Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115737 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115737 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
He seems to sit at the wheel forever, staring forward at me on the steps.
‘Finally,’ Richard mutters. ‘Is he going to sit there all day and watch us?’ Richard’s rhetorical question goes right over my head, my files beginning to jump in my hands. Yet when I know I should be moving onward, going inside and getting on with things, I find my legs simply will not cooperate.
Jack eventually lets himself out of the car. He looks anxious. A bit dishevelled. And beyond the stoniness of his expression is something else. Stress. My conclusion is only reinforced when he shoves a frustrated hand through his hair and slams his car door shut violently.
‘For fuck’s sake, not again,’ Richard mutters, marching over to him.
I rip my eyes from Jack’s and look at Richard, seeing his tight, pissed-off jaw. Not again? What does he mean? Jack takes a few steps towards his right-hand man, yanking on his suit jacket as he does, his head dropped. There’s too much distance between us for me to hear Richard’s hushed whispers, but it’s plain to see that something is wrong with Jack. Is it me?
I back up, beating down my curiosity, and make my way into the building. Work. Just get on with your work.
I find the old table where Richard has the drawings laid out and stare down at them, if only for something to do.
‘Sorry I’m late.’ Jack’s voice hits my back and makes every hair on my neck stand.
‘You didn’t say you were coming.’ I keep my eyes cemented on the drawings, dropping my bags to the floor next to the table. His tan brogues appear in my downcast vision, the same shoes he had on that fateful night. I close my eyes and work hard to calm myself down.
‘I didn’t?’ he replies. He knows damn well he didn’t.
‘Does Richard know?’ I need to find out what I’m dealing with.
‘No.’
I breathe out my relief, hearing the sound of boots on the concrete behind me. ‘Okay, let’s—’ Richard cuts off when his phone starts ringing. ‘Yes? Shit, yeah, I’ll be right out.’ He curses under his breath. ‘The scaffolders are here and the skip lorry is in the way. You guys crack on. I need to go and teach people how to drive.’
My eyes spring open, finding a pair of familiar hands spread on the table before me. Big, capable hands. Hands that handled me with confidence, authority and care. I look up, straight ahead at the brick wall in front of me, rummaging through my mind for anything work-related to say. There’s nothing. No words, only mental visions of that night. This is supposed to be getting easier, not harder!
‘How are you?’ Jack asks quietly.
‘Great, thanks,’ I chirp, way too over the top. I scold myself for sounding so completely fake. ‘You?’ Why would I ask that?
‘Struggling on.’ His arm brushes mine, and I jump from his touching distance, pointing at the drawing nearest to me.
‘I’d like you to go over these numbers with me.’ I’m not even pointing at numbers. I’m pointing at a damn window spec.
Jack reaches forward with a finger and places it next to mine near the window, and I hear him inhale deeply. There’s a long, uncomfortable silence, until Jack finally breaks it. ‘These drawings really amaze me, Annie. Richard and I were marvelling over them yesterday.’
‘Thank you.’ I brush off his compliment and straighten, turning to him and looking past his shoulder. ‘Shall we walk the site? I have a few questions too.’
‘Why can’t you look at me?’
My eyes drop, and I scream at him in my head to keep to his word. He promised. He promised to keep this strictly business! ‘It’s this way,’ I say, passing him and making my way to the rear of the building. ‘There’s a tree that I’m worried will jeopardise the glass roof.’
‘Right.’ Jack sighs and his footsteps kick in, following me. When I exit the existing old UPVC patio doors, I point to the colossal horse chestnut tree that canopies one-quarter of the outside space.
Jack wanders around the trunk, looking up. ‘Have we checked if this thing has a preservation order on it?’
‘It hasn’t,’ I confirm. ‘But, obviously, we should avoid chopping it down if we can. Though to get the full impact of the roof, we need to lose some of these branches.’
‘I agree.’ Jack smoothes a hand down the bark of the tree, and my gaze follows it, my damn body responding like it’s feeling his touch all over again. I look up and catch his eye but quickly look away, knowing he’s reading my mind. ‘I’ll call the tree surgeon in,’ he says quietly.
‘Thank you.’
‘No problem. We should also be mindful of the roots when we dig down for the footings of the extension. She’s one beast of a tree.’ Jack looks upward, stretching his neck.