Page 5

October2023

Head down, I push into the crowded conference room. My colleagues crowd around a table set up with coffee and pastries from the bakery across the street. The smell is enticing, but I know better than to head to that table.

It’s bad enough I’m the only female contractor in this misogynistic frat house, but God forbid the girl with curves eats a baked good. It was a lesson I learned the hard way and have no interest in ever repeating. Instead, I keep to myself as I slip into an empty chair, not too close to the front, but not too far away, either. I scan the agenda already laid out before me, then pretend to be engrossed in something on my phone.

Of course, I’m not actually looking at anything. I don’t have any active projects right now and the only person who would maybe text me is my boyfriend. However, I’m sure Will is sleeping after a long overnight shift at the hospital. Besides, after being together for two years, we’ve moved past the honeymoon phase of needing to text each other throughout the day.

A few minutes later, Thomas Dalton enters the room with his assistant Nadine, the only other female in the office, trailing behind him. “Take a seat, everyone.”

Thomas might look like your typical southern gentleman who’s used to hard work, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Don’t be fooled by the jeans and casual button-down. Thomas inherited a dynasty and has only continued to build it up in the years since he took over. Dalton Enterprises is responsible for some of the biggest builds South Carolina has seen in the last eighty years and has even been known to take on private homes and housing communities.

No project is too big or small. Let us build your dream.That’s our motto.

It doesn’t matter if no one here actually cares about the clients we work with, it’s all about the appearance and reputation we have. If we appear to be one big, happy family, the community will buy into it and trust us to help build it up. We’ll make money, we’ll get our name in the media, and we’ll keep growing until we’re the only name that comes to mind for design and construction.

If I had it my way, we’d focus more on family homes and giving back to the community who has given us so much.

Not that it matters. I’m just the stepdaughter. I’ll never take this company over. Thomas has his eye set on a few of my male colleagues for the role. Right now, I’m lucky I have a job. I’m even luckier if I’m given one project a quarter—I’m never given more than one at a time, and they’re usually short-term, and so ridiculously easy I can do them in my sleep.

I’m the most disposable employee in this entire office, but he knows he can’t get rid of me.

“Let’s get this meeting started.” Thomas calls the room to attention with only his tone of voice as everyone takes their seats. “We have a number of proposals to get through today, but I think we should start with the one no one will want: a sports complex in Columbia.”

Everyone around me groans.

“Why didn’t you pass on this one, boss?” Brent, the office asshole but one of Thomas’s favorites, asks. “You had to know how we’d all react.”

“But why?” I speak up, earning several surprised looks. I tend to wait to be spoken to in these meetings. Now that I have everyone’s attention, I have to finish my point. “What’s the big deal? We haven’t even heard what all it’ll entail.”

Brent leers at me, eyes sparkling with amusement. There’s nothing this guy loves more than being able to mansplain something to me. “This happens every four years or so, Katrina, typically in conjunction with the Olympics. Everyone gets the sports bug and wants to open the complex their community so desperately needs. These projects are rarely seen through, or they end up falling apart and being abandoned a year after opening. They’re a waste of time.”

“This one might not be,” Thomas breaks in, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. “It’s owned by two Olympic swimmers, Bryce Clark and Carter Abrams. One of them is retired, the other will be retiring at the conclusion of the 2024 Games. They want a full natatorium they can coach a team out of. That means there will be two pools, a full gym, seats for spectators, offices, and fully equipped locker rooms. This one has the potential to pull through. They want it open by next fall.”

Brent leans back in his seat. “Which is why we’re taking this one, because it’s tied to two big names? I’m still not taking the job, boss.”

Thomas picks up a small packet full of the project details. “Well, it’s a good thing I was going to have Liam take the design lead on this one.”

Embarrassed anger flushes Brent’s cheeks as I hold back a snicker. I can see Nadine doing the same thing out of the corner of my eye, and it takes everything in me not to turn to share a commiserating look with her.

Brent thinks he’s God’s gift to women and architecture, but the reality is he’s more of a walking red flag in both areas. His designs are modern, cold, and impersonal. He wouldn’t know what natural light and color was if it smacked him in the face. Just like he wouldn’t know what basic human decency is if his life depended on it. The longest relationship he’s had since I’ve known him was a total of five months, and he believes Nadine and I are here for his visual and physical entertainment.

Liam will be a good fit for a project like this. Based on the little information Thomas has shared with us, I get the sense these two athletes are passionate about what they’re doing, and Liam will take that into consideration with his designs. He’s the only architect on the team I enjoy working with. He’s a good guy, who listens to his clients, and succeeds in bringing their vision to life. It’s not about putting his name on a shiny new building for Liam; it’s about building things that matter.

“I’d be happy to take this on, Mr. Dalton.” Okay, so maybe Liam is a bit of an ass-kisser, but he’s only been here for a year. He’s still trying to get on Thomas’s good side—if one exists—and he’s one of the younger architects here. “Who’s the lead contractor going to be?”

Groans and sounds of protest echo from every single man on my team.

And I don’t get it. I don’t know what a project like this will look like, but someone has to take it on. Maybe this could be a chance for me to prove myself. I’ll have all the plans drawn up by Liam, who I know is exceptionally good at his job. All I have to do is oversee the renovation, which is literally my job, and I’m damn good at it. Despite my stepfather’s inability to see it.

“I can take it.” The words come tumbling out of my mouth before I can stop them, and every head turns to look at me once again.

I fight the urge to sink back in my seat, pretending I hadn’t said anything.

Thomas arches a brow. “I’m not sure this project is the right one for you, Katrina.”

Now I do feel myself sinking under his amused look.

“Why not?” Liam speaks up from across the table. He grins in my direction when I look at him. My heart is erratic in my chest. “In fact, I would prefer to work with Katrina on this one.”