CHAPTER 63

MELANIE.

“I ALSO WANT THAT SPACE OPENED UP”, I POINTED TO THE FAR WALL. “WE’LL PUT A CANTEEN THERE.”

The man in the hard hat tilted his head.

“Won’t it interfere with the work, ma'am?”, he asked. I've told him five times in the past thirty minutes to stop calling me that but he doesn't listen. If he wasn't so polite and agreeable, I'd say he was doing it on purpose.

“No. It'll just be a double door leading to the canteen, which you will construct like an addition to the building” I clarified, handing him my clipboard so he could see the sketch.

I couldn't believe the factory didn't have a canteen. I interviewed José and his brother and they told me that their lunch break was not up to ten minutes so they mostly just wolfed down sandwiches while standing at their stations. Some didn't even eat until the end of the day and I find it very ridiculous.

He nodded, “I see. Not bad,” he said, passing my clipboard back.

I got a thrill from holding one of my own; it made me feel very professional.

“Great. All the building materials you'll need are outside at the back. When can you start work?”, I asked.

“My men and I have no problem starting now if you don't mind”, he replied. I smiled and shook his hand.

“That’d be wonderful. It's been a pleasure, Mr Oberman” I said.

“I told you, lady, I'm just James” he replied, shaking his head.

I let go of his hand and stepped back as I raised an eyebrow, “And I told you not to call me Ma'am. Guess we don't always get what we want.”

He laughed loudly, “Touche.”

“I’ll leave you to it then,” I said, checking my watch. I walked out of the factory as he started giving out instructions.

The smile on my face followed me all the way to the road. With the exception of me not being able to enjoy the car I’d worked so hard to get…On account of it still being damaged, everything was going so smoothly it felt like a dream.

I hadn't heard from Cadell and I had been unsuccessful in tracking down the man who'd totaled my car, a feat in which I hadn't expected much success since I didn't have any contacts here in Puerto Rico and he might have even left the country.

I know it would go a lot easier if I enlisted Jordan's help but so far I was still keeping all that stuff away from him. I decided to let it go. For now.

I was also finding it easier to come to terms with being Blaine's girlfriend. He was pretty good at it. Attentive, affectionate, great at listening. It didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes too. I could get used to it, actually.

Which is why I was so frustrated at myself for the feeling of something missing that always gnawed at me. Blaine was perfect on paper and in person, yet here I was feeling that something was wrong somewhere. Then there was Jordan.

My face heated as I remembered what we had almost done in the gym and heated even more when I caught myself wondering what would actually have happened if Blaine hadn't come in. The guy was messing with my head.

The Uber I'd called arrived and rolled down the windows, revealing a black woman with lots of piercings in her ears and a trio of silver necklaces at her throat. As I got into the passenger seat I noted the onyx eyes that matched her Afro.

“You Elaine?” she asked, referring to the false name I'd used to book the ride. Force of habit. “Aren’t you supposed to ask before I get in the car?” I asked, amusement tilting up one side of my mouth.

“Aren't you supposed to have enough sense to not get in a strange car, white girl?” , she shot back sassily and pulled away from the curb. I liked her already.

“So what's a woman like you doing so far from home?” I asked, not because I was particularly interested but because I didn't have much else to do.

She snapped her gum, “Oh no, baby girl. Unless you tryna flirt with me, we ain't gotta do the small talk bit, okay?”

She didn't even wait for me to answer before she turned up the music and started singing along. I got the feeling that she was enjoying the ride more than I was.

Good for her; it looked like she was making the best out of her situation, whatever it may be, and I wasn't mad at it. I made her park at the building next to the headquarters so that nobody would see me alighting from an Uber. She looked up at the large glass-fronted skyscraper and whistled.

“So you work for the filthy rich folks. Perhaps you wouldn't mind leaving a generous tip for us regular people.” She quipped and smiled at me, revealing a chipped tooth that only made her more appealing. I obliged and got out, walking the short distance to the double doors before pushing through and making my way to the elevators.

In record time I was on Jordan's office floor and headed toward my desk. It was only after I dropped my bag that I noticed the note on my desk telling me to come into the office as soon as I arrived. Trepidation took hold of me, something that happened every time Jordan spoke to me in recent times.

I was surprised that he hadn't discovered the truth about the car or the guilt that probably poured off me anytime it was mentioned in a conversation. I guess you could take the aspiring actress out of acting classes but you couldn't take the acting classes out of the aspiring actress.

I gave his door three swift knocks then came in when I heard his muffled assent, pausing at the doorway when my blood began to heat slowly. It was the first time we'd been face to face since that night at the gym and I drank in the sight of him. Man, no one should be allowed to look this good. Ralph Lauren should be paying this man for the marketing.

He gestured towards one of the visitor's chairs without looking away from his laptop screen and I took a seat. The silence wasn't doing my anxiety any favors. Any moment now I expected him to ask why I was concealing a banged-up car behind his display of vintage Chevrolets.

“You left the house pretty early this morning. I take it you went to the factory?” he finally said. Oh. I relaxed; he just wanted a report.

“Well, the builders began work today,” I started, stopping when he cocked his head.

Then I remembered I hadn't told him about the canteen project.

I quickly ran through it and then the rest of the report, my stomach twisting at the way his green eyes never left my face while I spoke.

When I finished, I caught the glint and the small smile of approval before he looked down at his screen again.

The twisting ceased and changed to a more pleasant tingling. Huh. If anyone had told me that I would be this pleased at the approval of a man who had nearly killed me via slow poison, I would probably have sucker punched them in the face.