Skyscrapers & Camelot (Renovate Book 1) Read Free

me.
    “The view.” He points out the window. “Lovely, isn’t it? It’s the exact reason our offices are located in this spot—we have the most exquisite view of New York.”
    “I would have to agree,” my voice comes out nervously.
    “Ms. Brennan, I assume.” He holds out his hand, and I shake it. It feels good touching him. I don’t want to let go, but I do.
    “Mr. James, it’s a pleasure.”
    “The pleasure is all mine.”
    No, I can say it’s all mine. I feel like a teenager with a crush. Just what he needs— another woman drooling over him.
    “Shall we begin?” he asks me.
    “Yes, the interview … Please, lead the way.”

 
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
    I follow him down a long hall where the walls are adorned with the most beautiful pictures of castle-like structures. I can only assume these are his designs brought to life, and I can’t help hiding a smile at his success.
    As we round a corner and are brought to a wide open door, he holds his hand out, directing me inside. “After you.”
    I enter, feeling his eyes on me.
    His office is so bright with another gorgeous view of the city through a large floor to ceiling window that is directly behind his desk.
    He unbuttons his jacket and sits down, and I follow, taking a seat directly across from him. Once I take out my notepad because I’m old school and like to write everything down, I look up to see him staring at me, and it makes a shiver run through me.
    I look into his eyes and smile nervously, but just as I’m about to start, Gretchen walks in.
    “Keegan, can I get you anything?”
    He shakes his head, staring at me without losing eye contact.
    “Would you like anything, Ms. Brennan?” he asks.
    “No, thank you.”
    “That will be all, Gretchen. Please hold my calls until we are finished.”
    I can’t help noticing she called him by his first name. This whole situation has me anxious, nervous, and sad all at the same time. I have known this man since I was a child and am jealous that she can call him by his first name, while he can’t even remember me.
    “Go ahead, Ms. Brennan.”
    “Where were you born?” I figure I should get right to the heart of things, see if it triggers a memory for him that he can connect to me, the person sitting right in front of him with the same first and last name, looking almost the same as I did when he left.
    “Indiana, Pennsylvania.” Still, no recognition in his eyes. Damn.
    At this point, I decide I should just get some of the interview questions out of the way for my article.
    “Why did you decide you wanted to become an architect? Did someone influence your decision, or has it just always been a dream of yours?”
    He purses his lips and looks as if he’s remembering something. “I’ve always been fascinated with buildings and structures. I guess the whole thing started when I was little, and my brother and I built forts in my parents’ backyard. It just became an obsession, I guess, and I never quite grew out of it. There wasn’t too much excitement in town, and my mother refused to let my brother and I sit inside all day.”
    Yes, I remember playing in his backyard. I was the princess, and he built the forts to protect me from the evil dragon. Keegan played the role of the knight in shining armor, slaying the dragon.
    “So you built forts out of sticks?”
    “Something like that,” he answers with a smirk.
    I smile and snicker. Picturing him as a little boy makes me happy.
    “What did you do with the forts after they were built?”
    “Usually, my brother and I demolished them and started over, building something bigger and better.”
    Still nothing? What is it going to take to jog his memory?
    “Would you agree that architecture is a lifestyle more than it is a job?”
    “I do think about architecture all the time.” He motions toward the city outside his windows. “How can I not, being surrounded by that skyline? It’s not just the structures, but what surrounds them.