To end the week, parts five and six of the Garden of Earthly Delights – one more than promised as I think it’s important to read these two together …

If you’re new to Chintz and have missed the previous episodes, you can find them by clicking on the Garden of Earthly Delights tag at the bottom of the page.

 

THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS – PART FIVE

Grace was ready to explode.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, she glanced furtively over at Nick, who was leaning over the table annotating the plan he was reviewing with a pencil. Every so often, when his glasses slipped down slightly, he would lift his hand and push the black frames back over the bridge of his nose.

He’d been perfectly professional all morning and, true to his word, hadn’t mentioned the previous night once after their initial discussion. He’d simply sat himself down and started poring over her latest drawings, asking questions every now and then as she talked him through the changes she’d made. From time to time, he’d stop and make notes on the plans, as he was doing now.

And it was driving her mad. How could he switch it all off and just … act so normally?

Whenever she looked at him, all she could think about was that fact that he’d seen her at her most vulnerable. He’d had an eyeful of her naked bottom, for crying out loud.

It was beyond unsettling.

‘You’ve made this entranceway too small.’

‘Sorry?’ Startled, Grace pulled herself together and flushed when she realised that Nick was looking directly at her. Had he caught her staring?

‘The entrance to the parking complex. It’s too narrow. We need two lanes going in, and two coming out.’

‘Two lanes? Coming out?’ Damn it, which plan was he looking at? Normally, she had no problem recalling what she’d drawn on each sheet.

‘Yes.’

She wracked her brain.

‘Ah, you’re looking at the AS102.’

‘Uh, huh.’

Was that amusement she heard in his voice, she thought as she searched through her set of drawings so that she could look at the offending entrance. If he was making fun of her …

‘How’s the review going?’

Grace and Nick both looked up to see Jack standing in the open doorway. With his shoulder propped his shoulder against the frame and his arms crossed, he looked pretty comfortable. How long had he been there?

Grace opened her mouth to reply but Nick beat her to it.

‘Really well. Grace’s made some solid changes. There’re some details we need to discuss and a couple of things we agreed on last time that got left out, but on the whole-’

‘Excuse me?’

Nick looked over at her, his gaze steady and expectant.

She eyeballed him straight back. He might be her client, but Grace had no problem fighting her corner when it came to deviations from briefs and budgets. Or defending herself against the implication that she’d neglected to do something when she hadn’t. And she didn’t give one wit that her client was the best friend of her boss – or that the latter was watching her.

‘I didn’t leave out anything that we agreed on. There are some things I said I would endeavour to incorporate if design and price allowed. Now, if your budget has increased, I can absolutely look at some of those things again but if it hasn’t, then you’re going to have to compromise.’

Nick’s gaze didn’t waver. ‘You’re a very talented architect, Grace. I’m sure that you’ll be able to find a way to make what I want work within the existing budget and design.’

‘With respect, Nick, you can’t always have exactly what you want. There are times when the cost is too great or the execution is flawed – or both.’

‘Don’t be so certain. Sometimes, all it takes is a little thinking outside the box and the willingness to try a few different things,’ said Nick quietly.

Grace got the distinct impression that they weren’t just talking about plans. She stared at him – and couldn’t seem to move her eyes away. For the first time that day she let herself study him properly. Despite the tailored shirt and suit he was wearing, Nick still looked like he was up to absolutely no good. She wasn’t sure if it was the dark hair or his stature, but he gave off the impression that, despite his conservative dress he was no choirboy walking the straight and narrow. It was what had attracted her in the first place; the combination of the goodness she could sense in him, tempered with a streak of deviance. And authority. The way he was looking at her now, his green eyes locked on hers, made her want to run, hide and fall at his knees, all at the same time.

There was a cough. As one, both she and Nick turned to look at the door.

Jack. Grace had completely forgotten that he was there.

Although his face was perfectly composed, Grace got the distinct sense that he was laughing at them. ‘Besides checking on your progress, it was actually my intention to take you both to lunch. I assume you’re both hungry,’ he looked at his watch, ‘it’s nearly two o’clock.’

Nick took his glasses off. ‘Sounds great, Jack. I could use a break.’ He looked expectantly at Grace.

Oh, no. No way. She’d just spent the better part of four hours cooped up with him and she felt as if someone had run her through the spin cycle on her washing machine. She needed to get out of here, get herself together and work out how she was going to survive the remainder of the afternoon.

‘You guys go ahead. I need to visit the bank and sign some loan forms.’

‘You sure, Gracie? I’m buying?’

‘No thanks, Jack. It’s important I get this done.’

The glimmer of amusement in Jack’s eyes said he knew exactly what she was doing. He was well aware she had weeks to run before her mortgage offer expired.

She lifted her chin, daring him to call her a coward.

His lips quirked.

‘Okay, then. We’ll see you in half-an-hour, give or take.’

Jack moved into the hallway and Nick started to follow him, but as he reached the threshold, he turned. ‘You sure I can’t get you something?’

‘No.’ She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Thank you,’ she added belatedly.

He held her gaze for a few seconds before turning and following Jack out of the meeting room.

Grace remained sitting in her chair for a few moments, staring at the now empty doorway. How did he manage to make her feel so confused? If last night had taught her anything, surely it was that she wasn’t cut out to be submissive? Her fantasies were obviously just that; she needed to accept that they belonged in her head and move on. Nick needed to accept that, too.

You don’t really believe that, do you?

Grace mentally shook herself. She had no problem standing up to Nick when it came to business but she suspected that her resolve might not be so strong outside of the office. She needed to come up with a good excuse for not leaving with him at the end of their meeting. Because she had no doubt that he wasn’t going to make escape easy for her; he had the look of a wolf that had scented prey – and she suspected she was dinner if she didn’t find a somewhere to hide. Fast.

 

THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS – PART SIX

Jack took a massive bite of his sandwich, effectively reducing its size by half. The man could eat for England and Nick wondered idly how much money he spent on groceries each week. Despite the amount of food he packed away, there was no extra weight on Jack’s tall, athletic frame; he ran, played rugby, swam and climbed – and somehow managed to find the time to run a successful commercial architecture business. The guy was a machine. But most of all he was a great person – and Nick respected the hell of him.

‘So, you and Gracie seem to be getting on okay,’ said Jack as he swallowed the remainder of his enormous mouthful and reached for his bottle of water.

Nick snorted. ‘If by ‘okay’ you mean that she hasn’t stabbed me in the eye with a pencil yet, then, yeah, we’re good.’ He took a bite of his roast beef club and chewed thoughtfully. ‘Although I was expecting today to go far worse than it has done.’

‘How so?’

‘Well, she actually turned up, for starters. And although I can tell she’s a bit nervous after last night, it hasn’t affected the meeting. She just looks at me like she wants to take a swing at me whenever she thinks I’m not looking.’ He took a swig from his own water bottle as Jack chuckled.

‘Grace is a great architect, Jack. The plans she’s drawn are fantastic.’

‘I know she is. And she doesn’t take any crap.’

‘Tell me about it. She fights her corner almost as ferociously as you do.’

‘Thought she’d be an easier ride than me, did you?’

Nick laughed. ‘We’ll I was hoping …’

‘Dream on buddy. You gave a brief. You have a budget. She’ll stick to what’s been agreed come hell or high water. You want more? You’re going to have to pay more – for her time and your build.’

‘I kind of enjoy sparing with her. When she stands up to me,’ Nick took another sip of water, ‘it just … It makes me like her all the more.’

Jack shoved the last of his sandwich into his mouth, chewing briefly before swallowing and washing the remains down with more water. ‘Well, I’d prepare yourself. You’re going to have to do some serious persuading to win her over. I can tell just by watching her earlier that she’s going to dig her heels in.’

Nick smiled. ‘I’m up for the challenge.’

‘You’d better be. Gracie’s no pushover.’

‘I’m well aware of that.’ He looked at Jack. ‘I’m taking her with me when our meeting’s over today, by the way. We’ve got some things we need to iron out.’

Jack raised an eyebrow. ‘She know that?’

‘Yeah, she does. And she’s not happy about it.’

‘No shit. We’ll, all I’ll say is that you can bet your ass Gracie will try and figure out a way to get out of it. That girl doesn’t take kindly to being pushed out of her comfort zone.’

‘What are my chances, do you think?’

‘Fifty-fifty. But you have one thing in your favour.’

‘What’s that?’

‘God knows why, but I think she actually likes you.’

……..

‘Dinner and conversation, Grace. That’s all I’m asking. If you agree, I’ll concede on the change to the entry roofline.’

‘That’s blackmail!’

‘I’d prefer to call it architectural persuasion.’

Grace clenched her fists in frustration and barely stopped herself from grinding her teeth together. Despite her brief escape to the bank while Jack and Nick had lunch, she’d returned to the office even more wound up than she’d been before she’d gone out. She’d decided to be polite, professional, to stop staring at Nick and block out everything except the plans. But half-an-hour hadn’t been nearly enough time to shore up her defences or think of a decent excuse for leaving without him at the end of the day. Worse, Nick had had the gall to be thoughtful and, upon his return to the office, he’d presented her with a savoury muffin, a smoked chicken sandwich and a bottle of elderflower cordial. Jack, the bloody traitor, had obviously told him about her favourite lunch – and her growling stomach had quickly put paid to the excuse that she wasn’t hungry.

She glanced over at Nick and noted the firm set to his jaw.

The man clearly wasn’t going to let go of this easily. Not to mention the entrance roofline he wanted was totally practical, totally boring and she’d rather cut her right hand off than bow to his request and change the one she’d originally proposed.

‘Fine. Dinner.’ She pointed her index finger at him and she felt a momentary flush of excitement as his eyes narrowed in response to the gesture. ‘But that’s it. And if after we’ve talked I haven’t changed my mind, which I won’t,’ she added, ‘you’ll drop this once and for all.’

‘Agreed.’

Grace nodded. ‘All right, then. And regardless of what happens, I get my roofline.’

‘Absolutely.’

……

Like it? Click here to read part seven.

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