Chapter 14 Kari
FOURTEEN
KARI
It had been a long and busy week, but I had managed.
Max had been working a lot at Alexander Industries.
I missed him but loved that he took his job so seriously.
He felt such a responsibility to Cane and the company.
Losing the job because of Dan’s error had really thrown him; he was determined to get another one right away.
His absence gave me plenty of time to clear out most of my personal belongings from my house.
I left my furniture for Sam to use since I really had no place else to put it.
When I told Max about my offer to Samantha to rent it, he was thrilled.
His shy smile and dimple made up for any reservations I had.
She was happy to pay the rent I asked and made plans to move in as soon as I had my stuff out.
I still wasn’t her biggest fan, but she was growing on me.
And if she was important to Max, then I would try to forge some sort of friendship, however lukewarm it might be.
I had just gotten home from an overnight shift at the hospital.
I sat my bag down and looked around the living room.
My things were sprinkled through the room, mixed with Max’s.
On the mantle above the fireplace hung a painting of an abstract building.
Max said he bought it at an art exhibit right after he graduated from college.
Beneath it sat a framed picture of his grandparents and a clay sculpture Max had picked up in Mexico.
Mixed in with his things were a picture of Jada and me, a few coconut-scented candles wrapped with a turquoise ribbon that I loved, and a tall vase filled with fake orchids that looked absolutely real.
Seeing our things coexisting like that, mixing and melding together, made a warmth erupt through my core despite being scared as hell.
Am I doing the right thing? This feels right, it looks right, but am I setting myself up for an inevitable heartbreak?
I shook my head.
Of course I am.
But Max would never leave me like ‘he’ did. He’s the antithesis of him. Just take it a day at a time. I still have my house and I can always go back there. This isn’t permanent.
I whirled around when I heard footsteps behind me.
“Did you just get home?” he asked. He was wearing a pair of jeans with a white button-up shirt. His cuffs were undone and hanging open, the top button of his shirt unfastened. His hair was still wet from the shower and he smelled absolutely divine.
“I did. Are you leaving?”
“Yeah,” he rubbed his forehead. “I have a shit ton of stuff to do today. I’m running out of time to get this bid together.
I’m going to meet with another subcontractor today.
If all goes right, they’ll cut me a good deal on the earthmoving.
If it works, it could be our golden ticket to getting the job. ”
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You’ll nail it. I know you will. You’re irresistible.”
He smiled a crooked grin. “I hope they find me as charming as you do.”
“They will. You’ll see.”
“What are your plans for the day?”
I shrugged. “I’m going to take a nap if I can and then I am going to head to the grocery store. I’ve been so busy moving my stuff here that we’re out of food.”
“I’m out of red cups. I saw a commercial for these new 180 cups—there’s a shot glass on the bottom. Think you could find those?”
I rolled my eyes, earning me a swat to the backside.
“Keep it up and you’ll miss your meeting.”
He bent down and kissed me lazily. He nibbled on my bottom lip, tugging slightly before releasing it. “I’d love to stay in bed with you today, but we need this job. As soon as I get one nailed down, I’m taking you away for the weekend.”
“Deal.”
Max
I hit the freeway and bounced in and out of cars. My mind was going a mile a minute. We had to get the job. All the big contractors in the Valley were going to be going after it, but I needed to make sure it was ours. I had worked on it as best I could, but there had been so many distractions.
I growled into the air.
The City of Mesa received a tip that we had manipulated the numbers on asphalt on a job we were already working on.
The tipster said that we laid less asphalt than required, which was untrue.
I had spent time I didn’t have dealing with that over the last week.
Even though we were found to have done everything by the book, I was out a little money and a lot of time.
My phone rang beside me and I saw Cane’s name. “Yeah?” I asked, not in the mood for pleasantries.
“Good morning to you, too, asshole.”
“What’s up?”
“I just left the house for the office and Hilah called. Lucy left a voice message late yesterday that she would be back to work today. Hilah doesn’t know what to do with Sam.”
I heaved a breath.
“Well, I didn’t know Lucy was coming back either, so I don’t really have an answer.”
“I’ll just tell her to cut Sam’s last check then,” Cane said simply. “Works for me.”
“No. You know what? Just stick her in Dan’s old cubicle across from my office. She’s good at data entry and shit. I could use the help right now.”
Cane chuckled. “You sure about this?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure Norm would make a solid case to move her to Accounting anyway.”
“It’s your call, man. I’ll let Hilah know.”
Max
“Hilah said you wanted to see me?” I looked up to see Sam batting her blue eyes at me. “I saw the girl at the front desk, so I bet I know what’s coming.”
“Nah, I told Cane you could help me out back here for a while. But you probably do need to start looking for another job. As soon as we get another bid, estimating will slow down and I won’t be able to justify having a secretary.”
She grinned. “So I’m your personal secretary now?”
“I guess,” I shrugged. “Whatever you want to call it. I can use your help, but I’m trying to give you time to find something else.
Especially since you just moved in Kari’s house.
” I ran a hand through my hair. “Just put your things in the cubicle across the hallway. I think Hilah had the rest of your stuff moved there already.”
Sam smiled triumphantly and left. I reclined back in my chair and closed my eyes, trying to ward off the massive headache that was beginning to lodge itself behind my forehead.
“Done! Now what, boss?” Sam asked, having reappeared back in the doorway.
“Did you do any entering in the estimating program for Norm?”
“The Adiplex Program? Yeah, a little.”
“Good. I’m going to give you a spec book and I need you to go in and add all of the quantities for the job we’re bidding tomorrow in there.” I looked around for the book, but it was nowhere to be found. “Let me see if it’s in my truck.”
I ran outside but the book wasn’t there, either. I racked my brain until I remembered it sitting on my office chair at the house.
Damn it!
I went back inside. Sam was sitting in the chair across from my desk, one leg crossed over the other.
“I forgot it at home. I’ll have to run over there and get it.” I shook my head. I didn’t have an extra minute to eat lunch, let alone drive all the way home.
“I can do it,” she offered. “I’ll go grab it for you. You seem to have a lot to do in here.”
“Mr. Quinn?” Lucy’s voice came through the speakers. “It’s Jillian Simmons on the line for you from Grady Enterprises.”
“Hang on, Lucy.” I looked to Sam. “Yeah, can you go get it? Kari will be home. Just tell her it’s on the chair in my office. She’ll grab it for you. I gotta take this call about the bid tomorrow.”
“See how much easier things are when you have a personal assistant?” she laughed.
I smiled back at her. “Thanks, Sam.” Once she was out the door, I turned back to the phone. “Go ahead, Lucy.”
My phone lit up. “Max Quinn.”
“Hey, Max. It’s Jillian at Grady.”
Jillian’s husband, Wade, had been friends with Cane’s dad back in the day.
They specialized in moving large quantities of soil.
Since taking over Alexander Industries, Cane and I had worked with them a couple of times successfully.
We just didn’t move that much dirt on our normal jobs.
As soon as I saw the number on this one, I called them.
“How are you?” I asked, picking up a pen to make some notes.
“I’m good, thank you. I hope this bid is treating you well.”
I whistled through my teeth. “It’s going alright, but I need a good number to move this dirt. There’s probably 100,000 CY of earth to move around on this one.”
“That’s a lot. Any chance of the quantities running over?”
“There is, actually. If things go the way I think they will, there’ll be a large overrun in the third phase.
It’ll have to be negotiated in a change order and they’ll have to agree to a number because the last phase won’t be able to be done without the third being complete.
It could be very profitable for you,” I pointed out.
“They aren’t releasing anymore plans and specs. You don’t happen to have an extra set, do you?”
I smiled. “I can have a set made for you. Want me to have them delivered this afternoon?”
“I’m actually heading that way in a little bit. I’ll drop by in a few hours and pick them up, if that’s okay? It’ll just make things easier because Wade is out on a job site today. But just letting you know, if it looks good, he might want to meet with you tonight and just go over a few things.”
“Sounds good, Jillian. I appreciate it.”
“See you in a bit, Max.”