Ken thought that if he didn’t have such dark skin, he would’ve seen the flush that certainly covered Toby’s cheeks. “Come on, man.” He cleared his throat. “Speaking of mothers, your mom had me clear your morning through early afternoon tomorrow. I backed your first appointment up to two.”
Ken nodded and went into his office, letting the door shut behind him. He pulled his phone out of his desk drawer and turned it on. Immediately, a text from his mom appeared. Today, his brother Jon came home from a two-year project he had worked on in Nashville, and she wanted everyone at Ken’s lake house tomorrow for family fishing and lunch in lieu of the regular Wednesday night family dinner.
He chuckled, realizing his mother planned for him to host the family tomorrow, whether he’d known about it or not. After sending a reply that he would see them tomorrow, he spent the next hour updating all of his personal reporting with the information he had received in the meeting today. Once he finished compiling his notes, he opened the file on his personal project. For the last two years, he and Brad had completely remodeled and renovated an old apartment complex built in the seventies. They neared the end of the project and had a buyer interested in purchasing it. After running all the final numbers, he realized they would make about thirty percent more than their original investment. Not bad if you didn’t count the thousands of hours they put into physical labor in the remodel. Even after supplies and contractors, they still made a hefty profit.
He picked up the phone and dialed his brother’s extension. Brad’s assistant Sami picked up on the first ring. “Brad Dixon’s office.”
“Hey, Sami. Ken. Is my brother there?”
“Sure thing.”
The hold music barely started when Brad picked up. “Hey.”
“Hey. I emailed you an offer we got on the apartments. The owner met our asking price.” Brad whistled in his ear. “Yeah. That’s about what I said. I’m going to accept it, but it’s still a contingent offer since we still have one more unit to finish.”
“We can finish that in two weeks.”
“Yep.” He looked at his watch and stood. “I’m on my way to meet up with that local charity. They’re looking for someone to sponsor a build-a-house-in-a-day thing.”
“Well, that’s a meeting you’ll enjoy.”
“Can I speak on behalf of us, or just me?”
“Get me the numbers, but I’m confident Dixon Contracting can do it. Jon and I can swing hammers at the very least.”
Their parents had raised them to make missions work a priority in their lives. They went on an annual mission trip for several weeks a year, always picking different locations around the world. On a local level, they contributed to their community through their church and other charitable organizations. Ken knew a good portion of that came from his own personal convictions and the way he pressed his brothers to participate. He also knew that they didn’t mind. “Hopefully, I’ll come out of this meeting with all the details.”
“Great.”
On his way out, he stopped at Toby’s desk. “Forward my office extension to my cell and pass any need-be items straight to me. You enjoy that first day of school. See you in the morning.”
“Thanks. See you,” Toby said, picking up the ringing phone. “Ken Dixon’s office,” he said. Ken didn’t stick around.
The directions took him to a strip mall anchored to a chain grocery store. He checked the suite number and found the sign for Gálatas Seis centered between a family dentist and a take-out Chinese restaurant.
When he walked in the door, a young woman in her twenties with mousy brown hair and big blue eyes greeted him. As he came through the door, she paused typing on her keyboard and turned her chair to face him completely. “How may I help you?”
“Ken Dixon with Dixon Contracting. I have an appointment with someone here today.”
She raised both eyebrows and asked, “Do you know with whom?”
He shook his head. “Sorry. No. Didn’t make the appointment. Your fundraising department contacted us through another ministry.”
Just then, a woman came around a partition. She had rich black hair, dark brown eyes, and skin the color of warm caramel. She wore a bright red sleeveless top and white Capri pants. “Bev, Irene just sent me a message that she set up a…”
She stopped in her tracks and stared up at him. “Ken? Ken Dixon?”
Hearing his name threw him. She could have recognized him from any number of events that would put her ministry in his path, but no one could tell him apart from his brothers except their mother and Brad’s wife. Maybe she saw his name on an appointment calendar. That would make sense. “Yep. Ken Dixon.”
He extended his hand, and she hesitated only slightly before placing hers in his. “Wow. Ken! Oh, my goodness. Ken Dixon. I haven’t seen you since high school.”
Keeping her hand in his, he stared into her brown eyes and tried to place her. Something about her felt very familiar; something about her voice, the shape of her chin, and the name of this place. Finally, a spark went off in his mind. “Daisy? Daisy Ruiz?”
He grinned. She had practically grown up with him. He spent many, many hours in her basement with her older brother Diego and their father. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize the name. Gálatas Seis. This was, what? Your grandparents’? Didn’t your grandfather start this?”
When she pulled her hand from his, he realized he’d still held it. She nodded and smiled a smile that filled the room with light. “Yes! Twenty years ago. I’ve taken over the position of Executive Director for the last year now.”
A slow smile covered his face. “That is amazing. It’s so good to see you.” He gestured at the woman she had called Bev. “I was just telling Bev, here, I had a meeting today but didn’t know who with.”
