Holy hell, this man thought we could ignore each other for a year? Not a chance. I took a step closer.
He stepped back, clearing his throat. “You should head home. It’s late.”
“I have a feeling late nights are standard here. Caleb keeps us busy.”
Archer studied me, the edge of his tone softening. “If anything about your setup isn’t working, my door’s open. You’re on one of my best teams. But I can move you if needed.”
Did he think I couldn’t handle this? That only made me want to work twice as hard to earn his praise.
“It’s fine,” I rushed. “Only my third day. I’ll catch on.”
He nodded once. “Noted.” Then he was gone, footsteps fading down the corridor, leaving me with the steady churn of the machine and a pulse that refused to simmer down.
On Friday,our team presented the final drafts for a small boutique hotel rebuild here in the city.
As Caleb walked through the renderings and timelines, Archer sat at the head of the table, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, forearms a distraction for me.
He gave a nod at a few points here and there. “Solid. I like the circulation path through the lobby. Good line of sight from the entry.”
My knee bounced under the table when my rendering of the lobby café appeared on-screen. He leaned forward, the eyes of a master tracing each detail.
“The lighting concept works.” He stood and gestured to a certain point on the screen. “But who thought it was a good idea to place the HVAC intake here?”
The room went still. Heat crawled up my neck.
I leaned in. “That was me.”
“Just an oversight,” Caleb jumped in. “Easy fix.”
Archer’s gaze pinned me. For a long beat he said nothing. “Your instincts aren’t wrong, Ms. Fair. Ventilation matters. But did you consult code?”
My stomach sank. “No.”
“This is why we have these meetings before we present final plans to the client. Every detail must be studied, challenged, corrected until perfect. An error like this could cost us. Maya, have Penny spend an afternoon reviewing basic codes with Sanjay.”
I pressed my lips together, nodding. The correction was fair, but why did it sting more coming from him? Because a man like Archer didn’t get to be the best by letting a silly mistake slide by. I schooled my face neutral. No one here would see how much his disapproval gutted me.
“Don’t let him see you sweat,” Caleb whispered next to me, leaning close enough that I caught his cologne. Not quite as alpha male as Archer’s, like he tried too hard.
Before I could reply, Archer’s voice snapped across the table. “Caleb. Something to share with the group?”
He leaned back, unruffled, crossing his arms. “Just saying it was a rookie mistake. We’ve all been there.”
“You, as the project manager, should have caught it too in your preparations for this meeting, right?”
Caleb only nodded. Point made, our CEO moved on.
I’d known breaking into this field would be tough, and being around Archer proved tougher, but a moment like this made me wonder if I really belonged here.
I glanced around the table at the team I’d gotten to know this week. All of us were passionate about what we did. I was like them. I just needed to work harder than ever to keep up, to make up for the years of work I’d missed.
Right now, I was simply tired after putting in the long hours in my first week here. But it was Friday, and tomorrow I could rest a little, get my emotional support running with the canines at doggie daycare, and apparently read up on building codes.
When the meeting wrapped, I slipped out and headed straight for the kitchen. Caffeine to power me through the rest of this day was a must. The hum of the coffee brewing filled the silence as I leaned against the counter, rubbing my neck.
“Shake it off,” I whispered.
“Good work in there.” Archer entered the room, setting his espresso cup on the counter near my mug. Close enough thatthe faint scent of espresso mixed with his musk was like an aphrodisiac on steroids.
