Chapter Twenty-Three

Ashton

I walked into the building and smiled at the progress over the last week. The electrician had completed all the wiring, the painters were starting on the reception area, and I could already see my vision coming to life. I hissed out a blissful sigh. All of it had come together like a woven tapestry.

While Quinn toiled at physical therapy every day, I’d been secretly completing a project that he didn’t know about. With part of the proceeds from his trust fund, Quinn had bought an office building with the intention of us launching a new real estate business once he was at a hundred percent. However, he didn’t know that I had taken it step further and started renovations on the building.

Our real estate office would be complete within a couple of weeks. After Quinn’s accident, Mr. Albertson told us to take all the time we needed from work and not worry about anything. I had approached him after Quinn was released from the hospital and told him that we wanted to start our own business. With Quinn having a long road of recovery ahead of him, we felt it was best to work from home for a while.

Mr. Albertson told me that he wanted to retire within the next year and offered to sell us his business. We jumped at the opportunity to do that. It would be easier than to start our own company from scratch. Albertson wanted to keep the office building he’d utilized and just sell us the business so it would be more affordable. Even though it had been a financial stretch, we’d made it work. So Quinn had bought this new office, which was more convenient to our house.

Now with his physical therapist telling us that he was doing much better than anticipated, I upped the renovation completion date. I wanted to surprise Quinn with a brand new office – complete with furniture and décor- when he was done with PT. I was a little nervous about how he would react. It had been hard to keep this surprise from him. A couple of times he had asked me to drive him by the office but I always had a good excuse. We had decided to repaint the outside and put up the new sign at the very last minute. Only a couple more weeks left and I would be able to show off the new office to Quinn. I could hardly wait.

“Hey Ashton. Things are coming along great.” Diana Sinclair greeted me in the foyer.

Diana was a top interior designer that I’d hired to finish up the design plans for the office. She came highly recommended by Albertson. Diana and I had become fast friends while working on completing the office building. She was not only a talented designer but great about keeping secrets.

“Hey there,” I gave Diana a quick hug. “I love the way the colors turned out in the reception area. You were right about the slate grey. It will add another dimension to the couches and coffee table that we ordered.”

“You should know by now that I’m always right,” Diana said laughing and gave me a saucy wink.

I smiled. “That’s why I hired you. You’re the best.”

“So has this must be really hard keeping a secret from Quinn,” she said as she tried a bunch of different colorful throw pillows on the sleek sofa in the reception area.

“Yes and no,” I said, fluffing the canary yellow option and standing back to consider it. “He’s been so obsessed with physical therapy and getting mobile that I think he’s forgotten about everything else. I know he wants to be up and running at one hundred percent like he was before the accident, but I’m afraid he’s pushing himself too hard. Even his therapist had to tell him to slow down and take it easy.”

Diana patted me gently on the back. “Do you think maybe he’s afraid that he’s going to lose you again?”

Diana knew all about our lovelorn past. I’d spilled the beans over a liquid lunch and a gush of worried tears. Thinking about her comment I realized that she might be right. “It’s something I haven’t considered. Only because I tell him every single day how much I love him. Everything that I’ve done lately has been for the benefit of us both.”

“Because of his injuries and the partial loss of his leg, Quinn may be feeling that he’s less than adequate for you. He’s rushing through PT so he can move on with the next part of his life. Being with you.”

I picked up the catalog with fabric swatches and started to thumb through it. Letting Diana’s words marinate around in my head, I started to realize that she was probably right. Quinn had been acting a little differently since his arrival home from the hospital. His doctor did warn us that we might see some behavioral changes with Quinn because of the damage his brain endured. They’d also sent him to some psychotherapy to grieve the loss of his leg and his formerly sculpted body. I still considered him perfect but they’d recommended moving through the five stages just as if someone had died. The doctor said that brain injuries were unpredictable and that some patients were never the same afterwards. It would take time – maybe even years – in order for Quinn to heal.

“Were you a psychologist in a former life or something?” I asked her.

“No, but I’ve been around people who have suffered tragedy in their lifetime and I’ve seen what it does to people. I think you and Quinn will be just fine.” Diana waved her hands around the reception area. “What you are doing here for him will just solidify your love and commitment to him and this business. To your future.”

“I hope so,” I laughed nervously. “We’re spending a lot of money with this renovation. Speaking of, how are we doing on our furniture budget?”

“Actually, we’re under budget. I was able to get a significant discount at Resort Interiors due to their business liquidation.”

“That’s wonderful news,” I said with an excited clap.

“I was thinking about something special we could do for Quinn with the leftover budget.”

I marked my spot in the designer notebook and looked up. “What is that?”

“That space we were talking about in the back of the building? The one we decided to use for storage?”

I nodded for her to continue.

“I thought that would make a great work-out room for Quinn. We could make it simple. Just hardwood floors, a mirrored wall, and some exercise equipment. It would still be under budget. That way he doesn’t have to leave the office to go to a gym.”

“I like it.” I thought it was a great idea and agreed with an enthusiastic nod. “We could always get a portable shed if we need more storage space.”

“Exactly,” Diana agreed.

“Let’s go for it.”

Diana wrote a note in her planner. “Now let’s finish picking out some fabric for the office chairs.”

She sat down next to me as we worked our way through a whole book of swatches. Within the hour we had finished choosing all the furniture, window treatments, and knick-knacks for the individual offices.

“It will take about ten days for delivery and we can install by our due date,” Diana said after we were done.

“Great,” I said. I handed her the designer workbook. “I want to do a big surprise reveal party for Quinn. It will coincide with the end of the first part of his PT.”

Quinn would be doing physical therapy for the next six months. But the first part was the hardest. He was basically learning how to walk again with his new prosthetic leg. After that phase ended, they’d help him regain his overall strength as well as work on brain exercises. His memory and speech were improving a little bit everyday but I could tell he was still frustrated when he couldn’t find the right word when speaking or when he forgot simple tasks. Last night, he’d put ice cream in the pantry. The doctors said it was going to take time but I was in it for the long haul. For life. I just had to keep reassuring Quinn of that.

I hoped that the new office would give him the confidence he needed as well. Before I decided to do the office renovation I had met with his parents as well as his lead doctor. I wanted to be sure that it wasn’t going to be too much for Quinn to handle. Going back to work was a big step. But everyone agreed that it was a big step in the right direction. Just by working part-time, Quinn would be able to begin his new life. I was happy to be a part of that.

“Then I better get this order placed. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch?” Diana asked.

“Tomorrow it is,” I said with a happy wave. “See you then.”