Page 77 of Mayhem
“Good afternoon. How can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Cruz. I don’t have an appointment,” Erin responded.
She watched her look at her computer screen for a few seconds before turning back to her. “He’s on a video call at the moment. I can buzz in and let him know you’re here.”
Erin shook her head. “No, it’s okay; don’t interrupt him. Do you mind if I sit and wait for a few minutes?”
“Not at all. Please have a seat.”
Erin walked over to the armchairs and took a seat. She sat the smoothies on the table in front of her and picked up one of the magazines.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there but had read a couple of articles when the large oak door opened, which she was sure led to Cruz’s office, and he walked out. He was saying something to his assistant but stopped when he found her on the phone, and then his attention turned to Erin.
“Hey, Maly. How long have you been waiting?”
“Hey, baby. Not long.”
His attention went to his assistant as she hung up the phone. “I need you to call a meeting with the software engineers for tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, sir,” she responded.
“And whenever she comes, she isn’t to wait.”
Erin watched the woman swallow before nodding. She couldn’t blame her; she knew anyone on the receiving end of that intense gray stare would feel a bit nervous. He gestured for her to follow him, and she placed the magazine on the table, grabbed the two smoothies, and followed him into his office. He closed the door behind her before leaning down and kissing her.
“I think you made her nervous, and you might need to apologize.” Cruz raised a brow at her, and Erin continued. “I told her not to disturb you and that I didn’t mind waiting. She asked me if I wanted her to try to buzz you.”
“I…will talk to her.”
She noticed he didn’t say he would apologize, but Erin would take what she could get. She went to the sofa along the left wall and sat, Cruz coming over to join her. She removed the paper from the top of the straws she’d placed into the smoothies.
“You had your meetings today with the sign makers. How did it go?” Cruz asked. Erin groaned as she took a drink. “That bad?” he questioned.
“It was so irritating. I went to two different shops. One quoted me over eight thousand dollars and the other at nine thousand.”
She watched him furrow his brow. “How big is the sign you want?”
“It’s four and a half feet wide and three feet tall. I want it to go in the open space over the door. But even if it was a couple of feet bigger, that’s still ridiculous. They were trying to get over on me.” She took another drink. “I priced a sign that size through an online business, which was around three thousand. I knew that the price could fluctuate, but that was insane.”
“Why not just order it from the site?”
Erin sighed. “I thought about it, but it takes seven to ten business days to make it and then five to seven for shipping. I’m afraid that if it gets here and I don’t like it, I won’t have enough time to return it and have another one made before the opening. As an alternative, I may have a window decal placed instead.”
“I agree that they were trying to get over on you. I’m assuming they were men, and I hate to admit it, but some will try to get over on a woman when they can. Do you want to go back, and Paetyn or I can go with you?”
“No, I don’t want to give them any of my money at this point, even though they were the only two with the style I liked.”
“Did you just look in town?”
Erin nodded. She hadn’t looked outside of Denver because she wanted a company close to her. She wanted to ensure that she could get her sign in time, and if there were any errors, she would have time for them to correct them.
“I have an associate in Boulder, and I’m confident they could make the sign you want. I can call him and see if he has time to meet tomorrow, and we can go.”
Erin thought about it for a moment. She didn’t want him taking the day off, and she’d heard him ask to schedule a meeting for tomorrow morning. However, she remembered that he only worked until noon on Wednesdays, and while shewanted to handle it herself, she was learning that it was okay to accept help.
“Okay,” she responded. “I don’t have plans, so any time tomorrow will work.”
“I’ll see if Paetyn is free to go with us, and we’ll make a day of the trip.”
