Chapter 18
I sat outside HWP Architecture for fifteen minutes, before I got the nerve to walk inside to meet with Steven Holt. I should have sent Rafael to review the plans and bring them to me. What would I prove by coming here and facing Steven after all this time?
I walked up to the very young-looking receptionist in the lobby. “I have a twelve o’clock meeting with Steven Holt.”
“Your name, please.”
“Kayla Johnson.”
She picked up the phone, pressed some buttons and spoke. “Your twelve o’clock is here.” She turned back to me. “Go to the tenth floor. You’ll be met at the elevator.”
“Thank you.” I turned to locate the elevator. When the doors opened on the tenth floor, Steven stood waiting.
He was still a handsome man with a surfer look about him, tall, lean, and muscular with dirty blond hair that flopped everywhere. His relaxed khaki slacks, white button-up linen shirt and loafers really fit the casual but professional look.
“Kayla. It’s been a long time.” He took my hand and pulled me in for a hug, a genuine, warm smile on his handsome face.
I hugged him back. “Hello, Steven. How are you?”
“Good, good. Come with me. I ordered some food since the only time we could meet was during lunch. I hope that’s okay.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you.”
I followed him past another reception desk and through double doors. We entered his office with full-length mirrored windows, so he could see out, but nobody could see inside. I noticed he had a meeting table set for lunch.
“Please have a seat. I hope memory serves correctly. I ordered you a Cobb salad with Thousand Island dressing?”
“Yes, that’s perfect, thank you.” I sat down, not sure if we were eating or doing business first.
“What a treat to be able to work with you again. What are the chances that both our firms were contracted for this project?”
“It’s quite a coincidence. It will be fun.” I smiled in agreement. “It’s been a long time since we worked on a project together.”
He stared at me for a moment.
I looked down, unable to meet his gaze. I didn’t know what I wanted out of this meeting. I think a small part of me hoped I’d feel something, anything. “So, what are we looking at for square footage and budget on this project?”
Steven pulled out his file and I pulled out mine. We were at his drafting table sketching out what was needed to meet code and give an aesthetically pleasing design in no time. I told him I wanted a showroom that rotated the cars every five minutes to give a 360-degree view of them and maximize the square footage of the showroom.
The executive offices should be on the second level so the directors could look down at the lot and showroom at any time. We spent two hours putting ideas on paper. We ate while we worked and I found it very easy and comfortable to be with Steven again.
“What’s your schedule like next week? We need to solidify a project design and timeline. Afterwards, we can work on the presentation.”
I pulled out my iPad and looked at my calendar. “I’m available next Friday at noon or three.”
Steven looked at his computer. “Let’s do three. Do you want me to meet you in your office next time?”
“Sure. Do you know where it is?”
“It’d be a sad day in the architecture world to not know where the prestigious Studio G is located.” Steven smiled. “You look good, Kayla. The job must be treating you well.”
“Thank you, Steven.” My face warmed at the compliment.
He walked me to the elevator, kissed my cheek and hugged me again. “It’s really good to see you, Kayla.”
I smiled back, after returning his hug. “It’s good to see you too, Steven. I’ll see you in my office next Friday.”
“I’ll be there with my homework done.”
Turning, I stepped into the elevator. I looked back at him after pushing the ground floor button. He stood staring at me with a slight grin. I smiled back as the doors closed.
Maybe, I should try to rekindle the relationship. Maybe, Rafael was right and I needed some man action. I giggled. What was happening to me? I no longer wanted the love I once had, just the action my gay friend says I need.
When I arrived back at the office, Rafael waited for me. “Where have you been, young lady? An afternoon delight, I hope.”
“Ugh, Rafael. Give it a rest. We got a lot of work done and now I need to get my specs in place by next Friday.”
“What happens next Friday?”
“Steven is coming here to put the finishing touches on the design, so we can start putting a timeline together.”
“Oh, goody. You may not want to participate in any fun, but I can certainly drink in some ‘man candy’.”
~ ~ ~
As I opened the door to my condo, I heard my phone ring. I set down my briefcase, pulled out my purse and dug for my cell. When I found it, I saw it was Dawn. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“I saw that,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Do you have a few minutes, or are you still at work?”
“I’m just getting home. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, fine, I mean more than fine. I wanted to tell you Bradley proposed and I said yes.”
I was silent for a moment as a deep sadness fell over me. I firmly told myself I was happy for her. Bradley was everything my parents wanted for her. They were all lawyers in his family, so he came from money. He’d finished law school last year and worked for his father’s firm.
“That’s great, Dawn. Congratulations.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“Of course I do. Why would you think otherwise?”
“Sis, don’t get mad, but you’ve never recovered from losing Javier. You didn’t share all the details of your relationship, but I know how much you loved him.”
I took a deep breath, slightly shocked she’d mentioned his name. We never talked about what happened six years ago, or what I felt for Javier. She’d barely started speaking to me a couple years ago, but I knew she still bore a grudge because she was shipped off to boarding school.
“I lost the man I loved, but that doesn’t inhibit my ability to be happy for you. You deserve someone who loves you. When is the big day?”
“New Year’s Eve.”
Now, it felt like she’d stuck a stake in me. New Year’s was the hardest holiday for me to get through. Did my sister really plan on getting married then? Did my entire family hate me or did they just enjoy torturing me?
“Kayla? Are you there?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I want you to be my maid of honor, Kayla.”
Now, I wanted to slit my wrists. I’d have to endure my parents and be in my sister’s wedding on New Year’s Eve? I had to move up my next shrink appointment to deal with this family drama. I needed a prescription for medication, or I’d run screaming into the desert.
“I’d be honored.” I hoped that sounded halfway sincere.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll fly to Phoenix to shop for dresses if you want.”
“Whatever is good for you.”
“Maybe, if I come out we could drive to Nogales together. Some closure would be good.”
I couldn’t speak. Why did she want closure now? It’d been six years. “I don’t need to go there.”
“I know what you are thinking, Kayla, but Dad’s not the boss of me anymore. I’m done with school. I may not have a job yet, but he can’t control me with his money any longer. I want to shop with you.”
“Lying got me into trouble once, Dawn.”
We were both silent for several minutes. Then, I said. “Really, I’m happy for both you and Bradley. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Let me know what you decide about shopping.”
“I will.”
“Bye.”
I hung up the phone and stood there, torn between trying not to cry and not throwing a major tantrum. Trying not to let all of those old feelings come back to the surface. I poured a glass of Chardonnay and sat down in the living room. I turned on the stereo and chose the Latin Music station on satellite. I sipped my wine and thought about the New Year’s I spent with Javier.
~ ~ ~
When I walked into my office the next day, Rafael gasped in horror. “My goodness, Sunshine, what happened to you? You look like hell.”
“Thank you, Rafael. I feel that way too.”
He handed me coffee and closed the door to the office. He sat down in front of my desk. “Out with it.”
“My sister is getting married.”
“Well, at least someone in your family is active.”
“On New Year’s Eve,” I finished in a monotone.
“You’re kidding. Is that some kind of bad joke?” He was one of the few people who knew everything. We spent a long night drinking last New Year’s and I spilled the entire story to him. He held me all night as I cried and drank, and drank and cried.
“She asked me to be her maid of honor and then offered to come here to look for dresses.”
“Not necessary. Antonio will design your dress.”
“Then, she offered to drive to Nogales with me for closure.”
“Was it ‘pick on Kayla night’ or something else? It’s a little late for that, isn’t it? Didn’t this happen your senior year in high school?”
I nodded.
“Honey, I’m here for you. What did you say to her?”
“I told her that I’d be her maid of honor and I’d think about the dress shopping.”
Rafael gave a heavy sigh. “Well, if she comes here, you can avoid your shitty parents until the big day.”
I laughed a little.
“Why doesn’t she shop with your mother for her dress there? They can tell you what color she wants you to wear. Antonio will design your dress and you won’t even see any of them before Christmas.”
“Would he mind taking that on for me?”
“Oh honey, I will make it worth his while, trust me.”