“It’s only Maeve?” I asked. “Grace isn’t assigned to the project?”
“No,” he said impatiently. “Shall I send you the specs?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
One week later I stood in front of AGM Tower, psyching myself up to go in for my meeting with Maeve and her team. They’d responded positively to my written proposal and now they’d asked me to come in to discuss my plans before they made a final decision. It was a common practice in architecture, but I was stillfeeling weird about it, especially given how fast everything was moving.
Or maybe it was because now that Grace was working full-time at AGM it was more likely that I’d run into her if they hired me.
With a sigh, I told myself to put on my big girl panties and go inside. Partnering with AGM on a project would be great for my new business.
The receptionist led me to a conference room at the end of a long hallway. Maeve, Theo, and Ashley were inside at the table. I greeted them, then went right into my pitch.
“This looks great Nicole,” Maeve said enthusiastically. “Exactly what we’re looking for. Ashley, can you go grab a sample contract for Nicole to take with her?”
“Sure.”
After a few minutes Maeve looked at her phone. “Looks like Ashley needs help. She hasn’t been working here that long. Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
She got up and left the room, leaving me and Theo alone.
“Thanks for reaching out,” I said politely. “I appreciate the opportunity.”
Suddenly Theo’s phone vibrated on the table. He looked down, then pushed back his chair.
“I swear those two are useless. Grown ass women and they can’t find a simple file between them.”
“You know, it’s okay to email me the sample contract,” I suggested.
“I’ll just be a minute. I know right where it is. You wait here.”
He hurried out of the room, leaving me alone. I was checking email on my phone when the door suddenly burst open.
“Theo, what…”
Grace’s words broke off as someone, presumably Theo, gave her a shove into the room and slammed the door behind her. She stumbled, then froze when she saw me. Our eyes met across the room as we heard a clicking noise.
“I’ll be back in thirty minutes,” Theo called through the door. “You girls need to work your shit out by the time I get back.”
Grace grabbed the handle, jiggling it before looking back at me.
“That asshole locked us in. I can’t believe this.”
Grace
Iwas going to kill Theo. Sure, Ariel would miss her right hand man, but there was no way he could live after he’d grabbed me and literally shoved me into a conference room, locking me in with the woman who broke my heart.
I’d replayed her horrified“of course not”response to her mother’s question about us being together a million times. I wasn’t good enough for Nicole. Wasn’t good enough for my parents. At least I still had Ariel and Maeve. My true family.
Nicole stood up and walked around the table, stopping before she reached me.
“It’s nice to see you, Grace,” she said, giving me a searching look.
“Is it?” I asked sarcastically.
“Yeah, it is. I tried to contact you to explain about what happened that day, to apologize about how I treated you, but you never responded.”
“I deleted all your messages. Funny thing about me,” I said icily. “Screw me over once and I’m done. What are you doing here anyway?”