6. Jace
Jace
“So, last night, I had an epiphany—if you will. Bay windows.” He ends his statement in a dramatic whisper, and I can just picture his hands gesturing wide in front of him.
Exhaling hard through my nose, I take off my ball cap, raking my hands through my hair before answering.
This is the third call from Gary this week, with some new great idea for the small shopping strip development he hired me to do.
As a contractor, I’m used to wishy-washy clients, but this dude takes the cake.
“Bay windows, huh?” Gary goes off on a long-winded speech about his inspiration.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I work to keep calm.
The soft snick of my office door opening draws my attention.
Blake, my foreman and right-hand man, strides in.
He takes one look at me and drops into the chair in front of my desk, depositing the armload of newly made blueprints for the project with a groan.
Scribbling on a sticky note, I flash it to him.
Bay windows
Blake rolls his eyes dramatically but settles in. His leg jiggles restlessly as he waits to hear what Gary will say next.
“What do you think, genius, right?” Gary finally takes a breath.
“Well, bay windows are nice, but might I remind you, we break ground in less than two weeks. We’ve already ordered the display storefront windows with the decorative trim you requested last week.
Plus, you said having awnings was a must so people could congregate away from the weather throughout the year.
Those also were ordered weeks ago. Bay windows will stick out far enough that awnings will not be an option, according to the town guidelines, as they would block the sidewalks. ”
Blake has unrolled the plans and is jamming his fingers at the window plans that were already signed off on. I switch the phone onto speaker so Blake can hear, too.
“Oh, that’s right. Well, that is very disappointing. If we scrap the awnings and display windows, pivoting to bay windows, would that set us back on our timeline?”
What the actual fuck? Blake mouths at the phone, and I have to cover my mouth to stifle the laugh. “I’d have to check with our supplier, but based on the previous order, I would say that would set us back at least a month.”
“Hmm, hold tight, Jace. I’ll call you back.” The line disconnects without a goodbye.
“Gary is going to be the death of me, Blake. I’m losing my mind with his indecisiveness. We need to break ground and get this project started so he can’t change it again.”
“First, it was the floors, then the lighting. Oh, and let’s not forget the great beige, blue, tan walls debate.” Blake is now pacing, ticking items off on his fingers.
“You forgot to mention the signs!” I smirk, knowing it will rile him even more.
“Fuck me, the signs! Please tell me those are locked down?”
“For now. Let’s look at the blueprints and see how much reworking we will need to make bay windows happen.”
Blake eyes me but moves to the drafting table in the corner, unfurling the plans. We spend the next thirty minutes looking them over and discussing what would need to be altered if we switched. Just as lunch arrives, my phone rings. I check the ID and flash it at Blake.
“Oh, good, our dear friend, Gary!”
My lips twitch as I answer it on speaker. “Hi, Gary. Just FYI, you’re on speaker, and Blake, my foreman and the lead for your project, is in the room, too.”
“Blake, my boy, how are you?” he cries in a jovial manner, acting like Blake is a young boy and not the same age as him. I hide my laugh behind a cough.
“I’m great, sir,” Blake grits out through clenched teeth.
“Get the blueprints out, I have good news!” Blake walks over to the drafting table and braces his arms, staring at the prints.
“I just got off the phone with Senior.” A.k.a his dad, and the purse funding this project.
“He gave his final approval for this change, then said to lock it down. He doesn’t care for all the back and forth going on.
” I clench my fist and bite my knuckles, loving how he insinuates it’s our fault things keep changing.
Blake whirls around, fisting his sandy blonde hair like he’s about to yank it out.
“And?” I ask tersely, hoping he didn’t pick up on it.
This job’s a royal pain in my ass, but it’s a big one, my first major commercial job since striking out on my own, so I have to play nice.
At just twenty-eight, I’m still younger than a lot of the big contractors out here, so getting this job and proving myself is crucial.
“We are going to do bay windows for the two businesses on the ends and leave the middle unit with the display windows and awning. Which businesses would that be again?”
“The current layout is the bookshop on the left end of the strip, with the bakery-cafe in the middle, and the boutique on the other end.”
“Good, good. That is going to be perfect, give some real dimension and interest to the facade, you know?”
“We can make the adjustments, and I’ll get the window orders changed ASAP. Just so you know, we will have to reduce the inside space for the two properties with bay windows to leave the sidewalks unimpeded for pedestrians.”
“Right, good plan, boys. I’m very excited to get things moving.”
“Us too,” Blake calls. I flick my gaze toward him, gauging if he’s about to stick his foot in his mouth, before jumping in to close the deal.
“Yes, sir. We’re excited to see your vision come to life.
We’ll update the plans and send them to you.
Once you sign off, we’ll lock them and submit them to the city for final licensing.
After that, only cosmetic changes can be made without major disruptions,” I emphasize this, hoping it helps keep him on track.
“Perfect. Can you get those to me by the end of the night? I have an early flight in the morning and will be out of the country until after the build starts.”
Blake and I both perk up at that news, but making the changes means a very long night for us. Arching a brow, I look at Blake, and he nods enthusiastically.
“We’ll have them to you by midnight, Gary.”
“Perfect! Ciao.” Ugh, even his sign-off is pretentious, somehow.
“Fuck it, I’ll work until I’m cross-eyed to get these done. If it means he shuts up and lets us get to work, I will do whatever it takes.” Blake throws his hands in the air, heading back to the drawing table.
I laugh but agree wholeheartedly. It’s a good thing we spent some time since the last call to start the new plans just in case he decided to pivot again.
We hit send at 11:56 p.m., both slumping into chairs.
It sucked, but it’s done. If he gets it back to us tomorrow, and the city doesn’t drag their feet, we should be able to stay on track for breaking ground.
Demo starts at the end of the week, so we will be ready as soon as permits are cut to start building.
As draining as it has been, I’m energized by the new challenge and ready for a change of scenery.
Blake might be the boots on the ground guy, but I will be popping in throughout the whole project and spending a lot of time in Juniper Falls this year as well; everything has to go right.