Page 33 of Love by Design (Club Rapture: Risk Aware #1)
Finally, just after ten, I dragged myself into the shower and into work clothes, which was weird, all things considered.
I checked my phone and sent Marshall a text to let him know I was getting ready to head out, then I kissed Lincoln on the head, and made my way to Brentwood to meet Cory Callahan.
I had just pulled into a parking spot when my dad’s name flashed across the screen in my car, and the ringtone blasted through my speakers. Frowning, I pushed the green phone button to accept the call.
“Hello?” My heart rate immediately spiked, not sure of why he was calling or what he wanted.
“Silas.” My father cleared his throat, anger already evident in his tone. “It’s almost lunch. I’m calling to see if you’re planning on coming to work today or not.”
A laugh bubbled out of me, unstoppable. “Why would I come to work?” I asked. “You fired me.”
“I didn’t fire you.”
“You literally did,” I reminded him. “Told me to clear out my office, which I did.”
“Obviously that was just in the heat of the moment.”
The minutes on my car clock ticked from 11:55 to 11:56.
“You fired me,” I said again, wondering if saying it a second time would jog his memory. “And I have a job interview, so I’ve got to go.”
“Silas—”
I hung up the call before I could hear whatever else he had to say, then I silenced my ringer before shoving my phone into my pocket. He would most certainly call me back, and I wasn’t going to let him ruin the interview Marshall had set up for me.
Finding the restaurant was easy, finding Cory was somehow even easier .
At a table for two against a window that faced the street, he sat comfortably in a pair of gray slacks and a green button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
I worried I was overdressed, with a tie, but it was a first impression and I’d learned at least something from my dad’s antiquated ways.
“Mr. Callahan,” I said, approaching the table with my hand extended. “I’m Silas Ayres.”
Cory set his menu on the table and looked up at me, eyes blue as sapphires. He smiled and stood, sliding his hand into mine for a quick and solid handshake.
“Cory,” he said. “Please. Mr. Callahan has a time and place and neither of them are here or now.”
I thought back to the conversation with Marshall about Mr. Covington and wondered if the two of them had more in common than just career paths. Cory was short, but carried himself like he was taller than me, which was saying something.
“Please, sit,” he said, gesturing to the seat across from him.
I slid into the open chair and spread my napkin out over my lap.
“Thank you for meeting with me.” I folded my hands together on the edge of the table, hoping he hadn’t noticed how sweaty my palms were when we shook.
“Anything for Marshall,” he said, sitting back into his chair. He glanced at the menu, then across the table at me. “I’d ask you to tell me about yourself, but I’ve honestly read up so I know a fair amount about your background.”
I fought hard to keep my head up, face forward.
“Marshall made sure I’d read the article you had published in LA Design Digest , but I’d of course read it before he even brought you to my attention.” Cory smiled, and it was impossible to not be put at ease. “Your innovative ideas in our field are admirable.”
“Thank you, Mr…Cory. ”
The corner of his mouth twitched, and he scratched the side of his nose.
“I don’t actively design the way you and Marshall do. I’m a consultant these days, called in to review and elevate things others are already working on, and I have to be honest, I think that’s something you’d excel at. You approach architecture differently than most people do, don’t you, Silas?”
My breath hitched in my throat because he was right, and it was something no one else had bothered to notice before him, or if they had, they’d never articulated it. My dad had always thought I designed carelessly, but that wasn’t it at all.
“I do,” I admitted.
“Does that sound like something you might enjoy?”
I managed a rough nod.
Everything was happening so fast, and I didn’t know how to make sense of it. Cory’s role as an architectural consultant was very close to a dream for me, and two minutes after meeting him, he was basically offering me the opportunity on a golden platter?
“I do like designing myself, though,” I made sure to add.
I didn’t want to walk away from my roots entirely.
“So do I,” he agreed. “How amazing to do both, right?”
“I…” Nodding, I cleared my throat. “I don’t know, but I’m sure it is.”
“You’ll know soon, Silas. You’ll know soon.” Cory smiled at me, and it was infectious. He smiled, and I smiled. He sounded sure, and I felt it. Whatever Cory contained and bled, it was contagious in all of the best ways.
“Thank you,” I whispered, blinking hard.
One of my biggest fears in life had always been drowning in the legacy of my father’s designs, and for the first time, I had support in my life offering me a way out of that future.
I dropped my hands into my lap and wiped them off on the napkin, hoping I didn’t do something embarrassing like throw up all over both of us.
“Don’t thank me,” he said, leaning back and lifting his arm to flag down a server. “You’re about to make my job infinitely easier, and you’re going to make me look really good.”
I laughed, the tension leaking out of me and melting into the floor.
I had Marshall to come home to, Lincoln in the wings, and a job offer in front of me that was about to change my entire life. Even though my phone was in my pocket, missed calls from my dad going ignored and undoubtedly only making things between us worse, I’d never felt better.