Page 10

One of the things Jessica valued so much in her line of work was attention to detail. If numbers and margins were off even fractionally, it could completely throw out a whole design. These tiny errors would make it into the final construction and would forever be etched into the physical world for any discerning eye to see. Jessica hated sloppy work and that included messy or incomplete paperwork too, which in Jessica’s mind, led to these even bigger errors further down the line. While reading through Rosie’s project documentation, she found no such mistakes. Jessica read everything she could – the project plan, contracts, budgets, order sheets for materials, team briefings, project task lists, resident survey findings and detailed design schematics. Rosie had everything together. She was organised, thorough, and accurate. She was on it. It made Jessica feel closer to her. That Rosie cared enough to make sure everything was accurate spoke to something inside of Jessica about this project, and about what she strove for in architecture. High-standards, precision, and attentiveness. There was a kind of care that could be felt in it.

It sounded empty outside her office. Jessica had worked too late again. What was Rosie doing tonight? Who was she with? She knew very little about her, when she thought about it. That was probably because she never asked Rosie anything about herself. Was that a good way to work with people? It had served Jessica fine so far, but in this new quest for more meaning in the work that she did, maybe that extended to making more of an effort with her colleagues?

Jessica closed up the office for the evening and got in her car, very much looking forward to visiting the site tomorrow morning. A call came through. She tapped the accept button on the built-in screen in her car. “Hi, Mum, how are you?”

“I’ve been up half the night trying to help Grace with Joy. Joy’s teething and Grace isn’t getting any sleep.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Poor Joy must be sore.” Jessica drove through the streets of London. “It’s good you’re there to help.”

“I’m trying. That’s all I can do.”

“What about Nick? Isn’t he taking his share of the sleep deprivation?”

“Not really. But the baby wants Grace more right now.”

“Then why do you have to be there so much?”

“It helps them. He works sixty-hour weeks, Jess.”

“Well, it sounds like you’re doing everything you can.” Jessica couldn’t work out why she felt so abandoned by her mum, when they talked most days, and her mum couldn’t be more loving.

“We haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I’ve been busy with work. The usual.”

“How is it going in Clydebank? I still can’t believe you’re going to fix the old shipyards. It’s wonderful.”

Jessica felt more engaged on this project than she had in a long time. “It’s going well so far, but it’s early days.”

“So, when are you coming to visit?”

“I’ll come over soon. I promise. I can’t wait to see Joy again.”

The next day, after a smooth drive with the ever-reliable Des, Jessica took in the entrance to the site. Three new portacabins had been installed, along with a temporary car park. A new gate had been erected, adorned with official logos and signage of the companies they’d brought on to work with them on the build. JF Architecture’s logo was well placed at the front of the site for passers-by. No one from her past would know what JF Architecture stood for, if they did happen to come across it.

She donned her hard hat and walked further into the heart of the action using the designated safety walkways. There were trucks and diggers and skips scattered across the site. The crane stood majestic by the water, as ever. It would hopefully bear witness to a beautiful transformation and be proud of it. Amidst the heavy machinery, noise and dust clouds, there were a significant number of construction workers clearing the site to give them the blank canvass they needed. Replace the modern clothing, vans and equipment with dark overalls, old vehicles and machinery and this would resemble what it might have been like on the shipyard back in the day. Seeing her hometown get a makeover like this was already satisfying.

In a matter of weeks so much had moved forward. An operation like this didn’t happen spontaneously. There was a brain behind this, and that brain was Rosie. She had expected to do more but as Rosie had it all so covered she found that all she was doing lately was reading updates. But this was where the magic was happening. The place was being turned upside down so a new environment could be brought into being.

In what would become the centre of the new park, Rosie was speaking to a group, including Tara and Tom. It looked like she was briefing them on something. Rosie was wearing boots, cargo pants, a bright orange vest and a yellow hard hat. Her soft features were such a contrast to her construction attire. Jessica couldn’t look away.

Rosie was fucking hot.

As Jessica approached the group, Rosie noticed her and smiled, her beautiful eyes sparkling. It was a warm and inviting smile, which made Jessica more at ease. Since when did she need someone to make her feel more at ease on the job? It was simultaneously comforting and infuriating. Jessica shook off the feeling, as she came to a stop.

“So,” Rosie said. “As I was saying. As long as we get the rest of the existing materials off the site within the next seven days, we will be able to start laying the foundations. You guys are absolutely flying through it but does that still sound doable?”

“Yep, that’ll be fine,” one of the older-looking men said. “No problem at all.”

“Great.” Rosie smiled at them. “I think that’s it for now, then. Thanks very much.” The group dispersed.

“Nice work, boss,” Chris the surveyor said to Rosie as he moved away.

It was good to see Rosie managing the build like this. “All in hand, I see?”

Rosie nodded, holding Jessica’s eyes. “I feel like I’m cracking the whip all the time, but someone has to, right? That and saying no to random ideas about changing the design because someone has an opinion or thinks it would be easier doing it a different way. Don’t worry, I’m making sure everyone sticks to what we agreed with the local authority.”

It was hard not to think of Rosie in sexy lingerie, suspenders and chains. She couldn’t help her head from going there at the mere mention of the word whip. “You’re cracking it very well, by the looks of things.”

Rosie smiled. She had such a beautiful smile that lit up her whole face.

Jessica peeled her attention away from lovely Rosie and watched as a giant creaking claw attached to a digger dumped bits of cracked concrete into a skip. It made a huge noise.

“I didn’t expect to see you here today,” Rosie said, putting her hands in her pockets.

Jessica realised it probably looked like she was micromanaging Rosie again, which was the last thing she wanted. But if she was being honest, there was a part of her that wanted to pay a surprise visit and check that it was running as smoothly as it appeared to be. She was supposed to be the principal architect, after all. “I wanted to see it all for myself. I hope that’s okay?”

“Yep, of course it is. I didn’t mean to come across like I’m annoyed you’re here or anything. It’s just a surprise.”

“No, you’re quite right. I should have let you know I was coming,” Jessica said. “I’m sorry.”

They stood looking at each other. Jessica wanted to talk to her more privately and not in the middle of a construction site. Rosie had been travelling up to the site often over the past few weeks and hadn’t been in the office as much. Jessica had missed her, she realised. Had she come up to the site to see her? Perhaps that was why she had been so looking forward to visiting.

“It’s fine,” Rosie said. “It’s good to see you.”

Jessica took her hard hat off. It was bugging her. Breaking the rules, yes, but she needed to feel like herself for a second. She ran her hands through her hair and repositioned the hat back on her head.

Rosie’s eyes widened as she took Jessica in, or rather, checked her out. Because that’s what it felt like. And Jessica liked it. Rosie was so reactive around her. It was hard not to notice, and, not to like.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time up here. How is it going?”

“It’s going well, I think. As you can see, we’re fully underway. The facilities are all set up. The team are doing a great job. It’s exciting to see it get going. Honestly my only gripe is the lack of good coffee. The instant coffee granules aren’t doing it for me.”

“Would you like a proper one?”

“What do you mean?”

“I can go grab a couple of takeaway coffees for us. Des will run me. It might not be artisan quality but there should be a half-decent coffee shop in the town somewhere. One hopes, anyway.”

Rosie looked at her for a few long seconds, face pulled in confusion. “Wait. You, Jessica Frost, are offering to go and get me a coffee? Did I hear that correctly?”

“You heard correctly.”

“Surely it should be the other way around. Am I not supposed to be your minion?” Rosie narrowed her eyes, playfully. She was cute when she was like this.

“My minion?” Jessica laughed. “I don’t know why everyone thinks I’m such a dragon. I can get my colleague a coffee and it shouldn’t be so weird.”

Rosie tilted her head, thoughtfully. “I would love a coffee.”

“Okay, great. I’ll leave you to it for now, and then maybe we can have a chat when I get back? There are a few things we need to go over.” Jessica was acutely aware that their meeting could have been done over video call, but she was still telling herself that her needing to be there in person to see the site was a valid reason. Because in that moment, part of her didn’t believe it. And she saw Rosie realise it too.

“Perfect. Message me when you’re back. We can meet in the portacabin office.”

“Right.” Jessica turned to leave.

“A latte, please,” Rosie said, softly. The look on her face was calm and gentle.

Jessica felt totally off balance. “Okay. I won’t be long.”

Ten minutes later she entered a cute little place on the high street. It was new, or at least it hadn’t been here twenty years ago. It turned out Des had already scouted the place and knew exactly where to get some good coffee. “The busiest place in town,” he had said.

The café was busy. Jessica ordered Rosie’s latte and an Americano for herself. She waited by the sugars and stirrers while the girl made the coffees. There had been nothing like this when she was growing up here. Maybe there were other things she didn’t know about the town anymore. It was likely to be the case, and, standing there in the middle of it all, she found that she actually cared about not knowing it anymore. It didn’t feel right to be so distant from the place where she grew up.

There was a tap on her shoulder. Jessica turned around to see her favourite cousin who she had not seen in twenty years standing behind her in the café.

“It is you!” He stared at her, a mixture of surprise, kindness and confusion.

Jessica stared back.

The two of them looked so different on the outside. Jessica in her smart suit and designer clothing, and Martin, in his navy-blue jumper with a logo on it: MF Electrical. They’d grown up together. Family parties and summer holidays. They’d played rounders in the street and cycled their bikes to the edges of town, feeling the wonder of what lay beyond. Their baby photos were like twins. They’d been inseparable for years, well, until puberty hit, and other things pulled them apart. He looked well. Strong. Handsome. Healthy. He clearly had a physical job, and it suited him. His light brown hair was the same. Some grey was appearing in his light beard.

“Martin!” Jessica was tongue tied with everything about him hitting her at once. She didn’t know what to say. She felt caught, somehow.

He stepped forward, hugging her lightly. Jessica did the same, briefly, and they stepped back. It felt odd to hug him, but as she did the familiarity of him came flooding back. It was lovely.

“I can’t believe it’s you. It’s so great to see you.” He continued to take her in, disbelief still in his eyes.

“I know. Same.”

A call came from behind. “Latte and an Americano.”

Jessica picked up her coffees, thanking the barista.

Martin smiled, that kindness still in his eyes. “You look good.”

“So do you.” She was sorry to have lost touch with him, but she’d had to cut off that part of her life. It pained her to think about what she’d missed out on, now that she was face to face with someone from her dad’s side of the family. It made her miss her dad too, which was a shock in itself.

“I didn’t know you were back in town.”

Jessica didn’t know what to say. She did not want to divulge her true activities in the town. That wasn’t what the project was about. She didn’t want to open anything back up. But she also didn’t want to lie. “I’m just passing through. For work.”

“Oh. Well, it’s still great to see you. Is that your fancy car parked out the front?”

“I think it might be, yes.”

“Nice!”

Jessica smiled. Martin did always love his cars. When he was little, he used to have a collection of toy cars and he’d talk for ages about which ones he was going to have when he grew up, which included all of them, at various times.

“So, where are you living now? Still in the big smoke?”

Jessica stepped to the side to let the next person get to the counter. Martin followed her. There was a sleek and silver van parked outside with MF Electrical splashed on the side and an image of a lightning bolt that reminded her of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust.

“Yep. London. Same as before. And you?”

Martin laughed. “Here. Same as always. Some things never change.”

“MF Electrical, is that your business?”

“It is, yeah. Straight to the point.” He tapped his lightning bolt logo on the left of his chest. “Jobs are steady. It keeps me busy. Keeps me away from the drink, too.” He laughed.

Martin used to drink so much as a teenager and young man. Sometimes, it seemed as though all anyone used to do around here was get drunk or get high. With what had happened to her mum, she couldn’t bear to be around excessive drinking. In many ways, Martin was the epitome of the white, male, working-class Brit. But now he was a business owner, and doing well, by the sounds of it. She didn’t know much about his life, but she felt proud of him.

“Callum turned eighteen this year, can you believe I’m the dad of an adult? I can’t.”

Jessica smiled, warmly. “How is he?”

“He’s smashing. Good lad. Bleeds me dry, though.”

“Are you still with…”

“Diane. Yep, we’re still together. She’s still putting up with me. Are you married?”

“No. Never.”

“You’ve got a fancy job though. Do you enjoy it?”

“I do enjoy it, yes.”

“That’s good then.” He smiled, warmly. “It’s good you got out of here. Not much going on here to keep someone like you.” There was pride but also sadness in his eyes.

“The town has changed quite bit, hasn’t it?”

Martin scratched his beard a few times. “Yes and no. But it’s home, you know.” He shrugged.

Jessica did not know. She’d never felt truly at home here, or anywhere, really. “I’m so sorry, but I need to get going.”

“Yeah, sure, no worries.” He reached into his pocket. “Here’s my business card. Give me a ring or drop me a follow, it’d be fucking amazing to catch up properly. Maybe grab a coffee sometime?”

Jessica took the card. Part of her wanted to catch up with him, but another part saw red flags and a doorway into her dad’s family and by default, her dad. “Thanks, Martin. It was nice to see you,” Jessica said, hugging him again. This time she held him a little bit longer, unsure when she’d see him again and in awe of the connection that was still there, even though they’d not seen each other in so long.

Back in the safety of the car, she let out an unsteady breath. She was in a sort of daze on the drive back to the site. It was hard to know what she felt about bumping into her cousin. It was a lovely surprise on one hand, but a warning of how close she was flying to this whole part of her life that she’d turned her back on. She was open to speaking to her dad again, one day, but she wasn’t ready.

Jessica had hardly taken her coat off when Rosie appeared in the portacabin, all smiles and rosy cheeked. Jessica had only just sent a message to her that she was back.

“Wow, thank you!” Rosie said, taking the coffee cup from Jessica.

“No problem.”

“If this is good, we can ask one of the team to bring them in in the morning,” Rosie said. She took a sip. “Ah, it is good. Right, it’ll be a new daily order.”

Jessica placed her cup on the makeshift desk with Rosie’s gigantic water bottle on it and sat down.

Rosie sipped some coffee before taking a seat adjacent to her.

“I’d like to discuss our project milestones,” Jessica said.

“Sure. What’s on your mind?”

“I want to go over the dates you have suggested. I think you are allowing too much time for each phase. There is a risk that if you give too much time, you don’t create urgency, and when delays come in, because they absolutely will, we could fall behind.”

“Oh. Okay. I thought that was the right amount of time but if you think we should shorten it we should. What would you recommend instead?”

“Here.” Jessica turned her laptop around. A project milestone chart was displayed. She’d plotted Rosie’s timeline against her updated one.

Jessica watched a little too closely as Rosie studied the screen. The two freckles by her temple were so cute.

Rosie nodded, stiffly. “Okay. I see you’ve shaved off at least a few days in each phase. I’ll get that updated on all the documents and share it with everyone.”

“Your timings were adequate, Rosie. This is what I normally do to tighten my grip around projects. Give people slightly less time and anticipate delays. That way, it all actually gets done on time.”

Rosie softened. “Okay. Thanks for the advice.”

“Other than that, how is it all going?”

“Clearing the site is going well. We’ve had every square inch of terrain checked and verified. Patrick is happy with our progress.”

“And the little warehouse at the end?”

“Yep, engineering has completed their analysis. We should be able to start the renovation on time.”

“And the housing developers, are they still okay with everything?”

Rosie nodded. “Yep, as soon as the foundations go in and we have clear access points for each area of the construction site they can begin. The team are working on that as we speak.”

“How is it going working with the engineers? I know they can be a bit opinionated, especially John.” Their engineers were excellent but usually a massive pain in the arse for the architects to get to follow the design. They held each other to account. It was a healthy tension, but one in which she needed her architects to stand firm on.

“I’ve got John under control, I think. He’s not so bad if you hear him out.”

“Hmm.” As their lead engineer John was an alpha-male type, tall, broad-shouldered and loud, who commanded his team of engineers like he was their military leader on the battlefield.

“Like I said in my email, everything is on track so far. We got a great response from the residents’ survey, which we managed to get completed before any building starts. The town’s people are very much supportive of what we’re doing, which is great. I’ve been adding in some of the feedback from the survey into the design based on what options we gave them. Minor tweaks. They want more bins, for example. I’ll be sharing it with you this week. The only issue I’ve become aware of” —Rosie shifted in her seat— “is that the MP who’s also a councillor isn’t happy with the plans. There have been some grumbles about us getting started. Patrick came to visit, out of the blue, and he mentioned it in passing when he was leaving. I was going to let you know about it today. Yesterday was kind of hectic.” Rosie almost hid behind her coffee cup after she took another sip.

A tight knot gripped Jessica’s stomach. Issues with Tony Hunt were not a good sign.

“But Patrick was very quick to say and reassure me that it wasn’t a threat, and they were handling it.”

“Then why did he say anything?” Jessica narrowed her eyes.

Rosie shrugged, guiltily, when it wasn’t her fault. “I don’t know. Maybe he just wanted us to be aware but not to make a huge deal about it?”

“It could be a huge deal if this Tony Hunt decides to make it one.” A tense silence fell between them. Jessica took a sip of coffee. “Perhaps we should run another community engagement session. Do a sort of pre-emptive strike.”

“Okay.”

“We run a risk of opening up any discontent with the plans, but it might be a risk worth taking. Having the local community behind you would make it difficult for this MP to use them as a tool against us in whatever game he is playing. That’s why we need to be extra on top of the project management, Rosie. You’ll need to keep me updated at least twice a week.”

Rosie had abandoned her coffee cup and was writing down notes. “I agree. I’ll start making arrangements for it and get Tara and Tom to help.” Rosie scored out something on her notepad.

“And have you liaised with the health and wellbeing charity yet? It would be good to implement a way of understanding the behavioural change of the town and the site’s impact on health and wellbeing.”

“I haven’t yet. It’s on the list.” Rosie took a deep breath. She’d gone a little pale.

Jessica was pushing her, but she had to. “I’m sorry to bombard you with all this. I realise it’s a lot. I’m happy to take on some of this. I am supposed to be principal on this project, but I am happy to allow you to take on more and more of the role of principal. My schedule isn’t really allowing me to be as involved as I would like, and this is a great opportunity for you. But please don’t be shy in asking me to do stuff. I hope that’s clear?”

Rosie put down her pen and notepad and placed her palms together in front of her mouth, in a sort of prayer.

“Rosie, is there anything I can do to help?”

“In all honesty, it’s super daunting to ask you to do anything. You’re you and I’m not used to doing so much of a project on my own. I’m more than happy to take on more of the principal tasks, so thanks for being clear that you are looking for me to actually do that.”

Jessica did her best to be approachable. She smiled warmly and held Rosie’s eyes. “Don’t worry about being unsure about what you can and can’t ask me. I’ve been busy with other projects, but I can assure you, this one means a lot to me. Please ask me like you would any other principal architect, and I’ll do my best to support you.”

Rosie held her eyes. A slow smile spread across her lips, and then her whole face. “Okay. Could you liaise with the health and wellbeing charity?”

“Fine. What else?”

“Could you email John and reiterate that there is no scope to change anything. He’s coming up with ideas every day and I’m constantly having to tell him it’s not in the approved plan. I think he’s chancing his luck a bit too much. It’s getting in the way.”

“Done. Anything else?”

Rosie took a deep breath. She was formidable when she was being fully direct like this.

“I’ve been thinking. Since I need to be at the site so much, I think it might make sense for me to stay up here for a while. The cost for a hotel is getting silly. I could rent an Airbnb and I could stay in it from Monday to Friday? It would just be for the next few months on and off, until we get the foundations in and construction underway. Then I can go back to commuting once a week.”

Jessica considered Rosie’s request. “Okay. If that’s what you want. That’s fine. It does make sense financially. Thank you for thinking that way.”

“Great, thanks.”

“It’s a nice place.”

“I can see that.”

“I grew up here.”

Rosie froze, it seemed. Her eyes were so intense as she stared at Jessica.

Jessica held her head up a tiny bit higher, feeling more vulnerable than she had in a long time.

“You grew up here? That’s amazing.”

“No one else at the company knows except Rich. I prefer to keep my personal life private.”

“I won’t tell anyone else.”

“I can recommend a few places you might like to stay.” Shit. She had no idea where might be good anymore.

“Yes, please,” Rosie said, after a moment. “I’m down for whatever. I’ve read there are some nice areas to the north. Near the countryside.”

“I’m sure there are.”

Another silence fell between them. Jessica sipped some coffee. Now that her big secret was out to Rosie, she felt raw and exposed. What had she hoped to achieve, exactly, by telling her? She wasn’t sure. She hated feeling like this. “I’m going to go and speak to John.” Jessica stood. “And then I’ll head back to the office.”

Rosie uncrossed her legs and sat up straighter, looking at Jessica, sincerely. “Okay. Is there anything else we need to discuss for now?”

“No. That’s all.”

Jessica got her things and left the portacabin, shutting the door calmer than her insides were, annoyed at herself with her confession.