Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Containing her dismay, Jordi turned a page and mentally kicked herself. “Yep. I’ve got it here. I’ll make sure those chairs fit easily in that space.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Jordi. We’ll get out of your hair and say we combed through the place. That will give us time for a cupcake,” Louisa said with a grin.
“Enjoy.”
“Come to me, Fudge Crunch,” Kiki called as she urged her boss toward the door.
“You might try Caramel Drizzle,” Jordi suggested.
“Never!”
Jordi’s phone rang twenty minutes later as she sat on her stepladder looking at the sink problem. Dragging it out of her back pocket, she grinned to see that the man she had entered into her phone as Mr. Nice Butt was calling. “Hello!” she answered sharply, tickled by the comical but oh-so-true label but too weirded out by the problem ahead of her.
“You sound like something’s wrong,” that amazing voice responded in concern.
“Just another day in the life of a remodeler,” she answered, trying to conceal her panic.
“That sounds ominous. I’ve got the day off today. Need another set of hands?” Callen asked.
She squelched her first impulse to jump on the offer. Her budget was threadbare, and if she’d screwed things up as badly as she was afraid she had, Jordi would be lucky to pay herself for her own time.
“Nope. I’m good. Thank you for helping me with that construction job. I can’t impose on you further.”
“You’re not imposing on me. I’d like to spend some time with you and know you have a schedule to keep. If I come help you, maybe you can get ahead enough to quit early tonight, and I could take you to dinner.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen today,” she answered, now worried about the time schedule.
“Little girl, talk to me. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
The concern in his voice prompted her to blurt, “I made a mistake, okay? I lost track of a change order. Now, I’ve got to figure out how to fix this and give them what they need at the lowest impact to my bottom line.”
“I’m sorry, Jordi. I’ll be glad to help. I bet we can get you back on track.”
Jordi shook her head in the empty store. She wanted to do this on her own. It irked her to have to ask for help. She’d worked so hard to establish herself in a predominantly male field. “Look. I don’t know what to say. I like you. But I want to do this myself.”
“I get that, Jordi. I want to spend time with you. How about if I come do the boring stuff a third grader could do just to save you some time? That would free you up to attack this problem with less of a time crunch, and I get my Little girl fix.”
Jordi looked around at all the odds and ends that needed to be finalized. It would be amazing to have them all disappear. “Um. I’d be a fool not to let you take some things off my plate if you’re sure you don’t mind doing busy work?”
“It will be fun. Thank you for letting me help. I understand how it is to start a business. I had a lot of help a few years back.”
A knock sounded on the glass door, and she whirled around to see him looking in at her. Instantly, her free hand lifted to her hair to smooth over the wild strands floating everywhere. “You’re already here?” she asked the phone.
“Come open the door, Jordi. I need a hug.”
Without hesitating a second, she flew to the door and unlocked it. His arms closed around her, and he lifted her up against him. Automatically, Jordi wrapped her legs around his waist to plaster herself against him. Holding her close, he pressed a kiss against the curve of her neck as he locked the door.
“You okay?” he probed.
“Better now. Thanks for coming.”
“I’ll always be in your corner.”
Nodding, Jordi pushed lightly against his chest. Callen loosened his grip slightly and allowed her to slide down his torso. She was sorry when her feet touched the floor. The feel of his hard body was memorable.
She inhaled sharply and exhaled to pull herself together. Waving at the troublesome wall, she explained, “I need to go work on the pipes over there. I’m afraid I’m going to have to tear out drywall and re-plumb the connections.”
“Would it help to talk through the problem?”
“Maybe.” Jordi took his hand and pulled him over to the troublesome location. “They need larger chairs so the sinks have to be separated more from each other. The pipe connections are at the wrong intervals.”
“Hmmm. I was looking at some model kitchens the other day and exposed metal piping seems to be coming into fashion. Could you do something fancy with the piping and have them start here and flare out to connect?” he suggested.