Crimson Footprints (24 page)

Deena colored.

A smattering of laughter
echoed through the break room and Walter flashed an innocent, yet
pleased smile. But when Daichi entered, the room
silenced.

He made a beeline for
Deena.

“
Stop eating.”

Deena froze, sandwich in
hand. They had the attention of the room. The whole
room.

“
What’s wrong,
Daichi?”

“
I had no idea you took
lunch so early.” He frowned at his watch. “In any case, I’ve made
reservations at Del Mar. We can start—”

“
Del Mar!” Walter
cried.

A forbidding sort of silence
penetrated the room. Daichi turned on Walter and silenced the
distance between them.

“
You’ve an objection, Mr.
Smith?”

Automatically, Walter took a
step back. “No, sir. It’s just—well, with all due
respect—”

“
Please. Such preambles are
contrived and insincere. Do not impose on my time by subjecting me
to one.”

“
Well, o.k. I just wanted
to say—well, everyone wants to say, really—“

“
Everyone?” Daichi scanned
the break room. With better than twenty architects present, he
found that only Deena would look at him.

“
Has there been an
election, Walter? Are you now an elected
representative?”

“
No, sir. I
just—”

“
My patience wears
thin.”

“
Sir, does seniority not
play a part in your decisions? I’ve been with this company for
seven years and—”

“
Please, I’ve not the
aptitude for company politics. If you’ve a direct statement please
make it at this time.”

“
Alright, fine,” Walter’s
slight chest swelled with the deep breath he took.

“
I would like to say that I
think you could’ve picked someone more qualified to assist you on
the Skylife project. Someone who knows more than her. Someone who
doesn’t take unauthorized vacations for weeks at a
stretch.”

Deena swallowed.

“
I see.” Daichi scanned the
room. “Who feels that they would’ve been better suited for this
project?”

Slowly, all hands went
up.

“
I see,” he repeated.
Briefly, Daichi scanned the mutineers with interest. He then turned
to their elected representative. “Walter! Tell me this. What are
the three principles of
firmitatis
utilitatis venustatis
that all good
buildings must satisfy?”

“
I beg your pardon
sir?”

“
Deena?”

She leapt to her
feet.

“
Yes, Daichi?”

“
The three principles. Name
them.”

“
Durability, utility and
beauty, sir.”

Daichi brushed past Walter,
his eyes fell on a lean and gray-haired peer.

“
You. Give us a common
interpretation of Islamic architecture.”

The gray haired man blinked.
“Islamic, you say?”

“
Deena!”

“
The repeating themes in
Islamic architecture commonly evoke Allah’s infinite power and
suggest infinity.”

Daichi moved quickly, to a
long and raw-boned man with blonde hair and small eyes. “Hudson.
Criticisms of sustainable architecture. Now.”

“
Sir I wasn’t aware
that—”

“
Deena.”

She fired off
automatically.“Sustainable architecture isn’t a discipline within
our field exclusively, but a concern for the construction industry
as a whole.”

Daichi turned on Jennifer
Swallows, eyes daring her to so much as move. “Shall I question you
as well, or was the humiliation of your ignorant peers sufficient
enough?”

“
More than sufficient,
thank you.”

Daichi nodded and turned on
his audience, smiling broadly. “There now pupils, not so grim,.
You’ve earned more fodder for your rumor mill. Now, you and your
peers can speculate as to how long you’ll be gainfully
employed.”

With a nod towards Deena,
Daichi exited a deathly silent break room. She tossed her sandwich
and scurried after him, careful not to look back.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE

They met at the close of
each day to discuss her progress on Skylife. In the early stages,
these meetings ran only until dinner, with Daichi questioning or
making suggestions and Deena sitting, pen in hand, eager to lap up
his thoughts. But as the year progressed, and her dream team
assembled—Hudson, Marshall and even Mahmoud—their meetings grew
longer and took on an altogether different tone.

“
Your design has been
garnering quite a bit of excitement,” Daichi said, his eyes on
Deena as she scooped pad thai from the take-out container they
shared.

“
So I’ve heard.”

“
People are saying it’s
where eco-friendly will finally meet opulence.”

Deena rolled her eyes.
“Eco-friendly is a vague and commercialized term with no real
value. And even if it weren’t,” she paused to brush bits of crushed
peanuts aside with her chopsticks. “It would be an inherent
contradiction.”

“
The best architecture in
the world is contradictory, Deena.”

He paused long enough to
place food in his mouth, chew and swallow. “Have you prepared the
briefs on site selection yet?”

Deena nodded. “I have a
clear favorite, but of course, the choice is yours.” She pushed
aside a stack of papers on his desk, reached into her briefcase and
handed him the briefing.

“
And your favorite
is?”

“
Key Biscayne. South Pointe
is second.”

“
Fine. I’ll keep it in
mind.”

Daichi watched Deena, his
scowl deepening each time she picked through her food. “Why don’t
you just have them omit the peanuts?” he demanded impatiently. “Why
do you always go to such trouble?”

He swiveled out to the
fridge behind his desk, grabbed two bottles of Perrier and handed
one to Deena. Behind him, open blinds revealed the city skyline and
the ocean just beyond, enveloped in darkness.

“
Because you like peanuts.
Whenever we have Thai you get extra.”

He softened. “Peanuts are an
excellent source of protein. You shouldn’t omit them from your diet
without careful consideration.”

Deena rolled her eyes. “I
like peanuts fine. Just not with my chicken.”

Daichi took a sip of
imported water before returning to his carton for more pad
thai.

“
Have you seen the latest
copy of
Issues in
Design
? There’s an excellent article on
the benefits of beach nourishment,” he said after several moments.
Beach nourishment was the replacement of sand lost through
erosion.

“
I read it,” Deena
said.

“
And your
thoughts?”

“
You know my thoughts.” She
looked up. “It’s a risky enterprise. When improperly done it has a
drastic impact on the ecosystem. Even when properly done the rate
of erosion is obscene. The article skirted that. It read like
propaganda.”

Daichi grinned. “But you
must realize the advantages. You live on a stretch of beach that
has benefited from just such a practice. There’s ample research to
indicate that the breadth of a beach has a direct impact on storm
surges and—”

Deena waved a dismissive
hand. “I know the research. And as always, you speak in
absolutes.”

“
Absolutes?”

“
Yes. As if there are no
alternatives,” she said dryly.

His smile widened. “Like
revetments.”

“
Exactly.”

Deena maneuvered more pad
thai into her mouth with chopsticks. “Beach nourishment is a
commercial enterprise fueled by the tourism industry and it needs
to be presented as such. Don’t tell me about the benefits during a
hurricane when the real issue is the benefit during tourist
season.”

She chased her food with a
gulp of water. “By the way, I can’t stay late tonight.”

“
No?” A flash of
disappointment crossed his face.

“
I’m going to a baseball
game tomorrow. It’s a long drive. Five hours. And though it sounds
trivial, it’s really important that I be there.”

After all, she thought, it
wasn’t everyday that Kenji made it to the state
championships.

Daichi eyed her carefully.
“There’s work to be done.”

“
There’s always work to be
done. And I always do it,” Deena said.

Daichi shrugged as if
conceding the point.

“
You must be quite the
fan,” he said finally. “I never would’ve envisioned it. You, among
the drunkards, perhaps in a smart past of slacks, reveling in
America’s favorite pastime.”

Deena smiled. “Not so much.
I’m a fan of one player, in particular.” As an afterthought she
nearly added,
your son.

These were the cracks in the
dam, when her reverence for Daichi battled the reality of him being
a shitty father. Before her disappoint could leak through however,
her phone rang. She fished it out her briefcase and
answered.

“
Hey there, sweet cheeks.
Dad still holding you hostage?”

It was just past 7 p.m., and
a Friday night.

Deena smiled. “Yeah. Sort
of. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be. We’re just now
eating.”

“
Tell him I said not to
make you wait so long. You know you get those headaches when he
overworks you.”

“
I’ll do no such thing,”
Deena laughed. She glanced at Daichi, who scanned her briefings
with a frown.

“
Listen, I’ll catch a cab
to your place and let myself in.”

“
At which point you’ll tie
me to the bed and overpower me with rough hot sex,
right?”

Deena laughed.
“Riiiight.”

“
So say it.”

“
I will not!”

“
Repeat after me. Say, ‘I’m
sorry Daichi but I have to go fuck your son now.”

A shriek of laughter escaped
Deena and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Out the corner of her
eye she caught Daichi staring. “I’m hanging up. You’re making me
look like a fool.”

“
Fine. I’ll see you when
you get off. Try not to make it midnight again. We leave early
tomorrow.”

“
Yes, Ta—,” she froze with
the slip and was met by Tak’s laughter. “Don’t be so thrilled,” she
said instead. “I’ll see you soon.”

She turned off the phone and
looked up.

“
Boyfriend?” Daichi
guessed.

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Not surprising. You’re
attractive enough.” He returned to his food. “Has he been with you
since the start of the project?”

Deena nodded. He frowned as
if thinking this over.

“
It’s a difficult endeavor,
you know, balancing professional ambitions and personal
entanglements. Some of us are less successful than
others.”

Deena shifted; her eyes
careful on Daichi’s cluttered desk. He had no idea just how well
she’d been versed on his personal shortcomings.

“
You know, you don’t strike
me as the sort of woman satisfied with the trappings of
mediocrity,” Daichi suddenly said.

“
I beg your pardon,
sir?”

“
The trappings of
mediocrity. Commonness, if you will. I strain to envision a Deena
Hammond satisfied with a subservient role as wife and
mother.”

She raised a brow. “When I
become a wife and mother my role will be as equal, not
subordinate.”

Daichi shrugged. “Perhaps.
But do you suppose you might find happiness in a life weighted with
the roles of mother, wife and career woman? These are not
complimentary responsibilities. Often, you’ll find that your
success as an architect will be at the expense of your duties as
wife and mother. Perhaps even now you can see it in your
shortcomings as a romantic interest.”

Deena paused, thinking of
Tak’s warning not to arrive at midnight once again.

“
My boyfriend’s very
understanding. His father is…a successful businessman. He knows the
demands.”

Daichi watched her. He
cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat.

“
Make your choices wisely,
Deena.” He toyed with a weighty gold pen emblazoned with his
signature, eyes trained on it and not her.

“
Too often, it appears
beneficial to sacrifice leisure for career, family for success. I,
more than anyone, am guilty of this transgression.” He looked
up.

“
One cannot succeed in one
regard, without failing in another.
Time
and
People
call me the face and future
of architecture but my wife and sons call me a
stranger.”