Under Construction

Under Construction

By Design: Episode Two

J.A. Armstrong

Text © Copyright 2015 J.A. Armstrong Books

All Rights Reserved. This book, or parts
thereof
, may not be reproduced without
permission.

CHAPTER
ONE

CHAPTER
TWO

CHAPTER
THREE

CHAPTER
FOUR

CHAPTER
FIVE

CHAPTER
SIX

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Jameson Reid sat at a long table
in a conference room studying plans for her firm’s latest project. Her eyes
were tired. All of her was tired. The last two weeks had seemed endless to Jameson,
and she had another full week to endure before she would get any reprieve from
the stress of work. Worse still, it would be another full week before she got a
reprieve from the loneliness of home. She closed her eyes and rubbed her
forehead in a feeble attempt to banish her lingering headache. Her patience was
running low. Her energy was
running
even
lower
.

Two
weeks ago, the senior architect in her firm, Bryan Mills was forced to take an
unexpected leave of absence. His wife was experiencing complications
during
her first pregnancy. There had been no
question in Jameson’s mind that he needed to be home. Bryan had argued that he
could work part-time. Jameson would not hear of it. Family first was not just a
motto that Jameson Reid had adopted, it was the philosophy she lived by. People
came first. Business came second. End of discussion for Jameson. Bryan’s
absence happened to coincide with beginning of one of the largest projects the
firm had acquired to date.

Jameson
loved a challenge and she had confidence that her team could create something
amazing for this new client. The project entailed designing a state of the art medical
building and rehab center. The new structure would replace the outdated
buildings currently being utilized at a large urban hospital in Maryland. Designing
complex structures to house medical facilities was
time-consuming
and often daunting. Technology had to be considered
in every nook and cranny. Safety, while always at the core of Jameson’s
designs, took on a different significance in health care facilities. Patients
were often immobile. That meant that there had to be alternative ways to access
and exit the structure in case of an emergency. Jameson prided herself, and her
team’s work on innovation, functionality, safety, and lastly, style. Style, in
Jameson’s mind, was useless if the other three points were not executed
efficiently.

Jameson
took her work seriously. She sought to please her clients, but she also
understood that the work her firm
did
had
both
significant
applications and implications. The problem she was having lately was with her
ability to concentrate. Jameson’s need to be in Albany took her away from the
project that commanded her greatest interest. It also inhibited her ability to
see the person who
commanded
her heart.
That was beginning to take as much of a toll on the architect as the heavy
workload in front of her.

“J.D.?”
Melanie called for her boss’s attention. Jameson looked up. “Maybe we should take
a break, huh?” the young woman suggested.

“Worried
about me?” Jameson asked lightly. Melanie pursed her lips. Jameson chuckled. “I
want to finish up with this before I head home.”

“To
your home or to Candace’s?” Melanie winked.

Jameson
grimaced. “Mine,” she said.

“Really?
I thought for sure you would be headed there for the weekend. You can’t work
24/7, J.D.,” Melanie said.

“Thanks,
Mom,” Jameson winked. “I’m not working….Well, actually, I probably will be
working,” she groaned. Melanie shook her head and sighed. “Candace is stuck in
D.C. until next Friday,” Jameson explained.

“That
sucks,” the younger woman turned up her nose. Jameson offered her an awkward
smile in agreement. “How long since you’ve seen her now?”

“Two
weeks,” Jameson said softly. “It’ll be three by the time next Friday rolls
around.”

“I
thought politicians didn’t work?” Melanie quipped. Jameson squinted at her
assertion. “Well, I do read the news!”

“What
news is that? E! Online?” Jameson laughed. “Mel, your friends’ Facebook rants
do not qualify as news.”

“Funny,”
Melanie wrinkled her nose at Jameson. “I’m serious. I thought politicians had
more vacation days than work days. Isn’t that what everyone complains about?”

“Not
this politician,” Jameson said affectionately. Candace’s workload sometimes
frustrated her, but she adored her lover. She missed Candace when they were
forced to be apart. “She is the definition of a
workaholic
,”
Jameson said.

“I
thought you were the cure?” Melanie poked. “You know…to get her to stop and
slow down.”

“No,
Chinese food is the cure.”

“She
likes Chinese food more than you?” Melanie asked doubtfully.

“She
might,” Jameson answered with a twinkle in her eye. The conversation was making
her think about Candace. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before
rolling up the plans in front of her.

“Thought
you wanted to finish this?” Melanie asked in confusion.

“I
will. Just need a break,” Jameson said. “I’m going to head into my office for a
bit. You should head out early. It’s Friday. I can finish this without you.”

“J.D.,
I’ll stay. I don’t mind. I can go get us some food.”

“No.
You go. Who knows how long I will be here,” Jameson told her.

“
Okay
….J.D.?” Jameson turned back to the younger
woman. “Why don’t you just fly down and see her?”

Jameson
smiled. “I would. She’s supposed to attend some fundraiser tomorrow. She’ll be
tied up all day, and I know she is working late tonight.”

“Two of
a kind,” Melanie smirked. “You have a lot in common.”

“Mm. I
guess so,” Jameson said. “We’re both alone,” she whispered to herself.

***

Candace was sitting around
an enormous
table listening to the people
around her argue. She had
tuned
out the
majority of the conversation. It reminded her of the days when both Marianne
and Michelle insisted on playing the same song over and over….and over again.
She consistently wondered what made people get so stuck on one thing that they
became unable to hear anything else. She looked down at her phone to check the
time just as a message popped onto her screen.

New Message: JAMESON

Candace smiled and opened the new
screen.

JAMESON: “Busy?”

CANDACE: “Bored.”

JAMESON: “Meeting?”

CANDACE: “Maddening.”

JAMESON: “Are we playing word
games?”

CANDACE: “That would be
refreshing.”

JAMESON: “That bad?”

CANDACE: “McGuire and Steele must
have mixed up their vitamins with their little blue pills.”

JAMESON: “????”

CANDACE: “The most excitement in
this meeting happens whenever Dana pops in. That’s the only time they pop up.”

Jameson read the message and
started laughing.

CANDACE: “How about you? How’s
the new project?”

JAMESON: “Good. Working
on
the rehab center. State of the art stripper
poles right in the middle. What do you think?”

CANDACE: “Never fly.”

JAMESON: “Why not? It’s
innovative.”

CANDACE: “They wouldn’t need to
prescribe all those blue bills. They love those things.”

JAMESON: “You’re sick.”

CANDACE: “Good thing you’re
designing a new hospital then.”

JAMESON: “I miss you.”

Candace sighed softly and traced
the screen with her finger.

CANDACE: “I miss you too.”
 

Candace tried not to laugh out
loud at her next thought.
I even miss
that mangy cat.

JAMESON: “Late night?”

CANDACE: “Unfortunately, looks
that way.”

JAMESON: “Me too. Talk to you in
the a.m.?”

CANDACE: “Yes. I will call you.”

JAMESON: “I’d rather give you a
wake-up call.” Jameson included several
emoticons
.

CANDACE: “Lunatic.”

JAMESON “You like lunatics.”

CANDACE: “Good thing.”

JAMESON: “Love you.”

CANDACE: “I love you too.
Lunatic.”

Candace settled back in her chair
and covered her tired eyes. “Will this day never end?” she thought silently.
“Who am I kidding? Will this week never end?”

***

“Hello?” Pearl answered the
phone.

“Hey,
Pearl.”

“Jameson?
Everything okay?” Pearl asked cautiously.

“Yeah,
why?” Jameson asked.

“Jameson,
you never call me on the house phone.”

“I
wanted to see if you were still there.”

“Why?
Someone coming to look at something?” Pearl wondered.

Jameson
had been away, but she still had contractors at Candace’s house working. Once
the project to restore Candace’s home got underway in earnest, Jameson had
discovered a few hidden issues. Thankfully, nothing in the house had been
structurally unsound, but the roof had not been replaced correctly. Jameson was
amazed it was not leaking too badly.
There were
places in many of the walls that needed addressing. She had uncovered plumbing
issues, and the electrician that Candace’s brother had hired had basically cut
every corner he could and still be able to manage to pass an inspection.
Candace’s reaction was to tell Jameson to do whatever she thought needed to be
done and send her the bills. Jameson did as much of the work herself as she
could to cut costs. Being called away had changed that situation. That meant
even more contractors.

“No.
No
contractors. I just wondered how much
Chinese food I should pick up,” Jameson said.

“Why?
Are you coming home?” Pearl asked.

Jameson
smiled. She had never considered her condo in Albany a home.
Home
had always been her parent’s house in
Ithaca. Being back in Albany the last two weeks had made Jameson homesick. This
time it wasn’t for her parents or the house she was raised in. Jameson missed
Candace. She
missed
Pearl. She missed
Jinx. She missed home. “At the Chinese place now,” Jameson said.

Pearl
chuckled. “Missed Jinx, huh? He misses you too.”

“He
misses Candace,” Jameson laughed. As ironic as that was, it was also true.
Jinx, the cat,
had a strange obsession with
Candace,
the senator. The one person who never
wanted to see a cat again in her life after the age of nine was Jinx’s favorite
human. It delighted both Jameson and Pearl. They both knew that secretly it
pleased
Candace as well. Jameson had caught her
lover talking to Jinx in the kitchen more than once. She never commented. There
were certain things that Jameson just liked to enjoy at a distance. Watching
Candace
pretend
that she loathed the
creature
and sneaking in the doorway to watch
her
coo
at the cat was one of Jameson’s
favorite pastimes at home.

“Well,
if you are bringing dinner; should I break out some of Candy’s wine?” Pearl
asked.

“Coffee
would be better.”

“Coffee?
She’s corrupted you
completely
,” Pearl
admonished Jameson. “It’s already after six.”

“I
know. I still have a lot of work to do,” Jameson said.

“On the
house? Oh no…you are not climbing any ladders at night. No way,” Pearl said.

“I fell
once!” Jameson exclaimed into the phone.

“And
nearly put us all in the hospital with you!” Pearl reminded her. “I’ll make you
your coffee. You stay away from anything tall, sharp, or with an electrical
current.”

Jameson
laughed at Pearl’s stern warning. She had gotten injured once and that was six
months ago. Neither Pearl nor Candace let her forget it. They teased her
endlessly, but underneath their teasing there was an honest undercurrent of
fear. The truth was, Jameson had been both very unlucky and very fortunate that
day. If she had been standing higher on the ladder when Jinx jumped on her, or
if the ladder had hit her just a fraction of an inch to the right; she might
not have fared so well. As it was, she had ended up with a concussion that
almost kept her in the hospital. Jameson could recall Candace’s face that day
in the hospital vividly. Relief and fear painted Candace’s expression. It
wasn’t until that night when they got home that Jameson realized how terrified
Candace and Pearl had both been.

Pearl had
found Jameson unconscious on the floor. Jameson’s head was bleeding heavily; although,
Jameson was sure that it looked far worse than it really was. Pearl had not
been able to get to Candace directly. The vague message Candace did receive
that Jameson was at the hospital had rocked her to the core. She had no idea
what had happened or how badly hurt Jameson might be. Neither Jameson nor
Candace had confessed her feelings for the other until that night. That night,
Candace broke down with Jameson in her arms, refusing to let go. If Jameson had
any lingering doubts that Candace Fletcher was in love with her, that night
silenced them all.