Page 6 of Finding Home

“Gary is going to be the death of me, Blake. I’m losing my mind with his indecisiveness. We need to break ground and get this project started so he can’t change it again.”

“First, it was the floors, then the lighting. Oh, and let’s not forget the great beige, blue, tan walls debate.” Blake is now pacing, ticking items off on his fingers.

“You forgot to mention the signs!” I smirk, knowing it will rile him even more.

“Fuck me, the signs! Please tell me those are locked down?”

“For now. Let’s look at the blueprints and see how much reworking we will need to make bay windows happen.”

Blake eyes me but moves to the drafting table in the corner, unfurling the plans. We spend the next thirty minutes looking them over and discussing what would need to be altered if we switched. Just as lunch arrives, my phone rings. I check the ID and flash it at Blake.

“Oh, good, our dear friend, Gary!”

My lips twitch as I answer it on speaker. “Hi, Gary. Just FYI, you’re on speaker, and Blake, my foreman and the lead for your project, is in the room, too.”

“Blake, my boy, how are you?” he cries in a jovial manner, acting like Blake is a young boy and not the same age as him. I hide my laugh behind a cough.

“I’m great, sir,” Blake grits out through clenched teeth.

“Get the blueprints out, I have good news!” Blake walks over to the drafting table and braces his arms, staring at the prints.

“I just got off the phone with Senior.” A.k.a his dad, and the purse funding this project. “He gave his final approval for this change, then said to lock it down. He doesn’t care for all the back and forth going on.” I clench my fist and bite my knuckles, loving how he insinuates it’s our fault things keep changing. Blake whirls around, fisting his sandy blonde hair like he’s about to yank it out.

“And?” I ask tersely, hoping he didn’t pick up on it. This job’s a royal pain in my ass, but it’s a big one, my first major commercial job since striking out on my own, so I have to play nice. At just twenty-eight, I’m still younger than a lot of the big contractors out here, so getting this job and proving myself is crucial.

“We are going to do bay windows for the two businesses on the ends and leave the middle unit with the display windows and awning. Which businesses would that be again?”

“The current layout is the bookshop on the left end of the strip, with the bakery-cafe in the middle, and the boutique on the other end.”

“Good, good. That is going to be perfect, give some real dimension and interest to the façade, you know?”

“We can make the adjustments, and I’ll get the window orders changed ASAP. Just so you know, we will have to reduce the inside space for the two properties with bay windows to leave the sidewalks unimpeded for pedestrians.”

“Right, good plan, boys. I’m very excited to get things moving.”

“Us too,” Blake calls. I flick my gaze toward him, gauging if he’s about to stick his foot in his mouth, before jumping in to close the deal.

“Yes, sir. We’re excited to see your vision come to life. We’ll update the plans and send them to you. Once you sign off, we’ll lock them and submit them to the city for final licensing. After that, only cosmetic changes can be made without major disruptions,” I emphasize this, hoping it helps keep him on track.

“Perfect. Can you get those to me by the end of the night? I have an early flight in the morning and will be out of the country until after the build starts.”

Blake and I both perk up at that news, but making the changes means a very long night for us. Arching a brow, I look at Blake, and he nods enthusiastically.

“We’ll have them to you by midnight, Gary.”

“Perfect! Ciao.” Ugh, even his sign-off is pretentious, somehow.

“Fuck it, I’ll work until I’m cross-eyed to get these done. If it means he shuts up and lets us get to work, I will do whatever it takes.” Blake throws his hands in the air, heading back to the drawing table.

I laugh but agree wholeheartedly. It’s a good thing we spent some time since the last call to start the new plans just in case he decided to pivot again.

We hit send at 11:56 p.m., both slumping into chairs. It sucked, but it’s done. If he gets it back to us tomorrow, and the city doesn’t drag their feet, we should be able to stay on track for breaking ground. Demo starts at the end of the week, so we will be ready as soon as permits are cut to start building. As draining as it has been, I’m energized by the new challenge and ready for a change of scenery. Blake might be the boots on the ground guy, but I will be popping in throughout the whole project and spending a lot of time in Juniper Falls this year as well; everything has to go right.

Chapter 7

Harper

It’s been just over two months since the papers were signed, and The Driftwood Spa became mine. Shaina and Daniel left the next week for an extended road trip, and I was told to make it my own.