Lift

“You wouldn’t dare.” Simon sits up and puts his hand on his chest. “That hurt, Harris. How could you?”

I smile and roll my eyes as I grab my stuff. “I can’t wait to hear her,” I say, looking out of the sound booth and to the stage. “She’s going to be magnificent.”

“You mind telling me why we don’t have a project lined up after this one is finished?” Simon narrows his eyes at me. We’ve worked together long enough that he knows something’s up.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I avoid his gaze and look for my keys.

“Liar.” He holds out my keys, but when I go to grab them he takes them back. “Tell me this isn’t because of Dean.”

I want to play dumb, but Simon is my right hand and there’s no way he won’t see through it. “He may have mentioned you needing to take some time off.”

“I knew it.”

“He just misses you at home, and we’ve been going nonstop for as long as I can remember. I think it will be good for both of us to take a break for a bit.” I don’t mention that Simon’s husband has a European vacation planned for the two of them and that he basically threatened to take my life if I booked another project.

“I love what I do. I’ve explained that to him.”

I pat Simon on the shoulder and he hands over my keys. “There’s no need to choose. You’ve just got to find a balance.” He nods as I move towards the door. “Make the changes and we’re all set. I’ll be here tomorrow to run the tests.”

“I’ll see you then,” he says, and I wave to him as I walk out.

The theater we’ve been renovating is one of the oldest in the city. It’s been used for a lot of things, but originally it was made to be a music hall. The city’s historic preservation society swooped in and commissioned us to bring it back to life. The neighborhood isn’t the best right now, but they’re hoping that this place can change that. Some of the area is turning over and this will be a big addition to the community. It’s been one of my favorite projects ever and I’m a little sad to see it come to an end.

It’s definitely not because I don’t have anything waiting for me at home. I do a quick calculation of what I’ve got in my fridge for dinner and I know I need to stop at the grocery store on the way home. Normally I don’t keep anything there, but with our break coming up I’m going to be spending a lot of time in my penthouse.

When I get to the curb, I pull up the app on my phone to request a car service. A few years ago I tried having a driver, but I spent so many hours at work it was a waste. I usually just go from the place I’m working on to my penthouse and that’s it, so there’s nothing for the driver to do. I could take a cab, but I need to make at least one stop and I’d rather have someone waiting on me than having to flag someone down at each place. Most of the time I can slip them some extra cash and they’ll stay put while I get what I need.

The app chimes and tells me that my driver will be here in three minutes. I glance down at the picture and car, but the photo is so dark that it’s hard to make out what they look like. I tuck my phone in my pocket and glance around for a silver Mercedes. I guess driving around and picking up people pays well.

I’m getting impatient when five minutes passes and they still aren’t anywhere in sight. I haven’t seen a single cab go by, and as much as I don’t want to take one, I hate waiting even more. I get my phone back out and look at the map. That’s when I see the driver took a wrong turn. I’m irritated as I watch them go down a side street that isn’t even near me and then my phone starts ringing.

“Great,” I mumble as I answer. “Yeah, I’m waiting outside the Village Theater. Are you planning on getting here any time soon?” I bark before the driver can speak.

There’s silence on the phone before it chimes and says my driver is here. I don’t know how they made it so quick after taking a wrong turn, but whatever. I hang up the phone without bothering to say anything else and take a step towards the curb. The Mercedes pulls up smoothly and I open the back door and get in.

“Sorry, it’s really late and I’m just hangry. Can you take me to Midtown Grocer and wait? I’ll throw in a twenty if you’ll sit while I shop.” I’ve already got my first destination on the map and as the driver pulls away from the curb, that’s the direction they’re going in.