Chapter Sixteen
Jesse
After
“I understand,” Emery said into his phone as he held it against his ear. “I’ll edit it the minute I get to my computer.”
My husband had been on his cell since the moment we had landed in Boston almost forty minutes ago. Now we were in the back of the SUV Charlotte had ordered for us and I could tell his conversation wasn’t going the way he wanted it to.
“I’ll make it work,” Emery said. “I’ll see you soon.” He hung up but kept his cell in his hand, his fingers tapping the screen. He was aggravated, anyone could tell that by the way he was typing. “Charlotte,” he called out. She turned around from the passenger seat with a notebook and pen in her hand. “Last night, I forwarded you information on two different private airline companies. Contact the first one, the one based on the East Coast, and set up an account. I’d like us to be able to start flying private by next week.”
What made me happy about this decision was that he realized how critical his time was and he didn’t want to spend it in an airport, dealing with delays or cancellations. He wanted to get there and get home to his family. And it made me even happier he had come to this realization on his own.
“I’ll take care of it,” she replied.
To lighten the mood, I looked at Charlotte and said, “I’m sure Emery showed you the location of the jobsite. But if I know him, he probably pulled out an atlas and gave you the longitude and the latitude of the property instead of saying it’s four blocks from our brownstone and three from where you’ll be staying.” She was blushing, which told me that was exactly what he had done. I laughed at the image that popped into my head. My husband could be so intoxicating, yet so nerdy at times. “Today, you’ll be meeting one of Emery’s assistant designers.”
“Oh, you must be talking about Adam.”
I nodded. I didn’t know how much Emery had told her, so I continued informing her on their process. “When Emery is in Boston, the two of them typically work in our home. There will be plenty of room for you in there, too. And, if I know my husband, I’m sure one of you has already ordered a third desk.”
“It’ll be delivered in a few weeks,” Emery said, finally glancing up from his phone. “Ricco promised he’d start it today.”
The original desk Ricco had made was a gift I’d given to Emery when we first purchased our brownstone. Ricco designed and crafted wooden furniture and Emery had been admiring his work for a while. When I finally got the dimensions of the office, I called Ricco and had him make a custom piece.
When Adam joined Emery’s team, he reached out to Ricco and had him make an extension. In Emery’s space, all the desks had to match, which was why I was positive he had done the same for Charlotte.
“That man is booked years in advance,” I said to Emery. “He must really love you.”
“I may have promised him some drawings for a house in the Cape he wants to break ground on this fall.”
I reached across the seat, pressing my hand against the side of his face. “Now it makes perfect sense.”
The SUV suddenly came to a stop and I saw we had pulled up to our townhouse. I looked at Charlotte and said, “I’ll give you a quick tour, and then I’ll get you over to the hotel.”
“Works for me,” she replied.
The driver opened my door first. I climbed out and waited for Emery. He grabbed Charlotte’s bag—the only luggage we had brought since everything Emery and I needed was already at our home—and the three of us went inside.
Our Boston home was so different than Vermont. Where Burlington was built around the view, the interior all wood and windows so the mountains were the focal point, Boston was all about the texture. Emery wanted the interior to feel like the city, so he made the lines and points extremely sharp, he used neutral colors but threw in pop with high arches and slanted beams and radius edges.
“Wow,” Charlotte said from behind me.
I turned around, so did Emery.
Her face was slightly flushed, her hand over her mouth. “Sorry, it’s just …” Her head tilted back, and she glanced up at the staircase. “Beautiful.”
Emery smiled as he listened to her.
It was that look he had on right now that melted me. The one where he got to see firsthand how his designs affected people and the grin that came over his face from the compliment. With Charlotte, it wasn’t just her words he got to hear, but he also got to watch her gawk in amazement.
I was thankful I got to witness it.
When Charlotte finally looked at him, he said, “Thank you,” and he moved over to the base of the stairs. “When Adam arrives, send him up.”
“No problem,” Charlotte answered.
She always responded, showing him she was listening. I was sure he loved that.
“Hey, Charlotte,” I said, “Marion, our housekeeper, is around here somewhere. Why don’t you ask her to make Emery something to eat? He’s usually starving after flights and he’s going to have a long day.”
Charlotte smiled. “I’ll be happy to.”
“This will give you a chance to meet Adam, and then we can do the tour after they leave.”
Her lips parted, the original grin returning to her face—the one she was wearing when I knew she would make the perfect assistant. “I’ll go find Marion and I’ll be listening for the doorbell, so I can take care of Adam. When I’m done, I’ll come find you.”
Once she walked away, I rushed into our master bathroom, locking the door behind me. I didn’t even make it a step before the tears began to flow.
I promised I wasn’t going to cry today.
I promised I wasn’t going to let it hurt.
Both happened.
And today hurt even more than yesterday.