Three weeks later

How long could she keep this up? Her brain was spinning, and her sketches were blurring before her eyes. She’d been at her desk since before eight, only getting up to go through makeup before filming two customer sessions at her desk. Even now, at four in the afternoon on a Wednesday, there was still no end in sight. In the three weeks since the show had started filming in earnest, her world had exploded. All of their active contracts were being converted to the show as the owners signed releases. Three crews would be filmed on separate houses to fill the season fast. New leads were being funneled through production assistants, too.

She was suddenly designing for three different teams, on six projects. They were hiring on an additional crew to handle the increase of work, too. On top of all the additional HR paperwork and design and ordering that needed to go through, she was lucky to see the light of day. It would all calm down. Soon. This was just start-up craziness.

She reminded herself that this was what she’d signed on for. After reworking the contracts to provide better compensation for the crews, better percentages on side-lines, and stipulations about designs in her name, she’d been able to get everyone to agree to the concessions that the production company wouldn’t budge on, like timelines and overrun caps. It had taken all of her negotiating skill, but she’d done it. Three days later an expanded crew had pulled up, and she hadn’t taken a full breath since.

She’d feel a lot better about her workdays if her nights were as blissful as they had been. But going home to an empty apartment had distinctly lost its appeal. She found herself staying later and later just to avoid the loneliness. Even though her heart was broken, she was proud of the way they were handling things. Post-breakup, she and Adrian had taken to avoiding each other as much as possible. She was determined that their split wouldn’t interfere with their working relationship. She refused to prove her father right.

They had barely seen each other since filming started. Adrian was kept as busy filming at the houses as she was here in the office. And tomorrow payroll was due. It was going to be another late night for her. She printed and rolled up the three designs she’d fleshed out today and dropped them in a tube to go to Adrian for inspection. She was worried because she hadn’t been able to wait for him to get to all of the inspections before starting because she had Jake breathing down her neck to film the client sit-downs. She had built more space into the budget and less detail into the plan this time. Hopefully, it would be enough.

When Enzo popped his head into her office, Sofia leaned back with a sigh.

“Now a good time?”

“As good as it’s gonna get.” She stretched her arms out in front of her. “What’s up?”

“Dad wanted me to ask if you had the payroll done yet.”

“Why doesn’t he pick up the phone himself?”

“Because he’s still pissed at you.”

“Did you need something while you’re here? Or are you just today’s whipping boy?”

“I have pictures of the front elevations on the two projects that requested my services, but I wanted to see if you had already decided to make changes to the exteriors before I order the plants and pavers.”

“Sure, which houses?”

“The Ong house and the Pichetti place.”

“Perfect timing.” She tossed him the tube. “I just printed them up. The Mitchell house is in there, too. In fact, if you’re heading out can you take those to Adrian after you look at them? I need his feedback before I order, too.”

“Are you two still not speaking?”

“I speak to him when I have to. I’m a professional. I’d just thought you could save me a step.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

“I need to get back to work. Since the answer to Dad’s question is no, I don’t have payroll done yet, it’s doubtful I’ll get out of here before ten.”

“Sure thing, sis. Don’t worry. It’ll calm down soon. I’ve got to say I like your designs so far. You’ve got a real eye.”

Sofia could feel the blush warming her cheeks. “Thanks, Enzo. That means a lot.”

“What do you think you’ll do after the show?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the show won’t run forever, and Dad is going to have to retire sooner or later. Nick and Seth got me thinking.”

“Thinking what?” As usual, pulling ideas from Enzo was like pulling teeth. Painful, and something she tried to avoid until she absolutely needed to.

“Incorporating separately from Valenti Bros. Just something I’m toying with. Thought I’d see what you think.”

“I think that’s a big step. Let me think about it a bit, pull together some data, once things calm down.”

“No rush.”

“No, there never is with you.” Enzo was not known for his impulsive behavior. Always cautious, always wanting to consider all the possibilities, his slowness to action was a long-standing family joke.

“Hey, I resemble that remark.”

Their shared laughter was interrupted by Natalie’s knock at the door. The makeup artist popped her head in without waiting for a reply.

“Oh! I’m so sorry to interrupt.” She blushed a fierce red.

The look on her face as she avoided meeting Enzo’s eye was part embarrassment, part panic, with just a hint of…longing? Interesting.

“I was just on my way out. Sofia, we need to add you for one more scene over at the Mitchell house tomorrow morning. Jake asked me to have you put it on your schedule.”

Almost before she had finished delivering her message, the tiny brunette had backed out of the office.

“Am I that scary?” Enzo’s eyes followed her out of the office.

Very Interesting. “Hmm, maybe to those who don’t know you’re a complete marshmallow on the inside.” Sofia pegged her brother in the arm, and he laughed.

“Very funny. See you tomorrow, sis. Don’t stay too late.”

“I don’t have much of a choice.”

* * *

Adrian glanced up as another truck pulled in the driveway of the Ong house. He’d sent the crew from the Hunter project home already. They’d put in a full day of work pouring a new concrete slab that would serve as the foundation for an outdoor living space. He was dirty and exhausted and beyond done with having a camera in his face. He’d decided to try and squeeze in another inspection, so he could get it to Sofia before she started planning on this one. He refused to let their breakup get in the way of him doing the quality work Dom relied on him for. He was mostly finished, but he wanted another look under the house before it got too dark.

When Enzo climbed out of the truck, Adrian happily conscripted him into service. “Hey, man. Here, hold this.” He tossed a powerful LED flashlight at the younger man.

“Sure. How’s this place shaping up?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute.” Adrian lifted the grate from the side of the house and stuck his head into the eighteen inches of space under the house. “Can you shine that light at the back of the house?”

Enzo knelt down next to the hole and complied. “What are you looking for?”

“I saw a suspicious dip over beneath the kitchen when I looked in here earlier but there was a glare from the sun.” Enzo helpfully angled the light toward the footprint of the kitchen. It was so nice to work with someone who knew what they were doing. “Thanks… Son of a bitch!”

“Hey. No need for name-calling. If you need me to move the light…”

“No. There’s a leak. A long-term slow leak, if the area of discoloration is any indication. Who knows how much damage has been caused above it in the walls…”

He crawled back out, and made a note in his pocket journal to add to his report.

“So, what brings you over here after quitting time?”

“I wanted to look at the house one more time, this time with Sofia’s plans, to see what will be changing before we get started ordering things.”

“Sofia’s plans? For this house?”

Enzo tossed the cardboard tube to Adrian, who caught it by reflex since his brain was currently spinning.

“Yeah, she asked me to bring them over to you. She said there are ones for the Mitchell, Ong, and Pichetti houses in there.”

What the hell? They’d talked about this. She had promised not to do any more design plans without consulting with him first. This was why they’d had so many problems on the Shah house. And she’d done it, not once, but three times? He clenched his hands around the tube of prints, trying not to let his anger show and failing miserably.

Enzo held up his hands and backed away toward his truck. “I’m just the messenger.”

“Are you gonna look at these or not?”

“Are you gonna punch me in the nose or not?”

“Not mad at you. Let’s get this over with.” Adrian briskly unrolled the plans for the house in front of him, mentally overlaying the existing structure onto the schematic drawings in front of him. He handed the front of the house drawing to Enzo and focused on what was left. She wanted to take down another wall between the kitchen and dining room and reconfigure the master bedroom to add an en suite bathroom. Damn. Given what he suspected was going to be extensive pipe replacements, changing the plumbing at the back of the house as well was going to be expensive. He really hoped she hadn’t shown these plans to the homeowners yet. There was no way all of this was going to fit in the budget or the timeline for this house. “You good, man?”

“Yeah, I’m all good.” Enzo handed back the front page. “Nothing too dramatic for me out here.”

“That’s good because we are going to be right up against the budget on this project.”

“What’s new?”

“The fact that it’s your sister designing it, and I’m going to have to tell her no.”

“Good luck with that.” Enzo laughed and climbed into the cab of his truck.

“I’m going to need more than luck tonight,” Adrian muttered as he tried and failed to suppress the urge to slam his truck bed closed.

* * *

His temper hadn’t cooled when he pulled up to the construction offices and saw her car out front. It was a slap in the face that she would just ignore everything that they’d agreed on. He knew he shouldn’t walk through the door. He shouldn’t talk to her while he was this angry. He shouldn’t jump to conclusions. But too many of his buttons had been pushed today, and his shouldn’ts weren’t as strong as his what-the-hells.

He pushed through the main doors and strode back toward her office. He paused outside her doorway when he heard her on the phone.

“Yes, that’s right. I need to special order that porcelain tile. The timeline got moved up on a lot of our projects. If you can get it to me quickly, I’ll make sure to feature your company name on the show.”

She’d get what she wanted. She had a way of convincing people to bend over backwards to please her. Well, he was through contorting himself for very little reward. He had his crew and his reputation to think of.

Sofia looked up from her desk and held up a finger for patience. She had the nerve to ask him to wait, after ignoring his request that she wait for his reports? His simmering anger cranked up to a boil.

“Thanks, Ashley. You’re the best. Yes, you can have them shipped directly to the house.” She rattled off the address for the Ong house, which only served to piss him off more, before hanging up.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He couldn’t keep his anger hidden. In fact, he didn’t want to, didn’t even try. She should absolutely hear how pissed he was.

“What are you talking about?” Adrian watched the confusion cross her face, and it irrationally fed his anger. She didn’t even know.

“Why are you ordering tile for the Ong house?”

“Because the Ongs agreed that they liked it for their bathroom today?”

“So you’ve already pitched the plans to them? Great. That’s just perfect.”

“What is your problem?”

“You’re my problem. Didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t plan before I got you the inspection reports?”

“Yes, but—”

“And didn’t we say you wouldn’t show it to the clients until we agreed?”

“But—”

“I just got done with that inspection, and there is a major leak under the house. Likely damage to the interior wall.”

“I’ll figure it out,” she said through clenched teeth.

“What if I told you that the wall you wanted to take down is load-bearing? Or that the backyard doesn’t have permit clearances for your expansion?”

“I’d—”

He was too far gone down the path of this rant to listen to her response. His thoughts were spewing out of his mouth as quickly as his brain could pull them up. “I don’t care what you have a degree in. You’ve designed one house. One. I’ve built hundreds. The fact that you ignore my advice shows your inexperience. Maybe it would be better to have those show designers step in. You keep making everything more complicated than it needs to be. We don’t need to knock down walls and expand square footage on every house. We just need to make them livable for these people on a budget. Get your own agenda out of it. And another thing—”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Her one-word response pulled him up short.

“No. Now it’s my turn to talk. I’m not going to get my agenda out of it. I’m not making them complicated to show off or to prove my skills. Hopefully, that last is a by-product. My designs take an okay room and make it perfect. I don’t think anyone should have to settle for just okay. My agenda is what I’m getting paid to pursue, and that is designing rooms to be as beautiful as they are functional.”

Adrian drew in a breath to refute her argument, but she stayed him with a raised hand.

“You come into my office and accuse me of breaking our deal. You weren’t here with Jake and Lorena breathing down your neck and Trina filming over your shoulder, demanding something to film to fit their schedule. So yeah, I got started on the designs. I talked through minor color choice and design details with the couples for the camera. I didn’t mention any major feature that I couldn’t guarantee, and I’ve kept fifty percent of the budget open until I see your fucking reports. I’m not an idiot, despite what you think.”

“Then why send—”

She cut him off, clearly not finished ranting.

“Why send you the sketches? To get your feedback. To see if there were any red flags before I create the blueprints. To see if the goddamn wall is load-bearing. I’m going to give them the best damn house their budget will buy. But that’s not what this is really about. It’s about your precious proposal, isn’t it?”

So maybe she wasn’t being as irresponsible as he’d thought, but he was too mad to back down now. Not when he was close to finally getting the truth out of her. “Have you given it any thought?”

“No. My workload has exploded, and I have gotten zero answers to the many, many questions I have asked.”

“So you don’t support it? You don’t think I deserve to own a part of the company I’ve spent twelve years slaving away for?”

“Do you want me to hand away Frankie’s chance at running this company someday?”

“For the last time, that’s not what it would be.”

“Isn’t it? Can you give me any proof that after you buy in, Dad’s not going to make you head contractor? Are you going to be my boss if I vote yes? Hell no, on all counts. You can’t tell me that’s not how it would be, because he hasn’t told any of us anything. It’s been Frankie’s dream to run this place since before Gabe died.” Sofia’s voice grew louder and higher in pitch as she picked up steam, like a teapot too long on the stove.

“I’m not asking you to give away Frankie’s share of the business.”

“No, you just want a part of it. But there are only so many slices of the pie. What the hell is your proposal, Adrian? You can’t tell me. Dad can’t tell me. All I have asked is for you to give me the details. But no, I am supposed to just support you no matter what because we slept together a few times.”

“Sofia…”

“Oh my God. Is that why you slept with me?” Her face drained of color and emotion as that nasty thought took root. “Were you trying to guarantee my vote for your proposal? Throw the big girl a little touch to clear your path?”

“No, that’s not…” He couldn’t let her believe that.

“Get out of my office.”

“I’m not done.”

“Oh, yes, you are! Do you think just because I let you touch me, you get to come in here and tell me how to do my job? Fuck that and fuck you, too. Leave the reports, and then just leave.”

Adrian knew when to call it quits. He turned on his heel, his fury now directed at himself for screwing up that conversation so royally. They’d both take time to cool down, and he’d try again.

* * *

The door closed behind him, and Sofia dropped her head onto her hands. She couldn’t stop the tears from coming. He hadn’t pulled a single punch. He thought she was incompetent, untrustworthy, and frivolous. He had zero respect for the value she added through her work. He’d slept with her to gain her cooperation and pushed her away when that had failed. She’d thought that they were building something solid. In her weaker moments, she had pictured them together, raising a family and running the company side by side. Now, those dreams felt ridiculous. He’d made them ridiculous by tearing away any illusion she had that she was in a committed, respectful relationship. She didn’t need him to rub her nose in it.

She was so done.

She walked out of her office, leaving behind everything but her keys.