Free Crimson Footprints by Shewanda Pugh Page A

stifling your talents. She had no vision, no
appreciation. Trust me. Better things are in store. Soon.” He
pinched her cheek. “All right?”
    “ All right.”
    Again, she
smiled.
    “ How long has that woman
been badgering you, anyway?”
    “ Too long. And I rushed
through two other projects, small ones true, but still
rushes—because she said that I wasn’t giving her enough
attention.”
    “ And this is how she thanks
you.” Tak frowned, leaned against her desk. “And the fellowship
hall? Are they still beggars being choosy?”
    Deena sighed. “Yeah. Draft
number five was finally approved. And all it cost was my
sanity.”
    Tak leaned against her
desk.
    “ You need a vacation,
Dee.”
    Dee. She still churned at the nickname. Never had she known how
sweet endearments could be on the right lips.
    Was that what she thought of
him? Of his lips? That they were somehow right for her? Deena
blushed.
    “ Let’s do it.”
    Tak slammed a hand on her
desk and Deena blinked.
    “ Do what?”
    “ Take a
vacation.”
    He rounded her desk, warming
to the idea. “Let’s hit the road. You, me, and the top down on the
Ferrari.” His hand sliced through the air. “Just open air and
speed.”
    Deena frowned. “But when?
Where?”
    “ Who cares where? Anywhere.
Everywhere. The going is what’s important.” He leaned against her
desk again.
    “ Now the way I figure it,
my dad gives two weeks of vacation for every year of employment.
Now, considering what I know about you, that you’ve been here three
years and that you’ve probably never used a day; that gives us
eight weeks of vacation time to play with. Who knows where we could
go with that?”
    Deena lowered her
gaze.
    She was considering it. She
could hardly believe it, but she was considering it. The woman
whose life was charted out on an Excel Spreadsheet titled
‘Expectations,’ the woman whose Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of
each week had been nearly identical for the last three years, was
considering it.
    How had he done that to her?
How had he penetrated her life so thoroughly, that she would
consider throwing her hands in the air and following him blindly
round the country?
    But the thought of it made
her shiver. She wanted to. God knows she wanted to.
    “ But—I have a new project.
What about Skylife?” Deena said. “I can’t skip out on that. I mean,
we haven’t started or anything yet but…”
    His father had given an
opportunity, singling her out among the hundred or so architects
that worked for him, pegging her to collaborate on a project with
him. She was the youngest at the firm, and after that day, the most
loathed.
    Tak waved a hand. “Dad’s in
Prague. He left yesterday. From there it’s Tokyo for two weeks,
then London for another two. Gives you at least a month until he
comes looking for you, probably more.” He paused. “I could get an
estimated start date if it’ll make you feel better.”
    “ But I’ve got other stuff…”
Deena said lamely, glancing at her desk.
    Tak sighed. “You’ve got a
wheelchair ramp for K-Mart. I know you, Deena. You can have the
concrete specs out for that in fifteen minutes.”
    Deena smiled. It was her
misfortune to find a man whose mind didn’t wander when she yammered
about her work. “Well, there are channels. It takes forever to get
approved for time off here. If I put in now I might get cleared in
six months.”
    “ Let me worry about that.
Being the boss’ son must come with some perks. You just make plans
to leave tomorrow.”
    “ Tomorrow?”
    He smiled slyly.
    “ Tomorrow, Deena Hammond.
Handle the concrete specs today. And tomorrow,” he winked. “Belongs
to me.”
    He left with a bounce in his
step, oblivious to her sharp intake of breath.
     
    Tak bounded the stairs two
at a time, always keen for exercise, as he ascended to the top
floor, his father’s. Broad and winding, the staircase gleamed with
white marble and wrought iron banisters. At each landing was the
Tanaka logo,