The Design(19)
Curfew was at 10:00 pm throughout high school, and the one time Grayson pulled in at 10:05, his father had been standing inside the door, ready and waiting to pass down a punishment he saw fit. While no one could argue that he was a stern man, Grayson saw how well he ran his family and how well he operated as an engineer in the army. It was those principles that his father had instilled in him that allowed Grayson to start and run a company the way he had at such a young age.
“Like father, like son,” I quipped as I stood to toss my empty bags into the trashcan in the corner of the break room.
“Exactly,” his mom agreed.
“Do you come to the office often?” I asked.
She smiled. “Every now and then. Grayson hates that I come here, but if I don’t stock these cabinets, no one will.”
“Well, I appreciate it,” I said. “It looks like I’ll be eating my lunch in here from now on.”
She smiled and I turned toward the door knowing I was in danger of going over my allotted lunchtime, but before I could leave the kitchen, Mrs. Cole spoke up again.
“Cammie, could I ask you to do a favor for me?”
I paused and turned to look back at her.
“Could you keep an eye on Grayson? Make sure he’s taking care of himself, not working until all hours of the night, you know?”
“Mrs. Cole, I don’t think Grayson would like me keeping tabs on him. He seems like a pretty independent guy.”
She held my gaze as her mouth hitched into a knowing smile. “He does seem that way, but I assure you, Grayson is no different than any man. He needs someone to watch out for him and I’m afraid the women he keeps around don’t do a good enough job.”
I contemplated her request. I’d be keeping tabs on Grayson whether or not she asked me to. Was there any harm in reporting back to her if he was staying late? I didn’t think so.
“I promise that I’ll watch out for your son as much as he lets me.”
She smiled. “Good.”
Chapter Six
Later that afternoon Grayson announced a company-wide meeting. With mild groans, everyone stopped their work and filtered toward the conference room. By the time I walked through the door, there was standing room only. I pressed against the far wall, with Hannah wedged in front of me. Her hair smelled like garlic from her lunch and my stomach grumbled with the reminder that Cheez-Its were not enough to tide me over until dinner.
“Listen up,” Grayson’s voice boomed from the front of the conference room. Everyone paused their conversations and the noise level slowly trickled down to nothing. I shifted in between Hannah and the person beside her so that I could get a clear view of Grayson. Yup, hot as ever.
When all eyes were on him, he continued, “We’re here to announce the mentor-mentee assignments that will be in effect for the next month or two. Each senior team leader will take on an associate architect. New staff will shadow the team leader, follow them to job sites, and learn how we run our business here at Cole Designs.”
The groans from the front of the room indicated that the senior designers were less than enthused about taking on a bunch of newbies. I just crossed my fingers that I didn’t end up with Alan. I highly doubted he’d be willing to teach me the lay of the land. In fact, he’d probably leave me at the job site and call it a “learning experience”.
Grayson stepped to the side so that Beatrice could have the floor. I watched him as Beatrice started calling out names, pairing up the mentors with mentees. He kept his eyes on Beatrice, never wavering even though I practically begged him to glance in my direction. His hair was still perfect, and his suit looked just as pristine as it had that morning. So maybe his lunch date hadn’t included a happy ending?
When Beatrice called Alan’s name, I held my breath and crossed my fingers behind my back. Please don’t be me. Please don’t be me.
“Hannah Montgomery,” Beatrice said. I cringed for her. I wouldn’t wish Alan on my worst enemy, least of all my new roommate.
“Cammie Heart,” Beatrice spoke, glancing up to try to find me in the crowd. I raised my hand behind Hannah and her eyes flew in my direction. “You’ll be paired with Eli.”
Eli stood up near the front of the room and I shifted out from behind Hannah to get a good look. OH, HELL YES. Eli looked to be one of the youngest senior associates. He was handsome, with a bright smile and cropped blonde hair that made him look angelic. He’d forgone a suit jacket in favor of rolling his shirt sleeves up to his elbows. The effect made him far less intimidating than Grayson, who was standing a few feet away with his arms crossed, a deadly look permeating his features.