I sighed as I turned my chair around and stared out into the busy morning streets of the city as I sipped my coffee.
“Morning, boss,” I heard Christine speak as she stepped inside.
“Morning.” I turned my chair around.
“Here are the reports you wanted first thing. I’m surprised you beat me here this morning.”
“I wanted to catch up on a few things. Thanks for the reports. Keep an eye out for Harper. I told her to come right to my office when she gets in.”
“Will do. Do you need anything else?”
“No. I’m good.”
I was looking over the reports when there was a light knock on my door.
“Come in.”
The door slowly opened, and when I looked up, I saw Harper walk in with a smile on her face and her hand behind her back.
“Good morning. You wanted to see me?” She grinned.
“Good morning.” I returned her smile as I got up from my seat and grabbed the Starbucks bag from my desk. “I got you something.” I held out the bag to her.
The smile on her face widened.
“I got you something too.” She held the exact same bag from Starbucks.
We took the bags from each other and opened them. Inside, was a cranberry muffin.”
“I can’t believe you bought me a cranberry muffin.” Her face lit up like a kid on Christmas day.
“And I can’t believe you did the same for me.”
“I stopped at Starbucks on my way in and I saw it and had to buy it since you liked it when we shared one.”
“I did the same thing.” I smiled as I leaned in and kissed her soft lips. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you. Is that why you wanted me to come here right when I got in?” she asked.
“Yes. I wanted to surprise you and now we’re both surprised. How is the design coming?”
“It’s coming along. I have a couple things left to do, and then the first draft will be ready for you to see.”
“Good. I can’t wait to see it. How about we meet at one o’clock?”
“I’ll put you in my calendar.” She smirked.
“And I’ll put you in mine.” I winked.
She walked out of my office and just as I pulled the muffin out of the bag, my phone rang.
“Grayson Rhodes.”
“Grayson, it’s Conrad.”
Shit.
“Conrad, how are you?”
“Listen, I hear you’re having someone else design the high rise.”
“You’ve heard correct.”
“What gives, Grayson? You know we do all your building designs.”
“I know. I hired a new employee and I’m having her take a shot at it. She had some designs in the back of her portfolio that caught my attention, so I figured why not.”
“Does your grandfather know about this?”
“My grandfather is aware and doesn’t have an issue with it. Listen, Conrad. This is my company and I decide who designs our buildings. If you’re worried about losing our account, then you should be after this phone call. Nobody questions the decisions I make. Understand me?”
“I’ll be talking to your grandfather about this.”
“Go ahead and talk to him. We’re done here.”
I ended the call and threw my phone across my desk. I couldn’t wait until this company was fully mine. Because as soon as it was, Conrad and his company were fired.
Chapter 22
Harper
I walked out of Grayson’s office with the Starbucks bag in my hand and I could see the looks some of the women gave me and I could hear the whispers as I passed by. I ignored them and went into my office. Sitting down at my desk, I smiled as I opened the bag and took out the cranberry muffin Grayson bought for me. The way he made me feel was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I’d never connected with anyone like I did with him, especially last night. Being with Grayson made me realize that the feelings I had for Kevin were nothing compared to what I felt for him. I wasn’t falling in love with Grayson Rhodes, I already had fallen.
“Whatcha eating?” Curtis asked as he walked into my office.
“A cranberry muffin from Starbucks. Want some?”
“No thanks.” He held up his hand. “I’m not a fan of cranberries. How is the high rise coming along?”
“See for yourself.” I turned my computer screen around.
“Damn. You did all that?”
“Yes. Do you think Grayson will like it?”
“Hard to say. He’s very particular.”
“Listen, when I was walking to my office earlier, I noticed some of the women giving me looks and whispering. Have you heard anything?”
“I know a couple of the women aren’t happy you’re here. They think Grayson is playing favorites and they don’t like it. But don’t let them bother you. They’re just jealous because you’re a beautiful woman and well, they’re them.” He smirked.
“I need to finish this project before one o’clock. That’s when I’m meeting with Grayson.”
“Sure. If you need anything I’m right down the hall.”
“Thanks, Curtis.”
I headed down the hall to use the restroom. As I was in the stall, I heard the door open and two women walked in. I sat and listened as they carried on a conversation at the sink.
“I don’t know why Grayson thinks she’s so special. I don’t even think she’s that pretty.”
“Right? I’m sure he’s using her to his advantage like all the other women. It just pisses me off that I asked him if I could work from home a couple days a week because I didn’t have a babysitter for my kid, and he said no. Then he hires that bitch and lets her do whatever the hell she pleases.”
“Whatever is going on between them won’t last. He’ll get tired of her soon enough like he always does with women.”
I waited until they left before leaving the stall. I would not let what they said get to me because they were nothing but insecure and jealous women.
It was one o’clock, so I grabbed the 3D printout from the printer and headed down to Grayson’s office.
“Perfect timing.” He grinned. “I just got off a conference call. Bring the printout over to the table.” He gestured.
I did as he asked and spread it out. He looked it over as silence filled the room for what seemed like an eternity. I was nervous that he hated it. Shit. What if he did? What if I totally fucked this whole project up? The sick feeling that arose in my belly wasn’t from the baby, it was nerves.
“I must say, this is unique with the scalloped edging. What made you do that?”
“Just like you said, it’s unique. Pretty much all the high rises in this city look the same. I believe if you add a building that stood out amongst the rest, especially an apartment building, it’ll gain attention which is what you want. You want to fill all 260 apartments before they even complete the building. This is a building people will talk about. It’s unique, but classy. The wealthy people are always trying to outdo each other and want to be the talk of the town, and what better way to do that than to buy an apartment in a building that’s so different from everything else and different from what everyone else lives in.”