my most sympathetic smile. I'd been to Paulo's enough to know my sister's half would be much less straightforward.

"I'll have the works on my half." Mara held out her menu.

The waitress started writing on her pad when Mara added, "But instead of sausage, can I get ground beef?"

The waitress closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and kept writing.

"And instead of mushrooms, can I get diced tomatoes?"

"Sure."

"I swear she's adopted," I said.

The waitress's gaze moved between the two of us. With our matching red hair, blue eyes, and pale, freckled skin, not to mention the same basic build, we were very clearly related. "Anything else?"

I grinned. "We're good." As usual, I'd be leaving a few extra dollars for a tip on the table.

"But can we get our drinks?" Mara added.

"Of course."

Having done my fair share of bitching about customers, I could imagine our waitress going back to the kitchen and venting about the crazy redhead.

"'On the side is a very big thing for you.'" I quoted the line from When Harry Met Sally.

Mara played along. "I just want it the way I want it."

"Yep. High maintenance."

We'd done this routine pretty much since the first time we saw the movie.

"So, Harry, what's the issue with Larry?" Part of the routine was if she was Sally, that made me Harry. I could do worse than Billy Crystal.

As I loaded my appetizer plate with eggplant, I said, "I did some research on MacArthur Group, so I'd know what sort of things they have on their other properties. They don't do all real estate development, but it's about a third of their business. And another huge part of their business is working on sustainability issues. So all their development has the newest green design and technology. Using native plants, solar panels discreetly worked into the landscape, irrigation systems that feed themselves. Stuff like that."

Mara took her water from the waitress, and squeezed the wedge of lime into it. "And Larry wouldn't know a solar panel if it jumped up and bit him in the ass."

"Exactly." I took a long drink from my soda. Bubbly, syrupy ambrosia. "A few places, they have rooftop gardens for residents to use. So I suggested the idea yesterday."

"I'm sure that went over well."

"Wisconsin is an impractical place for a rooftop garden. No one will want it. Growing season is too short." I did a poor impression of Larry's voice, but Mara got my drift.

"Doesn't the Public Museum have a garden?"

More things I'd researched in the past week. "Kind of. Theirs isn't for produce. But there are a ton of rooftop gardens of different kinds all over town. Which I told him and he had a non-answer excuse. Said they're not looking for that. And, like, they didn't specifically list it as a feature they require, but they clearly like them or they wouldn't have them on other developments."

"Which you pointed out to Larry, and…"

Just because Mara didn't work for Durdee Work didn't mean she didn't have a deep understanding of the dynamic there. After all, the place was an extension of our family. And like me, she'd worked there in high school and college.

A small part of me wished I'd broken ties with landscaping, the way she did. But in my heart, I was my father's daughter. Nothing made me happier than shoving my hands in the dirt. Drafting design ideas came in at a close second.

I just wanted to do more than Dad. Get creative with more than flower colors.

"Exactly." I set my elbows on the table and put my face in my hands. "I'm supposed to use this project as a way to show Dad what I can do, to prove he needs to make me a full time part of the design team. But how do I do that when Larry rejects every single idea I have?"

"Every idea? He's got to at least like a few of them."

I cut her a glare. "I suggested wild columbine and mountain lily. You know he puts those in every corporate landscape. He said no, we're going with hydrangeas."

"Ooh, that's bad when Larry rejects columbine."

"Exactly. Plus, hydrangeas are finicky and require tons of water. And since I can't even think about bringing up a self-sustaining irrigation system, that means they'll be majorly eco-unfriendly." I shoved eggplant in my mouth, chomping down so hard, my teeth clicked.

"You think he feels threatened by you?"

I laughed. "Why would Larry be threatened by me? He's changed my diapers."

Mara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but he's near the end of his career. And here comes this young chick, the boss's daughter, no less. With her degree and all sorts of new ideas. From where he sits, that's gotta be threatening. What if Dad tries to make him retire early so he can move you in?"

"Dad would never do that. Larry's his best friend."

"We know that. But maybe Larry's starting to worry about it." Mara shrugged as she dipped eggplant in the ranch dressing. "I'm just throwing out possibilities. It doesn't sound like Larry to one, reject columbine. And two, reject columbine solely to contradict you."

"Ahhhhh!" I scrubbed my hands over my face. "That's what makes this suck even more."

Mara gave me a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to talk to Dad for you?"

"No! Definitely not." That would just prove I was still a kid who couldn't hack it on her own. I needed Dad to see me as an adult who could get the job done. "Maybe this is really a test of whether I can be a team player. Even if Dad gives me a full-time design position, Larry has seniority. So maybe he's seeing if I can fit in and not cause trouble when Larry and I disagree." That did sort of sound like something Dad would do.

"Maybe."

The waitress arrived with our pizza. She set it in the middle and gave us each a plate. "Would you like dried red pepper or fresh parmesan cheese?"

"No thanks." I reached for the spatula. My mouth started watering, looking at the gooey cheese and greasy pepperoni.

"I'd like some parmesan, please." Mara gestured to the pan in the center. "You can just put it on my whole part."

The waitress continued to look at Mara, as if she were waiting for more.

Mara gave her a sheepish smile. "That's all. I'm sorry, I know I'm a pain."

The waitress wisely said nothing as she sprinkled cheese on Mara's half.

"I'm sorry things are so tough with Dad and Larry," Mara said as we dug in. "So let's talk about something more fun."

"OK." Should I tell her about AJ? We'd agreed we weren't telling the friends in our building. But it was driving me crazy not having anyone I could talk to about it. The secrecy was exciting and kind of hot. But also frustrating. And telling my sister was very different from telling the people I lived with.

She gave me a smile that said she was about to squee about something. I knew that smile.

"You have a new boyfriend."

Grinning, she nodded.

I felt a bubble of excitement. Because she was trying to work her way into a heavily male-dominated field, Mara didn't take time to date much. Or do anything except work.

"That's awesome. What's his name? Tell me about him."

As we ate, she gushed about Evan, who worked in sales at the Journal-Sentinel. I listened and commented when appropriate and tried not to think about my own new guy. New old guy? Old new guy? Or whatever AJ was to me now.

"What about you? Any hot prospects?" She wadded up her paper napkin and set it on her plate.

A blush started on my chest and spread quickly up my neck and face. Apparently I was telling her about AJ.

"Ooh, who is it?" She clasped her hands together and leaned toward me.

I reached for a now-cold strip of eggplant, just for something to do with my hands. "So remember I went to that wedding a few weeks ago?"

"AJ's sister, sure. You met someone there?" She made a sympathetic face. "Poor AJ, just got dumped, then you ditch him too."

I bit my lower lip. "Actually..."

"No." Mara turned it into a three-syllable word. "Really?"

I gave her an unsure look.

"You and AJ?" She stared.

I nodded.

"It's about damn time."

That's not what I was expecting. "What?"

"Oh, come on. You two have been dancing for four years."

I gave her a look that said she was crazy. "He's been with Olivia forever. And it's not like we're dating or something."

The waitress appeared with two foam containers and the check. She set them down and disappeared without saying anything.

Mara reached for the black folder with the bill. "Then what are you?"

"It's more a friends-with-benefits arrangement," I said as I started scooping my leftovers into a container. It would be perfect for breakfast tomorrow.

"Really? You know anyone that's ever worked out for?"

I didn't meet her eyes. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head and gave me a look like her three extra years gave her so much more wisdom. "I hope it's different for you two. But I've never met anyone who could go back to being friends after sleeping together more than once. And I'm assuming it's been more than once."

The heat returned to my face as I nodded.

"So either you're going to end up moving past friends-with-bennies and becoming actual boyfriend and girlfriend, or it'll end and your friendship will be over."

A hollow feeling spread in my chest, running counter to how much pizza I'd just consumed. I didn't want AJ to be my boyfriend. I didn't want anyone to be my boyfriend right now. But the idea of losing him as a friend made me ache.

I focused on counting out some cash for my half of the check so I wouldn't have to think about AJ. We didn't have to be like everyone else. We could make our own rules. Just because Mara and I didn't know anyone who had gone the route I wanted for AJ and me didn't mean it wasn't possible.

Out on the sunny sidewalk, Mara paused next to my car as I put my pizza and purse in the backseat. "You and AJ will figure things out."

Squinting, I dug out my sunglasses. "Nothing to figure out right now."

She wisely didn't respond, just pulled me into a quick hug.

"And good luck with Larry. Let me know how it goes."

I already knew how it would go. I'd spend the next few days suggesting ever smaller ideas to Larry and he'd shoot them down. Then we'd go to the meeting next Monday and pitch a bland, environmental nightmare of a landscape. And MacArthur would hire someone else.

And eventually I'd take over the family business and maybe then, I could make some changes.