"Your girlfriend has expensive tastes, but if she was aiming to save money, her efforts worked. Rarely do we see this."
"This is true." More times than not, our clients are over budget in the first week.
I knew there were a few places we cut costs. Pierce and I doing the kitchen demolition and the front porch, Ashlyn's work inside, and her dad's contribution to the landscape removal had saved thousands in labor.
It's my job to watch budgets, and I know this one off the top of my head. "Guess all the extra hands added up."
"Yes, now look at the materials."
I flip through the pages and see all the price codes have been altered to reflect discounts. These codes have to go through two managing owners for approval. On the last page, Dad and Pierce's signatures are inked with today's date. Ashlyn's material costs are now at Kendrick's employee costs.
"Sneaky sons-of-bitches." I had planned to discount the material costs to an extent, but this excess gives Ashlyn some options.
It's also going to send her through the roof to think she's gotten special treatment.
My eyes go to Andi, who is outwardly grinning like a Cheshire cat. "It's not often I get to share good news with you, so I begged Warren for this opportunity."
"Dad likes to make people happy."
"She wanted that extended closet."
"Yes, she did." I think of the bins in my garage labeled shoes. The image of her walking in that bar in those sexy stilettos crosses my mind. "If she wants to do anything additional, it needs to happen fast while we have the electricians there. She has folders of ideas. When you call her, tell her to bring them to the office to discuss with you."
"You want me to call her?"
"Not going to end your streak of sharing. She's going stir crazy at my house. My guess is she'll be here soon."
Andi leaps out of her chair, bubbling with energy. "On it."
"Do me a favor, don't mention the reduced material costs yet. Give her the overall number and work with that."
"You want me to lie to her?"
"No, I want you to finesse the news that we're under budget. It'll be better if I explain the discount and ease her into it. She's a little sensitive to accepting generosity."
"Got it, I'll do my best," she tells me on her way out.
I shoot off a quick text to Ashlyn to expect Andi's call. A minute later, my phone rings and I assume it to be her, knowing her curiosity is running wild. But it's not her name on the screen.
"Hey, man. Long time, no hear." I lean back in my chair, propping a foot on the edge of the desk.
"I could say the same thing. Your phone broken?" My friend, Todd, greets.
"Not broken, just been busy. Work is ramping up with the end of the year. You know how it goes." Todd runs a house flipping and renovation business.
"Hell yeah, I know how it goes, but from what I hear, it's not work keeping you busy."
"Don't know who you're getting your information from." An uneasy stir rolls in my gut.
"It comes from a reliable source. Sexy little redhead sound familiar? Got to say, didn't peg you for the high-maintenance type."
My foot drops to the ground, and I straighten immediately. "What the fuck?"
"Moving her in with you? Never thought I'd see this day."
My mind scrambles to figure out how he would know any of this. He's been a good friend for a long time, but I haven't seen him in months and our communication has been scattered. Last we spoke, Todd was living in one of his properties in.... oh shit… Charlotte.
That was six weeks ago.
"You have got to be fucking shitting me. Please tell me it's not what I'm thinking."
"You always were sharp. Less than a minute, impressive."
"You? You’re Stephanie's unknown mystery man?"
"Not a mystery anymore. That's why I'm calling. I wanted you to hear it from me."
I shake my head a few times, trying to clear the confusion and absorb this. "How? I mean, I can't think of two more opposite and ill-matched people."
"Pot, meet kettle." A deep, long laugh comes through the line.
I think about what I've said and fall back in my chair. He's right. He and Stephanie fit about as well as Ashlyn and I do. Two career construction dudes paired with high-class attorneys. "Touché." I laugh along with him. "But seriously, how'd this happen?"
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
"You sound like a fucking chick."
This gets another chuckle. "Fine, I met her at Pierce's wedding and we hit it off."
"Pierce's wedding was in May."
"No shit. After the weekend, I couldn't get this woman off my mind. She was a hard nut to crack, keeping me in the friend zone and insisting she wasn't interested in anything involving a long-distance relationship. When the job in Virginia finished, I drove my ass to Charlotte."
"And that was that?"
"Hell no. Do you have any idea how stubborn this woman is?"
Ashlyn pops into my head. "Yeah, think I might have an idea."
"Then you know I had my work cut out for me."
"Why the secrecy?"
"Not my idea."
"It's none of my business who you sleep with, but this hits close to home."
"That was her point. She's been cautious. I've never met such a methodical and disciplined person in my life. If it were up to me, our relationship would have been public from day one."
"Exactly how long has this been going on?"
"You mean when did I wear her down?"
"Yeah."
"Like I said, a hard nut to crack. Three weeks ago, I signed a lease on a condo. She saw I was serious and dropped the front."
"She didn't drop it too far, not sharing with Darby."
"Darby was going through some things and Steph didn't feel right. That's why I'm calling you. She's calling her this morning, and I wanted to be
