Page 1 of Scarred Ruin

CHAPTER 1

Isabel

“Isabel! Oh, my goodness. Let me help you with those.” Julie rushed toward me, almost knocking over a client to try to help.

“I’m fine.” My answer was terser than I’d intended.

“No, you’re not fine. You were recently the victim of a horrible attack.” My assistant was beside herself, her expression laden with concern.

When I shifted away from the heavy door, I almost dropped the sketches I’d brought with me. My brilliant idea of attaching them to foam boards had been excellent in thought, but terrible in practice. They were awkward to carry.

I managed to snag the slipping bundle just before everything tumbled to the floor, all while taking a quick scan of the busy lobby of the architectural firm. Julie’s announcement had been loud enough that most if not every person in the austere space turned to gawk at the victim.

“I don’t think you need to announce that to the world, Jules. Besides, that was days ago, and I wasn’t the one attacked. If you want to help, you can take these.” I wasn’t asking. I shoved the drawings into her arms so I could take a deep breath.

She winced as if I’d physically slapped her while also juggling the artistic drawings I’d painstakingly crafted during my unwanted and unneeded time off. I certainly couldn’t call being sequestered in my apartment a vacation or even restful. At least in my boredom, I’d managed to find creativity.

“I’m sorry. I’m just surprised to see you. Weren’t you due back on Monday?”

I moved through the crowd, heading toward my office.

“Isabel. Your office was already moved. You’re going the wrong way.”

As soon as I realized what she’d said, I stopped, but it took me a few seconds to turn around. “My office was moved?” My boss and mentor John Taylor had sent a lovely live plant and a couple of dinners from Hello Fresh after the incident, but he’d conveniently forgotten to mention he’d made an important decision for me.

I’d wanted to think about whether I could handle tackling being the project leader of a complex, personally difficult project. I’d been promised time. Then I’d jumped in front of a series of bullets and my life had been upended.

I guess patience wasn’t one of his virtues.

Julie obviously knew I’d be furious, her face pinched before I’d turned around. “If it’s any consolation, the space is very nice. You’ll love the view.”

On the afternoon of the horrific event, I’d left my office with the decision to make of whether to accept being the lead architect for a proposed medical campus was something my emotions could tolerate. Apparently, the decision had been made for me.

You bet I was pissed.

“Where is this new… office?” My words were acidic.

“I’ll show you.” She struggled as much as I had with carrying the sketches but refused to relinquish control. Her personality mirrored mine.

In trailing behind her, I was forced to stroll by the office I should have been given along with a huge promotion. Wouldn’t you know that good ole Bob Jenkins, the thief of my promotion, was sitting behind his desk with his feet stretched across the corner. And he’d noticed my arrival, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Oh, the man annoyed the crap out of me.

As Julie turned down another corridor, I was surprised she hadn’t led me to the still vacant offices near Bob’s. The location wasn’t as large, but much bigger than the basic closet-sized office I was used to.

That left a new section of offices that had opened a few weeks before given the firm’s anticipated growth.

She stopped at one, somehow managing to open the door, but once inside, every board slipped from her hands to the floor. “Shit.” By the time I made it inside, she was already on her knees. “I’m so sorry. There’s damage to two of them.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jules. They are nothing but preliminary sketches on a project I’d yet to agree to working on. I was just bored to death sitting at home.”

While she was struggling to stack them neatly against the wall, I had an opportunity to experience my new office. I’d asked for additional space and my boss thankfully hadn’t let me down. The office was huge as if two rooms had been put together. One side held the desk, credenza, and appropriate chairs while the other side was filled with two drafting tables along with two other workspaces for my laptop, a plotter, plans printer, and a lovely seating area for discussions on projects.

Even better was that two walls were more than fifty percent glass, allowing for both fabulous natural lighting and a stunning view of the Atlantic Ocean. This was a dream location in any professional world. However, a lump remained in my stomach.

After dropping my things on the desk, I moved slowly through the space, touching almost everything. Julie crowded behind me and I sensed her excitement.

“What do you think?”