By Design (2 page)

“It
is. What about cost?”

Jameson
took a sip of her coffee. “That depends a great deal on materials, and on what
might
be discovered
underneath all the
layers. I can get you a ballpark figure on the exterior and the addition.
Interior costs will depend on what you choose for materials. I’ll send you some
samples and ideas. I have the photos you sent; any photos you have through the
years will be helpful. I’ll try to find similar options wherever possible. You
see what strikes you. We can go from there. That is, assuming you think my
proposal is
doable
?”

Candace
narrowed her gaze at the architect. “Why don’t you get me that information and
I will make my assessment of its
‘doability,'
shall we say?”

“Is
that a political term?” Jameson asked. Candace’s reply was a simple wink. “This
could be very interesting,” Jameson thought silently. “Very.”

“You
left a few details out,” Senator Fletcher pointed to her press secretary.

“Mwah?”
Dana feigned her innocence. Candace arched a fair eyebrow at her friend. “What
did you think of J.D.?” Dana asked, barely concealing a sly smirk.

“Intelligent,
charming, witty,” Candace said a bit whimsically.

“And?”
Dana urged knowingly.

“Oh
no, you don’t! I know where this is heading.”

“Come
on now, Senator; admit it. She’s not hard to look at,” Dana said.

“She’s
young enough to be my daughter,” Candace said flatly.

“She’s
thirty-five, Candy.”

“Are
you trying to help me remodel my home or are you trying to
reconstruct
my love life?” Candace asked.

“Well,
they are both a bit dusty, so they could both use a little attention; if you
ask me.”

“I
didn’t ask you,” Candace replied a bit harshly.

Dana
sighed and shook her head. “Are you going to hire her?”

Candace
sipped her coffee and took a seat across from her friend. “Yes….to work on the
house; not to remodel my love life.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Dana,”
Candace called in her best warning tone.

“Why
not; b
ecause she’s younger than you?
Come
on, don’t tell me you don’t find her attractive.”

Candace
kneaded her temples. She had been thinking about Jameson more frequently than
she ever planned to admit to her friend. It wasn’t J.D.’s looks that had
engaged Candace the most; not that she hadn’t noticed how attractive the
architect was. J.D. Reid possessed a quality that Candace did not
often find
in others. She carried herself with
a quiet confidence that enhanced her natural good looks. That was the only way
Candace could think to describe the younger woman; natural. Jameson had long,
chestnut hair that fell in natural waves just below her shoulders. If the
architect had been wearing any makeup, it had not been
readily
detectable. The feature that captured Candace’s attention
the most were Jameson Reid’s eyes. They were a soft brown that Candace had
noticed seemed to lighten to a faint golden tone when Jameson was amused or
intrigued; something that seemed to occur quite often in their short time
together. Candace had enjoyed Jameson’s company. Their conversation had wound
its way into late evening. Jameson had shared a bit about her family and
reluctantly admitted that she knew very little about baseball. Candace had even
found herself opening up about her life far more than was customary to a
virtual stranger.

Dana
tried not to laugh at the expression on the senator’s face. She’d met Candace
Fletcher when she was interning for another senator during college, and
immediately decided that someday she would work for Senator Fletcher. She
admired the older woman. Dana valued the senator both as a friend and as a
mentor. Those who were closest to Candace Fletcher understood that her life had
become lonely in the last few years. A year after Candace’s divorce, the
senator had become involved with Jessica Stearns; a prominent New York lawyer.
The relationship had lasted seven years. In that time, Dana had seen Candace
happier than ever before. The ending of the relationship, however, proved
painful and bitter. Jessica had
been caught
in an affair with another lawyer in her firm. It had
been splashed
across the news media, made its way onto nearly every
magazine
cover
and tainted Candace’s
political clout for nearly a year. Worse, it had devastated the senator
personally. Trust was a precious commodity in political life. The senator had
risked a great deal to follow her heart. Her political career had
been tested
with
her decision
to come out as a lesbian at all. The announcement of her
relationship with the
attorney
and the
ensuing personal appearances as a couple drew a bevy of critics with harsh and
hurtful words. Candace’s children had struggled with the demise of their
parents’ marriage, and then with their mother’s new reality. Jessica’s betrayal
was heartbreaking for Candace. She poured herself into her work after that. And,
she kept her distance from potential romantic entanglements. It had been more
than a few years since Dana had witnessed the sparkle in Candace’s eye that
just mentioning Jameson prompted.

“Senator?”
Candace heard Dana calling to her and suddenly realized that she had drifted
off in thought. “Is that it?”

“What?”
Candace asked.

“The
age difference. Is that what bothers you about J.D.?”

Candace
sighed heavily. “Dana, I barely know her. And, I have no interest in a
relationship with anyone. You know that.”

“If
you say so.”

“I
do say so, so let’s just change the subject,” Candace replied abruptly.

“When
are you seeing her again?” Dana persisted.

“What?”

“Well,
you said you were hiring her. I would assume that means you will be seeing her
again,” Dana pointed out.

“I
don’t know,” Candace said. “We’ve exchanged a few emails. Pearl will take care
of whatever she needs while I am away,” Candace attempted to end the
conversation. “Now, what is on today’s agenda?”

Dana
sighed inwardly and proceeded to hand the senator the day’s press schedule.
Candace continually kneaded at her temples as she reviewed
it
and played with the glasses resting on the
bridge of her nose. Dana was
certain
that
the senator’s behavior
was driven
by
something other than the day’s schedule. It might not have been obvious to most
people; Dana was
sure
that J.D. Reid had
piqued Candace Fletcher’s curiosity. “I wonder what J.D. thought of you,” she
mused silently.

***

“No,
Melanie. I am headed back upstate today,” Jameson said.

“The
project with the senator, or are you just heading toward home?” Melanie McKenna
asked.

“Both,”
Jameson replied without looking up from her desk.

“So,
what’s she like?” Melanie asked her boss. Jameson
was focused
on the sketches Melanie had brought in for her to
review and did not respond to the question. “Hello! Earth to J.D.!” she called
again.

“What?”

“I
asked what she is like.”

“Who?”
Jameson asked as he studied the papers before her.

“Senator
Fletcher; what’s she like?”

Jameson
pushed the plans aside and looked up at her friend. “She’s
nice
enough.”

“She’s
nice
enough? Oh, come on, J.D.! Is she a
dragon lady or is she all prim and proper?”

“What
is your fascination with Candace?”

“Candace?
Hum, that’s pretty informal. What happened to Senator Fletcher?”

Jameson
rolled her eyes. “Since when are you so interested in a politician?”

“Candace
Fletcher is not just a
politician,
J.D.
She’s one of the most respected women in Washington.”

Jameson
chuckled. “Do you have a crush on my client?” Melanie shrugged. “You do! You
have a crush on Candace Fletcher!” Jameson laughed.

“So
what if I do?”

“Mel,
might I remind you that you and the
good
senator bat for different teams,” Jameson said.

“Well,
I can be flexible.”

Jameson
shook her head in amusement. Melanie was the newest and youngest architect in
Jameson’s firm. She was bright, energetic, and talented. Jameson had to admit
that the main reason she brought Melanie
on,
however,
was her humor. “Uh-huh,” Jameson
raised an eyebrow. “Older women and younger men, huh?”

“Whatever
works. Besides, Candace Fletcher is gorgeous,” Melanie commented.
 
Jameson looked back at the papers on her desk
and gave a slight nod. “She is; isn’t she? Huh? Come on, J.D.! Is it all camera
tricks or is she as stunning in person?”

“She’s
attractive,” Jameson said quietly.

Melanie
grinned slyly. “She’s single; you know?”

“Mm-hm.”

“And,
she is a lesbian.”

“Yes,
I think I might have heard
that,”
Jameson
replied.

“So,
maybe you….”

“Enough
matchmaking. She’s a client, Mel. But, if you are interested
….
”

“Yeah,
yeah,” Melanie laughed.

Jameson
smiled. “Plans look good,” she complimented the younger woman’s work. “Be ready
to present it next week,” she instructed as she made her way to retrieve her
jacket. “Bryan will lead the meeting.”

“You’re
not going to be here?” Melanie asked in disbelief. “J.D. this is
a huge
account.”

“Yes,
I know. You’ve done a fantastic job.
Branmore
will be thrilled with your proposal. Bryan will keep you steady.”

“Where
are you going to be?”

Jameson
winked. “I have my
own
client to take
care of; remember?”

Melanie
narrowed her gaze at her boss as Jameson strutted out of the office. “Oh, you
think you’re fooling me, huh?” she whispered as Jameson walked out the door.
“Not fooling me. You like the senator. Hah! I knew it!”

***

Pearl
opened the door and greeted Jameson with a warm smile. “Well, I guess she
didn’t scare you away,” she winked.

“Oh,
it would take more than an ornery old senator to scare me away from all this,”
Jameson gestured to the home.

“Well,
that’s good to know, Ms. Reid. Cause between you and me? My little Candy can be
a handful.”

Jameson
returned the older woman’s smile. “Known the senator a long time, I take it?”

“You
could say that
,”
Pearl replied as she led
Jameson through the house. “Her granddad hired me in nineteen sixty-eight.
Candy was eight,” the woman explained. Jameson tried to picture an
eight-year-old
Candace. She snickered. Pearl
led Jameson through the house into the kitchen and directed her to take a seat.
“Hard to imagine her that way; I know.”

Jameson
smiled. “Not
really
,” she said.

Pearl
nodded. She had kept quiet with the senator about her suspicions. After Jameson
Reid’s first visit she had noticed a lift in Candace’s spirits, and a
measurable bounce in the senator’s step. At first, Pearl had chalked up the
change to Candace’s excitement over finally remodeling the house. It was a
project she had talked about for years. This
house
,
Pearl understood, meant a great deal to Candace Fletcher. As a child, Candace
found any excuse she
could to
visit her
grandparents. When her father inherited the house, he had immediately passed it
on to her brother David. Candace’s disappointment had been evident. As soon as
David expressed an interest in selling the home, Candace swept in.

It
was also evident to the older woman that there was more to Candace’s sudden
shift in moods.
 
Candace was like a
daughter to Pearl. It had always been impossible for Candace to hide the truth
from the older woman about anything. Pearl began to suspect that the young
woman now seated in front of her might be the cause of Candace’s vitalized
spirit. Pearl had entered the kitchen the morning after Jameson’s first visit to
find the senator engrossed in her computer. That was not unusual. What struck
the older woman as strange was the grin that kept edging its way onto Candace’s
expression. She watched
curiously
as
Candace would shake her head, type furiously, and then chuckle. She finally
asked what had the senator so amused at six-thirty on a chilly November
morning.

“One second,” Candace had replied. “No parakeets
in the living room,” Candace muttered. Pearl wrinkled her nose in confusion as
Candace hit the enter button on her keyboard dramatically. “What did you ask
me?” Candace turned her attention briefly to the older woman.

“I asked what
has
you so amused this early in the morning,” Pearl repeated her question.

Candace started to answer and then looked at the
computer screen. “
Orinthophobe
! Ha! She
probably thinks I need to look that up.”

Pearl shook her head. “You dealing with another
health care
bill?” Pearl guessed.

“What?” Candace asked. “Oh, no,” she said as she
typed. “Smart ass. No, no, Pearl, I am dealing with a snarky architect.”

“Is there a cure?” Pearl asked cheekily.

Candace was gloating
over something
she had written. “A cure for the snarky
or for
the architect?” Candace quipped. Pearl
turned away to conceal her smirk. She heard Candace let forth a caustic
chuckle. “Yeah, I know. I know what a hip roof is. No, I don’t think they had
them at Woodstock, you lunatic! And, no I wasn’t there. I was nine.”