Page 6 of Nailed

After everything was finalized and we determined which work hours suited me best, Brock asked me to lead them through the firehouse so they could complete their inspection and check for any problem areas. There was still the formal inspection with the DOB agent and then the real work would begin and, considering how long this project was going to last, that day couldn’t come fast enough.

I excused myself when we were done touring the bay, wanting to finally get dressed before we finished and I signed off on the last of the paperwork. As I left the three men downstairs, I felt the heat of observation chase me up the steps. I looked back quickly and caught Rafe staring at my bare legs, a heat in his stare that hadn’t been there throughout any of the interactions we’d had so far.

But when he noticed me noticing him, he immediately averted his gaze, instead redirecting his attention back to Brock and Callum who apparently hadn’t noticed. I didn’t know how to feel about that. I couldn’t figure out what to make of Rafe except that his presence felt similar to the way it felt to have a pebble stuck in your shoe. Piercing, annoying and completely inescapable.

4

Brock

I’d never been keen on working with new hires. They were already a pain in the ass as it was, but a new hire that was also an ex-con? Yeah that was truly reaching for new heights on this one.

By the time our new client slipped upstairs, the tension in the firehouse was all but brittle enough to snap under a single ill-timed word. And I was pissed. I had no idea what went down between Merrick and Lauren the other day, but it was evidently bad enough to have completely poisoned her view of him to the point of wanting him kicked off the crew.

And for better or for worse, I couldn’t afford that. But the second she was out of earshot, I pulled him aside, determined to find out the truth.

“Okay, out with it.” I demanded, trying to keep my voice as low as possible. “What the hell happened between the two of you?”

“Nothing,” Rafe said stubbornly. But the expression on his face told me otherwise.

“That didn’t look like nothing,” I pointed out, my eyes quickly darting back upstairs. “I can’t manage this project if I don’t have all the variables, Merrick. I’m asking you one last time. What happened?”

“And I’m saying one last time that it was nothing. You can drop it,” he said.

If there was anything I really hated during a job, it was uncertainty. Dependable facts were what made it all easier and kept things running smoothly. The lubricant of the grind, as it were.

But him being this cagey meant that the rest of us were walking on a minefield.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

Lauren’s voice floated down from the steps. She was waiting near the railing, looking down at us with a wavering smile. “You guys can come up here.”

I looked at Callum and Rafe before we filed after her one by one. Lauren went through her ideas for the loft area, citing the room divisions she wanted, what type of flooring and wall paneling she’d decided on and so on. I made a note here and there, though I focused more on the cladding and structural elements we’d have to reinforce before we even started on the decorative phase.

“Planning on keeping that?” I asked, dipping my head towards the circular railing planted in the middle of the landing.

Lauren opened her mouth to answer when Rafe positioned himself to slide down the fire pole before I could stop him, shooting to the bottom floor in a matter of seconds. The remaining three of us stared down at him in respective states of surprise, irritation and amusement.

“You gotta test the integrity of the build,” he called up to us.

I rolled my eyes, thinking that Lauren might take issue with his stunt but Callum laughed and when I checked in with her, that seemed to serve as a good enough distraction from any annoyance she might’ve felt towards Rafe. There was a glimmer in her eyes when she glanced at Callum.

I cleared my throat. “If we’re done here?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said, starting down the stairs. She and Callum were speaking quietly about something while I took stock of any last-minute potential complications that could delay the reno job. The place seemed pretty solid for the most part with good bones except the rotted timber framing on a single load-bearing member. We’d also have to replace the entire plumbing system but other than that, we were likely to stay within the projected timeline.

As we walked our way through the remainder of the space, Lauren grew more and more quiet. Her body language also changed, less confident than she'd been during the first half of this meeting.

“You good?” I asked, wondering if I'd missed something.

“Yeah. It's just…” She glanced at the notebook I had in my hand as well as the phone I'd been using to log safety concerns in-app. Her weight shifted. “I don't know how all of this works, I'll be the first to admit it. But you've been taking a lot of notes over there. And I saw your face when you assessed the plumbing and bay ceiling.”

Her face darkened, those bright blue eyes deepening. I felt a pang in my chest.

“I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. It's no insult to you or this company, it's just that I've got my entire life's savings sunk into this place.” She shrugged. “I just really need everything to work out. If it doesn't, well, I'd be hung out to dry.”

This is where my skills run up against a wall. Technical concerns I can handle, but somehow, I didn't think that was what she needed to hear right now. I wracked my brain trying to think of how to express that everything would work out in a way she needed to hear it, but Callum beat me to the punch.

He stepped forward, maintaining a respectful distance from Lauren but standing close enough to seem sincere. If anyone knew how to navigate this side of things, it was Callum, alright.