Rich bastards like this guy have been moving to Liliton more and more as time goes on. They think that living in a small town gives them the right to parade their dicks around like some kind of peacock. Money makes them think they can do anything, including treat those they hire with complete disrespect. He thinks that because of my job, I am worth less because I make less. Little does he know that my company is worth twice as much as his.
When my business deal with Sam goes through, I swear to God, I’m not going to be like that.
We lower the beam down to the ground and let the roof team take it from there. There’s about ten of us on this job. One of my boys had an accident on-site and is out for a few months, so I’m filling in for him. Nowadays, I’ve been leaving my teams to it. I trust them and I know that they all work hard and don’t cut corners. Yeah, sure, I still have the occasional dickhead like Benny, but what can you do?
When I fired him the other week, it wasn’t just because he hit on Oakleigh, although I must admit that it was a contributing factor. It was more because it wasn’t the first incident I’ve had with him. A few months ago, one of our clients was a young female. She was getting her roof redone after finding a leak, and she came to me to let me know that Benny was being incredibly unprofessional. I called him out on it and told him that while he’s working, he needs to ignore his dumbass urges and be strictly professional. I gave him a warning and told him that if it ever happened again, I’d fire him. He did it again, and with the wrong woman.
I was going to hire him back, really I was, but what kind of message would that send if I had? I had to show that my warnings come once and that’s it, otherwise others like Benny will think that they can exploit my kindness. They’ll see a quiet owner who helps out occasionally and believe that I won’t say anything.
Hard workers such as Raze on the other hand, I give rewards where I can—extra vacation days, shorter hours, the occasional pay rise.
“All set, boss,” Raze says as he wipes sweat from his brow. “You want us to start with the brick work?”
“Let them fix this dumbass beam into place first and then we can start with it. Everything by the book, I don’t need this guy giving any unnecessary grief.”
“Do we ever do it against the book?” Raze asks with a laugh.
“Good point.” I give him a playful shove and make my way back to my truck. I hop up into the bed and try my best to tackle some admin. My phone vibrates in my back pocket and I answer the call without checking who it is.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Mr. Southwick?”
“Speaking.”
“Hello, sir. This is Martin from the planning department?”
I bolt upright, my spine straightening. “Yes, hello.”
“Hello. I’m just calling today to let you know that your planning request has been approved.”
Not even the unrelenting heat could disrupt the elation that covers me better than any air-conditioning ever could.
“Thank you,” is all I can seem to bring myself to say. I suppose even happiness can block words and trap them in your throat.
“Do you need me to explain what happens next?” Martin asks.
“No, no, thanks. I’m familiar with the process.”
“Excellent! Well, you’ll receive a confirmation of the approval in your email today and I wish you all the best going forward.”
He ends the call and I’m left here, phone stuck halfway to my ear, mouth hanging open. I’m not surprised it’s been approved. I knew it would be. I’m just surprised that everything is going so…right. Things are going my way, things are happening for me that I’ve wanted for myself for so long and I’m happy. Truly happy, for once.
Admin lies forgotten about, the bastard client’s emails go unanswered. All I can think about is the fact that I finally get to do what I’ve dreamed of for years. All I want to do right now is call Oakleigh and let her know. But for now, I hold it in. I rein in the need for it that almost overwhelms me because Cherry is busy working her first day shift in forever and I’m not going to disrupt her while she’s saving lives.
“If you have somewhere to be, I can hold the fort,” Raze says to me, a knowing smile on his face.
I shake my head, but my smile doesn’t fade at all. “I’m good. It can wait.”
“I saw you the other day. Didn’t seem like anything can wait when it comes to her.” He sees the way my smile drops slightly. Raze holds his hands out. “Not judging at all. If I had someone like that, I’d grab them with both hands and never let go.”
I shrug, turning my head so he doesn’t see the way my cheeks heat up. “Eh, I’m not entirely sure that Ihaveher.”
Raze’s eyebrows dip as he leans against the truck. “Trouble in paradise?”
I shrug again. He eyes me up and down but takes his time speaking. “We don’t usually talk about personal shit much, do we?”
“Not really, no.”
