Mythe: A Fairy Tale (13 page)

“You must have worked very hard to finish both your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just four years. It’s an impressive accomplishment. You should be proud of that.”

“Thank you. It wasn’t easy,” Manda acknowledged, “but it helped me keep my mind off of other things.” Manda usually dismissed compliments about her academic achievements, but Richard’s praise was unusually meaningful. Rather than commenting on her intelligence, he had commended her effort—something most people failed to acknowledge, as if all she had accomplished had been solely the result of some accident of nature, requiring no hard work or dedication on her part.

“Other things like your parents’ death. That was at about that time.” It was a statement, not a question. “Do you have any pets?”

The sudden change of topic and the randomness of the question made Manda blink in surprise.

“No, I don’t.”

“Why not? You always had them when you were a kid.”

“You were really paying attention when we were talking the other night, weren’t you?” Manda laughed, pleased that he was interested enough to remember such details.

“Just trying to fit all of the pieces together, to get the full picture.”

Manda’s pleasure slowly dissolved into wariness. Once again she was letting herself become too attracted to this man. She took a mental step back. “And how is that working out for you?” she challenged, schooling her voice to casual amusement.

“Have you ever put together a jigsaw puzzle?” Richard asked, instead of answering.

“Of course,” she replied, wondering where his question was leading.

“Which part do you always get assembled first?”

“The outside edge.”

“Exactly. And once you’ve got the part around the edges figured out, it’s easier to fill in the part in the middle. Eventually, if you’re lucky, you see the whole picture, but you start with the outside. So, in answer to your question, it’s working out just fine. Thank you.” Richard’s voice was filled with mirth, but when Manda met his eyes they were intense and probing, without a trace of laughter.

Manda inhaled sharply and mentally retreated another step. “I don’t have any pets because I work a lot and it wouldn’t be fair to leave one home alone so much,” she said, falling back onto the safer ground of Richard’s previous question.

Richard smiled knowingly and held open the door to the building for her. She was surprised to find David and Josh waiting for them just inside the lobby. She’d been so focused on her conversation with Richard that everything else had ceased to exist. Seeing the other two men was like waking from a dream.

Jen was waiting for them on the sofa in the creative area when they arrived and the five of them quickly got to work. David and Manda presented the final two choices for the Raines Foundation logo. To Manda’s great relief, everyone, including David, agreed that the design she’d grown so attached to was ideal. The logo consisted of a highly abstracted, stylized handprint with the white spaces created by the hollow of the palm forming the shape of a paw print.

“This is fabulous, Manda,” Jen enthused. “I love it!”

“It’s perfect,” Richard agreed.

“So, what’s next?” Josh asked.

“Now that we’ve got this nailed down, we build off of it. A complete identity package—letterhead, business cards, a whole stationery system, as well as Web presence, promotional materials, and the overall branding guidelines,” Manda explained.

“And I’ll be working with you two to develop content for all of those promotional materials and the Web site,” Jen added.

“That sounds like a lot of work,” Josh remarked. “How long will it take to do all of that?”

“Manda and I will do some of the more critical pieces ourselves, but we’ll bring in our graphics department for a lot of it, under our creative direction, of course. We have a Web designer we partner with for the mechanics of the Web site as well,” David told the two brothers.

Manda continued the explanation. “We’ll create the look and feel we want for the foundation’s online materials, then he’ll flesh out the functional, working site with the content you and Jen create. We’ll do something similar with the branding guidelines. We’ll spell out exactly how the foundation should be portrayed, how the logo should be used, all that. That will ensure that the organization will always be branded consistently, no matter who’s doing the work.”

“How involved will you need us to be?” Richard asked, frowning thoughtfully.

“Well,” Manda responded tentatively, “we usually ask for a free hand for a lot of this, and just ask for client input at key stages of development.” Richard’s frown deepened as Manda spoke, and Josh began to look disappointed as well. Pleased by their reactions, Manda rushed to finish. “But with you guys, I’d prefer to have your input and involvement throughout the process if possible.”

David nodded his agreement and Josh and Richard both looked pleased. Jen was clearly surprised by Manda’s departure from the usual routine and looked at her quizzically.

Manda grinned and explained. “The four of us have worked really well as a team and I know this project will benefit from having Richard and Josh’s input all the way through.” Manda turned back to the brothers. “Will you be able to work with us over the next couple of months?”

“We’re still at your disposal,” Richard assured her with a smile.

Jen arched her eyebrows but didn’t comment. Instead she directed the meeting toward matters of logistics and scheduling. After an hour of discussion and planning they had established a timeline for the next stage of the project and a good idea what the extent of the work would be. Richard and Josh left with promises to see Manda on Friday.

Jen remained after the two men had departed, collecting her notes. “Things are going well on this project, then?” she asked as she gathered her things.

“
Very
well,” Manda replied enthusiastically. “I think this is going to be some of our best work.”

“I think you’re right,” David agreed. “Working with these guys is a nice change of pace. You couldn’t ask for better clients.”

“So, not like Fieldings at all,” Jen said. Her hand was on the door handle but she paused with a pained look. “Curt told me about that. Sorry guys. Let me know what I can do to help. Now I’ve got to go follow up on some of this.” She gestured with her notes. “I’ll talk to you later.”

After she left, David and Manda set to work enthusiastically, deciding which elements of the project they would handle themselves and which they could delegate. That decided, they got busy and the remainder of the day flew by.

The rest of the week was a flurry of activity, and before Manda knew it, Friday at five o’clock had arrived and Richard and Josh were there, ready for their evening outing.

“Hi, guys,” David greeted as he opened the door for the brothers.

“Hey, David,” Josh returned the greeting. “What’s up?”

“Just been working on your project. It’s coming right along.”

“If you guys come by on Monday, we’ll have something to show you,” Manda offered, emerging briefly from her office. “Hi, Josh. Hi, Richard. I’ll be ready to go in a couple of minutes.”

“Take your time,” Richard said, following Josh into the room.

“Have a seat and make yourself at home,” David invited, as Manda ducked back into her office to wrap up for the day and collect her things. “Manda says you guys are going to have some dinner and play miniature golf. Watch out for that Katie. She’s really good. She mopped the floor with me last year.”

Josh and Richard made themselves comfortable on the sofa. “What about Manda?” Richard asked, amused.

“Terrible!” David confided with a grin.

“Hey! I heard that!” Manda called from her office.

“I call ‘em as I see ‘em,” David called back.

Manda laughed to herself as she logged off of her computer. He was right. She really wasn’t very good. Even Emily had been able to beat her the last time they’d played. She released her laptop from the docking station and slipped it into her computer bag, retrieved her purse from her desk drawer, and joined the men in the common area.

“What are your plans for tonight?” Josh was asking David when she joined them.

“Stacey and I are going out with some friends. A little Cajun food and some dancing, I think.”

“Sounds like fun,” Josh commented.

“You’re always welcome to come along,” David offered. “Anytime you’re free.”

Josh’s face lit up. “Really? That would be great!”

“We’ll plan on it then. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go meet Stacey. Have fun tonight.” David slung his backpack over his shoulder and ducked out the door with a wave.

“Are you guys ready to go then?” Manda asked. “I’m parked in the garage right across the street.”

“We’re ready when you are,” Josh assured her.

“I’m looking forward to seeing where you live,” Richard said with a warm smile. “More pieces of the puzzle, you know.”

“I’m afraid this particular puzzle isn’t very challenging, and the picture you’ll get isn’t very exciting,” Manda responded with a self-conscious laugh. She was a little nervous about their upcoming outing. It was one thing to interact with Richard and Josh at work or in public, but taking them to her house was like opening a door into her
personal life. She was self-conscious and worried about what these two rich and well-traveled men would think of her modest home.

“Oh, I doubt that,” Richard replied skeptically. He and Josh followed as Manda led the way to her car. During the short walk, Josh responded to Manda’s inquiry about how their business meetings were going, giving her a quick overview of their last few days, including their meeting with Curt and Jen.

When they arrived at Manda’s car, Josh called “Shotgun!” and slid into the front passenger seat with a grin. Richard rolled his eyes in amusement.

“Boys will be boys,” he commented in an undertone as he slipped into the back seat behind Manda. They rode in silence as Manda threaded her way through the dense downtown traffic. When she was finally on the interstate heading north, Richard spoke again.

“So, you usually take the train? Is fighting the traffic worse than dealing with the humans then?” he asked.

“That’s part of it,” Manda chuckled. “Mostly it’s because I get some of my best ideas while I’m commuting and I can’t write them down if I’m driving—at least not without causing an accident! I’ve forgotten
more
good ideas because I couldn’t write them down right away.”

“Richard says you grew up in Colorado. Was it around here?” Josh inquired as they sped north.

“I grew up in Fort Collins, about an hour away. My parents both taught at the university there.”

“Really?” Richard responded with interest. “What fields?”

“My father was a wildlife biologist and my mother taught graphic design.”

“You inherited your talent from her then,” Richard surmised. “I imagine she’d be very proud of you now.”

“Thanks,” Manda said softly. “I hope so.”

“If you don’t want to talk about this just say so,” Josh said, hesitantly, “but after our parents’ car wreck, I had Richard to look out for me. What did you do?”

“I had Emily and Andy. I lived with them until I bought my own house a couple of years ago. I did stay in the dorm at CSU after my parents died, though. It’s just too far to drive from Emily and Andy’s house to Fort Collins every day. They live close enough to Boulder that I was able to stay with them while I was in grad school at CU though, so that was nice.”

“No wonder you’re so close to Katie and Robbie. You lived with them for most of their lives,” Richard said thoughtfully. Manda guessed he was putting together more of his puzzle pieces and wondered wryly if he’d been a detective in a former life.

“Are you and your sister very close?” Josh asked.

“I guess so. Not like you and Richard though. She’s always been more motherly toward me, since she’s so much older than I am. But, yeah, we get along great. She and Andy are the best!”

Manda guided her car onto the off-ramp. It was just a few more miles to her house, and she definitely had butterflies in her stomach now.

“What do they do for a living?” Josh continued his questioning.

“Emily’s an executive recruiter and Andy’s a partner in one of the big accounting firms.” Manda tapped her index finger against the steering wheel nervously as she waited at a red light. She was close to wishing she had never gotten herself into this evening. She was definitely out of her comfort zone.

“What’s wrong, Manda? You seem a little anxious,” Richard asked from behind her.

Manda sighed. Leave it to Richard to pick up on her agitation. He was very perceptive. “I’ve never invited anyone famous to my house before,” she admitted, deciding that honesty was best, even if it was a bit embarrassing. The light turned green and she turned onto the street that bordered her neighborhood. “It’s a little unsettling.”

“But it’s just Richard and I,” Josh said, trying to reassure her.

“If you’re uncomfortable with this, we don’t have to do it,” Richard offered in a voice that was solemn and concerned. “If it would make you feel more at ease, we can cancel tonight and you can just bring Katie in for lunch one day, like you suggested before. We don’t want to push you into anything you’re not comfortable with.”