Page 12 of Costume Party Crush
“Ok baby,” Sean replied, looking down at his son, then he turned to me. “Sorry. Nicky wants to go see my coworker, Elaine. Do you need anything from me before I head back in?”
I shook my head. “I was about to get lunch, then finish.”
He nodded. “Great. Either stop by with an invoice or email it to me and I’ll get a check cut as soon as possible.”
“Got it.”
“Great! I’m gonna get these two inside and leave you to it.”
“Ok.”
I watched them head inside, a pang of longing inside me.
One day I would have a mate and kids of my own. I just hoped it was soon.
Chapter 6 - Frankie
“Sorry I’m late,” I said as I dropped into a booth across from Lowell.
He set aside a newspaper and gave me a tight smile. “No prob.”
I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
He blew out a long breath and pinched his nose. “We’re about to have to get lawyers about that plot you surveyed for me last week.”
“I thought it had been resolved.”
“So did I, but they’re claiming there was insufficient data for the easements, and are now calling it encroachment. The client offered to purchase the disputed section to get it over with, but they jacked up the price and put a gate across so we can’t get crews in.”
“Damn.”
He nodded. “Like I said: lawyers. I know it’ll go our way, your report is enough for that. But this delay means we’re losing good days.”
“You know they’re trying to just get money, right? I mean you had construction permit signs up for all the required time, and with good visibility. They had plenty of time to file a dispute, but wanted to wait until work started.”
“Yeah. I’ve already advised the client that they might need to sue for lost time. This is practically extortion. Pay an absurd sum for a slice of land that had been an easement for decades, or watch a brand new facility get held up or canceled entirely.”
“Shame if it comes to that, but that sounds like a fuck around and find out scenario. Judges don’t like shenanigans, and this is definitely that.”
Lowell nodded. “For sure.”
I picked up my menu, but something about the newspaper caught my attention. “What’s this?” I asked, pointing to an article that appeared to be about a painting on the windows of city hall downtown.
Lowell smiled. “One of Sean’s side-projects. He saw some window paintings at the mall and decided that city hall needed some sprucing up for the season. He spent several days driving all around town, trying to find the best ones, then made a list. When more than half came back as being by the same person, he made the call.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “Isn’t he supposed to do things the right way, announce, have bids, all of that?”
He shrugged. “He pulled some strings. It’ll probably have to go the right way next year, if it becomes a thing, but he got approved for Halloween and Christmas.”
“I bet Elaine leaned heavily on those strings he was pulling.”
He burst into laughter. “Probably.”
I looked at the paper again, and noticed the handsome omega standing next to the windows. “This the guy?”
Lowell nodded. “Yep. I met him that day last week when we had lunch before the site visit. Seemed nice enough.”
“He’s cute.”
