Desire by Design - By Paula Altenburg Page 0,5
of Matt Brison’s caliber handling the final design on behalf of his company. Eve sighed. She also understood family. Matt Brison was trying to make his uncle happy.
Therefore, Eve knew she had only two real choices at this point—she could either be a gracious loser, or a poor one.
She settled on a combination of the two as her hand dropped onto the desk. She’d counted on this project to help her earn bigger design roles. Instead, she’d be fighting to keep the budget from getting out of control. She’d do it, though. Eve’s reputation as a project manager was every bit as important to her as Matt Brison’s was to him.
“I guess I should be welcoming you on board, then,” she said. “I’ll be happy to share some of my ideas with you.”
Eve made the offer with no real hope of it being accepted. She shuddered to think what expenses Matt Brison would incur. Architects considered themselves answerable only to God and always ran projects way over budget, leaving Eve holding the bag. Or, rather, a handful of invoices she would then have to justify.
Between the over-qualified architect and his moron uncle, Eve’s migraine medication would need to be taken at a double dose.
Chapter Two
Eve unclenched her fingers and took a deep breath. At least she controlled the purse-strings, and therefore, much of the project. That thought raised her flagging spirits. She could make an architect stick to a budget; she’d done it before. This architect was no different than any other she’d worked with.
Except this one was famous. And the mayor’s nephew.
She rubbed her aching temple.
“I’d love to see your ideas,” Matt said, his words catching her by surprise. “May I?”
Before she had time to recover, he’d flicked on a desk lamp and was standing in front of her drafting table, gazing down at house plans she’d finished a few nights ago for a private client. She’d picked them up from the printer on her way to work that morning so she could give them one last proof before dropping them off.
The irony of the situation did not escape her. She had just been criticizing one of the country’s finest young architects, yet his first sample of her own work—other than the plans he claimed to have reviewed—was to be the house plans for a client who could give Bob Anderson a run for his money.
She forced herself to move in a calm and assured manner when what she really wanted to do was dive across her desk and throw her body over those plans to hide them from sight. “Those are for a client who is very particular about what he wants.”
Matt stared at the plans, his expression noncommittal. The expensive Italian suit made her self-conscious about her own worn-out, shiny-kneed jeans, and she couldn’t remember if she’d put on any makeup that morning. When she worked on site, regulations required her to wear steel-toed boots and a hard hat. They said nothing about lipstick. She wished they were having this conversation in her office at Sullivan Construction, and she were wearing her high heels.
Chewing on her naked lower lip, Eve tried not to notice how very tall he was or how very blue those eyes were when he looked at her. She tried not to notice the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow on a strong jaw or that he had a slight cleft at the curve of his mouth. She also tried not to notice how her breath quickened when his arm brushed against her shoulder.
She was unsuccessful on all counts.
He ran a hand through his short-cropped black hair and glanced down at her. His eyes twinkled with a glimmer of sympathy. Pure, physical attraction struck her, hard.
“I’ve had difficult clients, too. Tell you what,” he continued. “Why don’t we schedule a meeting to share our ideas? That will give me time to get some sketches together to show you.”
Time to prepare would be good, although she was was too rattled to make a firm commitment. “I have a lot of work on the go right now, but I should be available early next week.”
They were still in front of the drafting table, standing too close together. Matt was making no signs of leaving, just watching her face, and Eve wasn’t sure what to do about it.
“I wouldn’t mind having a quick tour of this site,” he hinted, his incredible eyes crinkling at the corners.
While she was cautious of his motives, Eve wasn’t about to pass