The Build Up (37)

“Uhm. Okay?” I frowned, confused. Was it a raise? Did the partners want to give me an office with a window and better ventilation?

I turned down the hall, running into Mr. Robinson, who gave me a slight smile and said, “Ms. James.” I nearly froze in horror. Maybe I was in a parallel universe. That had to be the explanation because Mr. Robinson barely acknowledged me, let alone formed his lips into something that resembled a smile.

I walked cautiously toward my office, and much to my dismay, ran into Greer. He was stirring his coffee-filled Harvard mug in his usual, obnoxiously slow way. I tried to step aside but he deliberately impeded my way. Resisting the urge to knee him in the balls, I faced him. I wasn’t over how snide he continued to be in our weekly meetings, finding reasons to undermine the progress of the stadium design at each step. With each presentation Greer did, he found a reason to sabotage our design. From the placement of seats to the field measurements, he was constantly looking for cracks in our design, and damn if we hadn’t opened the door with that last presentation.

“Morning, Greer,” I groaned, attempting to sidestep him. He followed my steps. I’m sure we resembled a pair of contestants on Dancing with the Stars.

“Hey, James, didn’t know you had a boyfriend. You must have really put it on a brother. Not that I care.”

I folded my arms. “What on earth are you talking about, Greer?” Also, put it on a brother? Greer never ceased to find new ways of making my skin crawl. It was the unexpected gift that kept on giving. Like a cold sore.

“Whatever. Play coy if you must. I was just trying to make polite conversation for a change,” Greer retorted, finally slithering past me down the hall.

Before I opened my office door, I looked across the hall into Porter’s office. I waved and smiled, but he quickly turned his back to me. Now Porter was being weird? What the hell had gotten into everyone? Strange couldn’t begin to describe the start of my morning.

When I turned on the lights in my office, I nearly passed out, dropping my tote and portfolio on the floor. There were dozens of roses in a variety of shades in my office. I stopped counting after twenty dozen bouquets. Who could have sent these? Was it my mother? No way. She would have sent my favorite flower, stargazer lilies, and she only sends flowers on special occasions. She’d rather spend her cash at the casino. Was it Korey? I hadn’t spoken to him in weeks. He was at a conference in Seattle with Malcolm Gladwell per his social media. Not to mention, he was too self-absorbed to do something this thoughtful.

I closed my eyes, inhaling the smell of each vase full of flowers, marveling at the fact that my office now resembled a palatial garden. I looked for a card from the sender on each bouquet. I had all but given up until I looked at the bouquet of white roses on my desk. A small gold card peeked out between the flowers and baby’s breath. Carefully, I removed it from the bouquet and read it.

“It’s not a mixtape. But I hope these will do.”

I looked up from reading the card. Porter was standing in my doorway, looking sinfully delicious as he wore the coyest of smiles.

“I might have gone a little overboard. I didn’t know your favorite color, so I got them all,” said Porter, as he leaned against the doorframe. “At least all the ones that were available at my florist.”

Placing the card on my desk, I walked toward Porter, pulling him inside, and closed the blinds on my door. I stared at him, unable to say anything. A hiccup halted the tears that were threatening to crash down my cheeks.

Porter’s eyes searched my face for a response. “Do you hate it? Fuck. You hate it, don’t you? It’s corny, right? I...”

I waved the card around. “What is all of this about?”

“Ari, Kai’s not my girlfriend.”

“Wha...what? I...”

Porter shook his head. “I said Kai’s not my girlfriend. I broke up with her months ago.”

With wide eyes and with a desert-dry throat, all I could muster was a pathetic “Oh.”

“After Kai left, I went by your office to explain. But you’d hightailed it out of the building. I got the impression that you thought Kai and I were together.”

“Porter, you don’t have to explain.”

“Yes, I do.” Porter motioned for us to take a seat at the small table in my office. “We broke up almost seven months ago. I’d been dodging her calls for months, so she showed up at the job. Flew right past the front desk. Do you know she had Ms. Gayle chasing her down the hall like Gail Devers? The woman is in her sixties, for God’s sake.”

I tried not to laugh at the image. “That’s not cool but I’m surprised that she made it past Ms. Gayle at all. The woman treats the reception area like Fort Knox.”

Porter smiled. “Right! Anyway, what Kai wanted was for me to help her find a real estate agent. She figured since I’m here and I know a lot of people, I could help her. She’s pressed for time because her place is in escrow. So, I gave her the info of the best but most annoying, pain-in-the-ass real estate agent I know.”

“Jamal,” we both said with a laugh.

“What you saw was her hugging me goodbye. Kai can be a bit rude. Faking like she was my woman was taking crazy to the next level.”

Fine as you are, you’d drive any woman a little crazy, I thought.

I looked around my office, still amazed. “So, you sent me a shit ton of flowers to make your point?”