Read Online Now a Major Motion Picture by Stacey Wiedower - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Stacey Wiedower
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“You actually called. I was pretty sure I was going to have to make good on my threat.”
“Yeah, well, I was kind of scared to cross you.” He laughed, his tension ebbing.
She laughed, too. “I don’t bite. I guess I need to work on my first impressions.”
“I don’t know. You gave me a pretty good first impression.” His flirtatious tone surprised even him.
“Hmm. I think we’re on the same page then.”
Well, this conversation was on a path to something, he thought. He took the next step.
“Are you busy later this week?”
“I’ve got a night or two open. What’d you have in mind?”
“How about dinner? My pick this time. And I’ll pick you up?”
“Consider it a date.”
After working out the details, he snapped his phone shut and stared at it for a couple of seconds. He’d just made a second date. For him, that was a first.
CHAPTER SIX
Get a Life
By the next morning, Noah had pushed all thoughts of Erin to the back of his mind. The comforting, habitual buzz of the impending workweek returned his attention to more pressing matters: his hotel project.
As he navigated the familiar route to his office, Noah’s mind traveled over space plans and specifications. His firm occupied the fourth floor of a seven-story, glass-plated commercial building in the heart of Uptown’s business center. The postmodern structure looked out of place amidst the squat brick and yellowed stone commercial buildings that surrounded it, and Noah liked that about it. He steered his white, compact hybrid SUV around the building and into the parking garage, blinking a few times to help his eyes adjust to the switch from dazzling sunlight to underground blackness. He opened the door to the familiar, dank odor of the garage and hurried from his car to the building, sidestepping a trail of water that oozed from a mysterious hole in the concrete block walls. The ID mechanism beside the door flashed green and beeped as he waved the card on his keychain in front of the electronic pad. He hurried through the door, bypassed the elevators, and ran the five flights up to his office.
Mindy, the administrative assistant, raised her head and smiled at him as he breezed through the frosted glass doors at the firm’s entry.
As usual, he didn’t notice the way her eyes traveled over him as he passed by the reception desk and rounded the corner to his office—an open space he shared with two other architects and an AutoCAD technician.
Also as usual, he was the first one there. Most of his co-workers rolled in around nine, but Noah was almost always in at eight, itching to get to work, especially when he was getting started with a new project. He always hand-drew first, slaving over his renderings until he’d fleshed out his ideas.
He barely looked up from his workspace until after noon, when he felt someone’s presence behind him. He swung his chair around to find Mark Bialik, a junior designer who worked one set of offices over, staring over his shoulder.
“Nice,” Mark said, eyeing his sketches.
“Thanks.”
“Want to grab some lunch?”
He noted Mark’s odd expression—a mix of curiosity and amusement—and groaned inwardly. Oh, yeah. Mark was the one who’d set him up with Erin. He wants details. And Noah didn’t feel like divulging any.
But he didn’t see any way around it. He had to eat.
“Sure…be ready in a minute. I’ll meet you out front.” He turned to flip off his task light and did a quick check of his email before leaving his desk.
They walked to a nearby deli. To his relief, Mark didn’t talk much about Erin, but Noah did glean that he already knew about the impending second date. He also learned Erin was Mark’s girlfriend’s best friend.
So she’s been talking about me to her friends. He pondered what that meant. It couldn’t be a big deal—women told each other everything, right? But he felt a twinge of pleasure that he’d made at least some sort of impression on her.
“Yeah, well, I was kind of scared to cross you.” He laughed, his tension ebbing.
She laughed, too. “I don’t bite. I guess I need to work on my first impressions.”
“I don’t know. You gave me a pretty good first impression.” His flirtatious tone surprised even him.
“Hmm. I think we’re on the same page then.”
Well, this conversation was on a path to something, he thought. He took the next step.
“Are you busy later this week?”
“I’ve got a night or two open. What’d you have in mind?”
“How about dinner? My pick this time. And I’ll pick you up?”
“Consider it a date.”
After working out the details, he snapped his phone shut and stared at it for a couple of seconds. He’d just made a second date. For him, that was a first.
CHAPTER SIX
Get a Life
By the next morning, Noah had pushed all thoughts of Erin to the back of his mind. The comforting, habitual buzz of the impending workweek returned his attention to more pressing matters: his hotel project.
As he navigated the familiar route to his office, Noah’s mind traveled over space plans and specifications. His firm occupied the fourth floor of a seven-story, glass-plated commercial building in the heart of Uptown’s business center. The postmodern structure looked out of place amidst the squat brick and yellowed stone commercial buildings that surrounded it, and Noah liked that about it. He steered his white, compact hybrid SUV around the building and into the parking garage, blinking a few times to help his eyes adjust to the switch from dazzling sunlight to underground blackness. He opened the door to the familiar, dank odor of the garage and hurried from his car to the building, sidestepping a trail of water that oozed from a mysterious hole in the concrete block walls. The ID mechanism beside the door flashed green and beeped as he waved the card on his keychain in front of the electronic pad. He hurried through the door, bypassed the elevators, and ran the five flights up to his office.
Mindy, the administrative assistant, raised her head and smiled at him as he breezed through the frosted glass doors at the firm’s entry.
As usual, he didn’t notice the way her eyes traveled over him as he passed by the reception desk and rounded the corner to his office—an open space he shared with two other architects and an AutoCAD technician.
Also as usual, he was the first one there. Most of his co-workers rolled in around nine, but Noah was almost always in at eight, itching to get to work, especially when he was getting started with a new project. He always hand-drew first, slaving over his renderings until he’d fleshed out his ideas.
He barely looked up from his workspace until after noon, when he felt someone’s presence behind him. He swung his chair around to find Mark Bialik, a junior designer who worked one set of offices over, staring over his shoulder.
“Nice,” Mark said, eyeing his sketches.
“Thanks.”
“Want to grab some lunch?”
He noted Mark’s odd expression—a mix of curiosity and amusement—and groaned inwardly. Oh, yeah. Mark was the one who’d set him up with Erin. He wants details. And Noah didn’t feel like divulging any.
But he didn’t see any way around it. He had to eat.
“Sure…be ready in a minute. I’ll meet you out front.” He turned to flip off his task light and did a quick check of his email before leaving his desk.
They walked to a nearby deli. To his relief, Mark didn’t talk much about Erin, but Noah did glean that he already knew about the impending second date. He also learned Erin was Mark’s girlfriend’s best friend.
So she’s been talking about me to her friends. He pondered what that meant. It couldn’t be a big deal—women told each other everything, right? But he felt a twinge of pleasure that he’d made at least some sort of impression on her.
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