Planning Forever After (Book 3, Lonstino & Greenwood Series)

Chapter 13 - Fired

CARTER

Confrontation isn't in my skill set and when I have to do it, it leaves me exhausted. We rarely have to go to a construction site because once a design is done and approved, it becomes the responsibility of the contractor to execute it. And then I got a call from our client in panic. The contractor they hired made a mess and the technical drawings and blueprints looked different from what I made. Materials got delivered to the plot and the bricks are red instead of gray. The foundation for the building has already set, so I brought another contractor from our list of trustworthy firms to give me his take on how things could be solved.

When we arrived at the plot, no one was there, so we started to inspect the work already done. A few minutes later, the current contractor arrived and things got heated. When I showed him the design deck and asked him to explain why the structure in front of me didn't match the building in the papers, he called me a drawing sissy. I felt the blood boiling in my veins, but kept my fists at my sides because the last thing I wanted was ending at the police station for degrading myself with that asshole.

I called the client, who came immediately to the plot, and the new contractor confirmed his worst fears. The foundation isn't fit for the building I designed and steps have to be taken to fix the mistake. Costly steps. The incompetent contractor was fired on the spot and as he walked to his truck hurling insults at me, my head felt as if it was about to explode. I called Miles to let him know what happened, and that I was heading home early. All I need now is a hot shower to get the dust off my skin from the construction site and to soothe my muscles from the argument stress.

When I turn into our street, I see Dennis' car parked in front of the house instead of in the driveway. It's odd, as it is only three in the afternoon. No sound comes from inside the house and when I open the door, I find a trail of his clothes on the floor leading to the couch. I find him sleeping and bundled in a blanket. His forehead is cold and further, he doesn't look ill.

"Dennis... Sweetheart, are you okay?" I kneel next to him.

Dennis opens his eyes and looks confused. "What time is it?"

"A few minutes past three. When did you get home?"

"This morning. I got fired. Did someone bring my car back?"

"Fired? Why?" The information feels like a slap on my face.

Dennis sits on the couch and holds the blanket tighter around him. I sit next to him and place my arm around his shoulders, then kiss his cheek.

"I blacked out in the middle of a meeting with an important client. Usually I feel odd and my vision blurs some before I get an attack, but not this time. The client was talking and proposing a negotiation and apparently, I stood up and walked away. You can imagine that she took major offense about that and thought I was being disrespectful. When I came to my senses, I was sitting on the emergency staircase. People surrounded me and at first, I couldn't place who they were, where I was, or what they were saying."

"Oh, Dennis..."

"Lately I black out for a moment when I'm alone in my office. Usually while I'm doing something that requires a lot of strategizing or when preparing for a meeting. It doesn't affect the quality of my work, it only delays me while I try to remember what I was doing. But this was different. I haven't had an attack like that since I left the hospital. When I finally understood what people were saying, I realized they thought I was drunk or drugged. I tried to defend myself, but my thoughts were so mixed I couldn't get a word out. When my boss came over to tell me that what I did was unacceptable and they had to let me go, it took me a long time to understand what he meant. My secretary escorted me to my office and helped me pack my stuff," he points at the boxes in the corner of the living room. "She was the only one who showed me kindness and offered to bring my car home."