“No, you are the biggest pool shark there is, and I have a feeling it’ll be an interesting tournament,” Jordan said as she leaned into him. “What do you say we continue this party at home?”
“Whoa, we’re all coming over Jordan,” Tate reminded him. “You two might not care but I don’t think the rest of us want to see that.”
“Move itTateor should I call you…” Mel said but Tate covered her mouth with his hand to keep her quiet.
“Please tell me you washed your hands,” she joked a few minutes later.
“I did…this morning,” he said ducking out of her reach and sliding into the back of the car with them.
“You are such a dork Tate,” she stated leaning her head against Jordan’s shoulder but reaching a hand back towards him. He took hold of her fingers and squeezed them bringing another smile to her face. One hurdle down and now, on to college and whatever lay ahead for them there. As long as she had both of them, she’d be okay, she had to be.
Chapter 11
Melinda heard her name being called out and spotted Dwight and her business proffer headed their way.
“Melinda, do you have a moment?” Dwight asked.
“I have a few,” she told them walking over to the side of the quad. “Look if this is about being in both programs, I was told it wouldn’t be an issue, and I am almost finished with them both without missing any deadlines.”
“We just want to ensure you’re not overdoing it,” Dwight told her. “You’ve managed to fit what should have been four years into three and you’re also enrolled in two full-time masters programs.”
“I know,” she said with a laugh. “I’m the one taking the classes. Honestly, I’m fine. I just want to get done with it. Jordan’s looking to expand again, and I want to be able to take over more of his burden once I have all of this finished.”
“Melinda you’re doing all of this as well as working full-time, when do you sleep?” Harold inquired.
“Sleep…oh right that’s the thing that I find myself doing between three and five each morning,” she joked. “If it gets to be too much I’ll cut back, promise, but now I’m out of moments and need to go. I have to check on the development across campus and make sure it’s under control.”
“Doesn’t Jordan usually take care of that?” Dwight asked walking with her.
“He does but he’s out of town right now. He should be back tomorrow though so it’s my last day having to take care of this.”
“Melinda,” he stopped when she shot him a look. “Mel, Jordan doesn’t care if you get your MBA or not, why not just wait? Finish up the program, take a break, and relax. You’re what…twenty-two?”
“Twenty-three in a couple days and as soon as I’m done with school Jordan and I are planning on taking off a bit. We’re going to turn the business over to Tate and Ford for a month and do nothing but relax.”
“I can’t talk you out of it, can I?”
“Nope, thank you for caring but I’ll be fine. Now, if you can convince my engineering teacher to give me an A…”
“I don’t think there’ll be a problem with that Mel; you’ve been my best student for years.”
“I try,” she said giving him a wave before heading over to the site. She couldn’t believe how much they’d gotten done in four years. All of the structures should be finished by the end of the summer, ready for the beginning of the next year.
She saw Tate surveying a group of students from the high school and gave him a wave. He brought one of their other supervisors over to deal with the group and hurried towards her. He pulled her into a hug kissing the top of her hair and she had to marvel at the changes in him. He’d grown an inch in the last four years and now was about six fee event, but he’d buffed up working long hours on the structures during the summers.
“How’s my favorite girl?” he asked looking at her intently. “Jordan’s still not home?”
“Tomorrow…how’s it going?” she asked nodding towards the building.
“Ahead of schedule but you’re working too hard again.”
“Says the guy who managed to earn a computer engineering and structural engineering degree in three years so I wouldn’t graduate before him,” she said bumping him with her hip.
“You still managed to beat me, your architecture, structural engineering and business degree and now nearly done ontwomasters.”
“Okay, I’m going to head into the office. If you need anything let me know,” she said kissing his cheek before heading towards the parking lot. She spotted her Jeep and grinned. Jordan wanted to buy her a new car since this one was getting high on mileage, but she couldn’t give it up yet. It would feel like she was losing something special and she was already worried about her future with Jordan now that she was closing in on the end of school.
Mel sighed when she pulled into her spot at the office. The entire area in front of the building was full of cars, which meant either visitors or customers, and she didn’t know if she wanted to deal with either. She was completely exhausted trying to work ahead in both of her programs in order to keep Jordan from finding out exactly how much work it really was for her.
