to the press. They want to start a panic that will keep us from opening on time.”
Andi disappeared inside the building with the two arguing men, and the other workers relaxed their stances a bit, talking quietly among themselves. “Shouldn’t you be taking care of this?” Justin asked, uncomfortable at the thought of her alone with them.
Wes shrugged. “I’ve butted heads with them already this morning—if I get into it again it might come to blows. Besides, the builder for this part is right there. I coordinate all of the building overall, but I have to let each builder fight his own battles with the inspectors. Unless Andi wants to get involved, that is. She’s the president and CEO. Can’t get any higher than that.” He laughed. “Besides, I don’t like to be around when she’s on the rampage.”
A few more moments went by, and Justin felt his muscles thicken with tension. Nervously, he brushed his bottom lip with his finger. “What are they doing in there?”
“Probably pulling out nails to prove they used the right size or showing the idiot the paint to prove it doesn’t have a lead base—some such nonsense.”
“Andi has to keep up with all that?”
Wes gave a hoarse chuckle. “Andi keeps up with everything. She spends most of her time out here with these men. Even if one of our contractors wanted to slip in low-grade materials, they wouldn’t get past both of us. Andi doesn’t take chances, and she intends to settle the inspectors’ minds before she opens this park.”
Andi came back out of the building followed by the two men, who seemed calmer now. Her face was still tight and authoritative, and without another word, she got back into the car and started it.
“Everything all right?” Justin asked.
“Just fine,” she bit out. “Everything’s just great. Givens sent him in here to get a sample of one of the rafters. Said one of his reporters got a tip that it was green wood.”
B.W. Givens, Justin thought. The man who owned Shreveport’s newspaper and one of the television stations, and who had most of the town’s government in his pocket. The man who had made no secret that he planned to find a reason to keep the park from opening. The man whose propaganda had stirred the community into an uproar over the belief that Promised Land was certain to ruin the area. Stretching his arm across the back of her seat, Justin could almost feel the cold radiating from her.
As they parted on the twentieth floor so that Justin could confer with his attorney before the meeting began again, Andi was polite but distant. He watched thoughtfully as Wes followed her to her office, and suddenly he was filled with a deep, sinking feeling that he was no longer foremost in her mind. She had concerns and obligations that went far beyond whether or not the two of them still felt the old stirrings. The realization was disappointing, for it had somehow been rewarding to think that her primary concern, for a while, was him.
The shift in her interest left him cold and empty, for a memory plagued him, a memory of her eyes brightening at the mere sight of him, a memory of her every action having some relationship to him, a memory of love so strong that it had seemed ordained. But memories were no more than unattainable dreams, he reminded himself. And the yearnings that had been plaguing him since he’d first seen her a few days ago were just temporary results of surprise and fatigue. Somehow he would shake them.
He would not let her under his skin again.
Chapter Six
T he night sky outside Andi’s office window was bold and beautiful, reminding her that there was life outside Promised Land. Lately she had been working too hard and worrying too much. The days were never long enough for all she had to do, but the excitement of watching God’s work unfold before her eyes was all the motivation she needed. It escaped her how the employees of Promised Land could simply walk away at the end of the day when
Andi disappeared inside the building with the two arguing men, and the other workers relaxed their stances a bit, talking quietly among themselves. “Shouldn’t you be taking care of this?” Justin asked, uncomfortable at the thought of her alone with them.
Wes shrugged. “I’ve butted heads with them already this morning—if I get into it again it might come to blows. Besides, the builder for this part is right there. I coordinate all of the building overall, but I have to let each builder fight his own battles with the inspectors. Unless Andi wants to get involved, that is. She’s the president and CEO. Can’t get any higher than that.” He laughed. “Besides, I don’t like to be around when she’s on the rampage.”
A few more moments went by, and Justin felt his muscles thicken with tension. Nervously, he brushed his bottom lip with his finger. “What are they doing in there?”
“Probably pulling out nails to prove they used the right size or showing the idiot the paint to prove it doesn’t have a lead base—some such nonsense.”
“Andi has to keep up with all that?”
Wes gave a hoarse chuckle. “Andi keeps up with everything. She spends most of her time out here with these men. Even if one of our contractors wanted to slip in low-grade materials, they wouldn’t get past both of us. Andi doesn’t take chances, and she intends to settle the inspectors’ minds before she opens this park.”
Andi came back out of the building followed by the two men, who seemed calmer now. Her face was still tight and authoritative, and without another word, she got back into the car and started it.
“Everything all right?” Justin asked.
“Just fine,” she bit out. “Everything’s just great. Givens sent him in here to get a sample of one of the rafters. Said one of his reporters got a tip that it was green wood.”
B.W. Givens, Justin thought. The man who owned Shreveport’s newspaper and one of the television stations, and who had most of the town’s government in his pocket. The man who had made no secret that he planned to find a reason to keep the park from opening. The man whose propaganda had stirred the community into an uproar over the belief that Promised Land was certain to ruin the area. Stretching his arm across the back of her seat, Justin could almost feel the cold radiating from her.
As they parted on the twentieth floor so that Justin could confer with his attorney before the meeting began again, Andi was polite but distant. He watched thoughtfully as Wes followed her to her office, and suddenly he was filled with a deep, sinking feeling that he was no longer foremost in her mind. She had concerns and obligations that went far beyond whether or not the two of them still felt the old stirrings. The realization was disappointing, for it had somehow been rewarding to think that her primary concern, for a while, was him.
The shift in her interest left him cold and empty, for a memory plagued him, a memory of her eyes brightening at the mere sight of him, a memory of her every action having some relationship to him, a memory of love so strong that it had seemed ordained. But memories were no more than unattainable dreams, he reminded himself. And the yearnings that had been plaguing him since he’d first seen her a few days ago were just temporary results of surprise and fatigue. Somehow he would shake them.
He would not let her under his skin again.
Chapter Six
T he night sky outside Andi’s office window was bold and beautiful, reminding her that there was life outside Promised Land. Lately she had been working too hard and worrying too much. The days were never long enough for all she had to do, but the excitement of watching God’s work unfold before her eyes was all the motivation she needed. It escaped her how the employees of Promised Land could simply walk away at the end of the day when
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