“No problem. Looking forward to it. Bye.”
Ford sat in his car for a minute. This was going to be his first time firing someone, and he was five minutes away from puking. Thank God he hadn’t eaten breakfast.
After opening the car door, Ford sat there for the moment, one foot on the ground outside, the other still next to the brake pedal. For a split second, he had the urge to shut the door and pull out of the parking lot and keep driving… anywhere. But Sawyer had faith in him, and he wouldn’t let his boyfriend down. So, he forced himself out of his car, closed the door and straightened his shoulders, then walked as slowly as possible over to the Trailer that had been converted into a temporary office for the duration of the build.
Ford’s phone pinged in his hand, and when he looked at it, there was a text from Sawyer.
Sawyer: You got this.
He so didn’t ‘got this,’ though, but he wasn’t going to say that to Sawyer.
He sent back a thumbs up emoji even though he wasn’t sure if he was giving himself a thumbs up or agreeing that he could do it.
Boy, did he hate confrontation. Yet again, Ford wished that Sawyer was there, and this time, it wasn’t because he missed his boyfriend’s arms around him.
When Ford opened the door, Larry was already standing in the room waiting for him.
“Good morning, Larry.” He made sure to keep the sigh inside and project a professional attitude.
“Nothing good about it.” Larry’s face was pinched as he bit each word out.
Maybe the universe was going to make this easy. One step was down since he didn’t have to call for him and wait for the man to arrive, although the next step was the part that sucked since Ford still had to break the news to him.
Rip the Band-Aid off and get it over with. Rip the Band-Aid off and get it over with.
He repeated it to himself over and over as he walked into Sawyer’s office and took his seat. He figured it was a better position to have the conversation so Larry was aware Ford was in charge. Or, at least, speaking on behalf of the person in charge. The man hadn’t treated Ford like he had any authority since Sawyer had left.
Larry stopped at the entrance to Sawyer’s office, his arms crossed.
“We need to talk,” Larry said.
“I couldn’t agree more.” Ford lowered himself into Sawyer’s seat and set his messenger bag down on the table in the corner. “Please, take a seat.” He pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
“I’ll stand.” Larry’s voice was curt, and the frown on his face matched his tone. “I need to amend the timeframe for the job and add another four months. It’s taking longer than I thought. Otherwise, I will need to hire more men, and that will add more costs to the budget.”
Ford groaned. Larry was again taking advantage of them. Every time he’d asked for something, it was to increase the set budget or add more time to the build.
He opened his messenger bag and withdrew the contract and budget printouts, pushing them over to the edge of the desk.
“What’s this?” Larry’s voice was impatient.
“Why don’t you have a look at it.”
Larry’s eyes met his, and if looks could kill, Ford would be six feet under. The man took a couple of steps forward and picked up the documents, his eyes darting over them before dropping the papers on the desk again and shooting Ford an arched look. “And what’s the point of this?”
“It’s your contract and the budget,” Ford pointed out.
“Yeah?” The unspoken ‘so’ was clear. “I’m not blind. I can see that.”
“Good, well, you have been over budget so far, and unfortunately, I can’t allow things to go on the way they have.” Ford was proud of the firmness in his voice, even though his stomach was acting like he’d eaten half of a McDonald’s menu and gotten on a rollercoaster.
“I think you’re mistaken on how all this works. You don’t allow things.” There was a smirk on his lips. “I will talk slow since I know this is your first job.” Every word out of the man’s mouth was more condescending than the last. “In contracting jobs, the contractor, which is me, gives you a budget, and you work with it.”
If he hadn’t been about to fire the contractor, this meeting would certainly have made that the case.
Ford got up from his chair. He didn’t want to be sitting and looking up at Larry. Clearly, the man was trying to intimidate him, and that wasn’t going to happen. Not when he was the one that was in charge.
“You have been authorizing overtime like nobody’s business. Last time I checked, you work for me.” Okay, not for him precisely, but still, right now, he was the superior.
“I am supervising this construction, which means I’m in charge. But not only that, I have spoken to Saw… I mean, Mr. Lancaster, and he fully agrees. Unfortunately for you, we are going to terminate the contract and let you go.” Ford was surprisingly calm. He didn’t break eye contact because he refused to let Larry intimidate him.
Larry’s laughter filled the office. “You’re firing me?” His tone was less than amused. “You must be joking.”
Ford shook his head and stood his ground. “Unfortunately, I am not. We—” Before he could continue, Larry started yelling.
“It’s not fucking cheap clearing the building and laying down all the water pipes. I didn’t do all that for nothing.”
“No, according to my calculations, you did not. In fact, you did it for almost double the amount quoted.” Ford rolled his shoulder and reminded himself to breathe. He refused to raise his voice, and in a measured
