Page 13 of Possess

Monday came too soon for Allyson. She’d cleaned her apartment from top to bottom on Saturday, including getting her laundry done. All before she and Dani met up to go to the movies. Sunday was a reading day. Allyson had vegged out on her sofa with reruns on the TV and read the next book in the series Dani got her hooked on.

Allyson was ready to start reading the next book, but unfortunately, she had to work. She sighed softly and opened her calendar program. She had a meeting with Zeke at one. Good. That would give her time to go down and pull everything for the new jobs she’d received on Friday.

Unlocking her file drawer, she pulled out the three files, relocked the drawer, and went down to the permit office. It took a few minutes to get copies of two of the permits; the other one hadn’t been filed yet.

That was unusual. She normally didn’t get a job until the permit had been filed, but it had happened before. Next, she went to the plans office to get them.

“Hey, Allyson,” Debbie said when she walked in.

“Hi, Debbie, how are you doing?”

“I’m great. Thanks for asking. Who do you need plans for?”

“Riggs Construction, jobs 1646, 1792, and 1845.”

“Be right back.” Debbie disappeared into the next room. Allyson read over the permits and put them in their appropriate files while she waited. One for a residential remodel and another for a new building near the city limits. She didn’t recognize the company name for the new building.

Debbie came back with her hands full and dumped the plans on the counter. “I’ve got two of them, the third one says the client is still confirming them. Job 1845.”

“Okay.” That was the same one that didn’t have a permit yet. “Thanks.” She gathered up the plans and went back to her office. She took the plans and put them in round cases for easier transport and then sat down at her desk and began inputting important dates on her calendar.

A knock on her door pulled her attention away from her work. A young man stood there holding a vase of flowers. “Ms. Young?”

“Yes.” Allyson stood. Who could be sending her flowers?

“These are for you.” He walked in and set the vase on her desk, then walked out before she could say a word.

Allyson studied the flower arrangement in the clear glass vase. There was a white envelope with her name on it. She plucked it from the holder and opened it.

“For a beautiful woman.”She turned the card over. There was a Z on the back. A grin crossed her lips. Zeke? Who else could it be? It certainly wasn’t Zorro. She giggled and reminded herself to talk with Zeke. This wasn’t appropriate; it could look like a quid-pro-quo even though she suspected he did it because he wanted to and not for any other reason.

She studied the flowers. Purple sweet peas, red camellias, and several white roses. It seemed like an odd combination to her, but she knew someone who would know exactly what they meant. Allyson sat down and grabbed her cell phone.

“Hey Dani, do you have a few minutes? I have a question for you.”

“Sure.”

“I just got flowers.”

“From who?”

“I’m pretty sure they’re from Zeke, but I have a feeling they mean something. They’re a combination I’ve never seen before.”

“But you recognized the flowers.”

“Oh yes. I do pay attention when you talk flowers.”

Dani laughed. “Okay, what are they?”

Allyson told her about the flowers.

“Sweet peas mean blissful pleasure, red camellias for passion or deep desire, and white roses for new beginnings or the sender is worthy of you.”

Allyson wrote down the meanings and stared at the paper. “Is Zeke trying to tell me something?”

Dani laughed. “Of course he is. Got to go, my client just showed up.”

The line went dead. Allyson kept staring at the words. Could Zeke have known the meaning of the flowers? Or did he pick them out because he liked them?

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