Page 19 of The Main Event

“Not this time.” I was adamant. “I’m going douche-free for the foreseeable future.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” He looked far too smug for my comfort level. Since Levi knew me better than anyone, Iwas suddenly a little worried. Not that I would ever admit that or anything.

“We definitely will,” was all I said.

There was nothing going on between Jax and me. If we could manage to drum up some mutual respect for one another, that would be the highlight of our relationship.

I wasn’t holding my breath.

6

SIX

Fred Barlow was the only construction guy in town who came with glowing reviews. I went through all the reviews online—we’re talking Yelp, Google, and individual construction apps—and I couldn’t find a single bad review. The guy had thousands of five stars. They all said the same thing. He was conscientious. He didn’t try to gouge you. He was honest. And he was blunt. The last one had me raising an eyebrow a bit, but I would take bluntness over grifting any day of the week.

That meant he was the guy I wanted for my construction. If I was going to unload the hotel, the renovations needed to be finished. He’d been the one who handled everything up until now, so it made sense to go with him again. Nobody was going to pay decent money for it as it was, so I at least had to entertain his ideas on the update.

“This place needs a lot of work to finish it off,” Fred said as we looked around the seventh floor. “Like … a lot of work.” His gaze was speculative when it landed on me. “Just out of curiosity, do you have the money to pay for this renovation? George started and then had to stop.”

“I have the money to pay for one floor,” I replied. “I need to get the rest of it. My grandfather had put enough money away to start, and I inherited that with the hotel, but I’m just not sure how this all works.”

“Well, it’s pretty simple. We shut down the floor in question so only my team can get off the elevator on that specific floor. Then we rip it to the studs. All that old carpet has to come out, too. It’s going to be a dusty mess.”

“How do we cut down on the dust?”

“We can vacuum the space regularly. We can create as tight of a seal as possible with plastic. There will still be some dust no matter what.”

“But it will mostly be contained to the floor that the construction is happening on?” I was hopeful.

“Mostly,” he confirmed. “It’s going to be a big job.” He ran his hands over the ornate moldings. “You have some good things going for you, though.”

“Oh, really?” I thought of the disastrous party from the night before. “I could use some good news.”

“These moldings are exquisite, and you’re going to save a lot of money if we just sand them down and refinish them. That’s what George did on the other floors, and it worked out fine.”

I wasn’t the sort of man who knew a lot about moldings. I eyed the moldings in question—they’d been painted over at least three or four times over the decades—and arched an eyebrow. “You think those can be saved?”

“They made things to last back then,” he replied. “I’m positive they can be saved.”

“Okay, well, I’m all for saving money.”

“You have to replace the plaster. It’s a menace. Putting up drywall is easy. While the plaster is down, though, you need an electrician to come in here and update things. When this placewas built, electricity wasn’t what it is today. There’s like one outlet in each room.”

I rubbed my face and nodded. “I’ve noticed. I’m staying in one of the rooms.”

“My condolences.” Fred’s tone was dry. “I think we can knock out a floor in about a month. We’re not doing anything fancy with paint. Everything is staying white essentially, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah. We’re adding in the color with bedspreads and curtains.”

“That’s the smart way to do it. It’s still going to be a big job.” Fred planted his hands on his hips. “I’m going to be honest with you, son.”

I didn’t like his tone. Sure, he was older than me, but I’d always hated being called “son.” My father was big on using that word, and he was an absolute nightmare. Still, I didn’t want to tick off Fred. “Just tell me. Rip it off like it’s a Band-Aid. I don’t want any unnecessary surprises.”

“If you’re not committed to doing what’s left, then it’s a waste to do a single floor,” Fred replied. “If you’re going to give up after one floor, just take the money and run. Let the hotel go at auction.”

The thought of letting the family hotel, my grandfather’s pride and joy, go at auction didn’t sit well with me. “He loved this hotel.” I said it more to myself than to him.

“Hedidlove this hotel,” Fred agreed. “He was a good man. Actually, he was one of the best men I knew. Did you know he went out of his way every year to volunteer when they had the dad breakfasts at the elementary and middle school?”

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