Page 8 of It's Not PMS, It's You

He nodded and scratched his chin. “Like when Cinderella lost her shoe . . .”

“Not even close.” I laughed and headed to the front door, Brandon trailing right behind me. “Oh . . . remember Ruth is the client, but she’s out of town on business again. We’re meeting with her assistant, Dee.” I knocked on the front door.

Brandon leaned closer and whispered. “Maybe that’s not a bad thing that she’s out of town since she works from home. There’s nothing worse than a client watching us as we work. Especially a control freak who keeps changing things on the fly.”

I put a finger over my lips to quiet Brandon since I heard footsteps on the tile approaching the front door inside the house.

Dee swung the door open. “Hi, Nick.”

She did a double-take with Brandon, like she recognized him.

“Hey, there. Good to see you again.” I gestured to Brandon. “This is my partner, Brandon.”

“Nice to meet you.” Brandon shook Dee’s hand.

“You, too.” She led us to the kitchen where she grabbed a key ring from the counter and began removing one of the keys from it.

I glanced around the kitchen and got the same feeling that I had the last time I had been there. It almost felt as if a woman didn’t live in the house. There was barely a hint of feminine touches and style. Very neutral colors, too.

Nothing on the refrigerator.

Nothing on the counters.

No picture frames.

No flowers.

No plants.

No lively decor like sunflowers, roosters, cows, or vibrant colors.

Dee handed me the house key. “Here you go. Just a couple of things and I’ll let you do whatever you need to do to prepare for tomorrow. Ruth asked me to stock the refrigerator with various drinks and juices for you both. Please help yourself.” She pointed to the coffee maker. “And you have unlimited coffee there. Just pop a capsule in and press start.” She pointed to the cupboard. “And nuts and dried fruits there. Don’t be shy. Grab something if you ever get the urge.”

“Thank you.”

I could say without hesitation that no client had ever offered me nuts and dried fruits on the job in the past. It was thoughtful and generous, albeit a little weird at the same time. Not weird enough for me to not partake since I loved nuts and dried fruits. There was no doubt in my mind I would be raiding that cupboard over the next couple of weeks.

“Okay, follow me.” Dee led us past the family room toward the hallway.

Ruth had an amazing house, roomy, clean, completely remodeled, and very modern. Too modern, if I was being honest, almost like it was a place rented out as corporate housing. If I didn’t already know it was a woman’s house, I would’ve been certain it belonged to a businessman with no life. It was almost as if Ruth only used the place to work and sleep.

What about living and enjoying your home?

“Okay,” Dee said, leading us into the office and turning around to face us. “Just a couple of housekeeping items to go over with you before I go.” She pointed to the large window that I would be removing tomorrow morning to install the french doors that would give Ruth direct access to her backyard from her office. “I know you have to do some work in here, but I just want to make sure you know that this is Ruth’s sacred workspace, so just a heads-up to not touch anything. Please keep it tidy.”

I nodded. “I promise. This will be a clean installation. As I shared with Ruth in the design, the window is the same width as the two doors, so we won’t have to cut. We’ll use the same header for support above the doors, and we don’t need to remove any king studs or reroute any electrical wiring.”

Dee blinked. “King studs?”

I chuckled. “Sorry, I’m getting technical on you.”

“That’s okay. I’m actually surprised a landscape designer is installing french doors.”

“It’s not normal.” I gestured to Brandon, chuckling. “Brandon used to do construction before he started working with me, so I just threw it in as part of the deal. We enjoy this stuff. Anyway, the installation of the doors will be quick and easy, let me just say that. We will make sure to leave Ruth in peace and quickly move on to the backyard.”

“Great. One more thing . . .” Dee walked toward the large window and pointed to the row of rose bushes on the other side of the glass. “Just a reminder that Ruth’s rose garden is the only thing of value to her in the entire backyard. For now.” She gave us a knowing smile. “Anyway, those roses are her pride and joy. I just wanted to warn you. I know you have a lot of work to do back there, but please take extra care and caution when you’re working anywhere near the roses. Unless you have a death wish, that is.” She laughed.

I stared at her.