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If there was one thing she didn&039;t need, Abra thought a few days later, it was to be pulled off the job and into a , riveters working on the health club, and a running feud between Rodriguez and Swaggart to deal with It wasn&039;t as though those things couldn&039;t be handled without her - it was simply that they could be handled better with her And here she was cooling her heels in Ti for hiht the schedule was Damn it, she knehat she had to do to see that the contract was brought in on tiout on the site with the crews and the supervisors, dealing with details as sht she either tumbled into bed at sundown or worked until three, fueled by coffee and a board The project was hers, hers more than it could ever be Tim Thornway&039;s It had become personal, in a way she could never have explained For her, it was a tribute to the h faith in her to push her to try for more than second best In a way, it was her last job for Thomas Thornway, and she wanted it to be perfect

It didn&039;t help to have an architect who de delays inevitable Despite him and histo pull it off If she wasn&039;t constantly being dragged into the office for endless ain Tis that annoyed her more than waste of any kind If she hadn&039;t had a specific point to bring up to Tiether The one thing about Tiht with a huh to recognize double-talk In this case, she wanted to lanced at her watch - she wasn&039;t going to twiddle her thuer

This had been Thornway&039;s office She&039;d always liked the cool, authoritative colors and the lack of frills Since Ties Plants, she thought, scowling at a ficus It wasn&039;t that she disliked plants and thick, splashy pillows, but it annoyed her to find thes Thornway had preferred Indian paintings and landscapes Tim had replaced them with abstracts that tended to jar Abra&039;s nerves The new carpet seemed three inches thick and was salmon-colored The elder Thornway had used a short-napped buff so that the dust and dirt wouldn&039;t show But then, Tim didn&039;t often visit the sites or ask his foremen to join him for an after-hours drink

Stop it, Abra ordered herself Tie It was his business in every way The fact that she had loved and admired the father so much didn&039;t mean she had to find fault with the son

But she did find fault with hiht as she studied the tidy, polished surface of his desk He iacked both the drive and the compassion that had been so much a part of his father Thornway had wanted to build first for the love of building With Tiin was the bottom line

If Thomas Thornway had still been alive, she wouldn&039;t have been preparing tothat this current project would be her last for the coht once have been Instead, there was excite it for herself

Terrifying, she thought, closing her eyes The idea was as terrifying as it was co herself, she walked back to theThat was ridiculous He was neither terrifying nor co Nor was he an unknown He was just aup on the site He was the kind of man who kneas a pleasure to look at and exploited it The kind who always had a line, an angle and an escape route

She&039;d seenback, Abra considered herself lucky that she&039;d only fallen for a pretty face and a s blindly into the trap again and again Her ht with a shake of her head Jessie Wilson would have taken one look at a e Thank God, in this way it was not "like hter"

As for herself, Abra wasn&039;t interested in Cody Johnson personally and could barely tolerate him professionally

When he walked in seconds later, she wondered why her thoughts and her feelings didn&039;t see" Tim, trim in a three-piece suit, offered her a hearty smile "Lunch ran a bit over"

She only lifted a brow Thisin the ether "I&039;m more interested in why you called ht we needed a little one on one" He settled coestured for both her and Cody to sit

"You&039;ve seen the reports"

"Absolutely" He tapped a finger on a file He had a nice, engaging grin that suited his round face More than once Abra had thought he&039;d have done well in politics If anyone kne to answer a question without co himself, it was Ti a dinner ive hiive hi" She crossed her ankles and spared Cody the briefest glance Tiht we&039;d settled all that"

Abrashould be completed on the main structure by the end of the week It&039;s a tricky process, given the size and shape of the building And it&039;s going to cost his company a fortune to cool"

"He has a fortune," Cody commented "I believe they&039;reon the electric bill"

"Indeed" Tis stood, the Barlow project was going to bring him a tidy profit He wanted to keep it that way "Of course, I&039;ve looked over the specs and can assure our client that he&039;s receiving only the best in est you tell him to come see for himself," Abra said

"Well, I don&039;t think - "

Cody cut in "I agree with Ms Wilson Better he should buck now about so that doesn&039;t suit him than buck later, after it&039;s in concrete"

Tim frowned and backpedaled "The plans have been approved"

"Things look different on paper," Cody said, looking at Abra "Sometimes people are surprised by the finished product"

"Naturally, I&039;ll suggest it" Tim tapped his pen on his spotless blotter "Abra, you have a suggestion in your report about extending the lunch break to an hour"

"Yes, I wanted to talk with you about that After a feeeks on the site I&039;ve seen that until and unless we get soer break at midday"

Tim set down the pen and folded his hands "You have to understand what a thirty-minute extension means in terms of overall time and money"

"You have to understand that men can&039;t work in that sun without a reasonable reprieve Chugging salt tablets isn&039;t enough It may be March, and ityour second et paid to sweat," Tiree that they&039;ll be better off to have the buildings under roof by summer"

"They can&039;t build if they drop from heat exhaustion or sunstroke"

"I don&039;t believe I&039;ve had any reports of that happening"

"Not yet" It would be a miracle if she held on to her teht When he&039;d been a junior executive she&039;d been able to skirt hiritted her teeth and tried again "Ti out in that sun drains you You get weak, you get sloppy, then you erous mistakes"

"I pay a foreman to see that no one makes mistakes"

Abra was on her feet and ready to explode when Cody&039;s calm voice cut in "You know, Tim, ive theood - obliged, even Most of the the sah his fingers "Makes sense I&039;ll keep it in mind"

"You do that" With an easy s to hitch a ride back to the site with Ms Wilson Then we can discuss that idea about our working ether Thanks for lunch, Tim"

"Any time, any time"

Before Abra could speak, Cody had her by the elbow and was leading her out They were in front of the elevators before she ed to jerk away "I don&039;t need to be shown the way," she said through clenched teeth

"Well, Ms Wilson, looks like we disagree again" He strolled into the elevator with her, then punched the button for the parking garage "In uidance - in how to handle birdbrains"

"I don&039;t need you to" She let her words trail off, glancing over at his face The hint of amusement in his eyes matched the reluctant s to Tim"

"Did I say that?"

"I have to assu about yourself"

"Take your choice"

"That leaves htly when it reached the parking level Abra put her hand out to keep the door froain as she studied hience in his eyes, and an easy confidence around his h the doors and into the garage

"Made up your mind?" he asked as he fell into step beside her

"Let&039;s just say I&039;ve already made up my mind how to handle you"

The slap of their boots echoed as they walked between the lines of cars "How&039;s that?"

"You&039;ve heard of ten-foot poles?"

His ain It gave hie to loosen it, strand by strand "That&039;s downright unfriendly"

"Yeah" She stopped in front of a coon Its white paint was scarred and dusty, and its ere tinted violet to co out her keys "Are you sure you want to go to the site? I could drop you by your hotel"

"I do have a mild interest in this project"

She esture "Suit yourself"

"Usually do"

Once in he cocked his seat back and nearly s When she turned the key, the engine coughed, objected, then caught The radio and air conditioner sprang to life Music jangled out, but she didn&039;t bother to turn it down Scattered across the dashboard were a fanets - a banana, an ostrich, acat and a lady&039;s hand with pink fingernails Scribbled notes were Held in place by them As far as Cody could make out, she had to pick up milk and bread and check on fifty tons of concrete And call Mongo? He narrowed his eyes and tried again Her mother She was supposed to call her mother

"Nice car," he coht

"Needs a tune-up" She shifted into neutral to let the engine idle "I haven&039;t gotten around to it"

He studied her hand as she ja and lean and suited her build She wore her nails short and, unlike the plastic depiction of a lady&039;s hand, unpainted No jewelry He could i delicate cups of tea - just as he could is

"So hoould you handle Tim?"

"What?" He&039;d been lost in a quiet little fantasy about how those narrow, co his skin

"Tias as they headed south out of Phoenix "Hoould you handle hi to handle her "I take it you two don&039;t always see things the same way"

"You&039;re the observant type, Johnson"

"Sarcasm, Red" He didn&039;t ask peran to search through his pockets for matches "Personally, I don&039;twith Thornway you&039;ll find oil does better than vinegar"

It was true, absolutely true It annoyed her that she&039;d put herself in a position where she&039;d had to be renize sarcashter for him

"Not nine tiainst his cigarette "It&039;s that tenth tiet you in trouble Before you say it, I already know you don&039;t mind a little trouble"

Despite herself, she smiled, and she didn&039;t object when he turned the radio down "You know those horses, the parade horses that wear blinders so they&039;ll follow the route and not look around and get spooked by crowds?"

"Yeah, and I&039;ve already seen that Thornears blinders so that he can follow the route to profit without being distracted You want better working conditions for the ot to learn how to be subtle"

She ain "I can&039;t"

"Sure you can You&039;re sht to be able to outwit hiain, but this time there was sorrow in the ethe&039;d already figured out for himself "All you have to do is use the common denominator With Thornway, that&039;s profit You want the men to have an hour lunch break in the heat of the day, you don&039;t tell hiher efficiency and therefore higher profits"

She scowled for abreath "I suppose I&039;ll have to thank you for talking him into it"

"Okay How about dinner?"

She cast him a short, level look "No"