Let It Be Me Read online

  LET IT BE ME

  Tiara Bosh

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Text copyright © 2014. Tiara Bosh

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher and author.

  Books by Tiara Bosh

  Let It Be Me

  Coming Soon

  Come with Me

  Chapter 1

  “This is my dream. This is my dream,” Kayla Richardson momentarily chanted to herself as she went over the dozens of emails in her inbox. She was in meetings all day and when she got back to the office, she was greeted by several issues across a few of the projects she was handling.

  Problems were normal in her industry. It was very rare for any construction project not to encounter any hurdles. Some days were just a bit more stressful than others; but in the end, it was very rewarding for her.

  Indeed Kayla has already achieved her dream and more.

  Kayla took pride that in just her first ten years of her career she has designed four high-rise buildings – two of which were in New York City. She has always dreamed to be part of the New York skyline.

  As an architect, she spent each day with her team on designs, checking drawings, visiting job sites, and corresponding with clients, engineers, and contractors.

  All in a day’s work.

  “Hey Kayla, where do you want these?” Jenny Martin asked her, as she entered her office. On Jenny’s arms was a short stack of drawings.

  “Kindly place them on my tray,” Kayla requested, sipping on her mug of coffee. “I’ll look over them in a while. Thank you.”

  “The perspectives turned out great,” Jenny said enthusiastically, after placing the pile on the tray. “I hope Bobby won’t ask for much revision.” She was referring to the firm’s founding partner and their main boss, Robert Flanders. Bobby – as he insisted to be called by everyone – started the firm over twenty years ago and has made a name for himself and the firm for designing office and residential buildings, schools and commercial establishments in several cities in the country.

  “I hope so too,” Kayla agreed, smiling.

  Jenny was about to walk out of the office when she turned to Kayla.

  “Kayla, I’ll go ahead, okay?” she asked hesitantly.

  Absent-mindedly, Kayla looked up at the clock above the doorway. She didn’t realize that it was past seven. She looked out the glass partitions to see that the office was almost deserted. Unlike some of the offices in the city, their office never had the culture of working long hours. That was one of the reasons why the company had a significant number of loyal employees.

  “Oh, Jen, of course,” Kayla replied. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.” Jenny had a husband and a five-year old son. Kayla knew Jenny still had to prepare dinner after work.

  “No worries!” Jenny exclaimed. “I just had some stuff to finish for Bobby. He’s actually still in the conference room, meeting a client. Anyways, you should head home too.”

  “I’ll be done in a while,” Kayla answered, with an assuring smile. “Don’t worry.”

  Jenny has been part of Kayla’s team for over four years now and they worked well together. In fact, Jenny was the one Kayla was closest to among everyone in the office. Jenny was more animated and adventurous as Kayla was more reserved. Jenny’s exuberant personality made her the more beautiful, which Kayla admittedly got envious about sometimes. Beyond Kayla’s minor insecurity though, Kayla was thankful to Jenny for making her days of work a bit less serious as Kayla tended to be that way.

  “Okay, hope you don’t stay in too late,” Jenny said thoughtfully.

  Kayla nodded. “Hi to Ryan, and give Trey a hug for me!” Kayla quipped. Jenny and Ryan would have Kayla over for dinner occasionally so Kayla got to know their family well. Jenny and her husband Ryan’s five-year-old boy Trey was so adorable. Kayla guessed since he was the only child so far, he tried to talk maturely. And his insights sometimes were so funny.

  “Will do!” Jenny replied, closing the door behind her.

  Alone in her office, Kayla sat back with her mug in her hand. She had nothing planned for the night. Her usual day would be ten to twelve hours at work then head home to wind down. It was her cycle. She had her townhouse to herself, and she hardly went out with the little friends she had. Most of her colleagues at work had their families. Some of the single ones partied hard, but that wasn’t her scene. The single men, well, some of them had at one point wanted to date her. Aside from not wanting to date anyone from the office, none of them really appealed to her.

  She looked at the drawings Jenny left on her tray. She was kind of itching to review the presentation drawings she has been working on with her team, but Jenny’s words resonated with her. She’s been clocking in twelve hours a day for the past two weeks because of this presentation. The team was ahead of their internal schedule; she can take a little break.

  Having answered all the important email messages, she deserved to indulge herself a bit tonight.

  She stood up, putting on her thin coat as she shut down her computer. She got her bag and walked out of her office. Bobby’s meeting must have already ended as the office was already empty, except for the janitor who was vacuuming the carpeted floor.

  She’s gotten used to being one of the last people to leave the office. She no longer found it eerie. Somehow she also knew there must be probably a hundred other people in the other offices leasing in the building to accompany her in the fifty-two-story building.

  While riding the elevator eighteen floors down, she started planning her evening. Her place was just a ten-minute cab ride away. She could have some pizza delivered and open one of the bottles of wine she has stocked up. It’s been a while since she’s done that. She was going to have a long leisurely bath in her tub then snuggle in her bed with a good book.

  Luckily she was alone in the elevator. The mirrors that wrapped around the interiors of the elevator car reflected Kayla’s silly grin. She was excited, alright. Who knew that simple relaxation would excite her like this?

  As the elevator bell indicated she was at the ground floor, she eagerly stepped out as the doors opened wide enough – she didn’t think anyone would still go up at this time in the evening. She realized too late that someone was right outside, waiting to get in.

  They collided, and she felt the wind get knocked off her.

  “Whoa,” a low voice spoke, telling Kayla she just bumped into a man.

  She dropped her handbag then held on to the arms of the stranger until her position was righted. She only noticed that the stranger must have also instinctively put his hands on her waist to steady her. A mild soapy scent infiltrated her nostrils and her senses, as she noticed she was holding on to arms that must have had more than their fair share of weights in the gym.

  Standing up properly, she looked up. The sight before her almost made her lose her balance again. It made her wonder if her brain got juggled in the impact. She told herself he must just be a look-alike.

  His rugged good looks would melt practically any girl. He had blue eyes that sparkled and could almost hypnotize someone. His ruffled hair tempted her to run her fingers through it. From the closer view Kayla saw he had a mole on his right cheek, almost below his eye. He also had some freckles peppered on his cheeks and nose.

  It was in her mind to thank him but the words were stuck in her throat. It also took her an extra second to realize that she was still holding on to him, and he also hasn’
t released her.

  She found him peering down at her also, like he was studying her. She had no idea what the state of her makeup was then. The last time she looked at the mirror was when she used the washroom a few hours ago.

  She quickly took her hands away, breaking the moment. He also released her, though a bit slowly. The places on her waist where he held her still felt warm from his touch.

  He bent down to retrieve her bag and the cap he must have dropped.

  “Thanks,” she finally said, embarrassed, as he handed her the purse. She felt her cheeks redden.

  “What was the hurry?” he asked, smiling, placing the cap back on and Kayla noticed the logo of the New York Knicks stitched on. He was dressed in dark slacks and a light-colored sweatshirt – a simple getup but he still looked larger than life. And his voice was what she has heard several times before.

  His smile was contagious. “I – uh – just wanted to get home,” Kayla managed to reply shyly, before he would think she was gawking at him. Kayla hardly got shy after years of dealing with high-profile clients, but there was something about the encounter that was leaving her at loss for words. There were thoughts threatening to enter her mind, but she didn’t want to entertain them.

  “Lucky guy,” he said, with his smile still in place.

  Kayla didn’t bother correcting his presumption. She just slightly smiled up at him, feeling all awkward. He was about half a foot taller than her five-seven height. With his cap now back in place, his eyes were shadowed but still had a sparkle in them.

  Get a grip, Kayla scolded herself.

  “Thanks again,” Kayla repeated, tightening her clutch on the handle of her bag. It was the only thing she could hold on to right then. “Have a good night.”

  “Good night,” he greeted softly, staring straight into her eyes.

  She took a step away then turned to make her way out, taking all her willpower not to look back. She wasn’t one of those girls who ogled, and the shy geeky student in her never left.

  “Was that Alexander Stone?” Kayla heard one of the building security guards ask the other.

  “Yup, it is, I saw him arrive late this afternoon,” the other guard replied. “I wonder what a movie star is doing in our building. My wife will just freak out I saw him.”

  Confirming who she thought he was, Kayla shakily sped away and out of the building. It was the most exciting thing that has happened to her recently that wasn’t related to work.

  Her day has turned from typical to interesting. Yes, that’s right. She just had a run-in with a Hollywood star.

  Chapter 2

  Refreshed from her relaxing night, Kayla woke up with the best of moods. Her naughty dream about a certain movie actor could have also had something to do with it.

  Somewhat inspired, she dressed in her favorite floral blouse and pencil-skirt ensemble. She took extra time blow-drying her hair and applying her makeup. Her mom’s Latina roots have blessed her with great dark wavy hair, large eyes and long lashes – she didn’t need much mascara. However, she lacked the curves that Latinas were known for. She had to compensate with choosing her clothes wisely to give an illusion of some shape.

  With still some minutes to spare, she stopped by the coffee shop a block away for her caffeine fix. She was in a good mood, so the relatively long queue didn’t bother her. Clutching her sixteen-ounce cup of coffee, she then made her way to the pretzel cart in front of the office building for her breakfast. While lining up, she spied the newsstand nearby and the headline on one of the tabloids caught her eye.

  “Alexander Stone’s Mexico Rendezvous” was emblazoned on the front page with photos of him canoodling with a popular Victoria Secret model at the shores of the beach. Feeling the heat from her wicked dream about him last night and from her brief encounter with him outside the elevator, Kayla chuckled at her short-lived fantasy. Men like Alexander Stone were from a different world.

  She stepped off the elevator at her floor, clutching her coffee cup and bagel takeout bags. She was greeted by the sight of Jenny chatting with the office receptionist, Cindy. Jenny was always a livewire; she always made time to chat with many of their colleagues. She did excellent work so Kayla didn’t mind, though Kayla sometimes wished her people skills were even close to Jenny’s.

  “Good morning!” Jenny exclaimed, turning to her. “You look great, girl! Had a good night?”

  “Definitely,” Kayla confirmed, spiritedly. “Thanks to you. I took your advice and headed home early last night – okay, relatively early,” she corrected, laughing. “And what a good decision that was! I truly pampered myself.”

  “Good for you, Kayla,” Jenny said, walking with her towards their area. “You truly deserve that.”

  “I got a pretzel for you, by the way,” Kayla said, handing her a paper bag. She also got one for Brandon, their only other team member. In Flanders and Associates, they worked in small teams of three or four. It was only in larger projects when two or more teams would work together.

  “Cool. Thanks, Kayla!” Jenny said, opening the bag to start picking on the pretzel.

  “Well it’s back to work today,” Kayla said automatically, always the party pooper. “Have to finalize the presentation for next week.”

  “You’ll do great. You’ll definitely wing it,” her friend said loyally.

  “I really hope so. And of course all thanks to you and Brandon,” Kayla said. The low-cost apartment project was important to her. Bobby gave her the project brief a couple weeks back. They have already visited the site – it seemed like a peaceful part of Brooklyn. The firm was only going to be paid minimally for the project as she heard Bobby was a supporter of the foundation.

  The project was a breath of fresh air after almost ten years of working on high-end condominiums, office buildings, and houses for the rich and famous. Growing up in a rough neighborhood, Kayla has always dreamt of coming up with this home for those who have it harder at life. She knew all too well that a great environment helped a person’s outlook.

  She hasn’t personally met anyone from the client side. She was in Seattle for the turnover of one of the firm’s designs when Bobby first met with the foundation last month. The clients gave a very detailed design program to work with though, so Kayla and the team didn’t have a hard time coming up with the proposal. Somehow, Kayla immediately understood what the clients wanted. She hoped she wasn’t wrong, and that the foundation would be happy with the proposal they have come up with.

  * * *

  “The concept is family. It’s about belonging and taking care of one another. It’s about openness and community. We’re going to have a courtyard with low-maintenance landscaping that will also serve as a play area for the children. This way the play area is secured, with the units looking over the common area. Then at one corner would be a vegetable garden which can help sustain the soup kitchen.”

  “The system would require some training and discipline for the residents,” she added, “but I think the garden would help strengthen the ownership they feel over the whole complex and provide some of them a bit of livelihood. The project brief said they did want to offer some livelihood for some of the residents. So I hope they would be on board with this.”

  Kayla could almost feel the excitement in her voice as she explained the concept to Bobby later that afternoon. The design she and the team came up with was a development of four mid-rise buildings that was far from cramped, yet still met the space requirements of the clients. Open spaces were maximized, and each tower had a partial roof garden. Vertical gardens of low-maintenance plants were also scattered around the complex. The feel of the development was light and airy to promote an open feel and hopefully serve as security.

  She went over the cost estimate and floor area numbers with Bobby. Bobby had some suggestions, which Kayla agreed with.

  “Great job as usual, Kayla,” Bobby praised at the end. “With the minor revisions we talked about, we’re good to go. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but
I think they would be quite happy with this.”

  “Thank you,” Kayla beamed, grateful for the approval and praise. “I really hope so.”

  “So I think we’re more than ready for our presentation next week,” Bobby inferred.

  “I think so,” Kayla agreed, nodding.

  “Yes, so everyone can enjoy the office party this Saturday,” Bobby reminded her.

  “That’s right, I almost forgot,” Kayla admitted. It seemed like ages ago when she and Jenny went shopping during their lunch break last month to buy their dresses. The office held an annual party for both clients and employees to celebrate the anniversary of the firm. It was a night for everyone to forget about work, yet not quite.

  “We want everyone in the office to have a balanced life,” Bobby lectured kindly, with a knowing smile.

  “I try, Bobby,” Kayla said, smiling. Bobby has been her mentor since she joined the firm ten years ago when she just graduated from college. He saw the potential in her, trained her for her board exams, and made her an associate after her sixth year. It meant so much to Kayla because the firm was a male-dominated one and she was honored to get one of the higher positions after her years in the firm.

  Bobby Flanders, who was in his early sixties, wasn’t the least bit ostentatious and not overly ambitious. He was a leader and an ally, that’s why Kayla has remained devoted to the firm. She knew that she was very fortunate to have a boss like him. And at times, she felt like he treated her like the daughter he never had, as he was only blessed with two sons. Neither of his sons went into architecture, but Bobby never expressed disappointment in that fact. He respected his sons’ chosen professions as a doctor and as a chef.

  “Well then, let’s go over the revisions Monday morning. It will give us enough time to do last minute adjustments if necessary for Wednesday’s presentation. You’ll lead the presentation, okay?”