Page 59 of Meet Me at the Altar

“The scope of what you’re proposing isn’t going to work. At this rate, they will be more than five hundred thousand over budget, and that’s not what we told them we would do,” I declared, shoving the folder across my desk.

“I know, Drè, but they must go up if they want the best. There’s no way that we can get Gaines and Co onboard for anything less than this. If we try to go around this, we’ll be cutting prices where we can’t afford to cut prices.”

I finger combed my beard and nodded. “You’re right, Greg, and the last thing that we’ll ever do is knowingly expose them to liabilities and a string of lawsuits.”

“I know that Gaines and Co are the best, and they want the best for this project, but?—”

“Actually, they’re not the best. They spend a ton of money on advertising and image to make them appear that way and buying contracts that are high profile, but they’re not the best.”

He frowned at me. “You sure?”

I chuckled. “Trust me. I’m very familiar with the construction industry.”

“Through PMP work like this?”

“Not just this, but through my past. Tell you what, give me a sec,” I declared, reaching for the phone.

He nodded and sat back in his chair as I dialed a number that I had recently become familiar with.

“Arnold, wassup?” I listened to the older man, and I laughed as he talked junk about getting older.

I ran into him about a couple of months ago at a construction site, and I took him to lunch. I thanked him for having the courage to do what he did all those years ago. He told me that he did not understand. I explained that had he not fired me, my back wouldn’t have been pressed against the wall, and I wouldn’t have learned what all I was made of. He said that he was just glad to see that I had come out on top winning, and I’d told him that I owed him.

“Remember that favor that I said I owed you?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, it’s time for you to collect. I have a job that I’d like for you to look at. The budget is one point twenty-five mill’, and that’s the very top of their budget. The people they wanted to do it, won’t do it for less than two.”

“Send it over. I’d love to look at the specs.”

“You’ll have it in less than twenty minutes.”

We made small talk a bit longer and ended the call.

“That’s pretty cool. I never thought about Staten Brothers being a contender. They usually work smaller projects.”

“No, they work large ones too; it’s just that they don’t go for the high-profile ones. They’re a good resource to keep in your pocket.”

“How do you know him?”

“Remember that story that I told at orientation about getting fired from my good job?”

“Yeah.”

“That was the good job.”

He whistled just as a knock came at my door. I looked up and saw my beautiful wife standing in the doorway, wearing a denim, ankle-length dress. “Sorry to disturb you, but I have an urgent matter about the CTO position I need to discuss with you.”

“Come on in. We were just wrapping up this meeting,” I declared, standing to signify the end of Greg’s and my meeting.

He stood as well. “Thanks for this, Drè.”

“No problem at all,” I replied as he headed toward the door. I watched as he greeted my wife and then exited my office.

Kalliope walked into my office, all swaying hips, glowing skin, and tiny belly bump. “Hello, gorgeous,” I greeted, meeting her halfway.

“Hey, baby. I’ve been trying to figure out which direction we should go. We had a little hiccup with the background check, but I’m willing to work with this guy, if you are. He’s got all the experience that we need, and his references checks out and only had excellent things to say about him.”