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“Carl, you’re a dick. Let’s go downstairs.”
The construction worker was the man I was supposed to be meeting with. I knew instantly that my pleasantries over the phone did absolutely nothing to break the ice between us. He did this on purpose to scare me and it freaking worked. I was frozen where I stood, trembling and terrified, until Jaime’s arm wrapped around my shoulder and he carefully guided me into the elevator, facing me away from the window in the back. I heard Carl follow us but my eyes were glued to the ground as I tried to fight off the waves of panic, nearly hyperventilating.
The doors slid shut, blocking out the wind and the noise, and still I couldn’t look up. Sweat gathered at my temples and I fought back tears. I will not cry. I won’t!
“What’s wrong with her?”
Jaime’s voice had an edge to it. “She’s afraid of heights, asshole. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinkin’ your cousin was tryin’ to pull the wool over my eyes with a pretty face and I decided to show him I ain’t no dummy. We ain’t renegotiatin’ nothin’ and if he wants to act like that–”
Jaime made an irritated noise. “Pull the wool over your eyes about what? You haven’t even met with her yet.”
Carl growled. “I’ve dealt with hoity toity lawyers like her a dozen times over. We sign a contract, they want to reneg and screw us over. It ain’t happenin’.”
The door slid open and Jaime guided me out. I needed to summon my strength but when I finally managed to look up, I frowned. We were on the ground floor but not where I’ve been before. There were a bunch of fold out tables around and chairs, along with a fridge. It looked like a makeshift breakroom. Jaime moved me into a chair, squatting in front of me with a frown.
“You okay?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded. “I’m okay. Thank you.”
The corner of his mouth lifted and he patted my knee. “You still look really pale. I’m gonna get you a drink. Stay here.”
Pushing to his feet, he walked over to the line of tables along the wall where there was a small coffee maker. While he was busy, I finally looked up at Carl. He looked a little guilty and a lot defensive, his arms crossed over his chest as he studied me. Sucking in a deep breath, I stood to face him, pushing aside my discomfort and putting the lawyer mask back up.
“Mr. Norton, I believe we started off on the wrong foot. I have no intention of deceiving you. The lawyer who wrote up the contract was an idiot and left a lot to be desired. Mr. O’Connor isn’t the only one who will be benefiting from my updates.” I didn’t normally speak that way with clients but he would just have to excuse me because I wasn’t at one hundred percent after all that.
Jaime stepped up next to me, handing me a small cup of coffee. I still felt chilled, like the wind sunk under my skin, but I couldn’t be weak now. Not while Carl was looking at me like I was the enemy.
“What kinda changes? You didn’t answer over the phone.”
I gestured to the table, urging him to sit with me. “That’s because I didn’t want to give the impression that I cared so little that I couldn’t be bothered to head downstairs. I also believe honest exchanges are best done face to face so that you can see that I’m not screwing with you.”
The more I spoke, the more uncomfortable he seemed to get. He pulled off his hardhat, scrubbing the back of his neck roughly. “Alright, fine. Show me the damn contract then. I’m not promisin’ nothin’ though.”
I nodded. “That’s okay, I’m not asking for you to sign it right away. You are well within your right to have it looked over by your own counsel.”
When I handed it to him, he frowned at it. I didn’t want to automatically assume that he wouldn’t be able to understand it but there was a lot of legalese in there so I pulled out the original and my notes, going over the sections I changed point by point. He looked more thoughtful than anything once we were through and he didn’t snap at me for explaining it like I thought he might.
“As I said before, you can have it checked by your own people. Or I can make a recommendation if you don’t have one.”
He shook his head. “Nah, you explained it fine.” He looked pensive, staring at the contract. “Still don’t feel right.”
“Can I ask why?”
He made a face. “Ain’t never had somethin’ go our way like this before. Especially not by the people hirin’ us. O’Connor already lost his shit on the last crew that worked for him, why would he be treatin’ us special?”
I pursed my lips. I didn’t have the whole story about the last company that worked for them. All I knew was that they were taking shortcuts and the lawyer was in on it.
“I don’t believe it’s special treatment. It’s a fair exchange. It’s not like the renegotiation doesn’t benefit Mr. O’Connor. It’s just that most of his benefits are protections, not outright costs. It may be frustrating but I prefer to spell things out plainly in my contracts so that there’s no room for any ‘wool pulling’.”
He smirked at me. “Gonna throw that in my face, huh?”
Lifting a shoulder, I gave him a small smile. “Just thought I’d remind you of the facts. I may be working for Mr. O’Connor but I don’t believe in shortchanging workers for the benefit of the CEOs. You do honest work, you get paid for it. That’s the deal.”
He considered me for a minute before his gaze slid over my shoulder. Coming back to me, he nodded once. “Alright. I’ll sign. I like you, there ain’t no bullshit like I thought. And if you’re workin’ with Jaime, I guess I can trust ya. He’s a good kid, watches our backs.”
My mind moved back to when Jaime asked me to trust him. He knew his presence here was going to help. I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder, handing my pen to Carl. He signed and shook my hand, giving me a lopsided grin.
