Chapter Four
William took the keys that Justin held out to him then went out into the parking lot. He easily found the truck, unlocked it, got in, and started the engine. He glanced around the lot and found Justin speaking to one of the crews. Fuck. All day with Justin. And this time, it seems, we’ll pretty much be alone. This was going to be rough. The man absolutely hated him, and William, for some reason, couldn’t seem to stop himself from being a jerk most of the time. But, then again, the day before had gone pretty well, so maybe it wouldn’t be horrible. Justin jumped into the driver’s seat, and without a word to William, pulled out onto the street. Not knowing what to say, William stayed silent as well.
Soon enough, they arrived at their first destination. It was an old medical office to be converted into a beauty salon. William found the owner to be quite personable and extremely talkative. She was very vocal in her desires, which he supposed would make the job easier. It would definitely cut out any guesswork. After a minute or two, his focus shifted to Justin. He was doing an incredible job dealing with the woman’s questions and concerns while being polite, professional, and extremely knowledgeable. William was impressed with the way Justin was conducting himself. Confidence was something he found very sexy. Instantly he pushed the thought away. Justin was not sexy. But even then, he couldn’t stop himself from noticing the way his jeans clung to his incredible ass. Stop it, now. An inconvenient attraction to someone who hates me is the last thing I need.
“Alright, Mrs. Simon.” Justin’s voice pulled his attention back to focus. “I think we have everything we need. We’ll send you the estimate no later than noon tomorrow. Please give us a call if you have any questions. We look forward to working with you.”
“This is going to be an incredible space when we finish,” William put in, pretending he had been paying attention.
“Thank you, gentlemen. I will be in touch soon.” Mrs. Simon escorted them out to their truck then waved goodbye.
The trip to the next stop was just as quiet as the first, and probably twice as long. Their destination seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, somewhere on the outskirts of town. When they arrived, they were greeted by a large balding man who gave them both a hardy handshake.
“Leon Royal. Good to know you.”
“You too, sir,” Justin answered. “Justin Ashton.”
“William Harper.”
“Well, come on. Let me show you this barn.” William vowed to pay more attention this time. He really needed to learn this. They all walked around the side of the house to the backyard, where Leon took them into a large four-car garage. Inside was a man and woman in their early twenties, holding hands as they looked around. “Gentlemen, this is my son, Chet, and his beautiful bride-to-be, Ellen.”
“Nice to meet you.” William shook hands with the pair.
Justin did as well, then he looked around the empty room. “This place is huge. What were you thinking about doing with it?”
“I need it turned into a two-bedroom apartment,” Leon told them. “Chet and Ellen are getting married soon, and I couldn’t be happier about it.” He sighed. “However, as I’m sure you know, the housing market is in terrible shape at the moment. I told them they could stay here, but I know they need their privacy. I thought this would be a nice wedding present.”
“And a very generous one,” William agreed.
“What I’d like to do is go over every inch of this place with you guys,” Justin said, looking at the couple with a smile. “I want to make your first home your dream home. We should start with some basic layout plans.” Justin pulled out a sketch pad from his tool bag, drawing a large square and making sure to mark the door. William wanted to be more helpful than he had been at the beauty salon, but it seemed that Justin had everything under control. And maybe it was better that he shut his mouth and pay attention to how to do an evaluation correctly. “Mr. Royal,” Justin addressed the man. “You said you wanted two bedrooms, correct?”
“Yes.” The old man had a hopeful gleam in his eyes. “I think that would be a good number. You know, just in case extra space is ever needed.” He winked at his son.
“Very subtle, Dad.” Chet chuckled. “My dad is obsessed with the idea of grandchildren,” he explained to them.
“My mom was the same way when my sister got married.” Justin laughed. “Besides the future baby’s room, what else were you guys looking for?”
“The standard, I guess. A master bedroom with an attached bath, kitchen, dining area, and a living room.” Chet shrugged.
“Would you be able to fit all that in here?” Ellen looked around, seeming a little nervous.
“Of course, we can,” William assured her. “You have nothing to worry about there.”
Justin nodded in agreement. “Let’s talk about style.”
“I’m not sure.” Suddenly, tears filled Ellen’s eyes, causing Chet to pull her into a hug, rubbing her back.
“I am so sorry, Mrs. Royal. I in no way meant to upset you,” Justin was quick to say.
“Mrs. Royal.” Ellen pulled away, wiping her eyes and giving Justin a small smile. “I love the way that sounds.”
“Ellen Royal does have a nice ring to it.” William returned her smile.
“I’m sorry to be a blubbering mess.” She took a breath, looking like she was trying to control herself. “It’s just that this is a huge project to take on while still planning a wedding. I’m completely overwhelmed.”
“Both of those things are incredibly stressful.” Justin’s voice was sympathetic. “You know, I have an incredible interior designer on speed dial. I would be happy to give him a call for you. It’s possible we could do construction and design at the same time.”
“That would be great.” Ellen looked relieved. “I’ll take any help I can get.”
“What do you say I call up my design guy, Henry, and see when he could come take a look?” When Chet nodded, Justin excused himself to make the call.
“So, how long until the big day?” William asked, not really knowing what else to say.
“Six months.” Ellen looked lovingly at Chet.
“And even that seems like too long.” Chet placed a small kiss on her lips.
“You guys are too sweet,” William forced himself to say with a smile. Jealousy and sadness overtook him. He had yet to experience that. He’d thought he had that kind of relationship with Sebastian, but that was obviously not the case.
“Great news, you guys.” Justin returned. “Henry had an opening, so I talked him into coming today. He could be here in about fifteen minutes, if you want.”
“Most definitely.” Ellen’s face lit up, and she smiled up at her fiancé. “Thank you, guys. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
“The poor girl has been making herself sick trying to get this all done.” Leon patted Ellen’s arm.
“Let’s see if we can take some of the pressure off. Have you given any thought to the layout?” Justin wondered.
“A little.”
Justin nodded, taking a measuring tape from his bag then turned to William. “Can you sketch this out for me?”
“Yeah, sure.” Justin handed him the paper. They walked around the open space discussing room placement. Justin took several measurements, calling them out for William to write down.
No sooner than they’d finished, there was a knock on the door and Leon opened it. “You must be Henry.”
“Yes, sir.” Henry offered his hand.
“Leon Royal.” They shook. “Well, come on in, son.”
“Hey, Henry.” Justin fist-bumped the man. “Thanks for coming, man.”
“It’s no problem at all.” Henry looked around the room. “This is a spectacular space for an apartment. There are so many possibilities.”
“Chet, Ellen, this is Henry Andrews, the owner of Design by Henry,” Justin introduced.
“It’s great to meet you both.” Henry shook hands. “You guys must be thrilled. You have a wedding to plan, and a new apartment that you get to completely design.” His voice was full of excitement.
“I think you mean overwhelmed.” Chet chuckled while Ellen sighed and nodded.
“That’s why we’re here,” Justin assured them. “What do you say we show Henry the layout we’ve come up with and see if he has any thoughts?” He then dropped his voice a little and addressed Henry. “This is William Harper.”
“I kind of figured that,” was Henry’s answer.
“Hello, Henry.” William tried a smile, but he could actually feel the hostility coming from the other man.
Henry barely acknowledged him with a head nod before turning his attention back to Justin and the prospective clients. “Let’s start with the master. I think that might be the most important room for a couple of newlyweds.” Henry winked at the couple. Ellen’s cheeks slightly reddened, but they both nodded immediately. Again, they went through the large empty space. Henry and Justin both took notes, asking all the right questions and throwing out their own suggestions. William stood next to Justin, watching and listening, but not saying a word. He was nothing more than a third wheel. He did not belong here, and his colleagues indirectly made that perfectly clear. Feelings of uselessness washed over him as Justin and Henry bent over their sketch pads comparing notes and ideas, all while Henry kept the Royals laughing.
“You guys are phenomenal.” Ellen sounded relieved and she seemed more relaxed. “Believe it or not, but you’ve renewed my enthusiasm for this remodel.” There was a lightheartedness that hadn’t been there earlier.
“You’re both hired,” Chet said as soon as the words of praise were out of his fiancée’s mouth.
“Most definitely,” Leon emphasized. “Our poor little Ellen is simply overburdened, and I know this will take a huge load off her shoulders.”
“Yeah,” Chet agreed. “I love her more than anything, and it kills me that I haven’t seen her smile while planning things she was so excited about.” Chet put his arm around Ellen’s waist, pulling her closer. She looked up at him, and he bent to kiss her smiling lips.
“Now that’s what I like to see.” Henry grinned.
“When would you be able to start?” Chet asked, still looking lovingly at Ellen.
“I can get an estimate together and send it over to you this evening.” Justin nodded.
“I can do the same,” Henry agreed.
“I think we can skip that step.” Leon had a twinkle in his eyes. “The lot of you seem like good, hardworking, and trustworthy boys, I’m certain you’ll give me a fair price.”
“That, as well as superior craftsmanship, is something you can always count on from us,” Justin assured him. “We do need to do one more walk-through to finalize the exact plan of action, and make sure we’re all on the same page. We usually start construction within a few days of that. I wish I could get it done today, but I have another appointment this afternoon.” He paused for a few moments. “William.”
It took him a second to realize Justin had called him. He hadn’t said a word to him since Henry showed up. “Yes?”
“Call Janie and have her put the Royals on my schedule as soon as possible for a final appraisal.”
William nodded. “Of course. Is there a time that would be best for you, Mr. Royal?”
“Oh, any time. I’ll make sure we’re all home.”
“Perfect. I’m just going to step out for a moment.” Outside, he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself before he talked to Janie. Damn, that was brutal. It had been completely humiliating to be basically invisible to everyone in the room. He couldn’t think of any other instance in his life that had made him feel so insignificant. His opinions were usually sought after, and well received. Shaking it off, he took out his phone. “Hey, Janie,” he said when she picked up. “Can you pull up Justin’s schedule, and tell me when his next availability would be?”
“That would be Tuesday at two,” she answered after a few seconds.
“I need you to book that for Leon Royal.”
“Sure thing.” Her voice was always bubbly and cheerful. Her sunny disposition never failed to brighten the days of clients and staffers. “Done. Anything else, Mr. Harper?”
“It’s just William.”
“Okay, then,” she giggled. “Did you need me to do anything else, William ?”
“No, that’s it. Thanks for your help.” William hung up then went back into the house with everyone else.
“What’s the verdict?” Justin asked.
“Tuesday at two,” he answered.
“That’s perfect.” Leon nodded. “We’ll all take a half day and meet you here.”
Henry took out his phone to check his appointments. “That works for me as well.”
Justin shook hands with the Royal family. Henry and William did the same. “It was great to meet you. We will see you next week.”
“Lunch?” Henry asked Justin as soon as they were outside. “I’m sure you could use a break.”
Justin sighed heavily. “No time. This took a lot longer than I thought. I have Mrs. Liston’s sign-off to get to, and no way am I being late for that.”
William saw Henry pat Justin’s shoulder. “Dinner, then?” Justin nodded. “Later.”
William followed Justin over to his truck. The man put his tool bag in the back seat before joining him in his truck. “Look, we need to talk about the next lady,” Justin said as he started the engine and pulled away.
“Okay.” He looked over at Justin.
“She may be the most difficult woman on the planet. I honestly cannot stand her.”
“Damn, that’s kind of harsh.” That caught William a little off guard.
“She’s rude, condescending, demanding, controlling, and incredibly picky. Just an absolute nightmare.” Justin shook his head. “My advice is that you tread lightly around her.”
“Got it,” William confirmed. Justin nodded, then there was again no conversation on the ride.
“Remember what I told you,” Justin said before he knocked. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Liston. We’re with S this is so not good.
“I want it completely redone. And since I was basically lied to, I shouldn’t be responsible for the correction.”
Fuck! Unsure of what to do next, William looked over at Justin. The man was staring at him in such a way that William could tell that he was fuming.
“Isn’t the customer always right?” she asked when neither man rushed to assure her that her order would be followed.
Justin joined them, speaking for the first time since they entered the house. “Of course, ma’am.” His smile was plastered on, and his voice sounded aggravated but polite. “Is there anything else that didn’t live up to your expectations?”
“I fixed most of your screwups along the way, so of course everything else is perfect.” Mrs. Liston rolled her eyes.
“I’m glad to hear you like everything else, at least. Now about the island, you did sign off on the design before we started.”
“Only because I was misinformed. This is not what I wanted.” Her voice was harsh as she addressed Justin, then she turned to William, and it softened. “So, what time should I expect you tomorrow?”
“For what?” William asked, confused.
“To install the correct island, of course.” She chuckled.
“I’m sorry for any confusion, Mrs. Liston, but the earliest we could possibly install is next Friday,” Justin informed her.
“That is absolutely unacceptable.” She sneered at Justin. “Why should I have to wait so long? I should be your top priority. If you had done what I wanted in the first place, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Her voice raised slightly. “You did it wrong, and now you are going to fix it. Quickly.”
“Of course we’re going to fix it, but, as I said before, there is just no way to have it ready before next Friday.” Justin’s body language indicated that he was fighting hard to control not only the situation but also himself.
“I was promised that these renovations would be completed by today.”
“Yes, you were.” William saw Justin’s jaw clench then release. “But changes, especially the ones you’re asking for, do require extra time.”
“Be thankful that I’m giving you an extra day,” she said snidely. “You should have done a better job from the beginning.”
“While I’m sorry that you’re dissatisfied, we did complete your project on time and to the specifications you requested.” Justin’s patient tone belied the annoyance that William could feel radiating off him. “Deviations from the original plans aren’t something we factor in.”
Mrs. Liston rolled her eyes before dismissively turning back to William. “There must be something you can do.” She pouted. “As the future owner, I’m sure you have a lot of pull around there. I’m hosting an incredibly important dinner party on Sunday, and everything needs to be perfect. I can’t have a half-finished kitchen.”
“Are you sure that it’s not possible?” William asked Justin. He was sympathetic to her plight. Most dinner parties could make you or break you.
“Yes.” Justin glared at him. “The fabrication process takes about a week and a half. Friday is rushing it.”
“You don’t seem to understand that I need it done now !” She spoke to Justin as if he were beneath her. “Do you know what an important client I am? I have a ton of wealthy friends coming over on Sunday, and this can go one of two ways. A, I show off a beautiful, unique kitchen, and brag about your work, which would get you in with a higher breed of clientele. Or B, I show them this mediocrity, and tell them of your reluctance to address issues.” She shrugged her shoulders, sounding haughty.
“Unfortunately, as Justin said, there is no way to speed up the process any more than he already has.”
“Can’t you just force all of your people to work overtime to get it done?”
William had empathized with her at first, but that was quickly fading. Her demand was completely unreasonable and probably impossible to pull off. “Even if we did, there is still no way it would be ready in time for your party.”
“But why?” William wondered how she wasn’t grasping what they were telling her, then she continued. “I’m sure that if every employee you have worked on it, pulling all-nighters today and tomorrow, if need be, I could have it in time. My kitchen is more important than anything else you have going on.”
William couldn’t believe the callous way she was implying that her wants were more important than the well-being of the S it was all about anger. If anyone had said that to him, he would have died on the spot. Justin, however, let out a deep breath and shook his head.
“I’ll just head out to the truck to get this change into our system.” Justin eyed them, shaking his head. “You got this, right, boss ?”
Shit. Not only was Justin incredibly and justifiably pissed, but he was also going to leave him alone and floundering with an extremely difficult customer. What the hell am I supposed to do now? “Mrs. Liston—”
She cut him off by holding up her hands. He could see the superiority complex in her eyes as she watched Justin leave. “Now we can discuss this,” she said. “What are you going to do about the men that completely messed this up? Because I absolutely do not want them back at this house, or to have anything further to do with anything that concerns me.”
“Of course. We can most certainly have a different crew complete the renovation.”
She nodded. “What are you going to do about the deadline? Is this new crew going to be faster and better than the last one? Are you going to make them work around the clock, like I said, to get it done?”
“I’m afraid that’s not something I can do. It’s actually against labor laws.” William had no idea if that was true or not, but it sounded good, so he said it with confidence.
Mrs. Liston blew out a frustrated breath. “What am I supposed to do? I have ten people coming over in two days, and this”—she gestured to the island—“is not what I want them to see. It in no way reflects my sophisticated style.”
William looked around the room but couldn’t see anything wrong with the space. It was quite classy. “I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to expedite your revision, but Sunday just isn’t possible.”
“But…” Her words cut off, and her face looked like it would be more at home on a pouty child.
“I would proudly host a party in this kitchen, so I promise that no one will think less of you for the island counter. I wish there was more I could do to help you.” That was a lie though. This whole thing was ridiculous, and it seemed like it had been from day one. She had agreed to the design, so how was it S Justin had been in the truck for at least twenty minutes. He needed to focus on his work and stay out of the man’s way. However, it seemed that the universe hated him because not half an hour later, there was a problem with the schedule that he, try as he might, just couldn’t figure out. Going to Justin’s office was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Fuck.” William took several deep breaths then grabbed his papers before heading out to the one place he didn’t want to. “Justin.” He knocked softly on the door.
“What?” Damn, time had apparently not cooled Justin’s fury.
William steadied himself then pushed the door open. “I have a problem with tomorrow’s schedule that I just can’t figure out.”
Justin snorted and rolled his eyes. “What can’t you figure out?”
William tried not to take it personally. Justin hadn’t had the best day. He kept his voice professional when he spoke. “Santiago is going to be out for the rest of the week. We’ve already got everyone else booked, so I’m not sure what to do.”
Justin blew out a harsh breath and turned to his computer. After a few minutes of looking into the file, he shook his head. “Santiago’s the plumber. Plumbing can be put off until he’s back, and it won’t slow anything down.” He said all that as if it was something William should automatically know, then he sighed heavily. “Anything else?”
“What happened at Mrs. Liston’s was not my fault.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t help the situation, boss .” Justin sneered the last word.
“I didn’t tell her that.” William tried to defend himself.
“You didn’t tell her you weren’t.”
“Is that your problem? That she thought I was your boss?”
“Do you want to know what my problem is?” Justin stood. “The insane amount of money this correction is going to cost us. The marble for the island alone is four thousand dollars. So, yeah, I’m a little pissed.”
“What was I supposed to do in that situation?” Justin’s attitude was really pissing him off. “Please tell me the right way. What would you have done?”
“Reminded her that she had gotten exactly what she decided on and paid for. We were under no obligation to redo it.”
“Yeah, because alienating an entire customer base is what we do around here,” William said sarcastically. “That sounds like a great business plan.”
“What the hell would you know about it?” Justin’s teeth were clenched. “What do you know about S he did not need to add more fuel to that fire. Sitting down at his desk, he turned to his computer, looking up repair shops with the best reviews. He called several and had finally found the right one when he heard Justin’s door open and close. He walked out into the hallway to the main lobby, quietly waiting for the sound of Justin’s engine. When his truck pulled out of the parking lot, William went into the man’s office, hoping like hell he hadn’t taken the award with him.
He hadn’t. In fact, he hadn’t even bothered to pick it up off the floor, which made William feel even more horrible than he already did. Carefully he picked up the pieces and put them in his messenger bag.