Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 35957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“Hell yeah, it’s you and me. The next matter of business will be moving you off the main floor and having you work in my office with me.” I drop the bomb in her lap just as I knock on Todd’s office door. While my friends are dumb and leave room for argument, it’s kind of hard to do that when the man you’re about to spill you guts to opens the door to his office. He’s also my partner, and this could make for some rocky ground, which is why I stayed up well after Serena fell asleep last night. I was tempted to call an emergency meeting and ask for a contingency plan until I crunched the numbers.
I didn’t tell Serena, but if Todd decides to part ways, I needed to make sure the funds were available to buy him out. Sure, we could close down the business, and I could start something new, but then our employees would lose their jobs, and that didn’t sit right with me. Which meant pouring over my accounts, looking up my investments, and having my feet on solid ground. Sheer luck or paying my accountant a whack has it to where I’ll be okay if shit goes sideways, and if it doesn’t, well, I’ll be able to keep my money where I like it, in my bank account and with my eyes on it.
“Crew, Serena. The two people I was looking for. Val is here and wanted to take a look at where you worked. Only you weren’t where I thought you’d be, in Crew’s office or downstairs,” Todd says in a suspicious sort of way.
“Mind if we come in?” He notices the we I used in my statement and more or less realizes that when he steps back, holding the door open for us, my hand is on Serena’s lower back.
“Sure thing.” I guess this is a good sign. He could have very well slammed the door in my face or told me no and let Serena enter.
“There you are. Todd has told me you’re doing amazing and working closely with Crew on the plans for LITHE. That’s wonderful.” Val, Todd’s wife, stands up to greet Serena with a hug.
“Thank you. I had help. There were a few times I got stuck and had to really look into some things for the historical society. Remind me to never buy a home in an area where they can pick and choose what you can and can’t do. It’s like a home owner’s association except worse.” Serena has been on a tangent about the rules the downtown area has. I get it, it’s a nightmare, but they want things to look historically accurate as well as keep the preservation to the standards of the past while updating the necessities with electrical, plumbing, and ADA requirements.
“But you’ve always wanted a home built in the turn of the century,” Val states, offering a bit of information I didn’t know about.
“I’m rethinking that after working on LITHE.”
“It’s different when you’re on a piece of land or not in the city limits. That’s when you have more freedom besides the necessities,” I tell her.
“Good, then a skylight won’t have to be approved before going any further even though it can’t be seen from the streets?” There’s the bone of contention I knew she didn’t like dealing with.
“God no. Cities are notorious for their way or the highway rules.” Todd rarely touches buildings like she’s worked on. He prefers working from the ground up with new construction and stays just as booked as I do.
“Hi, Val,” I finally say once the conversation slows down, going to shake her hand, except she leans in for a hug. Todd doesn’t growl like my surly friends do or grunt under their breath like I did last night when every last one of them lingered a smidge too long, on fucking purpose.
“Hello, Crew. How have you been?” We make small talk for a few minutes. She talks about a fundraiser she’s putting together and tells me she’ll be hitting me up for a donation, and if I could pass it along to the others, she’d be forever grateful. Val and her sister, Serena’s mom, host a charity dinner once a year, and this one is for the animal shelter in town.
“How long has this been going on?” Todd’s brashness interrupts our conversation. Serena is sitting next to me, my arm on the back of the couch, and with this being a two-seater-type of sofa, it makes it exceptionally hard not to sit close to one another. Val is in the chair across from us, and Todd is to her right.
“Todd, can I speak to you off to the side?” I go to stand up, but Serena’s hand stays me where I am by touching the top of my thigh.