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Chapter 16
Andre
July turned into August. Joining Mia on her daily morning jog was the one guilty pleasure Andre allowed himself. Her shapely ass bounced just a few steps ahead of him. He’d let himself look, but not touch. Well, not touch too much. The little brushes of their hands, or when she playfully pushed him didn’t count. Not even if he wished it could be more. When it came down to it, he liked spending time with her.
He tugged on her ponytail and sped up past her.
“Hey!” she screeched, hurrying her pace to shove him in the side, bumping her body against his.
He laughed. They didn’t talk about themselves so much as they simply enjoyed the moments in each other’s company. A friend. Yes, that was what Mia was. Just like Jasmine.
Except he’d never imagined Jasmine naked and writhing beneath him on the edge of pleasure.
***
Later that afternoon, Andre’s phone rang from the desk in what would be Mia’s office in a little less than six weeks.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mr. Stone. This is Mike from down at Mackenzie Lumber. I just wanted to let you know we’ve hit a snag in your delivery. It’s gonna be delayed by a week.”
“A week?” Andre clarified. He needed that lumber yesterday. This was going to throw their schedule behind. He had other clients waiting after this project with Mia. This was a disaster.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry. There was a clerk error and the wrong wood was delivered. I apologize for any inconvenience.”
Andre sighed. What else could he do?
“Fine. Thanks for letting me know.” Andre hung up. His day had just gone south fast.
“Dre?” Tom asked, walking into the small room.
“Yeah?”
“We have a problem.”
Andre rubbed his palm over his face. What now?
“You better come see.”
Andre stood, following his right-hand man into the main part of the studio. As he walked through the building, he took note of all they’d accomplished. The list of what they had left to finish grew shorter every day. Mia was going to love it here. His stomach clenched at the thought of her face lighting up and her beautiful smile.
Tom laughed and Andre realized he hadn’t been paying attention again. Focus. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“Flooring is all good, except this one section. I found some rot,” Tom said, picking up a piece of the damaged wood. “It’s a good thing after all that we tore up the floor.”
Andre nodded. “Okay. You know what to do.”
“Yeah, but that’s the good news.” Tom proceeded to show Andre the electrical mess he’d discovered in one of the walls—old wiring that should have been torn out ages ago and replaced. They were lucky it hadn’t started a fire yet. Then Tom pointed out that one of the other guys had gone to mud and tape the ceiling in one of the future changing rooms, only to find water damage. A huge section would have to be redone.
As Tom listed off the setbacks, all Andre could do was grind his teeth together. This was a nightmare. He’d have to delay contracts and hope they’d wait for his business rather than seeking his competition. He and Mikel had been so close to reaching their goals, possibly hiring more men, but that hope had evaporated in the last fifteen minutes.
Andre returned to the office and started going over the amended plans for the next few days. Then we’ll paint the office and get Mia’s proper desk placed in here. A sturdy desk. Images of Mia spread out over said desk flashed in his mind.
Shit.
He reread the list. Painting, then furniture. A bed was a piece of furniture. The image of Mia almost naked in between her sheets with her hair sprawled out over the pillow flashed in his mind. He groaned. It was taking him twice as long because he couldn’t stop thinking about Mia. Get it together! He could fall for her. But that was not a risk his heart could take.
Laughter and music filtered into the office. The noise grated on his last nerve. Who the hell is joking around when we have so much work to do?
