AllFreeNovel
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It’s just business, sure, but we’re the rich feeding our peers while ordinary people like her get left behind in crappy apartments that aren’t even climate controlled.
Sad places with the peeling paint and the water stains creeping down the walls and the perpetually broken elevator. The place seems like a disaster waiting to happen, and we’re over here spinning high-end properties she might never step foot in unless she sells a lot more cakes.
I shake my head to clear it as I step through the door.
Archer’s already there, going over the last-minute preparations. We’ve invited the usual load of local bigwigs from real estate and travel to the opening presentation, and the press is coming out our ears.
Tables overflow with buffet food, brought in from the best catering company in the district. Plus, a generous sampling of Junie’s cupcakes and turnovers with a stack of her business cards next to them.
“Hey,” Archer says when he sees me. “James just told me there’s an electrical problem in the model unit.”
For fuck’s sake.
“What problem?” I snap, grabbing a skewer of olives and cheese. “I thought he inspected the place and did a final walkthrough last week? The man never misses.”
We pay through the nose for the best contractors and it’s worth every penny.
“Exactly. He made the call and he’s not wrong after seeing how the lights were flickering. The wiring’s fucked in the kitchen. Those backlit cabinets Patton insisted on are the culprit. He shut the breakers off.”
“How bad is the repair?”
“Simple adjustment, he says, but it’ll take some time,” he says, pulling out his phone and bringing up a floor plan to show me. “We’ll need to rip out the plastering to get to the wiring.”
“Fuck.”
“Yep.”
I rub my head. Half the guests are already here, and Patton’s late as usual. “When can they start?”
“I have our usual guys coming and an electrician on standby. They can start in thirty minutes. Patton wanted to go ahead with it anyway and I shut that shit down,” he says.
Yeah, fuck Patton.
“We can’t show off the model in that condition,” I agree. “We don’t want anyone else to know there’s been a problem, either.”
“What if the work doesn’t get finished in time?” he asks.
“The crew knows we’ll pay whatever it takes to get this done fast. Whatever it takes to polish our reputation. Until it’s fixed, I say we keep people here.”
“Right.” Archer scowls at his phone. “It’s a certified fucking nightmare.”
He doesn’t have to tell me.
The repair could also blow our opening budget slightly, but that isn’t my screwup.
Speaking of screwups, Patton swaggers up to us just then, swiping one of those god-awful custard cupcakes on his way.
“Should’ve known you’d be over here looking like the world just ended,” he says, stuffing a big bite into his mouth. “Ever heard of turning on the charm?”
“Fuck off, Patton,” I say.
He grins at me. “What happened to your party face, huh? I thought this was reason to celebrate.”
“Don’t talk to me.”
“Aw, hell. You’re still sore because I told Mom about the wedding?” He shoves the rest of the cupcake in his mouth and chews loudly. “Don’t tell me you’re holding a grudge over that.”
“I swear to God, Pat, I will chop you up and feed you to your squids.”
