Page 69 of How Dare You
“Oh, it’s no worry,” she waves a hand tipped with long red nails in dismissal. “Have a seat. Do you need anything? Coffee? Tea.”
“I’m good. Won’t be here long,” I take a calming breath and maintain my standing position. Devon would probably not be pleased to know I’m here. Part of her plan is to not engage with Trina, and being a member of Devon’s Kick Ass Team, as Sadie dubbed us after a few espresso martinis, I shouldn’t either. But I need to take care of this before I can fully remove myself from the situation.
“I won’t be able to complete the Shephard project, Aurora House, or Double Palms,” I list all of her projects that I’ve been hired for. All three of them are GC’d by Alex, who I met through Devon. I’m certainly burning a bridge with him and Trina, who I’ll never work with again anyway, by pulling out in the middle of three projects. But I’ve never liked the way Alex talked about Devon, and I’m not willing to be associated with someone who openly bad mouths any woman he works with, especially not Devon. I should have quit these projects weeks ago before any of this blog nonsense happened.
“That won’t work for us,” Trina says, sipping a cup of tea. “Why don’t you tell me what’s happening with you, and we’ll find a different solution?”
“I’m no longer able to complete the projects,” I reiterate.
“When can you complete them?” Her lips peel back into a stiff, plastic sort of smile. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to work around whatever your issue is.”
“I can’t ever finish these projects.” I’m itching to put her in her place, ask here where she gets off targeting Devon and trying to ruin her business, but I bite each harsh word back. “You’ll need to find a different carpenter.”
“The timelines on these projects are quite sensitive, Rhett,” she makes a point of repeating my name. “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to back out.”
“I’m not asking permission.”
“This is highly unprofessional, Rhett,” she says my name again. “You understand that if you do this, you’ll never be able to work with me or Alex again?”
“I’m good with it,” I answer, glancing over my shoulder toward the door. Half of her staff are watching through the windowed walls of her office, mouths agape.
“We’re the most important leaders in the construction industry in Palm Springs,” she explains as patronizingly as anyone could. “You’re tanking your career if you do this.”
“Disagree with you there.” I laugh, shaking my head. “I can think of someone more important.”
Trina’s brows shoot up in surprise, finally catching on to the reason I’m walking away. She props her elbows on her desk, folding her hands underneath her chin. “You know I have no control over what some people choose to write, or what predatory young designers do on their projects.”
Devon doesn’t want me to fight this fight for her. It will only make things worse if I tell Trina what I think of everything she’s done to compromise Friday West. If anyone’s going to tell this snake of a woman off, it needs to be Devon.
“Looks like we’re done here,” I nod, backing toward the door. “I’ll give Alex a call this afternoon to wrap things up.”
“Rhett, you can’t be—” her shrill voice calls after me as I walk out of her office. The looks on the faces of her employees range from shock to delight. I wish I knew their names, so I could tell Devon the delighted faces are on her side.
Chapter 28
Devon
*Meditate?
- From Devon’s to-do list, September 5th
The number of messages I haven’t responded to is whittled down to only two, three if you count Nathalie. But I will not be speaking to her again. The first is a voicemail from Allie asking me what I want to do for my birthday at the end of the month. On a normal year, I don’t care much about my birthday, and with everything that is going on, I care even less.
The second, a text from my mom.
Sweetie, please call me. I just want to help.
I put a note in my planner to call her next week. Hopefully by then I will have good news of some kind to share.
“I’m so fucking happy to have you working here again,” Allie says, sliding me an iced americano across Turbine’s quartz counter. “I’ve been missing you so much since I moved out.”
Usually, I work from Turbine a couple days a week, but I haven’t been in since before my airstream vacation with Rhett. It’s been almost a week since everything blew up, and I spent the first four or five days locked in my office, getting as much distraction-free work done as possible.
“Miss you, too, Al. You’ve been such a huge help lately. I really apprec—”
She waves a hand dismissively, cutting me off. “No thanks needed. Your problems are my problems.” Leaning across the counter, she taps my open laptop. “How are our problems looking today?”
My lips pull into a wry smile. “The clients for the presentation Bea had set up while I was gone have officially cancelled. They no longer trust we can handle a project of their size effectively.” They’re the third potential client that’s pulled out, leaving us with no new prospects.