8 Gabriel
8
Gabriel
Is it okay if I hug you?
What in the absolute fuck was I thinking asking Kierra such a question? It was beyond bizarre and out-of-the-world inappropriate. It was even inappropriate for me to ask her to eat a damn cinnamon muffin with me.
I should’ve been a bit embarrassed, too, seeing how I waited around the bakery for her the day prior, but she never showed up. That had felt like a gut punch for some reason. I stood there like a goofy fool, holding a bag of muffins, hoping a married woman client would walked through the doors in search of said muffin.
What was even more humiliating was the fact that I did it again that morning. When she arrived, I felt even more batshit because a pool of giddiness hit the pit of my stomach. That was until I saw her break down into tears.
I wouldn’t blame myself for the tears she shed, but they still broke my heart as I watched her fall apart. And I did want to fucking hug her, okay? I wanted to hug her for so long and not let go, if she was crying or not. My mind still couldn’t make sense of why I felt that way.
There was just something about her that felt so familiar. I haven’t had something feel familiar to me in what felt like two decades. Since my accident, truthfully. Other than my mother, everything and everyone felt distant. Most days, it felt as if I was walking through a fog. Passing by people and places that felt so black and white. But Kierra felt like color. Not just any color, either. The most vibrant of tones, which made my heart pound wildly in my chest.
That was not okay.
I came down hard on Ramona for drunkenly talking to Henry about sex toys, and there I was, soberly daydreaming about Kierra.
I wondered what was overwhelming her and making her sad.
I bet it was that fucker Henry.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t a fucker toward me, but he was a fucker toward her, which made him a fucker to me. What kind of man went ahead and made all the choices on a home, giving his wife a meditation room to shut her up, instead of adding her input? How did he not involve her in the plans? How had she not seen the blueprints when we were about to break ground? And why, oh why, did it rub me the wrong way?
I wasn’t one for relationships, but if I had been and I had a wife, I’d want her involved. If I was married to Kierra, I’d want to know all her thoughts on it. Heck, I currently wanted to know all her thoughts.
Why did I want to know all her thoughts?
“Hey, Boss Man. More cinnamon muffins?” the front doorman, Eddie, asked as I walked up to the GS Architecture building.
I smirked and handed him the three extra muffins I had, just as I had done the day before. “There’s only three this time. I got greedy and ate some.”
Eddie smiled big and shook his head. “I don’t care. I took these bad boys home to the missus, and I’m pretty sure they have some kind of drugs in them, because she devoured them within five seconds.”
“I’m pretty sure they are drugged,” I agreed. “I haven’t been able to stop eating them since I had my first one.”
“The missus told me if I didn’t bring her more, she’d divorce me. But I know that’s just her hunger hormones acting up with the baby.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Baby?”
Eddie stood tall and nodded with pride. “She gave me the okay to start telling people. We’re three months in. I’m going to finally get my linebacker football son or my ballerina daughter. Or vice versa. The kids can be whatever the hell they want, as long as they’re healthy.”
I patted Eddie’s shoulder, genuinely overjoyed for him. Eddie had been working for me for over three years now, and I knew he and his wife, Sarah, had been trying for years to get pregnant. Even through the ups and downs, Eddie held on to his faith that what’s meant to be would always find its way. He said his and Sarah’s baby was out there in the universe; he or she just had to find their way home.
It felt good to know that some stories received happy endings.
“Congratulations, Eddie. You both will make great parents. That’s a lucky kid.”
“I’m a lucky man,” he countered. “With muffins. What more could a person want? Have a good day, Boss Man.”
“You too, buddy.”
One of the projects I was most proud of working on was the GS Architecture building. The building itself looked like a piece of contemporary art with an oval shape from the outside that had over six floors. The outside was all white, with large windows that were a pain in the ass to have cleaned, but worth every second. We worked with a fantastic crew who handled that task. I knew it wouldn’t look as good if I had to clean them myself.
Inside, the building felt fresh and modern with an avant-garde structure. Each floor held an open-plan interior that was flooded with natural light from all the windows. The use of geometric shapes and innovative materials was one of my favorite elements to explore.
Speaking of elements, each level had a focus on a certain element. The first floor was covered in earth tones. It was designed to make you feel as if you’d walked straight into a Zen garden. The colors were very muted greens and browns. The front desk was made with rustic stone that had a welcoming nature, and the sign resting on the wall behind the entrance desk was made of bamboo and read GS ARCHITECTURE. From there, the floors built up around the other elements.
Though the best floor was the fifth floor—the gaming lunch hall where one could go to decompress. I learned early on that my job could be very stressful. The same was true for my employees, who worked harder than most. I thought it was important to have a place where they could go escape during the workday for a short time to breathe. Whether it be taking advantage of the candy bar, playing video or arcade games, or taking a stroll to the meditation room—also known as the nap room. That was what the fifth floor was for, and it went over amazingly.
After I took the elevator to that floor to get water, I nodded once toward Bobby, who was one of the best architects at the firm. Not only was he a genius at his craft and a million times more talented than I’d ever been, but he was also my best friend, who handled my crazy ideas and spur-of-the-moment actions.
“Morning, dickhead,” Bobby joked as he poured creamer into his coffee.
“Morning, asshole,” I replied as I walked to the fridge and pulled out a water.
“I’ve been a bit out of the loop since I just got back into town last night. How was that party with the Hughes client? Ramona hasn’t stopped going on and on about it since I got in this morning.”
“It was weird but good. Do you know that he has a robot that brings everyone drinks and cleans up messes? It’s very Disney Channel Smart House style.”
“I just think you showed your age there, old man,” Bobby joked. “But to be fair, that’s a fantastic damn movie.”
“The cream of the crop.” I actually rewatched the film a few years back. When I was searching to recall my old memories, I would rewatch the popular ones from when I was a kid. I’d hoped it would jog some memories. It didn’t. “But the party was fine. Ramona loved every second of it.”
“I bet she did. She loves luxury more than anything. And champagne.”
“So much champagne.”
“Rumor has it she talked sex toys with the client.”
My gut tightened up at that reminder. “I’m trying to forget that.”
Bobby smirked and patted me on the back. “I’m sure there’s a lot of things you’re trying to forget when it comes to Ramona.”
I’d never talked to Bobby about what went down between Ramona and me, but he wasn’t an idiot. Plus, I wouldn’t have been shocked if Ramona herself told him every little detail about the night we’d hooked up. If there was one thing about Ramona, it was the fact that she loved to talk about her private life. It was my fault that I’d put myself in that situation.
Not wanting to dive deeper into that topic, I shifted the conversation. “I’m getting ready to launch our internship mentoring program.”
Bobby cocked an eyebrow. “Our what with the what-what?”
“Our mentoring program.”
“We don’t have a mentoring program.”
“Yeah, that’s true, but I need to come up with one.”
“Why do you need to come up with a mentoring program?”
“Because I might have told Henry Hughes’s wife that we have a mentoring program for their daughter.”
His cocked eyebrows knit together. “Why would you tell Henry Hughes’s wife that we have a mentoring program for their daughter?”
“I actually don’t know why I told her that.”
“ Ohh ,” he sang. “She’s hot.”
“What? No.”
“She’s not hot?”
“Well, no. I mean, she’s beautiful. I mean, she’s my client’s wife, Bobby. I don’t see her like that.”
“Then why are you offering her daughter a job?”
“I don’t know. To help a kid chase their dream or something.” Shit, why did I offer up a mentorship? Now I had to come up with some things for Ava to actually do.
“Don’t worry, buddy. I think it’s cool. It would be good to have a kid here. I love kicking kids’ asses at Mario Kart during my lunch break.”
I smirked. “That’s a bit childish, don’t you think?”
He grabbed a banana from our fruit basket and shook it in the air as he walked off. “Never grow up. It’s a trap.”
***
A week after I offered Ava a mentoring position, my whole team was on board. Each day, she’d study on a different floor and see how everything was run. She’d also travel with us to appointments and run tasks so she could get a real feel for the environment. I felt extremely grateful for how on board everyone was with me randomly bringing in a kid to follow us around for the summer.
Another week passed, and when Monday came around, Kierra showed up with her daughter, who seemed very timid and shy. I met them in the lobby, where Ava hid slightly behind her mother.
“Hey, you made it. Welcome,” I said.
Kierra smiled, and I felt that shit in my gut. And chest. And all over my body. “Good morning, Gabriel. This is my daughter, Ava.”
Ava stepped out a little and gave a timid grin and waved. “Hi.”
“Hey, welcome to the team. We’re so happy that you’re here,” I informed her.
She just kept nervously smiling.
Kierra leaned in toward me. “She’s a little shy at first but warms up quickly.”
“We can handle shy. Shy isn’t a problem. But I’d love for my receptionist, Jackie here, to take Ava up to the wellness floor so she can make herself comfortable. A few of my employees are there to greet her and show her around.”
“What’s a wellness floor?” Ava quietly asked as Jackie walked over from behind the reception desk.
“It’s a cool way to say video game and candy bar floor,” Jackie whispered, nudging Ava in the side.
Ava’s eyes lit up. “You have a video game and candy floor?”
I slid my hands into my slacks and rocked back and forth. “Sure do.”
“I want to see!” She started to hurry off with Jackie to the fifth floor. “Come on, Mom.”
“I’ll be right there, Ava. I’m just going to speak with Gabriel for a second.”
Ava was already pushing the elevator button as she told her mom okay. If she could’ve, she would’ve flown to the fifth floor faster. I didn’t blame her. It was a damn cool floor.
Kierra nodded once toward me as she crossed her arms. “Thank you so much for doing this for her, Gabriel. This is truly remarkable. She hasn’t stopped talking about it since I informed her about the mentorship. Henry and I are both truly grateful for the opportunity.”
“Not a problem at all. It will be nice to have a young mind around. It will keep us on our toes.”
“She’s a tad bit shy at first, but I think being around other people besides her classmates will be good for her self-esteem. She dealt with a bit of bullying this past year at school, which was really hard to watch. It broke her down a bit, but I truly think this is an opportunity that will make her feel confident again.”
“Don’t worry. She’s in good hands.”
“I have no doubt about that.” Her words felt so genuine and kind that it made me want to be even more protective over Ava than I had already planned to be. The last thing I wanted to do was let Kierra down.
Oh, and Henry.
I kept forgetting about that guy.
“I’ll be picking her up after the day’s done. Normally, Henry will be the one dropping her off. If there’s any other issues, by all means, let me know,” Kierra stated.
“Of course.”
As we were speaking, the elevator opened and my mother and Bobby emerged from it. They looked our way before heading over.
Kierra stood taller as I went to introduce her.
“Mom, Bobby, this is Kierra. Her daughter, Ava, is the one interning here.”
Mom raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“It seems that way,” Kierra shyly replied with a chuckle. Maybe her daughter got the touch of shyness from her. It slipped out every now and again.
Mom held her hand toward Kierra. “I’m Amma. I’m the office manager here. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Kierra replied, shaking her hand.
Bobby shook her hand next. “I’m Bobby, one of the architects. I just want you to know I plan to destroy your kid in a game of Mario Kart.”
Kierra laughed. “Don’t be shocked if she makes you cry when you lose. She’s really good at those kinds of things. She’s pretty great at everything, really. If she gives any trouble here, though, please let me know.”
“I doubt you’re the type of person who brings trouble into people’s lives, Kierra Hughes,” Mom said. Which seemed like an odd-as-fuck thing to say, but then again my mom was odd when she didn’t get enough coffee in the morning.
“I’m going to take Kierra up to meet with Ava and give them a proper tour of the office space,” I told them both, and off Kierra and I went.
When we finished the tour, I said goodbye to Kierra and headed back to my office to get to work. Right as I sat down, Bobby popped his head around my doorframe and smiled from ear to ear.
“You lied,” he said, matter-of-factly. “She is hot.”