Page 2 of Until We Weren't

But Destiny could see past Faith’s walls and had been patient as well as caring. When Faith moved in with Destiny, she finally relaxed and let herself be loved.

“You were such a fucking idiot,” she muttered. She shook her head, put the truck in gear and sped out of the parking lot.

“They aren’t supposed to award the contract until tomorrow. I don’t know why you keep checking for an email.”

Destiny Green looked up from her computer and smirked at her assistant, Monica. They were friends long before Destiny started The Green Thumb, so when Destiny needed someone to run the office, Monica asked for the job. She was tired of the long hours and stress as a paralegal. Destiny welcomed her to The Green Thumb; they worked well together and had remained friends.

“I know.” Destiny sighed. “I was hoping maybe if we won the bid they’d let us know today.”

“Mmhmm,” Monica murmured. “I know what you’re doing.”

Destiny met her eyes and raised her eyebrows.

“You’re making sure Lush Fields Landscaping doesn’t get it.”

“I didn’t say that,” Destiny said defensively.

“You didn’t have to,” Monica said. “I’m not sure what you hope for more. That we get the job or Faith doesn’t.”

Destiny scoffed. “Of course I want us to get the job.”

“Come on, how long have we been working together?” Monica said. “Who knew the landscaping business was so cutthroat? I think I need to pitch a reality show. We could call it Landscape Wars.”

“What!” Destiny exclaimed.

“You and Faith are the perfect enemies.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s not supposed to be funny,” Monica said. “As much as y’all hate each other it’d make for great TV and probably put both our companies on the map. You’d be turning jobs down.”

“I don’t hate Faith,” Destiny stated.

“Okay, whatever you say.” Monica grinned. “I’ve only known you for ten years and we’ve worked together for three. It’s not like you and Faith weren’t both my friends at one time.”

Destiny stared at Monica. She could feel her cheeks getting warm.

“You know, they say there’s a fine line between love and hate,” Monica said.

Destiny looked back at her computer. “I’m actually doing a little research. Do you know that new construction off Interstate 35? It’s going to be a huge business complex.”

“No comment and a subject change,” Monica said. “Okay, that conversation is closed. Yes, I know the area you’re talking about.”

“They plan to take bids to do the landscaping for the entire complex, but they’re also looking at breaking it into different sections and tying them all together in some way. If I can come up with something creative and different, this job could boost The Green Thumb’s exposure and make it one of the top landscaping businesses in the state.”

“But that place is huge. Can we pull off something like that?”

“We’d have to put everyone on it, but I think we can,” Destiny said.

“Is that where you were this afternoon? I wondered why you had dirt on your pants when you came in. You rarely have time to work in the field anymore.”

“Uh, no,” Destiny replied. “I had to check on something else.”

“Don’t tell me you were at the retirement home again.” Monica shook her head. “What is it with that place? The Green Thumb does not get a penny from that establishment.”

When Destiny didn’t say anything, Monica continued. “Before starting your own company, you were working for the Galloways at Landscape Artists, right?”

Destiny nodded. “Yes, and they taught me to not only take pride in my work, but also to be attentive. The land can change over time and sometimes your design needs to change with it. Going back and checking on projects I did when I worked for them is valuable in how I bid on jobs now.”

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