Chapter 3

I stood by the curb, waiting for a car.

It had rained last night, and the leaves were still wet.

The wind shook the branches, and drops splashed onto my shoulder.

"This is what normal cooperation looks like," I said.

"It wasn't like this before," Adam replied.

"That was when you were my husband."

I couldn't remember if this was the second or third time I'd told him.

I said, "I always put your projects first. Mine could wait. If another client needed last-minute changes, I'd have to rearrange everything. But for you, one call and I'd be up even in the middle of the night.

"I gave you every supplier discount, no questions. I cut the design fees as much as possible and helped with anything outside the contract."

I paused. "Adam, all of that was true. But that's not what normal business looks like."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

The car I ordered pulled up in front of me. The driver got out and loaded my suitcase into the trunk.

Adam's voice suddenly cut in. "So, are you keeping tabs on me now?"

"No," I replied.

"Then what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that from now on, you get the regular price. No more discounts." I slid into the back seat. "Is there anything else?"

He stayed silent. I hung up.

I headed to my apartment.

The place wasn't big, over 640 square feet, a one-bedroom, one-living-room setup.

When I bought it two years ago, Adam teased me for wasting money.

"Our home is only half an hour from the studio. Why buy such a tiny apartment?" he said.

Back then, I told him, "In case I have to work late and need somewhere to crash."

Now, looking back, it was totally worth it.

At least after the divorce, I didn't have to scramble for a place to stay.

I spent the whole morning unpacking and getting settled.

When I got back to the studio that afternoon, Noemi dropped a stack of contracts on the table as soon as she saw me. "Mr. Durham called me himself this morning."

I turned on my computer. "Figured he would."

"He asked if you told me to raise the prices."

"What did you say?"

"I said no." Noemi pulled up a chair and sat down next to me. "I told him we never raised the prices. We just went back to the original rates."

Noemi snorted, half amused, half annoyed. "He went quiet for a long time."

I smiled, letting the subject drop.

The Shoreline Hotel was set to open at the end of the month. There was a mountain of stuff left to handle.

Divorce was divorce. But I couldn't let the contract crash and burn because of it.

For the next week, I was practically living at the Shoreline Hotel.

The Shoreline Hotel was Durhamide Hotels' sixth branch. It was also Adam's top priority this year.

Built right by the water, it focused on a natural vacation experience.

The lobby was decked out with tons of natural wood and stone.

Right in the center, there was a whole wall reserved for a hanging light installation.

Hattie was in charge of the hotel's brand imagery after the opening.

One day at afternoon, I was on-site checking the lighting.

As I climbed down from the ladder, I heard someone call out behind me. "Mrs. Levine."

I turned around.

Hattie was wearing a light-colored dress. Her long hair was casually tied up. She was holding a film camera in her arms.

She looked younger than in her photos.

"I want to tweak something here." She pointed right to the center of the lobby.

"What?" I couldn't believe what I heard.

"The photo wall." She came over to stand next to me. "It's way off to the side right now. I want the main feature right in the middle."

I looked where she was pointing.

It was right beneath the main lighting fixture.

"We can't put it there," I told her.

Hattie blinked, caught off guard. "Why not?"

"It'll mess with the main flow of the lobby. Plus, there are floor lighting strips and concealed outlets over there. If you want to add a permanent fixture, we'll have to reroute all the wiring."

She pressed her lips together. "A lot of hotels do it like this."

"Every project is different." I pulled up the blueprints on my tablet. "If you insist on changing it, we can. But we'll need to reassess everything.

"At minimum, it'll affect electrical, lighting, and construction on-site."

Hattie was still quiet.

Adam's voice came from behind us. "Then let's reassess."

We hadn't noticed when he showed up.

The hotel operations manager followed right behind him.

Hattie instantly relaxed when she saw him. "I just think the photos would look better in the middle. That way, guests will see them as soon as they walk in after the opening."

Adam looked at the spot she was pointing to. "Let's do it the way she wants."

I looked up. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright." I closed my tablet. "We will send you an updated quote for the changes tomorrow."

Adam frowned. "Do we need a new quote for this little tweak?"

"It's not a minor little tweak. The wiring, lighting, and the way the fixture is installed will all have to be redone. This counts as an additional request."

Hattie looked a bit awkward. "If it's a hassle, drop it."

"It's not a hassle," I replied. "Let's stick to the usual procedure."

Adam looked at me. "You used to make these changes without all the extra steps."

There it was again: "used to." He's been throwing it around a lot lately.

"That was then," I said. "Now is now."

His face went cold. "Camille, the Shoreline Hotel is opening at the end of the month."

"I know."

"Running through the quoting process again is going to hold things up."

"It won't." I glanced at the date. "Today's Wednesday. We'll have the assessment ready by noon tomorrow.

"Once you confirm, we can start work as early as Friday. There's plenty of time."

"Why make it so complicated?"

I was silent for a moment. I couldn't help glancing at him. "Adam, signing contracts, getting quotes, confirming requirements. That's standard procedure. It's not complicated at all."

The operations manager ducked his head, pretending to check his phone.

Hattie stayed quiet too.

Adam's face grew darker.

It was like he was realizing for the first time that once he was no longer my husband, everything got way more complicated.

Back then, all Adam had to say was: "Camille, can you tweak this for me?" That was all it took to skip the paperwork.

But now, every single step had to be followed.