“Yeah, we’re finished discussing this,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Have you talked to Sam much?”
“We checked in on the Turlan project last week,” I said, yawning. Our regular budget meeting had been rescheduled three times this week, and now, late Friday evening, we were finally wrapping up cost structures for the Mount Vernon project. Matt was going hogwild with steel for the structural overhaul, and though we had the cash, it required a plan of financial attack.
“I meant life stuff,” Patrick said, scratching his chin. “He seems good.”
“As far as I can tell, yeah,” I said.
He tilted his head to meet my eyes. “He’s still not talking to you?”
I steepled my fingers under my chin, not wanting to revisit the cease-and-desist smackdown Sam leveled on me with respect to his wedding. “He’s trying to establish some boundaries, and right now, that means he doesn’t share much with me.”
“That was diplomatic,” Patrick said. “Are you doing all right?”
“It’s hard,” I confessed. “I’m happy for him—so happy—because he’s found someone who loves him, and not only adores his quirks, but has her own to match. And I like Tiel, and I should have found a way to get to know her earlier.”
“That wouldn’t have helped,” he laughed. “You can continue the self-flagellation, but the truth is, he needed to fall in order to find his way back up.”
Snatching one of the anonymous geodes off the shelf beside my desk and rolling it between my palms, I glanced up at Patrick. “In a strange sense, it feels like I’ve lost a friend. Like, she’s replaced me.”
Patrick dropped back into the chair with a sigh. “She has,” he said, “but it was time. He’s not our problem child anymore.”
“Well, we still have Riley,” I said. “He’s special.”
“Oh, yeah,” Patrick said. “I’m just happy Tiel likes him, and she doesn’t mind him living at the firehouse with her and Sam. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that things don’t change after the vows because I do not want him sleeping on my couch.”
“Does all this wedding talk give you any ideas?”
He glanced up from his screen, his brow furrowed. As expected, he was utterly confused. “I’m not sure I’d be much help.”
“You are oblivious, Optimus. Oblivious.” His scowl deepened. “What are you getting Andy for Christmas?”
He tapped a few keys and shut his laptop. “Haven’t decided yet.”
“What about a big, shiny diamond ring?”
Patrick held his computer to his chest while he considered this, his lips pursed, and then shook his head. He filed away his things, and slung the bag over his shoulder. “I’ll take it under advisement,” he said. “It’s late, and I’m sure Andy’s hungry, and this conversation is too complex for me. See you next week.”
“You let me know when you’re ready for a trip to Shreve, Crump and Low,” I called as he left my office. “She’s not a Van Cleef and Arpels girl. And for the love of God, no Tiffany.” He raised his hand in acknowledgement, and kept walking.
I updated my cash flow spreadsheet and checked the corporate credit card balances to ensure we weren’t up against our limits. We always managed to max out the cards on the days when we were taking clients to lunch, and that annoyed the shit out of me. It was Tom’s responsibility to watch the charges, but I took a peek at least once a week to be safe.
“Closing time, peanut.”
I shot back in my chair, yelping in surprise, and found Will leaning against my doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. The pose did fascinating things for his biceps. And forearms. The whole thing was…fascinating.
“Patrick was here, like, two minutes ago,” I said. My heart was skittering in my chest. “You’re going to get caught if you keep stalking me like this.”
He shrugged, and ran his thumb down the line of his jaw. His beard was getting thick again. “Maybe I want to get caught.”
“Yeah, we’ll deal with that issue in a minute,” I said. “How did you get past the security system?”
Back before Angus died, there were a few incidents with him that necessitated a tighter approach to office safety. We’d selected a highly recommended—and very expensive—firm to outfit the building with limited access areas, cameras, and keypads at all the entry points.
Will pushed off from the door and sauntered to my desk. “Is that a serious question?”
“That’s the best system on the market,” I said as I gathered my things.
He helped me into my coat and held out his hand for my bag. He was insistent about things like that, and I usually hated all manner of chivalry but…it was growing on me. All of this was growing on me, and I didn’t want to think about Will leaving for another deployment. That shadow was lurking around every corner, but I didn’t want to look it in the eye just yet.
