Blueprints: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

cried. She had done it in tennis—USTA junior champ for two years, ITF second seed in Paris—and had the trophies to prove it. When it came to architecture, she had won local awards. To be recognized for her work on a larger scale would be special.
    The problem was Caroline. Jamie would rather die than hurt her mother, and this would hurt.
    She gave it a final shot. “And even aside from the Mom issue, I don’t have time. The host of the show does a ton of behind-the-scenes work, but I’m already in over my head.” There were currently three licensed architects in MacAfee’s design department, but their head architect, Jamie’s mentor, was finally retiring after threatening it for years and had bequeathed his major projects to Jamie. “We’re talking ten private homes, a library, two office buildings, two banks, the spring Gut It! project, for goodness sake, and that’s not counting anything the Weymouth property may produce—and then there’s planning what I’m supposed to be saying on air this fall about the design plans alone.”
    “You always do great on tape days.”
    “Because Mom leads. She sets the tone and asks the questions. Mom is perfect for this job. I am not.”
    Roy drained his coffee, set down the mug, and sat back. “If it’s not you, it’ll be someone else. Like I said, it’s a done deal.”
    “For fall ? Can’t they wait another season or two?”
    “Ratings don’t wait. Consider that redheaded Barth over there. If he ratchets up the competition, we may need all the help we can get. Do you want MacAfee Homes to fall behind?” When she didn’t answer, he said, “Claire’s calling Caroline later to arrange a meeting.”
    Jamie sat back. “Please, not today.”
    “It has to be soon. Brian and Claire want this sewn up so that they can start putting together promo material. You know your mother best. What approach should Claire take?”
    Jamie also knew her father. When his sentences came short and as fast as they did now, he was immoveable. Oh yes, the decision had been made, and it infuriated her.
    She wasn’t impulsive. She was a thinker, a studier, a strategizer. But her parents were her weakness, and what he proposed was untenable.
    That was why, without thinking beyond the moment, she said something she would come to regret.

 
    two
    “ I’ll tell Mom. Claire can be abrasive, and this’ll be hard enough on her without that.”
    Too late, Jamie saw his slow smile and realized that she had played into his hands. This was what he had wanted all along. It fit the image of a MacAfee family that was united and strong. To Roy, Caroline’s age was dirty laundry that should stay in the bin, handled quietly and in private.
    But two could play the game, Jamie decided in a moment’s defiance. If she was the one telling Caroline, then she could do it in her own words and her own time. That gave her an element of control, which, given the anxiety she felt, helped her sit through Roy’s prattle about how wonderful she was and what a great host she would make. The little voice in her head was answering each line with a sarcasm she hated, until finally the head of the local Lions Club appeared at their table. Thinking that the interruption hadn’t come a moment too soon, she slid out of the booth, gestured the man into her seat, gave Roy a quick peck on the cheek, and left.
    *   *   *
    Back in her car in Fiona’s lot, she was hit by the heat and a wave of second thoughts. She jacked up the AC as she turned onto the street, but those second thoughts weren’t as easily fixed.
    What have I done? Did I seriously agree to host the show? How can I ever tell Mom?
    Brad would know how. Diplomacy was his thing. But he still hadn’t texted or tried to call, and she couldn’t very well call him without mentioning their own issues, which seemed small by comparison.
    She left Fiona’s upset. By the time she’d driven two blocks, though, she was angry. She didn’t want to think that Roy