He cocked his head to the side. “You don’t have a non-compete with your father, do you?”
I shook my head and glanced back at what was definitely a design for the Cahuenga Pass project I was ninety-nine percent sure Marshall was expecting to be awarded before the end of the week.
“I was called in at the last minute to consult over it, which has turned into a more formal bid than I’d planned. I’m capable, but a little out of my element with some of it.” Cory sat down beside me and tapped the tip of a pencil against the edge of the desk. “Was hoping you could help smooth out some details so I can get it submitted before Wednesday.”
“That’s two days,” I croaked.
“End of day.”
I forced a laugh. “Three. You know Marshall is?—”
He cut me off. “It wouldn’t be the first bid I stole out from under him, and it wouldn’t be the first I lost to him either. We’ve known each other for years, Silas. Business has always been business.”
I exhaled, the jitters from my first day of work turning into jitters about stealing a seven figure payday from the man I’d only recently admitted to being in love with.
“Are you uncomfortable with the idea of it?” he asked, mouth angled up into a smirk. “I was of the impression you were already bidding against him for it before you quit working with your father.”
“That was different,” I muttered.
“Was it?”
I swallowed hard, knowing in my bones that Marshall would be infinitely disappointed in me if I didn’t put my all into what Cory was asking of me. He wouldn’t want me to take his feelings into consideration when it came to work. From the last meeting at my dad’s office to the night at his dining roomtable, Marshall had done everything he could to remind me of my talent and my worth in the design space.
“Three days,” I repeated.
“You’re young.” Cory slid some paper around on the desk, erasing something before writing a different series of numbers on top of the shavings. “Younger than me, and you’re full of the ideas this kind of project needs. I know I’m kind of throwing you in the deep end, but you’re up for it, right?”
I thought about my dad.
Thought about Marshall.
And then for the first time in a very long time, I thought about myself.
“Yeah,” I agreed, getting a feel for the mouse and the keyboard. “I’m definitely up for it.”
CHAPTER 36
MARSHALL
Silas got home from work looking like someone had shit in his Cheerios. I’d called it an early day, eager to be home before him, but when he saw me on the couch with a glass of wine, his brow furrowed and he was quick to lock himself in the bathroom.
Alone.
Chasing my concern with a drink of wine, I headed down the hallway and propped myself against the hall across from the bathroom and waited for him to finish with his responsibilities. The water was on and off in less than ten minutes, and then Silas appeared in a puff of steam, towel held together below his navel with one hand, clothes gathered in the other.
“How was work?” I asked. “Thought we were celebrating tonight?”
“Work was fine,” he muttered, looking down at his dripping wet feet. “It was good.”
I gestured for him to move, and he padded into the bedroom. I followed behind him, sitting down on the edge of the bed while he toweled off and changed into a pair of basketball shorts and one of my old t-shirts. It hung baggyaround his shoulders, and I loved the look of it on him. Standing before me, Silas shifted his weight, avoiding my stare.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Sir,” he lied.
“Do you want to tell me about your day?”
“Just getting familiar with how Cory does things.” Silas shrugged his shoulders up toward his ears.
