Page 21 of With Wine Comes War

“I really like construction– building stuff. I’d like to get into construction, but I don’t know how to get into that or where to apply for a construction job.”

Are you kidding me? That’s awesome. Who would’ve guessed?

I excitedly replied, “I know a guy who might be able to help with that.”Shoot shoot shoot!!!Foot in mouth, check. I got so excited that I forgot to remember that the guy I know is the one guy I’m trying to stay away from right now.

“Who?” Darius was quick to inquire.

This might be a little tricky. I don’t really want to upset him. I reached out and put my hand on his arm as much for him as it was for me to keep calm.

“Don’t get mad at me, but it’s the company doing the job on this place.” He wasn’t happy with that answer, and he yanked his arm away. He then jumped up from the couch shaking his head.

“Hell no!”

I smiled because I was very familiar with that reaction. I didn’t realize how much Darius and I have in common. Ella didn’t look happy with him, but I glanced at her and shook my head to keep her from reacting and making everyone get upset.

“Darius, I’d feel the same way if I was you and I did. When I found out he was doing this I was furious. Turns out he didn’t know aboutany of the corrupt deals going on and he’s not going to put anyone out of their home without having a place to go. He’s working with some great people to find you all better living arrangements. If he can get the money back, he’s going to disperse it to all the displaced families.” Darius’ face and shoulders relaxed a bit and so did Ella’s. This was something I was planning to tell Ella today.

Darius responded very thoughtfully “Sounds like you like this dude.”

Like doesn’t even break the surface about how I feel about this“dude.”

“I like him enough to get you a job at his company. I trust him,” I said tentatively.I do trust him, right?Butterflies sprang up in my stomach and were fluttering their way up into my chest.Is this a breakthrough of some kind?God, I hope so.

“That would be great if you would do that for me,” he mentioned after looking at his grandmother then back to me.

I threw my hands in the air and blurted out, “Consider it done.” This means I’ll have to speak to Roman. My anxiety spiked but I held it in.You can do this.

I looked at Ella and said, “I’ll keep in contact with Grant to make sure things are going smoothly. My friend Matt is looking for opportunities to move you all into his district.” Her face turned cold and lost its friendly demeanor. Oh no, what did I say?

“What do you mean by his district? Is he a politician too?”

I can explain this as the immediate anxiety seemed to subside.

“Yes, and a lawyer, but he’s married to one of my best friends. Their kids are my godchildren.” I smiled just thinking about those beautiful babies.

She looked at me still with a little apprehension, “By that sweet look on your face I’m guessing he’s not like the other one. Do you reallytrust him?” I nodded as I took out my phone and showed her pictures of the kids then realized I hadn’t erased any of the pictures of Roman.

We finished up our meeting and I even got to meet Darius’s two younger brothers. They went to a sports day camp and they were coming in as I was going out. They were apparently gifted athletes and Ella wanted to make sure they focused on that rather than getting into trouble. They were sweet boys, aged twelve and fourteen, named Issac and Dante. We said our goodbyes and I left for kickboxing.

***

ROMAN

I had a permanent smile on my face for the rest of the day thinking about our email correspondence and that breathtaking kiss. I stretched my arms above my head to relieve the tension in my shoulders from sitting at my desk most of the day. I turned toward the window to get a look at what seemed to be a promising end to my day for the first time in the past three weeks. The sun was starting to set and the usual haze over the river was a little clearer, so the colors were more vibrant in the sky reflecting off the surface of the river. But the promise of taking our little game to email excited me enough to want to get out of here and up to the penthouse to resume communication. Emails, however, won’t be enough for me, I’ll have to find a way to see her in person.

I was able to focus on my last meeting at six, long enough to not seem disinterested and no one noticed I was just counting the minutes until it was time to leave. I tapped my finger next to my laptop on the desk thinking about just what I could email to get her attention since I decided against throwing a rock with a note through her window.

“Yes, that all sounds great, I look forward to working on those specs and I will have Amelia email them back to you.” I’m not sure if I answered that correctly but I’m sure Amelia would let me know, since she’s staring at me intently at the moment.

“What?” I asked, looking at her as I closed my laptop and slid it calmly into its leather bag. I didn’t want to seem like I was rushing out of there and give her anymore ammo to torture me with.

“Nothing, honestly. I was rather impressed that you were engaging coherently in that discussion about the riverwalk, considering how distracted you are.” She raised her eyebrows pointedly at me then quickly closed her notebook and hurried toward the door.

“I’ll have all the notes from the meeting organized and emailed to you by tomorrow afternoon. Good night, Roman. Enjoy your evening.” She said not bothering to look back as she left.

I could have sworn she was hiding a smirk as she organized her things to go home. It’s obvious as hell that I’m distracted by everything that’s happened, but she’s usually brutally honest with me, and it helps me get back on track.

I threw my bags on the counter and opened the fridge, standing in front of the cool air for a moment to decide what I wanted for dinner. My housekeeper Mary made several different meals that she had all wrapped up for me already prepped and ready to heat.Who has time to make dinner?I barely have time to heat it up after a day like today. I grabbed the one marked lasagna and the beer right next to it. I popped the top off the beer and took a long pull from it, then set it down and threw the dinner in the microwave. This seems like a sad existence with no one to share it with but better no one then the wrong someone. Thoughts of Caitlin and the day I broke off the engagement started to swarm in my head, but I pushed them aside and took another sip of beer.

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