Newport Dreams: A Breakwater Bay Novella Read Online Free PDF Page A

would always have shoestring budgets at best, and might have to work gratis in between grants.
    “I’m in it for the long haul,” Bruce said. “I knew what I was getting into when I went solo. I just didn’t expect to be so busy.”
    “Better than the alternative,” Doug said.
    Bruce cringed. Here he was complaining about being broke, when Doug not only didn’t have enough work, couldn’t take work that he was qualified for because of his injury and had a family who depended on him.
    “Look, do what you need to do but don’t get bitter. Nothing is worth that.” Doug wasn’t bitter, at least not that he showed. He’d recovered and gone about finding a place in restoration work that was satisfying and where he could make a contribution.
    “I’m not going to bail.” Bruce tried for a grin. “I may have to sleep on your couch.”
    “Deal. My wife always liked you.”
    Both of them laughed. It was forced. But it was there and Bruce felt marginally better until they reached the annex. The room was a rectangle, a late addition, probably used for storage or as an additional dining room. It would eventually be pulled down, but for now it was fine for extraneous equipment and occasional meetings.
    Meri and Carlyn were moving boxes away from one wall while Geordie set up an expensive-looking projector and connected it to her laptop.
    The girl had money from somewhere. Maybe they could make good use of it before she lost interest and moved on.
    G EORDIE LOOKED UP when Doug and Bruce entered the room, trying to looked assured but not managing to stop the jaw-cracking yawn that greeted them.
    “Must have been some party,” Bruce said.
    Geordie held back the next yawn. The ass thought she’d been partying all night? That was so typical. She’d been up most of the night working on her presentation. She wasn’t even sure what they wanted. A slide show, wide shots then close-ups, or a whole series of wide shots, then another file of close-ups.
    And she’d purposely dressed in her worst pair of jeans. There was nothing much she could do about her hair, but she’d kept the makeup light, left off her concealer so the dark under her eyes would let them know she’d spent most of the night working—and they thought she had been partying instead of working.
    She turned her back on the architect and booted up her laptop. Spent a minute or two making adjustments and getting her temper under control.
    “I thought you might want to see larger shots than you can see on the computer screen, then if you want hard copies, I can print them out.”
    “That’s fine,” Doug said and moved to stand off her right shoulder.
    Bruce stood over her left.
    This is just what she had hoped to avoid, colleagues breathing down her neck while she tried to navigate unfamiliar territory.
    Carlyn and Meri filled in until they were standing in a little clump at the table.
    Geordie sighed. “Just tell me if you want a hard copy or a different angle and I’ll tag the photo.”
    She clicked on the front facade.
    Bruce sighed into her ear. She shifted closer to Doug.
    She’d planned a little commentary for the presentation, but the architect was impatient. She moved to the next photo. A close-up of the steps. Then the broken eave ornamentation. The photos continued around the house.
    “Hold it.”
    Geordie’s finger froze above the trackpad. What was wrong now?
    But Bruce merely leaned over to enlarge a detail and stayed there, talking to Doug over her head. He leaned across her to move the cursor over another detail, brushing against her shoulder as he did. Geordie had to resist the urge to move back.
    What was this sense of entitlement, that he just took over her computer like he owned it?
    “Hey guys, yoo-hoo,” Carlyn called. “Some of us have work to do today. Could you curb your enthusiasm for a minute so we can get through the slides? Geordie will enter them in the database and you can play all you want.”
    The two men moved away. How