Sultry Nights. Donna Hill

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       “As a matter of fact I have nothing but free time on my hands. I’d be more than happy to come in a couple of hours a day—just to help out,” she’d added.

       The couple of hours had turned into full days in no time, and quicker than that Phyllis had become Dominique’s right-hand assistant. She came to depend on her for more than help with running the business. Phyllis had begun to halfway fill the shoes that the loss of her mother had left empty.

       Which was why Dominique was perplexed by Phyllis’s vague response to her question. Phyllis may be a lot of things, but ambiguous was not one of them.

       As much as she wanted to dwell on Trevor Jackson, she didn’t have time. The women would be arriving shortly and she needed to be focused so that she could provide each lady with the attention that she deserved. But no matter how hard she tried to stay on point during the next two hours, images of Trevor kept popping up in front of her.

      * * *

       Trevor loaded the images from his camera onto the twenty-seven-inch iMac. He pointed out the major problems to Max and they both took notes. Trevor explained what it was that Dominique wanted and for the next few hours they worked on a series of sketches for the revised layout of the two floors.

       “I want to give her at least two options for each floor,” Trevor said. He raised his arms over his head, stretching out the tight muscles in his back.

       “By the looks of the walls and the plumbing issues that you mentioned, the problem isn’t going to be in the design but what we find behind the walls,” Max said.

       Trevor nodded. “Exactly.” He closed the screen that showed the design plans and pulled up the file with their subcontractors. “We’re going to need a lot of hands on this one.”

       “Shouldn’t be a problem. The guys like working with us. At least they know when they come to T. Jackson Contracting its not going to be a one-day job.”

       “And this will definitely last a few months. I think we should get Ray for the plumbing and Joshua for the electric. They’ve done good work for us before and have solid teams.”

       “As soon as the plans are approved I’ll start looking into supplies and getting the permits in order.”

       “Cool.” Trevor pushed back from his seat.

       “Don’t think I forgot about your comment, my brother.”

       Trevor’s thick right brow rose. “What comment?”

       “You know damn well what comment… Edible. You really think I’m going to let that one slide?”

       Trevor half smiled. “Just an observation, that’s all.”

       “Man, I know you better than you know yourself. When was the last time some woman had you at a loss for words? You could barely put a sentence together when you got back.”

       It had been a while since a woman had lit a match inside of him. Five years to be exact and her name was Vallyn Williams. To this day, simply thinking about her knotted his stomach. Vallyn had burst into his life and took him on a roller-coaster ride that he’d never wanted to end. He should have known better. They came from two different worlds. She was the daughter of a judge and her mother sat on every board in the state of Louisiana. She grew up vacationing at Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons. Her college graduation gift was a six-month trip across Europe.

       “Trust me, it’s nothing but an observation. End of story.”

       “Hmm, yeah, okay.” He gathered up his notes. “Got any plans for later? I feel like hitting a club, listening to some music, checking out some ladies. You game?”

       “I’m down. Say around nine?”

       “Yeah, I have some stuff to take care of at the house. I’ll give you a call around nine and we can figure out where we wanna hang.” He tucked his drawings under his arm and checked his watch. “I’m heading out. I want to check up on the crew over at the Jennings job.”

       “We should be ready to turn the house over to the family pretty soon.”

       “If everything is up to par, I figure by next week.”

       The Jennings family had been victims of Hurricane Katrina. For the past five years they’d been living in a trailer with their three kids. Those were the projects that Trevor was most proud of. Seeing the faces of the families whose homes he’d restored or built was worth every ounce of sweat.

       “That’s what I like to hear. Okay, you take care of that and I’m going to put some finishing touches on these design proposals then head out.”

       “See you later.”

       Trevor opened the design program and reviewed the tentative layout. He could almost see Dominique walking through the renovated space and the expression on her face when she saw the transformation. He shook his head. Thinking about a woman like Dominique Lawson in a role other than employer would bring him nothing but trouble. That was the one thing he was sure about.

      Chapter 5

      Dominique put her key in the door and was gripped with the feeling of regret. She probably should have moved out of the family home a long time ago. With both her sisters gone, her father in Washington most of the year, Rafe doing his own thing and Justin busy with school and work, she felt like a fish out of water rambling around in the big house. So, she could have not been more surprised when she walked into the kitchen and found both of her sisters seated at the island counter chatting like they’d done as teenagers.

       “Oh, my goodness!” She dropped her bag on the table and ran to her sisters.

       The trio kissed and hugged and giggled in delight.

       “What are ya’ll doing here?” She glanced from one to the other in amazement as they took seats around the counter.

       “This is a big legislative week on Capital Hill. Preston is working almost twenty-four hours a day. I told him I was going home for the weekend and he nodded and waved,” Lee Ann said, laughing. “I still don’t think he realizes I’m gone.”

       “And what about you, Mrs. Hampton? You’re still a newly, newlywed, girl. I’m surprised Spence let you out of the bed.”

       Desiree blushed and flashed a secret smile. “I know.” She giggled. “Well, you know Spence is opening a third club in the D.C. area. He’s meeting with contractors and visiting sites all weekend. And I wanted to see my sisters. I called Lee Ann and here we are.”

       Dominique felt tears well in her eyes. She’d had no idea how much she missed her sisters until this moment. She sniffed. “Then we have to make every minute count. No telling when we’ll get a chance to hang out again.”

       “Exactly,” Desiree agreed. “So, what’s the plan? You’re the party girl.”

       Dominique’s eyes crinkled with mischief. “Ladies, my list is long and varied, so be prepared for anything. And put on your dancing shoes,” she added, hopping up from her seat.

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