AS SHE STEPPED THROUGH THE door into the offices of Wright Architecture, Linda glanced up from the copy machine and drilled her with a look that said, I’ve got you now.
“Good morning, Linda.”
Linda leaned to her left, pulled the copies out of the tray, and lined them up. Glanced at her watch, then cocked her head. “He’s waiting for you in his office.”
Allison dropped her coat and briefcase off in her office first. Her office was next to Derrek’s, and in a bit of creative construction, there was open space six inches wide that ran from the ceiling to halfway down the wall, which allowed her to hear Derrek’s conversations. Her hearing was exceptional—family and friends had always joked about her ears having nanotechnology—and in this case it allowed her to stay on top of the ebb and flow of the office without having to meet with Derrek every few hours.
She made her way into his office and stepped to the center of the room. Derrek’s focus was on his laptop, fingers pounding the keyboard, his ever-present Bluetooth earpiece over his right ear. Allison studied his wall-to-wall shelves full of books, photos with the important and powerful from the Seattle area and beyond, and exotic trinkets from Africa, Rome, Thailand, and Antarctica.
Three minutes slipped by. Five.
“Be right with you, Allison.”
Seven. Ten.
“You want me to come back, Derrek? I can—”
“No, no. I’ll just be a few more seconds. Thanks for your patience.”
A few more seconds slipped into a minute, two minutes. Three.
“There!” Derrek tapped the mouse pad on his laptop with a flourish, turned to Allison, and motioned to the seats in front of the desk.
Allison sat in the chair closest to the door.
“Well then. Good morning, Ms. Moore.”
“Good morning.”
“Do you have time to chat about a few things?”
No. She didn’t. She had an email she had to send out by nine thirty that she’d be done with by now if she hadn’t just burned fifteen minutes standing in Derrek’s office. Plus, two proposals that needed to get out by noon.
“Sure.”
“Good.” Derrek leaned back and locked his hands behind his head. “As you’re aware, we’re trying to inculcate a certain decorum in our office. An attitude, a statement, an ambience of professionalism.”
Allison nodded.
“To achieve those things, a certain standard is required. To be specific, our dress needs to communicate that standard. To be even more precise, I’d like you to start wearing business suits.”
“What?”
Derrek smiled.
Allison frowned. “We’re not a law firm, we’re an—”
“Yes, I understand that, and you’re going to say your style is more casual, and that’s the way you did it at your old company.” Derrek chuckled. “But I’m not interested in one of us being the straight man and the other being the cool gal who dresses so casually our clients think she’s trying to be hip, which they perceive as a veiled statement about our creativity. Our creativity is demonstrated in our designs, not our dress.”
“I dress well. Casual, but sharp.”
“I know you do, and if it were just me, I’d have no problem seeing you here in shorts and T-shirts every day.” Another throaty chuckle. “But we have clients dropping by from time to time, and we need to be battle ready at all times.”
“That means?”
“As I just said, business suits. Skirts. On rare occasions slacks and blouses.” Derrek released his hands behind his neck and leaned forward in his chair. “At some point we might move a few inches more casual on Fridays. But for now this is the way everyone in the office will continue to dress.”
Unbelievable. Allison hadn’t worn skirts or formal business suits—except for weddings and funerals—for five years. Even at the company where she and Kayla worked before starting their firm, the dress had been smart but relaxed. Where was Derrek living? In the fifties? Formal wear at work? Yes, business suits and skirts did send a message. A message that Wright Architecture was as stiff as Sheetrock.
Derrek turned to his laptop.
“Anything else other than the dress code, Derrek?”
“Um, I think Linda already addressed our arrival time, didn’t she?”
“Arrival time?”
“We start at eight.”
“Yes, and we end at five. And I’ve been working past seven every day since I started, and working at home as well. One of the perks of being a partner is the freedom to come in when I need to and leave when I need to.”
“I know, I know. I understand.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Of course you can come and go as you like, but since Linda is the office manager, out of respect for her, and to set a good example for those working for us, what do you say? Can you make a concentrated effort to be here by eight?”
“Sure, Derrek. No problem.”
“Thank you, Allison, I appreciate it.”
He turned back to his laptop.
“Anything else on that?”
“No.” Derrek smiled with a twinkle in his eye that said they were done.
“Then can we talk about finalizing the details of our partnership?”
Derrek looked up, but his fingers stayed on the keyboard. “Thanks for bringing that up, Allison. I’d like to, and I know you’ve been patient in regard to that subject, but—”
A voice from the doorway interrupted him.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Derrek, but can I ask Allison a quick question?” Linda stood just inside the door, a plastic smile at the corners of her mouth.
Derrek raised his eyebrows to Allison, who slowly nodded. Linda. Perfect timing. Not the first time this kind of thing had happened. Think positive thoughts. Try to believe it’s a coincidence. Allison gave Derrek a weak smile and twisted in her chair. Linda strolled into the room, her maroon skirt long and pressed sharp, arms cradling a stack of yellow file folders. When she reached Derrek’s desk, she leaned against it and cocked her head.
“What was so important that you came in late, Allison?” Linda tapped her fingers on the files. “It’s not a serious issue. I’m simply curious.”
“It was . . .” Allison stared at her, trying to keep her frustration in check. She wanted to describe Linda’s eyes as kind, but they weren’t. The first layer maybe, but there was ice underneath. A cruelty. The kind that forces a child’s hand onto a hot stove to teach her not to touch and justifies the action when the behavior changes.
“Why don’t you go ahead and tell us, Allison?” A half smile now only made her eyes colder. “I think Derrek might like to know as well. Because as Derrek just alluded to, we have a policy around here of being on time. Every day. And this is the second time you’ve been late since you started working for Derrek. And that’s only been nine days.”
Allison almost laughed. Working for Derrek?
Linda didn’t want to know why she’d been late. Didn’t care. Was just trying to make her squirm. Allison glanced at Derrek. He was buried in his laptop as if Linda and she weren’t there.
“I saw a homeless man who looked painfully thin. I pulled off and bought a breakfast sandwich and gave it to him. I’m sorry that made me late.”
“Really? That’s what you did, Allison?”
“No.” Allison stood till she was eye to eye with Linda. “You know that’s not what happened, Linda.”
“What is the truth then?”
“That it isn’t an issue you need to be concerned with.”
Linda pulled her files tight to her chest and glared. “Let’s be on time from now on, shall we, Allison? To set a good example for the staff.”
Allison offered nothing more than a thin smile.
Linda sat, crossed her arms and legs, and stared at Allison with eyes that said, Leave now.
Allison leaned in toward Derrek.
“When are we going to finish our conversation about the partnership?”
“Soon. Let’s set a goal of having that discussion before the end of next week, if not before. As I mentioned, I know we need to get the details finalized.”
“Can we set up a time?”
“Yes, I’d like to, but right now I need to meet with Linda on a few things about the company structure.”
“I should be here then.”
“No, it’s nothing major that would require your input. I’ll call you if needed. Thanks, Allison.”
The rest of the day moved by with enough demands to keep Allison’s mind occupied, but as she left the office at five that evening, only one thing filled her mind. The fact that Derrek had once again pushed their partnership into the depths of the forest where the sun didn’t shine. But late that evening, as she glanced at her Tree of Life necklace, another thought jockeyed for position. The man she’d seen at The Vogue, and his gorgeous journal that had somehow fully captured her imagination.