Angel at Work Ch. 2

Walking down the hallway to the architect's office, Shannon swallowed the panic rising in her throat. That had happened weeks ago and now of all the people she didn't want to deal with, it was the same man she had the appointment with today. Spending the last weeks searching for someone to do the restoration work for her, only one name kept coming up. Allen Johnson, the giant who lived across the street and didn't care to be neighborly. But seeing how his home looked from the outside, she knew she had to have him do the work on her home. Never having been inside his house she couldn't tell much about the interior but the exterior was a testament to excellent craftsmanship and restoration. Occasionally she watched him work on the house during the weekends but she'd never gotten brave enough to approach him after that first day. She was an early riser herself and his jeep was always leaving at 5:30 in the morning and returning at 5:30 in the evening. His lights weren't out when she went to bed at 10 PM. "Nana would surely laugh at me" Shannon said thoughtfully, "if she caught me watching what he was doing all the time."

Reaching the end of the hallway, Shannon looked at her watch. "Good! I have a couple of minutes to spare." Opening the door, she walked to the reception desk. The secretary looked up questioningly.

"Good morning. I'm Shannon O'Malley. I have an appointment with Mr. Johnson at 10 o'clock." The secretary had already checked her boss's appointment schedule and told Shannon to have a seat. As she placed her briefcase along the chair and reached for a magazine to keep her shaking hands busy, the door to his office opened. Shannon cautiously glanced up as two gentlemen walked out. "Alright Allen, we'll be back in a couple of weeks for final approval on the prints...and thanks again" Oh God, there he was filling the doorway to his office, only this time in a tailored suit and tie.

Shannon's eyes once again traveled the length of him in appreciation of what she was seeing. As he looked toward her, he stepped to his secretary's desk and spoke too quietly for Shannon to hear. Without a second glance in her direction, Allen turned back to his office and closed the door. As the clock ticked off the minutes, Shannon rehearsed what she wanted to say to him. More time passed and she finished reading the magazine. Her watch said it was 10:30 when Shannon finally asked the secretary if her appointment was canceled.

"Oh no. Mr. Johnson is in a conference call right now and apologizes. He'll be with you as soon as possible." At eleven o'clock, Shannon's apprehension had turned into anger. Well, she's had enough. He had done it too her again. Damn it anyway, she'd find someone else to do the work. She grabbed her briefcase and reached for the door to leave. A deep resonate voice called out, "Miss O'Malley if you care to come in my office I can see you now. I've got about 10 minutes before my next appointment."

Shannon's hand rested on the door knob. "Now what?", she asked herself. "Do I swallow my pride or walk out and show him I don't need his services?" Hesitating a moment she heard, "Miss O'Malley?" Shannon dropped her hand from the door knob, turned and followed Allen into the office where she sat in a brown leather chair across the desk from him.

"Why did Mrs. O'Malley have to leave that house to her?" Allen thought to himself as the old lady's granddaughter seated herself in his office. "I almost had the property bought from her. I was sure she was going to sell and then she up and dies on me. Damn! I wanted to restore that house for myself." Allen watched Shannon start to open her briefcase and pull out what looked like old blueprints. "And why does this woman think I want to do the work now? She hates my guts after that first fiasco of an introduction. I was so pissed about losing the house, I couldn't help chewing her out about her mover's mess.

When I saw her standing there with her hair falling down and smudges under her eyes, I knew she was exhausted. But what a gorgeous site to see in the afternoon light. Did I offer to help? Noooooo, I couldn't stop being mad at the situation long enough to be myself and help someone who needed it desperately. What did I do? Heap insult upon injury and turn and walk away before I gave in and gathered the garbage up for her. Since then I've never even seen her outside the house. Allen, my boy, you've screwed up good on this one. Nana O'Malley would be shaking her finger at you for sure!"

Allen and Nana had grown to be close friends in the last few years of her life, but he'd never met her granddaughter until the day Shannon moved in. She had been busy with college and Nana had told Allen all about the "sunshine" in Nana's life. He did lots of odd jobs for the little old lady. Things she couldn't do herself anymore. Mostly small repairs, nothing much and it didn't take up a lot of his time. Actually, he enjoyed visiting with her and her meals were made for a guy with his appetite. He'd never accept her offers to pay him, neither did he ever refuse an invitation to share a meal with her. Nana had become another grandparent and he missed having her around to talk to. They had discussed ideas about the restoration of her home. He even had sketched some of those ideas out, but he never got a chance to show them to Nana. Now, here sits her granddaughter asking him to help her restore the place. Allen still didn't know why.

As Shannon organized her paperwork, Allen watched her precise motions. He couldn't help but notice the tremor in her hands. "What's that all about I wonder?" he thought. Trying to break the ice, Allen cleared his throat, startling Shannon and causing her to lift her head and look him straight in the eyes. The glance between them held for what seemed an eternity. Neither one was sure what to do or where to start. They both hoped the desk would be a buffer zone between them.

"Well, Miss O'Malley, how can I help you?" he started off the strained conversation. Shannon proceeded to tell him of her plans to restore Nana's house. Allen listened politely having heard all of these plans before from Nana herself. Before long he realized the old lady had never told her granddaughter about him and Allen wasn't about to spoil his chance to do the work he had dreamed about for several years. So he kept his mouth shut. After looking at the sketches she had brought along, Allen smiled to himself. "Is there something wrong?" Shannon asked him. "Oh no! What you are suggesting is fine. May I look at the older blue prints you've brought?"

Shannon pushed the rolls of paper across the desk toward Allen. As he reached for them, their fingers brushed gently, causing them both to stop their movements and look at each other once again. Shannon pulled her had back shakedly. "Now why did I do that?" she thought. "It was only an accident. Right! My god, why do I get so nervous when I'm trying to make a good impression?" Allen was startled by the electrical shock he felt travel up his arm as Shannon released the blueprints to him. He hastily opened them to cover his uncomfortable feelings. Soon he was absorbed in his study of the original house blueprints she had presented to him. Minutes passed slowly as he studied the plans and compared them to the sketches he knew by heart.

"Oh yes!" he thought, "This will work." Allen looked up finally to see Shannon smiling at him. The light in her eyes shining brightly.

"Can you do it?" she asked. Allen grinned back at her. "Yes. I'd like to see it put back the way it was. When would it be convenient for me to come over and start making more definite plans?"

Shannon breathed deeply as a wave of relief passed through her. 'Thank goodness, he'll do it'......."Anytime would be fine. Just give me a call before you come over. I'm home most days and evenings." Allen consulted his desk calender and suggested the next evening after 7 PM. Shannon agreed. Leaving her paperwork for him to study, she left for home.

Allen sat back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin, wondering to himself......"What had he gotten into now?"