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Jason looked around. “When’s that going to be? Looks like you’ve got a ways to go. And why the hell are you playing with electrical work yourself?”
“Because the last two electricians I hired never showed up.”
“Nothing as bad as unreliable contractors.” He snapped his fingers suddenly. “I know a guy I can send your way. He’s done a ton of work on my projects, and I know he’ll prioritize the job if I ask him for a favor.”
“Great. Give him my number.”
Jason grinned. “I will. If you come hang out right now and listen to my problems.”
“What problems?”
“I’ve got three equally voluptuous options taking turns in my bed, and I’m not sure which one I like best.”
I laughed out loud. In truth I had a to-do list a mile long, but I could use a break. Even though Jason could be trying at times, I really missed the guy. He was my age, and we’d been best friends for nearly ten years. The first time I met Jason Roma, he was standing at the curb in front of the house next door, moodily kicking the tires of a fairly new silver Lexus.
“Hey,” he shouted. “You the new renters?” He pointed to the Santa Fe–style house at my back.
“No,” I answered shortly, not really in the mood to socialize. Only a week had passed since Gio and I had moved all the way to the other side of the country with our grandmother. She’d owned the house for years, and luckily the place was between renters at the time, so we were able to move right in. I was still having some trouble getting my bearings and was not excited about finishing my senior year at an Arizona high school where I didn’t know a soul.
Luckily the kid next door wasn’t put off by my attitude. He approached with confident nonchalance, pushing his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes. I kept my arms crossed as he stopped two steps away and sized me up.
“Name’s Jason,” he said. “Jay for short. You like beer?”
I paused. “Yeah. I like beer.”
“Good.” He nodded approvingly and gestured that I ought to follow him. “Let’s go find some.”
“And then what?”
He smiled. “Then we’ll get shit-faced, you can tell me your life story, and I’ll supply intimate details about every fuck-worthy girl in the zip code.”
I hesitated only for a second. “Sounds good,” I said, deciding that any offer of friendship in a new place shouldn’t be turned down.
Jason had a clever kind of sensitivity, even when he was being a jackass, as well as a wide streak of loyalty. I was always grateful we were still friends. Too little of Jason Roma in my life left a void, and besides, too much of my time revolved around work these days.
“Give me a few minutes,” I finally told my old friend. “I want to get these boxes stacked up. Then I’ll pay for lunch at whatever hole-in-the-wall establishment you choose.”
“Excellent.” Jason clapped his hands together, then bent down to pick up two of the boxes I’d mentioned. When I stacked up a few and started carrying them away, he followed.
“They’re going in the office for now,” I said, heading down the short hallway and then turning left.
“Shit, Dom,” Jason said after he dropped the boxes off and looked around. “What the hell is all this?” He nudged a box with his shoe. “How many of these are empty?”
“A few,” I admitted, setting the boxes down.
“You want to stack them against the wall?”
“No. Middle of the floor is fine.”
Jason shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
I didn’t want to explain that I’d been deliberately using the office as a haphazard storage space to postpone setting it up for its real purpose. Gio was puzzled. He kept assuring me that Melanie was doing an excellent job, that she wouldn’t get in my way, that it would be wise to move her to Espo 2 where she could get all the staffing and administrative ducks in a row before we were down to the wire.
I knew he was right. Melanie was obviously smart and hard working. I sure didn’t want to be fucking around with invoices and human resources paperwork when I had a restaurant to get up and running. But the problem was I turned into a caveman whenever I was in the same room with her.
Melanie Cruz was my employee. I shouldn’t want her. But that didn’t matter much when it came to basic instincts.
“Are we going to stand here and stare at boxes all day, or are we going to eat?” Jason said.
