His Forever Girl by Liz Talley

Author:Liz Talley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE DAY AFTER soccer practice, Graham trudged into the office, cursing the key that always stuck in his office door. He flipped on the lights, glad he was the first one at the office. Somehow the stillness of the warehouse comforted him. In the small quiet of the morning he felt he could accomplish anything.

He surveyed his domain as he set down his briefcase. Finally all the old files had been removed and the office was in workable shape. Plans for the upcoming season, some drawn by Tess, others by Dave Wegmann, the designer, littered the table, ready for Graham to review and stamp with his seal of approval. He’d had to rely on skills he hadn’t used in years to tweak a few plans, and that very day he had meetings scheduled with two krewe captains looking to rent at least twelve floats. Their themes had been turned in weeks ago, but the work had gone unfinished because Tess had left. Graham had divided them between him and Dave. Though Graham had never been talented creatively, he’d managed to get some ideas on paper for a series of Egyptian-themed floats.

He needed to hire somebody else in design, but had left the position open for several weeks more because he’d hoped Tess’s anger would grow cold and she’d come back to Ullo and resume the work she’d left behind.

Damn stubborn woman.

A sound outside the door had him spinning in his chair.

Dave peeked inside.

“Oh, hey. You’re here early.” The man was clasping a folder in hands that looked too large to wield a drafting pencil skillfully. Dave looked nervous.

“Have to get here early—we have a lot to do,” Graham said, motioning him inside.

Dave grunted and came in, setting the folder on the worktable. “Here are the sketches for Caesar’s Muse floats. I think it’s going to work nicely. Maybe have to have the carpenters do some adjustments on the ship. Wasn’t sure if it would come in under the height maximum. We gotta clear the Causeway Bridge.”

Graham leafed through the drawings and specifications. “Looks good. Are we going to have room for the waves on the back of the float?”

Dave shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe.”

Graham lifted his eyebrows. “Dunno?”

“Look, I wanted to talk to you anyhow. I’ve been thinking about making a change.”

“A change?”

“Yeah, I’ve been here a long time, you know?”

Graham felt something sink in his stomach. He’d wanted to talk to Dave later today about stepping up to fill Tess’s position and then maybe hiring a grad student from Delgado’s art program to train as a designer. He had to do something to fill the gap Tess left, but the words coming out of Dave’s mouth made him long for the Pepto-Bismol he had hidden in his drawer. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving?”

“Sorry. I have an offer from Toledano Bros. It’s closer to my house and with Tess gone and Frank sick, I feel like it’s a good time to leave.”

“I’ll give you Tess’s job.”

“You should have weeks ago,” Dave said, crossing his arms and trying to look angry.

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