The Fire Inside (34 page)

Shaking off her thoughts, determined to
succeed, she entered the building and shivered. The dress was
sleeveless and light and she hadn’t thought to bring a sweater,
though Mags had insisted she carry a purse. She took the elevator
to the twenty-third floor, which opened to the firm she would work
with on this new building—a music hall in Queens. Her company,
Pettrone and Ludzecky Builders, had gotten the construction bid
from the city, and Armstrong Associates were chosen to design it.
She and the architect were meeting over the preliminary plans
already drawn up by one of their own structural engineers, the firm
and the city.

Though Paulina preferred older, classic
structures, the contemporary suite of offices was stunning. Teak
double doors opened to a large anteroom with a receptionist. The
woman sat behind a sleek desk, with curved legs and an angled top.
“Hello. I’m Lana Bright. You must be Ms. Pettrone. Our ten o’clock
with you.”

“Yes to both.”

Lana rose and said, “Follow me.” They went
down another short corridor, to a second set of double doors, which
mirrored the outside ones. Lana knocked, and a deep voice within
called out, “Come in, Lana.”

A man stood looking out at a panorama of
windows that faced New York’s skyline. He turned at the whisper of
the door and approached them. “Ms. Pettrone. Nice to meet you. I’m
Adam Armstrong.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Armstrong.”

He was…arresting. His features were chiseled,
his blond hair cut short enough to be neat, but long enough to let
the sun highlight it. His eyes were grass green.

Holy shit, she thought. If she was scoping
out her business associates, Paulina really needed to find a
man.

o0o

The woman’s fingers were callused, Adam
noticed when he shook her hand, and she didn’t wear a speck of
makeup. But she looked quite different in person than she had on
her firm’s website. More feminine, he guessed, though he never went
for rounded cheeks and freckles. Adam appreciated the ability of
women to use makeup cleverly to enhance their looks. “Come in. May
I call you Paulina?”

“Most people call me Paulie.”

God, no, not a boy’s name. Though she was
plain, he preferred the more sophisticated form of address. “Call
me Adam, too. Can Lana get you something?”

She shook her head and a few tendrils of hair
escaped her functional braid. Soft, blonder, they kissed her
face.

“Then let’s sit.”

They took chairs at an oval teak table facing
the city. Her eyes widened like a child’s as she perused the
skyline. Right away, he knew this woman wouldn’t dissemble, which
would be a welcome change from some business partners he’d dealt
with. “What a pretty office, Adam, and a gorgeous view.”

“It’s inspirational.”

“I’ll bet.” Smiling, she still gazed out the
window. “I love all the styles, sizes, heights of the buildings in
the city.”

“I do, too.” Though nobody had ever voiced
his love of New York like that. Glancing down, he’d unfolded the
rolled up blue prints. “Ready?”

The corners of her mouth turned up.

“What?”

“You sound like a little kid opening a
present.”

He chuckled. “I guess that's how I feel about
my work. Even though you’ve gone over the preliminary drawings with
your structural engineer out at the site, you haven’t seen the
actual building.”

“Go for it.”

The façade was the first sheet on top.
Paulina Pettrone recoiled when she saw it. What the hell? He waited
as she leaned back in and examined every inch of it, then raised
her gaze to his. Tinged with green now, her eyes were filled with
appreciation. “I didn’t expect this.”

“Is something wrong?” Not only did the notion
tick him off, but he felt a bit like somebody had told him his baby
was ugly.

“I’m surprised at the traditional arches and
windows. Carvings into the stone. The classic lines.” She gestured
to encompass the office. “I was anticipating something more modern
like this.”

“The city wants a classic look for the
exterior. That style fits in with the neighboring buildings. But
the inside has more modern elements.” He stared down at his plans.
“Besides, it will house some of the greatest music in the world so
it should be a combination of both.”

This time, her brows furrowed. “I’m glad you
believe in matching the exterior with its surroundings.”

He’d been compared to Frank Lloyd Wright,
whose mantra was just that. He wouldn’t brag to her, though.

She took a bead on him. “I checked you out
online. Now I remember the comparison to Wright. Very nice.”

“Thank you.” Her gaze went back to the plans,
as if she couldn’t stop looking at them. That tickled him. After he
let her study his designs, he asked, “Do you think you can handle
the outside?”

“Of course.” She seemed amused at his
question, making him feel silly. “We’ve done older facades like
this before. I’ve worked on all of them.” Now her eyes twinkled.
“Literally. I helped set stone in place and built the arches.”

“You’ve been in the contracting business for
ten years.”

“Uh-huh. I started right out of high school,
but ended up getting a degree in building construction at a local
college and took several more structural engineering courses.”

Since he was aware of what had happened to
her, he felt he needed to confront it. “I know your husband and his
twin brother started the business fifteen years ago. Is it all
right if I say how sorry I am for the accident?”

The light went out of those eyes. It didn’t
dim, it was doused completely. And was startling. He’d never seen
that kind of transformation before. “Yes, you can say that. It’s
worse when new people ignore that he’s gone.”

Adam squeezed her arm. Now that part of her
skin was silky. Interesting! “Then I’m glad I said something.”

“Don’t you want to know if I can handle the
job since I’ve only been in charge three years?”

“Word on the street says you and Don were
equal partners.”

Her laugh was soft. Sincere. “I like that. He
would, too.”

“Good. Let me show you the inside of the
building. There are some complicated sections.”

Her chin raised and his attention dropped to
the cuffed neckline of the dress. “I’ll be able to handle
them.”

“You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you
could, Paulina.”

“I know. Now show me your baby.”

o0o

Adam sat in the back seat of his limo
fingering the cell phone Paulina Pettrone had left behind in his
office. She’d checked the time on it, and must have thought she’d
slipped it back in her purse. Lana spotted it under the chair.

She seemed uncomfortable with the leather
purse she carried and maybe even in the dress she wore. He hadn’t
expected the woman he saw online to have clothes like that. He’d
pegged her as what they used to call a tomboy, but she was
certainly feminine when she showed up today.

But what the hell did he really know about
women?

Do you realize you call your buildings
she
? You’re married to them, not to me. All you think about is
work.

To be honest, at the time, Bethany had been
right. He’d just joined his father’s firm after graduating from
Cornell and in typical dad fashion, Andrew Armstrong had told him
he’d have to earn his way. Adam had not only risen to his father’s
expectations, but enjoyed the sense of accomplishment. He’d worked
hard to please his dad, but himself, too. Unfortunately, Bethany
couldn’t wait for success to come their way and had an affair with
his best friend. He didn’t know what hurt more—losing his wife, or
his longtime buddy, which in itself said something about his
marriage.

“The site’s right up here, Adam.”

Adam could see the trailer labeled
Pettrone and Ludzecky Builders
and the frame of a building
behind them. The scent of fresh cut wood filled his head after he
opened the door. “Thanks, Joe. I’ll only be a minute.”

Joe had been with him for years so it wasn’t
odd that his driver turned around in the seat wiggled his brows.
“Must be some woman to go this far out of your way.”

“What?”

“Bringing the phone to her instead of having
me run it out. You must like her.”

“No, actually, I just met her. And she’s not
my type.” He thought of Elyssa, the woman he currently dated, with
the sleek short hair and long lean body.

Joe faced forward again. “Uh-huh.”

Since it was seven at night, the site was
deserted. No vehicles were parked on the grass, but there was a
light on in the trailer. After he exited his car, he walked over to
it and knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Then he heard, “Who is
it?”

“Adam Armstrong. You left your cell phone in
my office and I had a meeting out this way, so I’m returning
it.”

Nothing. Then he heard the lock snick.
Paulina opened the door. The first thing he noticed was she held a
baseball bat. The second was she wore men’s clothes, reinforcing
his tomboy expectation. And last, she was dirty…really dirty. Her
face was smudged. The T-shirt that was once white, was…dingy. Jeans
sported patches of mud. Clunky work boots scuffed and caked. “Hi.”
She nodded to the phone. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“No problem.”

“I’m not used to carrying a purse. I usually
stick the cell in my pocket. But then again, I didn’t have one of
those, either.”

Her confession stumped him. No coyness from
her. And she certainly wasn’t trying to impress him. “Um,
okay.”

She shook her head. Her hair was pulled back
and tied at her neck with a big clip. “It’s Mags’ fault. She made
me take the damn thing.”

“Mags?”

“Magdalena, my sister. She dressed me for our
meeting.” Her hand went to her mouth. “Oops, I don’t think I was
supposed to tell you that.”

“Why?”

“She thought I should look more
sophisticated.” The sound that came out of her mouth was almost a
snort. “As if.”

“You looked perfectly lovely.” He gave his
version of a snort, then scanned her up and down. “Quite a
difference from now. What the hell did you do today?”

“They were putting in the bathroom piping and
somebody had to go into the crawlspace beneath. I went because I’m
the littlest. Not that I’m little. But smaller than the guys.”

“Interesting.” He couldn’t help but smile.
Who would have known once he got her talking, she would ramble on.
And reveal a lot about herself.

“Sorry for running my mouth. I got nervous
when you came to the door.”

He nodded to the bat, which she still gripped
in a gritty hand. “That’s not much protection. I could wrest it
away from you in seconds.”

“Ha! No way.”

“Want to bet?”

“Sure. You can buy me a beer sometime if I
win, and if I lose, I’ll treat you to one of those stupid, fancy
martinis that comes in all flavors.”

It was his turn to chuckle.

She eased her way outside. Night hadn’t
fallen but they were in shadows. He thought briefly how this so
wasn’t him, but her playfulness was contagious. Whipping off his
jacket and hanging it on the doorknob to the trailer, he took a
crouching stance. “Go ahead, try to hit me.”

Raising that bat, she winked. “Don’t worry, I
got good reflexes. I won’t hurt you.”

She aimed for his shoulder, but he parried
out of the way. She pivoted fast and went for his hip. Again, he
evaded. When she tried to get around him, he caught the end of the
bat and snatched it from her.

“I told you…”


His feet went out from under him—and he went
sprawling face first in the dirt.

She laughed. “I wouldn’t call that a
win.”

Sitting up, he dangled his hands between his
legs. “I got the bat but you got me. For the record, I wasn’t
prepared for a street fight.”

“Always be prepared for a street fight. My
brother taught me that.” She held out her hand.

Taking it, he rolled to his feet. But he
didn’t let go. “When?” he asked.

“When what?”

“When can I take you for the beer?”

“Oh, forget it. Let’s call it a tie.”

Suddenly, he didn’t want to forget it.
“I--”

“Mr. Armstrong?” the voice came out from
under a nearby tree—full of humor.

“Hell, did you see that, Joe?”

“Every bit. I’d say you’re losin’ your
touch.”

Adam smiled. “Joe Corleone, this is Paulina
Pettrone. She’s building the music hall.”

“So you said.” Joe turned an affectionate
look on Paulina. “Hello, Mrs. Pettrone.”

“Mr. Corleone.”
Her
expression turned
mischievous again. “Should I, like, be afraid of you?”

A deep laugh rumbled out of Joe. “Maybe. I
got connections, lady.”

Was Joe flirting with Paulina? She must like
Italian men given who she married.

Paulina bestowed an equally flirty smile on
Joe. “Well, I have a few things to finish and then I’m
leaving.”

Glancing around, Adam frowned. “Where’s your
car?”

“My truck’s back home. Magdalena drove me
into the city this morning, I caught a train back out here. I’ll
call a cab tonight.”

“Won’t your family come?”

“Yeah, they would. But then my sister
will…never mind. I’ll be fine.”

Joe said, “We aren’t goin’ anywhere without
you. You shouldn’t be out here all alone.”

Her face saddened. “Yeah, you’re right. I
have to be careful for my boys. You never know when disaster will
strike.”

Stillness, full of grief invaded the
night.

“So you’ll come with us.”

“I’m a mess. I’ll dirty up the car.”

“No problems, I’ll get a blanket out of the
trunk."

They waited while she locked up, then headed
to the car. Joe opened the back door for Adam, but Paulina grabbed
the blanket and then the handle of the front door. “I’ll ride up
here with your chauffeur.”