Roll With It

CHAPTER ONE

Brenna Carlsen clicked Add to Cart, navigated to the checkout, typed in her address and payment information, and pushed the Submit button before she lost her nerve. Then she saved a copy of the order confirmation on her desktop and second-guessed her decision to pay for expedited shipping.

The only way to test your body’s response to stimulation is to stimulate it. Buy a few different kinds of vibrators, and see what works and what doesn’t.

Those words and that advice had come from her occupational therapist. The conversation with her dad’s wife about sexual pleasure, orgasms, and masturbation had easily been one of the most embarrassing of her life, not that Christy had made it awkward. Helping people was her job, and she was damn good at it.

Next, Brenna opened the file on her screen labeled Roll with the Changes. The name fit her life for the last eight years, four months, and four days—since the day she’d almost died. A document near the bottom of the list had been the only contents of the file until the first anniversary of the accident. She double-clicked on the name, ready to include a new item to the inventory of her intentions.

Goal #1: To not be a burden to my dad or my grandparents.

Goal #2: To live as independently as possible in my own house or apartment.

Goal #3: To learn all I can about how to advocate for myself and others with disabilities.

Goal #4: To start my own architecture firm, focusing on new housing and renovation designs for people with disabilities.

Goal #5: To go on a date.

Numbers one and three were ongoing and always would be.

She’d accomplished the second after Christy had all but gifted her late father’s house to Brenna shortly after they met. Instead of using the Claus for a Cause fundraiser money for the necessary remodeling project, she had suggested creating CAT—Creekside Accessibility Transport—for the disabled residents and senior citizens of Creekside. Not having to spend money on a down payment and not having a mortgage meant she’d been able to pay for accessible kitchen and bath counters and several other expenses herself.

Number four had happened three years ago, thanks to a grant. Accessibility In Mind Designs had grown from a one-person business to a seven-employee architectural firm since its inception, with an all-disabled staff—something practically unheard of in the industry.

March’s fix-up with a friend’s husband’s colleague counted as an accomplishment, even though the evening had been a complete disaster. Her date had arrived almost twenty minutes late, and he’d treated her like her disability was as much mental as physical. The only reason she hadn’t left the loud, slow-talking fool before they ordered dinner was to cross Goal #5 off her list. Despite the bad experience, she wasn’t giving up on having a social life that included a romantic relationship, marriage, and possibly children.

Setting her fingers on the keyboard, she typed another entry.

Goal #6: To find out if I can still enjoy sex.

Her spinal cord injury prevented her from walking, but the lack of sensation anywhere below her waist right after the accident had slowly evolved into regaining the ability to use the bathroom. Of course, the skill and strength required to move from her wheelchair to the toilet had taken months of training. Even now, the process was still a relatively slow one compared to a lot of people.

I’m luckier than most. No catheters or colostomy bags.

She saved the document, closed out of it, and prepared for her virtual meeting with the builder who was set to break ground on a residential neighborhood with several of her company’s designs next month. It was her biggest contract to date and could prove to be a game-changer. New construction inhabited a whole different world from modifications to an existing home.

The ten-minute reminder popped up on her monitor as she reviewed the specs for the last of the eight floor plans she and her team had sold to her newest client. With the digital blueprints ready in the dock, she opened the email with the link, quadruple-checked the one o’clock start-time and took a small sip from the insulated bottle on her desk.

I’m a professional and can hold my own in a male-dominated industry. Be bold. Be confident. Be successful.

After another quick swallow of water, she clicked on the link and waited to be connected.

A few seconds later, her image with the background of her home office appeared, along with a black rectangle with a name—Princess Zelda’s Secret Uncle—in the corner.

A gamer is the owner of Hayes Builders? Well, that doesn’t mesh with the phone calls and emails at all.

The screen name switched to Project Manager in the blink of an eye. Then, what seemed to be a chair creaking carried through the speakers and an annoyed voice joined the squeaky noise. He didn’t sound anything like the friendly man she’d talked to before. Knock on the door in fifteen minutes so I can cut this meeting as short as possible.

A barely audible response to his order came from the somewhere near the outer range of the microphone. She isn’t going to like that.

Too bad.

Wonderful. I have to pretend he’s not a jackass.

The black soul of Project Manager suddenly vanished to reveal rumpled brown hair, unreadable brown eyes, and a stern mouth atop a navy suitcoat and tie. I’m overseeing the Creek’s Edge project, so I’ll be your new contact from here on out. Will that be a problem?

Fighting to keep a neutral expression, she blinked instead of rolling her eyes. How many times did she have to put up with a bait and switch when contractors found out they were dealing with a woman?

She pasted on a fake smile. No problem. Mr. Hayes seemed very excited to handle this himself. I hope he isn’t sick.

Her nemesis’s jaw ticked. No, he’s fine. Let’s get down to business. I’m concerned about the width of the hallways. It means more subfloor, more underlayment, and more flooring, which adds to the cost of labor and supplies. I’d like you to modify all eight plans to have forty-inch halls instead of forty-eight. That’s plenty wide enough for most furniture and appliances to fit through. And thirty inches is within the standard for doors, so thirt⁠—

Have you ever watched a wheelchair-bound person try to navigate a hallway that’s only forty inches wide? Not to mention trying to make turns into bedrooms and bathrooms with thirty-inch doors. AIM’s specs are based on recommendations from the ADA and the medical community, in addition to the actual sizes of wheelchairs, walkers, braces, and other mobility devices. Something else to keep in mind. People with disabilities may also have a companion who assists them, either human or animal. At times, they’ll need to fit side by side in a hall. Comfortable on her justified soapbox, she ignored his clenched jaw and the color creeping past the collar of his white dress shirt. Creek’s Edge is being marketed as a neighborhood with accessible homes. Your requests would mean Hayes Builders is misleading potential buyers and engaging in false advertising. Would you rather spend a little bit more on a product that performs as expected or have your company’s reputation tainted by complaints? If necessary, I can arrange for you to see exactly how important these measurements are.

He lifted a coffee cup to his thinned lips, but she had no idea how he was going to swallow with his teeth grinding against each other like they were. The mug clunked when he lowered it, and a splash of dark-brown liquid landed on his shirt. He didn’t seem to notice, which was probably a good thing, considering his nasty mood. I don’t have time for that.

Of course, you don’t.

Then I suggest you take me at my word. Accessibility is AIM’s area of expertise. It’s what we do every single day with every single client and project. She mentally crossed all her fingers and all her toes, because the ultimatum she was about to drop represented a line she would never cross. "And I won’t compromise my company’s reputation by agreeing to the changes you’re asking for."

His scowl deepened, making his scrunched-up face look at least her father’s age rather than the thirty-something she would’ve originally guessed. He obviously hadn’t expected her to hold her ground. I’m going to have to run the numbers again.

She gave a curt nod, but the small victory helped relieve some of the tension in her shoulders. Unless you have any other issues with the designs or something else to discuss, I’ll let you go. I wouldn’t want to go over my fifteen-minute allotment.

His surprised expression turned sheepish, but it brought her no satisfaction. She still had to work with the ignorant ass.

He shifted in his seat and grimaced. The secretary will be in touch to set up another meeting.

Before she could acknowledge his statement, he ended the video chat, testing her