Whispered Curses

I was relieved when Eden allowed me to hold her hand while we walked. We strolled slowly, looking in shop windows, and chatting about our favorite restaurants. We had a surprising amount of things in common, from our love of indie rock music to our mutual lust of authentic Mexican food.

When we turned toward the office tower where my business took up an entire floor, Eden stopped walking to lean her head back, staring up at the blue-tinted glass. "Which one is your office?" she laughed.

"It's on the other side," I grinned, leading her inside.

I was used to zipping through the lobby in a hurry, but this time I tried to walk slowly and see it through her eyes. All of the marble and glass, with gigantic expensive sculptures, must be rather impressive if you're not used to it.

The security guard jumped up, giving me an almost military nod. "Good evening, Mr. Stone."

"Hey, Gary. Quiet tonight?"

"I certainly hope so."

"Excellent,” I nodded. Guiding us into an open elevator, I swiped my card and hit the button for fifty-one.

Sure enough, once we picked up speed, Eden squealed and buried her face in my chest. "Holy squid, how do you get used to this!"

"It's not that fast," I chuckled.

"Maybe I'm just used to buildings with slow elevators," she said. "This feels super high tech."

"This building is only six years old, so you're probably right."

The doors slid open and I led her through the silent lobby. Since it was a quarter after seven, the entire office was abandoned. Angie and I had spread the word that we would prefer people not work late unless there was something truly crucial going on. We knew that some companies rewarded their workers for putting in excruciating hours. We would rather reward people for being efficient. People were sharper when they had sufficient rest and relaxation.

I looked over to see Eden's expression, and she was absolutely grinning at the huge Two Stones logo on the wall over the long, sleek reception desk.

"Yeah," I shrugged, "It's a bit ostentatious, but since we’re in construction and building design, our clients expect a bit of a show."

Leading her down a long hallway, we passed an all-white office, and she stopped. The door was open, so she leaned in to see that one wall was painted bright teal, but the rest of the office had white walls, a white desk, white chair, and white shelf with white baskets to contain books and office supplies. The white shade was drawn, so there wasn't even a view of the city.

"Is this a punishment room?" she asked.

I must have laughed harder than she expected, as she seemed confused. “Instead of a huge office, my sister Angie wanted two small offices. There's a normal one for taking phone calls, having small meetings, and having her morning coffee. This is her focus room. When that door is shut, she might as well be on Mars. No one will disturb her."

Eden grinned. "Not even you?"

I shook my head quite seriously. "I would only knock on that door if the building were on fire. If there was something incredibly important, I would text her, and she would get back to me whenever she checked her phone."

"Wow." She seemed impressed. "I'd love to talk to Angie sometime about her focus techniques. It would probably help me with my schoolwork."

Pulling her close, I kissed the top of her hair. "I would love to have the two of you over for dinner. I know you two would click." Turning to a huge green abstract painting on the hallway wall, I said, "Yes, I know. The two of them would gang up on me and mock me mercilessly. It's a chance I'm willing to take for the most precious women in my life."

Ignoring Eden's giggles, we walked down to what used to be a medium-sized meeting room. Now there was a long table in front of the longest wall, covered in wooden buildings. "Cheese and crackers," she muttered, quickly walking over to look more closely.

I loved how excited she was. Eden was never trying to be cool, or act any particular way. She was authentic. Enthusiastic. She let her emotions bubble straight out of her, and I found that admirable.

We stared at the miniature Toronto set up for a while, and it was adorable watching her eyes track along the streets.

"When an architecture firm designs a building," I explained, "They can sculpt or 3-D print a mock-up, and we can place it on the site. Then we can take photos of it from different angles. Sometimes they bring in a background, or a lighting system. Some people don't visualize very well, so it's best to show them before they spend millions upon mil

lions constructing a building."

She looked up at me strangely, then shook her head. "I couldn't imagine having that much responsibility," she said.

"You will," I said. "Someday you'll be writing something that changes people's opinions. Or gives them information that they really need."

She rolled those pretty warm brown eyes at me dramatically. "Somehow I don't think it's the same thing."