A mere month ago I would have accepted the position by now. I would have been pleased to be offered such an opportunity. Now I wondered if it would box me in where I didn’t want to be. I wondered if perhaps my priorities had been wrong all along.
Carly clasped her hands. “I can have the contract drawn up by the end of the week. Of course, we will ensure your firm receives credit, but this will be your legacy.”
Legacy. Another word that sounded impressive until you thought about what it meant.
We moved to the terrace for lunch. The air was cold but still and the patio heaters made it bearable to sit out for a time. Braxton joined us for the first ten minutes, politely discussing materials and load-bearing ratios, before Carly sent him offto get her a coffee from the kitchen. The moment he left, she poured me wine without asking and leaned back in her chair.
“You haven’t changed. Still thoughtful, still quiet. You are difficult to read, you know." Carly murmured before taking a sip of wine.
“I have been told that,” I said.
She smiled over the rim of her glass. “You and I understand each other. We have the same drive, the same standards. It’s why you have always done so well with my brother.”
“Braxton is easy to work with. He sees the good in everything,” I automatically replied but it was true. Braxton could always find silver linings. He was a far better person than I was.
She waved a hand. “He sees what he wants to see as sentimental people always do. He needs grounding and you often provide that.”
Her voice was smooth, the words flattering on the surface but edged underneath. I had seen her do this with investors. Carly could build a man up while quietly taking him apart. She reached across the table, her manicured fingers resting lightly on a linen napkin. “You and I could do remarkable things together. You know that.”
I kept my voice neutral. “Professionally, perhaps.”
Her eyes flickered with something like amusement. “Professionally to start, but think about it, Dex. We make sense. We have the same background, the same expectations, and the same social circle. We have known each other for years so there are no surprises. Everyone already assumes we are close.”
I gave a small, noncommittal smile and turned back to the preliminary sketches. “You have a clear vision. It will be a success.”
“Then you will take it on?” Carly allowed me to change the subject back to her project, rather than personal relationships.
“I will need to review the details first." I was non-committal. I didn’t want to box myself into something I would want to get out of later.
Yet why should I want to get out? There were nothing but positive attributes to the job. Prestige, money, and probably architectural awards. It was everything I had ever wanted. If I had to put up with Carly, that was the price to be paid.
Yet right now none of it was appealing to me.
“You always were careful,” she said softly. “I like that about you.”
It felt like my tie was suddenly too tight. I set down my coffee mug and excused myself under the pretense of checking on Braxton. She let me go with a knowing smile.
Carly’s voice echoed faintly behind me as she gave instructions to one of her staff. I listened for a moment, the calm confidence, the polished authority. Once, that was the world I wanted. I had lived for precision, for respect, for control. And yet now, standing in all that order, I felt a strange kind of homesickness. Not for a place, but for noise, for laughter, for imperfection.
Every step echoed as I walked towards where the proposed extension was to take place. I would need to check materials, loads, stress under the snow and ice, redo measurements to ensure the blueprints I created were correct.
My thoughts slipped, uninvited, to Lucy. She would have hated this place. It was too polished, too quiet, and too controlled. The guests here were the same. They weren’t here to enjoy themselves or have real fun. Lucy would have found a way to laugh about it and make Braxton laugh too. I could see her in the SnowDrop dining room with her sleeves rolled up, cheeks flushed from work, surrounded by chaos and family andwarmth. Nothing matched, nothing was perfect, but everything was real.
I spent the afternoon with Braxton, doing preliminary research and sketches on our laptops, working together like we have many times before. It wasn’t that we had committed to the project, but it was always good to look at it without any bias, decide how the project would impact our business and if it was worth it in the end.
“It would take us away from our regular business,” I murmured, typing through a particular annoying mathematical formula. “Or we would have to work extra hours.”
“We could hire someone in for the interim to keep the home office going, work remotely, but go in a percentage of the time,” Braxton suggested.
“I don’t like that scenario. Too many things can go wrong if we don’t have at least one of the partners there on a long term basis,” I said. I had seen other firms have issues when they didn’t have strong leadership at the helm.
“We could relocate. A lot of our clients come in to see us now. However, that might be difficult for our employees,” Braxton reasoned.
I stopped working and looked at my friend. “You want to relocate here?”
“Why not? It’s a nice place,” Braxton muttered as his cheeks became decidedly flushed.
I leaned back in my chair. Braxton had a thing for the older sister, Jane. I knew it, just as I knew that I had feelings for Lucy. It was all confusion.
