BONUS SCENE – from Anything That You Want 

by Mary Carson

Lizzy’s brother James – a few years in the future 

– James

5:15 am rolled around quickly, but I was used to it. I had done some type of building or construction for most of my life, so early starts were nothing new.

I met up with the foreman of the Zimmer site, Mario Jefferson. He was great at his job, which made both the clients and me happy. 

“Hey Boss, how you doin’ today?” Mario greeted me with a handshake, and I greeted him with a cup of coffee. “You know that’s not how it usually works right?” he asked. “The employee is supposed to bring the boss the coffee, not the other way around.”

“I know, but who would I be if I did things like everyone else?” I took a quick look around the site. The Zimmer home was only our third foray into the ‘modern’ style of home building, so I liked to start my Fridays here. It was the build most likely to have problems since it was new to us. I was a classics kind of guy. I loved traditional homes and history, but I had branched out over the past year and added more modern offerings. I was trying to get into commercial building as well. Hence the hospital fundraiser.

And now I was thinking about Dr. Ellie. Bad enough I thought about her all night, the whole time I was out with Brett and Shauna, and now here I was beginning the day with her on my mind. It was going to be a long day until cooking class. 

“That’s why I love you, boss—you’re not like other bosses.” Mario motioned to the site. “Everything here is on track, going as planned.”

“Good. Progress looks good, too. The floor-to-ceiling windows on the second level look better than I expected.”

“Yeah, it was a stroke of genius when you suggested the inside trim on the black metal frames should be deep red. Just a touch of color that makes the whole thing stand out. It doesn’t get lost against the rest of the dark exterior.”

“Thanks. I’m glad they liked it, even though it isn’t modern. Craftsman-style windows had something like that in the 1920s. ” I walked around the side of the home, and Mario followed.

“Hey, how did the charity event go last Saturday?” he asked. “Meet anyone important enough to get a lead on the children’s wing?”

All the top people in my construction company knew what my plans were, and how I expected to grow the business over the next couple of years. We were all tasked with keeping our eyes open for any new opportunities that worked with the plan. 

“I did meet someone. A doctor from the hospital.”

“That’s it? After spending a whole evening there?” Mario asked, surprise in his voice. “That’s not like you—you’ve never met a stranger.”

I shrugged. “I met a bunch of people. I’m just not sure any of them are going to be able to help me out.”

Mario looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. “Wait a minute. Who’s the doctor?”

“What? I just said I met a bunch of people.”

“But first you said you met someone. A doctor. Who was it? Did you meet a woman? You usually have a serious girlfriend, but it’s been a little while since the last one.”

This was the problem when most of your life was spent on your business. Your employees turned into friends, and your personal life turned into business. I guess there could be worse problems.

“It’s nothing. Just a doctor. And yes, she’s a woman. I met her at the cooking class. Well, I kind of met her at the charity ball, but kind of not. We really met at the class.”

Mario stopped walking and stood in place. I turned back to look at him.

“What cooking class? You don’t need a cooking class—you’re a great cook. And I should know—I’ve never missed one of your cookouts.”

 “It’s nothing. Just a class I bought at the charity event’s silent auction. It was for a good cause.”

“But that’s where you met the woman. The woman doctor, who you kind of met at the charity, but not really?” Mario asked, but it was more like a statement. 

“Yep. You’ve got it.”

‘I know you need to get to the next site, but I won’t forget about this. I’ll expect to hear about it the next chance we get.”

“There’s nothing to tell, Mario, so no need to be waiting around for a story. There isn’t one.” We made our way back to the front of the site.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said. “Give me a call this weekend if you want to meet up. Now there’s more going on than just getting together for the game.”

“There’s not. And I can’t. The cooking class will still be going on.”

I don’t know what he heard in my voice, but Mario reached out a hand and stopped me. “Wait, wait, wait. What aren’t you telling me? Something’s going on here.”

I shook off his hand. “There’s nothing. There’s not. And I’ve gotta get to the next site.” I walked quickly to my truck.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of this that easily, James. You’ll be telling me all about it,” he called and started to laugh. 

I jumped in my truck and took off. The goodbye wave I tossed over my shoulder morphed into something rude. 

I could still hear him laughing. 

I didn’t convince Mario there was nothing going on; how would I convince myself?

…

XOX

Find out exactly what happens next with James and the new doctor he just met, in Anything That You Want. Click here to get it now!