Chapter Twenty-Six
Charlotte
The mayor put his arms on the large round table, leaned forward, and looked at Emery and the builder while he said, “I’m really excited about this project, gentlemen.”
Three and a half hours was how long they had been sitting there, indulging on the nine courses that had been served. The sommelier had paired just as many wines, swapping out empty glasses for full ones. Charlotte was on the verge of slurring. She wasn’t there yet, but close.
Still, the whole evening had unraveled perfectly.
Once Charlotte and Emery arrived, they were taken into a private dining room. That was what Charlotte had requested when she’d made the reservation, telling the receptionist who was in the party and their need for a more secluded space. The room they were brought to was magnificent, lit only by candles. Everything on the table was mirrored and glass, causing the fiery reflection to shimmer off each surface.
“I knew you would be,” the builder replied to the mayor. “A building with this prestige and exclusivity is exactly what the Back Bay needed.”
The mayor looked at Emery and said, “I had been envisioning something in that space for a long time. I didn’t want something too modern. I certainly wasn’t looking for traditional. We needed different, but without a stark contrast so the skyline weighs equally in every spot.” The mayor twirled his glass on top of the table, causing the little wine that was left inside to swirl. “What you designed, Emery, is more than any of us could have ever imagined.”
The mayor’s wife nodded. So did the builder and his wife. They all gazed at Emery with so much adoration in their eyes. But none of them were smiling as hard as Charlotte. She might not have been there when he was designing the tower, however she didn’t need to be. She saw how hard her boss worked, how many hours he put in every day. It was inspiring and motivating and so incredibly sexy—she had thought that from the moment she saw him online. The wine just forced her to focus on it.
“Thank you,” Emery responded.
They were the humblest two words Charlotte had ever heard.
The builder grabbed the top of Emery’s arm and shook it, laughing with him, showing Emery how pleased he was with his performance. “The residents of Boston have no idea what’s about to hit them. We’re going to start the biggest bidding war this city has ever seen.”
From what Charlotte had learned so far, Emery wouldn’t be a part of that. His responsibility was solely the design of the structure and how to build it. Everything else, like the bidding war that could occur, had nothing to do with her boss. But, if that did happen, it would just be another accolade he could add to his growing list of accomplishments.
Charlotte was sure it would. This building was that special.
“Before we start arguing about price per square foot,” the mayor said to the builder, “let’s get to the more important question at hand.” He wiped the corners of his mouth even though he’d finished eating over twenty minutes ago. “You’re scheduled to break ground in exactly two months. I need to know if you’re going to make that date.” Before anyone had a chance to respond, he went on, “I know how these timelines work. What you have projected can be far from reality and many factors come into play to get these babies off the ground.” His stare slowly moved between the two men but settled on the builder. “I’m going to make things happen on my end—clearing permits, rerouting traffic, getting you fast inspections. But I need a date and I need it to be set in stone.”
Two months was what they had announced to the public. But Charlotte knew how much work needed to be done before construction could start. Her and Emery had made a list when she first began working for him. It was extensive. She had been working her way through it and there was still so much to do.
There were multiple pieces to this puzzle and Charlotte was the first one.
Emery looked at her and in his eyes was a question. He wanted to know if she could make the deadline.
They both knew it would be almost impossible. Three months was more reasonable. Four was still not enough, but it would give them much more room.
Emery didn’t have four. He had two. And he needed a commitment from Charlotte, or the entire timeline would have to be adjusted.
Charlotte was taking a huge risk by giving him this answer. She was already losing sleep, it would only get worse if she suddenly had a hard cutoff date in addition to the workload she was already carrying for Emery, so all of his focus could go on 3 Stuart Street.
It was going to be tight.
It was going to be a painful two months.
She was sure this could be the wine talking, but she opened her mouth and said, “I can make it happen on my end.” By agreeing to the date, she was giving Emery, the builder, and the mayor her promise and she didn’t take that lightly.
Emery glanced at the builder, silently asking him the same question. Charlotte wasn’t the only one who could hold things up. They each had responsibilities that were equally as challenging to complete.
Several seconds passed before Charlotte saw a slight nod of the builder’s head.
“You have our commitment,” Emery said to the mayor.
Charlotte immediately felt a rush inside her chest now that the date had been locked into place. For these two months, she decided she needed to focus only on her job, which meant the girls’ night scheduled for next week was going to have to be cancelled and the trip she was going to take her nieces on to Rhode Island would have to be postponed until spring.
Somehow, she’d get it all done.
She had to—for Emery and because she never went back on her word.
As though Emery could sense her anxiety, he gave her a calming look. It didn’t help. The list of items that needed to be checked off wasn’t getting any smaller while she was sitting here. She needed to get back to the hotel and open her laptop and fine tune the list, coming up with a game plan to ensure everything got completed.
“I knew I could count on you boys,” the mayor replied, sounding more than pleased. “And you,” he said to Charlotte, “the bubbly little pulse behind it all.” He filled his mouth with the rest of his wine and swallowed it in one gulp. “Now that we have that settled, I think it’s time to call it a night.”
Everyone stood and began to put on their coats. Charlotte did the same but struggled with her sleeve. She felt someone move in behind her and straighten it, making it easier to slip her arm through. When she turned around, she saw that it was Emery.
“Thank you,” she said softly.