Free Sparks by Talia Carmichael

the building.
    “Even if it was a Corvette?”
    “Well, maybe,” Robert said.
    Bernie laughed. They went down the sidewalk and through the door. Robert stopped to talk with another professor while Bernie went on to the lab and started to work. Sitting on his stool, he shifted at the reminder of his vigorous weekend with Tomas.
    “Bernie, are you okay? You were walking funny,” Robert said as he entered.
    “I’m okay. Just had a busy weekend.” Bernie flushed, ducking his head.
    “If you’re sure you’re okay.” Robert sounded unconvinced.
    “I’m good.”
    He bit his lip. Usually, he shared with Robert, but he wasn’t sure if Tomas wanted anyone to know. The sound of Robert’s steps walking away came to him. Getting back to work, Bernie focused on the experiment he was doing.
     
     
    W HISTLING , Tomas drove toward the office. Pulling up to the gates, he punched his code and drove in when they opened. He drove toward the two-story Tudor-style house that was their office. The grounds around it were the best example of their work. The area around the office was divided into four sections. On each plot, a little away from the main office, were smaller houses in a similar style as the main office. Those housed the offices for each crew manager and their teams. They let the crews decide how to landscape their area. It was a great way to show their work, and had become a sense of pride for the crews. Each year, Tomas and Malik picked which crew had the most innovative landscape area. That crew then had free rein to implement their design around the main offices. Pulling into his space, Tomas turned off the truck and got out.
    Spotting the sign on pillars in the front lawn that read “Rodbro Landscapers,” a sense of pride filled him. They had gone from barely scraping by to being a well-known company. Their contracts varied from residential to professional projects. Malik, Link, or Tomas drew up all landscaping plans that one of the four crews then implemented. Link was the boss over all the crews and assigned projects based on their strengths. Link also led one of the crews, which was made up of the best people they had. They could do anything. Malik and Tomas rotated among the crews, working with each one.
    Punching a code next to the door, Tomas entered the house. The top floor had presentation and meeting rooms. The entire left side of the top floor also had what they were known for—a solarium. Each solarium they did was an oasis designed to the requester’s wants. It was very early, so Tomas had the office to himself. Sheldon, who was in charge of the front reception area and scheduling, would be in shortly. Tomas strode to the left, down the hall on the ground floor to his own office. Opening the door, he went inside and sat at his desk. He booted up his computer. Glancing around his spacious office, he wondered what Bernie would think of it. Bernie had never come to his office. He made a mental note to bring him by.
    Unrolling his plans for the project he was working on with Link’s crew, Tomas frowned and made notes. A ping made him pull out his BlackBerry. Reading the message, he placed the phone on the desk. He made more notes.
    “Are you ready? Didn’t you get my text?” Malik asked from the door.
    “I got it, but why are both of us needed for this meeting? And why is the project Link’s crew is working on being reassigned?” Tomas asked.
    He was surprised at the change. Neither he nor Malik liked changing crews on projects midstream. It wasn’t like this was that special a project—just a residential landscaping. Hell, they hadn’t even done the evaluation yet. He couldn’t understand why the change was made with no notice.
    “It’s a special request from Jerrod,” Malik replied.
    Tomas leaned back in the chair. At Malik’s words, he knew why. Jerrod Morgan was not only a good friend, but had given them their first major job. They had met Jerrod when he strolled into their offices