“Yes, we should do that sometime soon,” I said, smiling.
“I gotta go, must be at my desk when Mr. McCool arrives,” she said, giggling. I liked Sandra and felt like I was getting to know her better. Initially, I wasn’t sure what to make of her. But now I find her easy to talk to, and she has a funny English sense of humor. She would die if she knew about my kiss with Alex. Maybe I should tell her about it. I decide against it, thinking it was better not to take the chance. Office gossip has a way of getting around.
I sit back down at my desk and begin reviewing some reports. A few moments later, I hear a knock on my door. I look up to see Alex, sipping a coffee and holding another cup in his hand. He is wearing a dark beige suit paired with an emerald green shirt and a green tie, a shade lighter than the shirt. He looks delicious, as usual.
“How are you this morning?” he asks.
“Fine, thank you. And you?” I respond, wanting to sound casual. Just act like nothing has happened. It was just a kiss. No big deal.
“I’m well,” he responds. “This is for you,” he says, handing me the other steaming cup of coffee. “Not sure how you like it, I hope cream is fine.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” I stand to take the coffee from him, our fingers touching for one brief second. I’m grateful for the coffee, but feel like the rest of the office knows there’s something going on between the two of us.
“It’s okay, Katherine. I brought coffee for the rest of the staff as well,” Alex said, sensing my discomfort. I could feel the tension in the air, not knowing how to act or what to say.
He clears his throat. “We’ve got a busy day ahead of us. I’ll need you in my office in ten minutes.”
“Yes, of course, I’ll be there.”
Alex looks at me, unblinking, his eyes slowly trailing down. I feel the heat in my body rising. “Nice skirt,” he remarks. His gaze lingers, a hint of a smile on his lips.
“Thanks. Nice suit.” Our eyes lock.
“Thank you, Katherine,” he replies, teasingly, while turning to leave my office. He seems to be enjoying this. If he wants to banter back and forth, okay, I can do that. But I need to set things straight with him before this goes any further.
Ten minutes later I enter his office, quietly closing the door behind me. Alex is on the phone, standing in front of his desk. He runs his hand through his hair, obviously frustrated, his voice edgy. He takes a quick glance up at me as I sit down.
“The site’s cleared, the foundation has been laid. Bloody hell! Why I am just now hearing about this? This has to get remedied immediately. Get moving on it. Call me later with an update.” With that, he pushes a button on his phone, tossing it on his desk.
He stands for moment before sitting down, looking out of his office window, his blue eyes clouding over. Abruptly he says, “I need last week’s reports – work progress and financial.”
I’m already prepared with the reports in hand. “Here they are,” I reply, handing them to him. He takes a few minutes to review the reports, flipping back and forth between each one. The silence weighs heavy in the room. Finally, he looks up. “This is good, Katherine. Your reports have given me a lot useful information.” I breathe a sigh of relief.
He leans back in his chair, placing his arms on the armrests. “Unfortunately, there’s a problem with the site for the Cosmo. The engineers have reported that the ground is too weak in certain places to support the structure. Engineering will have to stabilize those weak points. Which means there will be a delay in schedule.”
This wasn’t good at all. No developer wants to hear the dreaded D word - delay. No wonder he was on edge.
“We’re going to the site today. I want to speak face-to-face with the project manager.” He buzzes Sandra. “I need Antonio to drive Katherine and me to the site. Tell him to be here in one hour.”
Precisely sixty minutes later, Antonio arrives in a dark blue Range Rover, and me and Alex are heading to the location. This is the part I love about my job. To be able to be out, not always stuck behind a desk. It gives me a feeling of freedom. I was looking forward to seeing the progress made, regardless of the current problem.
We arrive to controlled chaos. Bulldozers, cement mixers, construction workers carrying pipes. Alex speaks to the project manager. “What are we going to have to do, Sam?” he asks irritably.
“It’s the groundwater level. It’s too high. We’ll have to go in and excavate, pump the water out, then add a layer of cement to seal it.”
Groundwater issues are a common problem during construction. Common, but a pain in the ass. The structure has to be built ‘in the dry’ with no groundwater present, otherwise it won’t hold up.
“Ok. How long will this take?” Alex asks, his irritability subsiding a bit.
“No longer than a week,” Sam responds.
“Fine. Make it happen.”
We return to the office several hours later after a full day of discussion with the project manager. We go over the construction timeline and review blueprints of the hotel. By the time we return to the office its six o’clock and everyone has left for the day.
“I need to talk to you.” I felt foolish saying those words. Typical female words. Words that most men probably don’t wish to hear.
“Okay,” Alex replies, nonchalantly, as though he has been expecting me to say those exact words. “Let’s sit down over here,” he says walking towards the sitting area of his office. He pours himself a glass of whisky. “Would you like a drink?”