Chapter 7. Nobody Checks Their Emails at Midnight
CHAPTER 7
Nobody Checks Their Emails at Midnight
Loud, insistent knocks jolted me awake the next morning, followed by Alec bellowing from the other side of my door. “Wake up, Ellie! We’re leaving in thirty.”
Groaning, I groped for my phone, my eyes popping wide when I saw the time. “Somebody better be dead,” I muttered.
Another loud, impatient rap. “Come on. Burning daylight here.”
Jumping off the bed, I flung the door open and glared at him. “ What daylight? It’s five in the morning!”
His eyebrows, already furrowed, climbed upward. “Yikes.” His gaze traveled down my length. “And you complained about me not wearing a shirt?”
My cheeks heated when I belatedly realized that I was in my old, ratty Hello Kitty pajamas. It was my oldest, most comfortable sleepwear, with fading pictures on the thinning white top and pink pants, and probably most definitely inappropriate for public view. It wasn’t the same as him being shirtless, but from where he was standing, he could probably see what was underneath. And as if on cue, my uncooperative yet friendly nipples had apparently decided that it was time to join the party and introduce themselves.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest and glared at him. “This had better be a life-and-death situation.”
“We’re meeting my contractor in an hour.” He leaned against the doorframe, his eyes lazily wandering back up to my face. “Sent you an email about it last night.”
“Didn’t get it.”
“Did you check your email?”
“I did, before I went to bed. Nothing from you.”
“Check again.”
I marched over to the bedside table and snatched my phone. Sure enough, the last item in my inbox came from him, sent just five hours ago.
“Who, in their right mind, sends an email about an appointment, at two minutes past midnight, to someone living in the same house?” I waved my phone, repressing the urge to hit him on the head with it. “Why didn’t you just knock? Slip a note under the door? Or use this nifty little platform called WhatsApp? Who the hell checks their freaking emails at midnight? ”
“Any budding entrepreneur who wants to succeed. Breakfast is ready downstairs.”
“You can’t boss me around. If this is how it’s going to be, I’m canceling our deal.”
“Your loss, Hello Kitty. It’s not me who has their future riding on a badly damaged building.” He pushed himself off the doorframe and headed toward the stairs. “Best of luck, Godspeed, and all the rest of it.”
Damn him , because he was right. Whether I liked it or not, I needed his help.
I slammed the door, ignoring his evil chuckle from the other side.
As if being abruptly woken up at the crack of dawn wasn’t bad enough, the car ride to the shop was even more excruciating. Alec had put on a podcast about the construction industry that droned on and on about the importance of workforce management. No amount of tea, energy drink, or even coffee would ever be enough to help me endure this kind of mind-numbingly dull talk so early in the day.
“Do you seriously listen to this on your way to work? Every day?”
His reply was a grunt, his eyes focused on the busy morning traffic.
“This is awful. No wonder you’re so grumpy and annoying.”
There was a tsk before he replied. “I’m not grumpy, and this is how I start my day. It pays to keep myself up-to-date with the latest changes in the industry.”
“I mean, I’d probably be grumpy, too, if I had to listen to this every morning. What about some upbeat songs to boost your mood and start the day right?”
“My mood and my days are just fine.”
Was it wrong that I felt a perverse satisfaction in riling him up? “Have you ever heard of BTS? That super popular K-pop boy band? They’ve got some catchy songs to cure your crankiness. You don’t even have to understand Korean.”
“Anyone ever told you your taste in music is appalling?”
“Beyoncé? John Legend? Old Dominion?” I went on, knowing full well that he was getting annoyed. “Michael Bublé? You can’t go wrong with easy, jazzy Bublé.”
“Look, Hello Kitty.” He let out an extra-long sigh. “When we’re in your car, you’re free to play any songs you want. K-pop, rock, country, operatic arias, I don’t care. When we’re in mine, this is what we listen to.”
“You’re being very close-minded.” He was so easy to tease, and I might have found my new favorite pastime. “There’s a whole world outside of construction podcasts, you know. You should open yourself up to new possibilities.”
“Goddamn it, Ellie. If you keep this up, one of us isn’t going to survive the next few weeks. And yes, by that I meant me.”
He turned into the shopping complex and found an empty spot not far from the shop, then leaned around to grab his jacket from the back seat, his arm brushing mine. His now-familiar smell of citrus and spice made its way into my nose, and I closed my eyes, discreetly taking a deep, greedy inhale. The construction podcast might be torture, but this more than made up for it.
“Everything okay?”
My eyes snapped open. He was watching me, with a smirk on his face.
So much for being discreet.
Without warning, the next few weeks flashed before my eyes. I was practically snorting him into my nostrils after a short ten-minute car ride. How on Earth could I pretend to be his loving, devoted girlfriend without driving myself up the wall? If I kept this up, I’d be the one who wouldn’t survive.
Well, should’ve thought about that before offering to be his fake girlfriend.
I suppressed a shudder, regretting my reckless suggestion.
But as I unlocked the door to the shop, the awful sight slapped me back to reality: however hard it would be, I had to suck it up because my entire future hinged on this deal.
“I tried to jump-start your car this morning,” Alec said as we walked in. “It’s not the battery, so I’ll give you the contact details of my mechanic. He can get the car fixed in no time. And I’ll pick you up at six for dinner.”
“Dinner?” I flicked on the lights. “What makes you think I’m going to have dinner with you, Sir Grouchiness?”
He bristled. “It’s business, not a date. We need to hash out the details of our deal. And I’m only picking you up so you don’t have to walk, and possibly die on my watch, because Eric would never forgive me.”
This time, it was my turn to stiffen. “I’m perfectly capable of getting to wherever I need to without your help. Besides, if I had to listen to another second of your boring podcast, my brain cells would probably shrivel up and die.”
“Hey, Alec.” A deep voice interrupted his reply, and I turned to see a hazel-eyed, brown-haired man dressed in a fluorescent orange vest striding into the shop. The two of them performed one of those bro-handshake-slash-hugs that guys do to make them seem cooler than they really are.
“Rob, this is Ellie Pang,” Alec said. “Ellie, meet Rob Carmichael, the builder I told you was away on holiday. He was the contractor I worked with on my first development. Best in the business, but likes to think of himself as a comedian.”
“Nice to finally meet you.” Rob smiled at me. “You must be a very important person. This one sent me an urgent email last night, asking me to scramble a team and be here first thing in the morning. Anyone else, I’d tell them to go f—”
Alec cleared his throat.
“—find someone else.” Rob raised his eyebrows at Alec. “Honestly, Mackenzie. What did you think I was going to say?”
Finally meet me? I returned his smile. “Thanks, Rob. Appreciate you coming at such short notice. But I thought Alec said you’re not back until next week?”
“And he would be right. Except I was more than happy to cut my holiday short when he contacted me.” Rob gave me a lopsided grin. “It’s my extended family’s annual get-together, and there were more relatives than I could tolerate. I’d rather be knee-deep in debris on a job site than endure another day of nosy questioning about my love life.”
“I can relate. They sound like mine during Lunar New Year. It’s the worst.”
“Oh, exactly. They don’t know when to stop.”
Alec glanced at his watch. “Okay, you two need to wrap up the bonding session. We haven’t got all day.”
Rob gave me a knowing look. “He thinks he’s the boss.”
“Tell me, Rob. How do you put up working with someone this curt and rude?”
“He can be charming if he wants to. But you want to know my theory?” Rob leaned over and mock-whispered, “I think he does it to keep his distance from people, especially the ones he cares about. It’s his defense mechanism. A way to protect himself so he doesn’t get hurt.”
Alec sighed. “Are you done psychoanalyzing me? You two want to get started now?”
He ignored our snickers. Rob and I started walking around the place, discussing what needed to be done. He said he’d be able to fix the roof, the floor tiles, and the leaky pipes in one week, before remodeling and refitting the shop with ovens, commercial refrigerators, sinks, and the prep areas. I explained my idea of having an open-plan style kitchen with glass windows, so customers could see the behind-the-scenes process. Rob took notes and offered suggestions, including installing energy-efficient appliances to reduce the shop’s carbon footprint.
“We can finish in two, three weeks at the most,” Rob said when we were done. “I’ve got a crew ready to start today. You won’t recognize the place when we’re done.”
I released a breath of relief. “That’s perfect. We haven’t dis cussed the budget, though. Can you email me your quote for the project?”
“We’ll do it at cost, plus the labor expenses to pay my guys.” Rob chuckled at my widening eyes. “You should thank him.” He pointed at Alec, who looked up from his phone. “I owe him big time, so I’m just paying it forward.”
Baffled, I turned to Alec, but he only shrugged.
“I have to run. I’ll leave you two to it.” He gave Rob a friendly slap in the back, then glanced at me. “If you don’t want me to pick you up, we’ll meet somewhere nearby.”
“I said no dinners.” I followed him as he stepped outside. “Also, what’s the deal with Rob? I can’t let him work for free.”
“You are paying him. For the materials and the labor costs.”
“But that’s not fair to him. He needs to make a profit, right?”
Alec sighed, because I was clearly stretching his patience. “Rob is a shareholder in Mackenzie Constructions. He heard about the Goodwin offer and asked if he could buy a stake in my business. We worked out a deal where I gave him ten percent ownership in return for him doing some jobs at cost.”
“Oh,” I said, surprised. “He must be a really good friend.”
“He is. Rob was the first person who gave me a chance when I moved out here, when nobody else did. I’m just returning the favor.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but I was secretly impressed. “That’s very kind of you. And thanks. That would really help my cash flow.”
He made a noncommittal grunt. “See you at six.”
“Absolutely not. We can work out whatever details we need via email.”
“Says the woman who doesn’t even check her emails.”
“Send them before ten P.M. , and I’ll guarantee you a reply the next morning.”
“There’s an Indonesian restaurant nearby.” Alec suddenly spun around and sent me crashing into his chest. “I’ll text you the address. Six o’clock. If you’re not there, deal’s off.”
I couldn’t answer, because my brain must have gone on a tropical holiday somewhere. Or maybe the cells did shrivel up and die from listening to the podcast earlier. Perhaps, more accurately, it was because my face was firmly planted on his solid chest, which had the audacity to smell so nice and feel so good. Both my hands shot up to anchor myself against him, and I took one tiny, reluctant step back, not wanting to extract my face and deprive myself of such a heady, glorious feeling. My traitorous nose decided to go ahead and inhale his scent again, slowly and thoroughly like it was a lifeline, before I flicked my eyes upward and met his.
My breath caught in my throat as I met his gaze, because he was staring down at me. Was it my imagination, or had his eyes turned darker?
“If someone insisted on wining and dining me, I’d jump at the offer.”
Both our heads turned at the voice. My next-door neighbor was grinning at us, her keys poised over her shop door. A dark blue, beat-up Hyundai was parked in front, next to Alec’s car, and a curly-haired woman sat behind the wheel, resting her chin in her left hand, watching us with a curious smile on her face.
I beat a hasty retreat from that solid (and annoyingly warm) chest. “Hey, Kim.”
“Hey.” She tilted her head, giving Alec a curious once-over. “Is this the building industry expert you told me about?”
“She said that?” Alec gave Kim a bright smile, cranking up to full wattage, giving me a brief flash of his dimple. I swore Kim’s eyelashes fluttered a little as he offered his hand to her. “Alec Mackenzie. Nice to meet you.”
“Kimiko Halim. That’s my housemate, Jenna Ng.” She pointed at the woman in the Hyundai, who lifted her right hand in greeting.
“Great setup you’ve got there.” Alec gestured at her shop. “Very charming.”
“That’s very nice of you to say.” Kim beamed at him. “Are you helping Ellie get her place up and running?” She gave me a not-so-discreet thumbs-up. “Does that mean we’ll be seeing a lot more of you?”
“You’ll see more of my partner, Rob. But I promise we’ll stay out of your way, so you won’t get sick of us.”
Kim chuckled, obviously thoroughly charmed. “Oh, I’m sure we won’t.”
I let out a quiet scoff. “I’m sure I will.”
“Well, it’s been such a pleasure meeting you, Kimiko. And your housemate, too.” Alec gave the other woman—still watching from the car—a little wave. He turned back to me, his smile dimming. “I’ll see you at six.”
Without a second glance, he walked away, as Kim, her housemate, and I all watched.
After Alec had driven off, Kim finally opened her door and grinned at me. “He’s a cutie. If I were you, I’d keep him around.”