not prolong the conversation, but it was difficult when he found himself unaccountably interested in her thought processes.
“I realize that, but I wa nted to be the best in my field.”
“From what I’ve been able to discover you were very close to attaining that goal when you left your former position.”
“As I’m sure you are a ware,” Mira qualified . “I didn’t leave my job. I was fired after I refused to bury a document that deeded a valuable piece of land to the Nature Conservancy.”
“I realize that ,” he soothed. “I n fac t it’s one of the reasons I agreed to talk to you. It’s not often that one finds a truly ethical person in this business, especially one who has your skill at creating beautiful designs th at manage to in tegrate architecture into the natural world.”
After his standoffish attitude, Mira was astounded by his abrupt change. She opened her mouth to form a reply, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. She opted for silence.
“Contrary to popular opinion, Ms. Anders, I am not an ogre, I merely have high standard s . If you didn’t meet those standards we wouldn’t be having this conversation. ” He made a snap decision, praying he wouldn’t regret it. “ Because of that I have decided to offer you a position. I realize that you will need time to move so I suggest that you s pend the rest of the week finding a place to stay and getting settled . I expect you to report to Barry Sims n ext Monday morning. If you need anything before then call Mary. ”
“Thank you Mr. Kelly. I’ll look forward to it.” When he didn’t say anything more, Mira assumed the meeting was over. She stood, gathered her papers, and quietly left the room .
When she was gone, James leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes . The tension drained out of him. He would have to be very careful around his newest employee if she caused him this much turmoil. Perhaps it would be better if he stayed away from her entirely.
“Mr. Kelly, there’s a phone call for you,” Mary said from the doorway.
He opened his eyes and stood up. “I’ll be right there,” he told her. It was time to get back to business.
Chapter 7
“What was wrong with that one?” Mira asked in frustration.
“It was fine,” Lily said , “but didn’t you think it was a little small and cramped? The neighbors were so close that I could practically taste the spaghetti sauce they were burning.”
“I didn’t think it was all that bad . B esides , I can’t afford to be extravagant anymore . The suit against me was settled, but it wasn’t cheap . Besides, s mall is better anyway. Since I sold my furniture I’ll have trouble filling up a large apartment .” She stepped out of a covered passageway and immediately pulled on her sunglasses. The clear blue sky was beautiful, but it left no clouds to dim the sun’s harsh glare.
Lily followed her and pulled on her own sunglasses. “I still don’t understand why you had to sell all that beautiful furniture when you could have stored it at my house. ” She pouted prettily. “ I have plenty of room to spare.”
Mira paused and grinned at her friend. “That’ s an understatement,” she retorted. “Y our new place is not a house . It’s a mausoleum. There’s enough space in there to store the Titanic.”
Lily sniffed. “ My work is an art form . I need the space to wo rk. If you ever came to visit, you would see why I bought the house . The light in the studio is simply marvelous.” She flipped her sleek blond hair over her shoulder and reached for the handle of the rental car. “I don’t understand why you rented a Civic instead of a convertible,” she said. “ I like riding with the top down.”
“We’re in the south and it’s summer . A hot, humid breeze isn’t enough to keep us cool , we need air conditioning. Besides, the wind always messes up my hair.” She pulled open the driver’s door and slid in.
Lily
“I realize that, but I wa nted to be the best in my field.”
“From what I’ve been able to discover you were very close to attaining that goal when you left your former position.”
“As I’m sure you are a ware,” Mira qualified . “I didn’t leave my job. I was fired after I refused to bury a document that deeded a valuable piece of land to the Nature Conservancy.”
“I realize that ,” he soothed. “I n fac t it’s one of the reasons I agreed to talk to you. It’s not often that one finds a truly ethical person in this business, especially one who has your skill at creating beautiful designs th at manage to in tegrate architecture into the natural world.”
After his standoffish attitude, Mira was astounded by his abrupt change. She opened her mouth to form a reply, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. She opted for silence.
“Contrary to popular opinion, Ms. Anders, I am not an ogre, I merely have high standard s . If you didn’t meet those standards we wouldn’t be having this conversation. ” He made a snap decision, praying he wouldn’t regret it. “ Because of that I have decided to offer you a position. I realize that you will need time to move so I suggest that you s pend the rest of the week finding a place to stay and getting settled . I expect you to report to Barry Sims n ext Monday morning. If you need anything before then call Mary. ”
“Thank you Mr. Kelly. I’ll look forward to it.” When he didn’t say anything more, Mira assumed the meeting was over. She stood, gathered her papers, and quietly left the room .
When she was gone, James leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes . The tension drained out of him. He would have to be very careful around his newest employee if she caused him this much turmoil. Perhaps it would be better if he stayed away from her entirely.
“Mr. Kelly, there’s a phone call for you,” Mary said from the doorway.
He opened his eyes and stood up. “I’ll be right there,” he told her. It was time to get back to business.
Chapter 7
“What was wrong with that one?” Mira asked in frustration.
“It was fine,” Lily said , “but didn’t you think it was a little small and cramped? The neighbors were so close that I could practically taste the spaghetti sauce they were burning.”
“I didn’t think it was all that bad . B esides , I can’t afford to be extravagant anymore . The suit against me was settled, but it wasn’t cheap . Besides, s mall is better anyway. Since I sold my furniture I’ll have trouble filling up a large apartment .” She stepped out of a covered passageway and immediately pulled on her sunglasses. The clear blue sky was beautiful, but it left no clouds to dim the sun’s harsh glare.
Lily followed her and pulled on her own sunglasses. “I still don’t understand why you had to sell all that beautiful furniture when you could have stored it at my house. ” She pouted prettily. “ I have plenty of room to spare.”
Mira paused and grinned at her friend. “That’ s an understatement,” she retorted. “Y our new place is not a house . It’s a mausoleum. There’s enough space in there to store the Titanic.”
Lily sniffed. “ My work is an art form . I need the space to wo rk. If you ever came to visit, you would see why I bought the house . The light in the studio is simply marvelous.” She flipped her sleek blond hair over her shoulder and reached for the handle of the rental car. “I don’t understand why you rented a Civic instead of a convertible,” she said. “ I like riding with the top down.”
“We’re in the south and it’s summer . A hot, humid breeze isn’t enough to keep us cool , we need air conditioning. Besides, the wind always messes up my hair.” She pulled open the driver’s door and slid in.
Lily
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