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“I can give you a quick tour,” he said, “but frankly there’s not much to see at this point. The twin custom brick ovens will be here this week, and once that happens, we can start filling in the rest of the kitchen.”
Dominic glanced back with a frown, like he was expecting that I wouldn’t be paying attention. Then he snapped his fingers and pointed straight ahead.
“Over here you’ll have the takeout counter, once there’s an actual countertop; restrooms are back there on the left, although the plumbing isn’t exactly functional. Down the corridor past the kitchen is where the office is going to be. You’ll be set up with everything you need in there, although there’s nothing I can do about it today.” He rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. “Not sure why Gio sent you down here just to breathe in dust and paint fumes.”
As Dominic talked, I walked around slowly, taking in the view. The building was obviously old, but once the interior was all polished up, it could really turn into something. Espo 2 was considerably larger than Espo 1, and given its size and the prominence of the downtown location, this new venture seemed like a big step for the brothers.
Dominic had stopped speaking, and when I looked over, I realized that he’d been watching me. His eyes flickered down over my legs before he let out a heavy breath that was somewhere between a sigh and a hiss. I didn’t know what his problem was. He was obviously bent out of shape over his missing contractor, but that wasn’t my fault.
Anyway, I was determined to get off on the right foot with this guy, so I smiled pleasantly and put on my best voice of overcompensating cheer. “This is going to be quite a place when it’s all finished. You guys are going to be the toast of Phoenix.”
Dominic said nothing. A finger tapped his lips like he was deep in thought as he stared past the proposed takeout counter and through a window in the wall that offered a view into the kitchen. I couldn’t be sure he’d even heard me.
“You’re lucky,” I said, and this time he heard me. He looked at me with one eyebrow raised, so I explained. “I mean, you get to work with your brother. You guys must be pretty close.”
“Must be,” he said and then began moving a stack of paint cans close to the wall.
“I have a sister,” I babbled. Dominic Esposito was doing a fine job of heightening my anxiety. “She lives in San Francisco now. She works for an art museum. I really miss her, though. Did you grow up in Phoenix? Most people didn’t. It seems everyone comes here from somewhere else. I’m from Tucson.”
“New York,” he said, cutting me off as he finished stacking paint cans. He grabbed a giant toolbox, set it on a nearby worktable, and rummaged around inside.
“Oh yeah, Gio mentioned that in the interview. Your family used to own a restaurant there, right?”
The door suddenly swung open, and two sweaty men inched through it. They were struggling under the weight of a gigantic gray slab.
“You guys stop for a tea party on the way back?” Dominic growled as he stalked over to help.
“Gimme a fucking break,” one of the men whined. “It wasn’t at the warehouse where it was supposed to be, so we had to drive to Mesa.”
I stood back as the men wrestled the long slab into the room and carefully set it down.
“Is that granite?” I asked, feeling as if I needed to pipe up and say something relevant.
“Quartz,” said the second man as he took a crumpled, red bandanna out of his back pocket and wiped his forehead.
Dominic was crouched beside the slab, inspecting it and running his fingers over the surface. I picked a few pieces of cat hair from my sleeve—I felt like I was in the way, but I didn’t want to seem anything less than completely enthusiastic.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.
One of the workers poked the other one with a smirk. I hadn’t introduced myself, and now I didn’t feel like making the effort.
Dominic remained hunkered down on the floor. He squinted up at me. “Can you fix toilets?”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet? Are you in plumbing school?”
“No, I’m—never mind. I just wanted to let you know that I’m ready to pitch in.”
“Right now I need someone to pitch in and repair the toilets.”
“Well,” I said helplessly, “I can’t help you there.”
“Then you should go back to Espo 1 where you can be useful. Gio’s probably got a stack of invoices that ought to be dealt with.”
“All right, but he told me to come here.”
Dominic stood up. The look he gave me made me feel like I was the slowest learner in the class. “And I’m telling you to go back there. Now.”
