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</div>Preston was not sure that the world of construction was for him.  This isn't to say that the Marino Construction Agency was a bad place to work.  A lot of the people were really nice and helpful, and there always seemed to be enough work to keep you busy, and then some, which really was a feat in this economy.  In truth that had been one of the reasons that he had applied here as an intern in his last year of college.  An architecture major, Preston had kind of cruised through college without much of a plan on what he was going to do after, which was something that his parents made very clear was not going to be an acceptable strategy.  A pretty good businessman himself, Preston’s father had noted the new building going up downtown, and had told Preston it would be a good idea for him to learn some of the practical side of construction, not just theory and lines on paper.<br/><br/>When Preston had applied, he had assumed he would not be taken on, of course.  This was a REAL construction firm, and he had seriously doubted that they wanted some kid pouring over drawings and getting in the way of getting things done.  To his complete surprise, Preston had immediately gotten a call back accepting, and it wasn’t until late on his first day that he realized why.<br/><br/>He had been the only applicant.<br/><br/>Apparently, it was WELL known in the construction community that Gary Marino did good work, came in on time and under budget, but was a complete and utter hardass to his people.  Sure, some people phrased it as ‘no nonsense’, or ‘dedicated’ or ‘focussed’, but Preston had enough perfectionist professors to know that Mr. Marino was not the guy you wanted to screw up in front of.  Not one prone to yelling or anything, instead the owner was the type of guy who could tear you apart with just a look.   Preston learned very early on to try and avoid him at all costs, and just make sure his work was the best he could possibly do.  While several of the others in the office assured him he was doing great work and The Boss knew it, Preston nevertheless kept a low profile.  Hell, he was pretty sure Mr. Marino didn’t know his name.<br/><br/>So it had gone for Preston’s last year of college, finishing his classes and interning at the Marino Agency, until with his graduation it was finally time to find something permanent.  Proud of the work that he had put in during his last year in college, Preston’s dad had given him a car for graduation and agreed to foot the bills for one more summer, as long as he kept working.  Both Preston and his father hoped that he would be able to parlay this internship into something full time, even though that would mean that he’d have to talk to Mr. Marino to bring it up.  Still, filled with confidence, Preston had decided he would finish his current project in the next few weeks, then talk to the boss about a position when he presented it to him.<br/><br/>Sitting in their weekly kick off meeting, Preston was only half paying attention, his mind on the stack of papers he had in front of him, needing to go over a bunch of these orders as the amounts they ordered seemed a little low and the prices a little high.  That was a quick way to get the Boss's attention. Negatively.  Trying to crunch numbers in his head, Preston looked up finally at the word “daughter” that not exactly being something that Mr. Marino frequently said.  Trying to think if he knew anything about that, he didn’t, Preston was unsurprised by the rest of the meeting.  The boss was not one for emails or texts when a phone call or a face to face in his office was available.  Something else Preston had learned early on.<br/><br/>Waiting for Mr. Marino to leave the meeting first as he usually did, Preston realized that he was waiting for everyone else to go, so he was making his way past with a bland, office smile when Gary slapped a hand on his shoulder.  Shocked, Preston turned with wide eyes as Mr. Marino not only addressed him directly (sort of), but pulled him in on this whole daughter thing.<i>Oh no…</i>Preston thought, torn between worry and elation that this would give him an in with the boss.  “Um...sure.  Right, I mean, of course, Mr. Marino.”  Preston replied, although it didn’t really seem like he was at all worried about Preston saying no as Gary was already turning away.  Returning to his desk, Preston smiled at the office manager, a nice older lady named Mary who had been with the company forever and who sat at the desk to him.  “Good luck, Preston.”  She said with a slightly sad look, probably the only person in the company who used his name.<br/><br/>~<br/><br/>For the next hour and a half, Preston dug deep into his work, his pencil scratching furiously across the papers in front of him, and his fingers flying across the keys of his laptop.  So absorbed was he in what he was doing that he totally missed Addison’s arrival and it was only when Mary gave his chair a kick that he looked up and made eye contact with Mr. Marino.  Following the older man’s pointing finger he just caught a glimpse of a female form as it ducked into the breakroom.  Smiling and nodding at the boss, which he totally missed as he was turning back into his office yet again, Preston pushed himself to his feet and headed off to the breakroom.   Great, he wasn’t even going to get an introduction!  Of course, that might have been pretty awkward when the boss didn’t know his name and simply referred to him as “kid”.<br/><br/>Following to where the bosses daughter had disappeared, Preston entered and got his first glimpse of Addison, although it was from behind as she perused the drink selection.  Taking in the sneakers, the cutoffs and the t-shirt, Preston could not help but note that she was neither dressed for the corporate world nor the construction world, but then maybe her father had not told her what she was going to be doing.  Or, considering how late it was, maybe she had not expected to come in today.<i>Good god she is made of legs, though…</i>Preston noted, the shorts making it impossible not to notice, although he made very sure not to let his mind start straying there.<br/><br/>“Um…..hi.”  Preston began,  realizing very suddenly and alarmingly that he had not been paying attention when Mr. Marino had mentioned her name.  “I’m Preston and your dad wanted me to show you around, although you probably know more about this place than me.” He said, joking lamely, but as the youngest person in the office by probably twenty years, he was definitely out of practice.   Just then it hit him like a bolt out of the blue, and he nearly sighed in relief.  “It’s Addison, right?”