Page 13 of Just Breathe

Nathan

“What do you mean, that’s all?” Aiden sounded irritated. I looked up from my clip board checking off the inventory we’d just received. I knew from looking at what they delivered, we were missing half of what we ordered and most of that was wood for the massive patio that was at the back of the house. Now Callum couldn’t finish it and there was nothing he hated more than not being able to finish a project or bouncing from project to project.

“This is the third time in the last few weeks that our order isn’t complete. I need to know ahead of time if our order will be incomplete, so that I can adjust accordingly.” Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He was wasting his time yelling at the dude because he was just a worker. He needed to head down to the supply house and raise hell. Though that wouldn’t happen because we were so swamped with work, he didn’t have time to do that.

“We got shortchanged again?” Callum snuck up behind me and it took everything I had not to flinch. “He needs to either go over there and bitch at someone or find another supply house.”

“You might be the perfect candidate for that. I’m sure you could wrangle them into shape.” I smirked, knowing Callum hated people, especially people’s bullshit. He had a very sad view of the world, and he always expected the worst from everyone. Though I have to say his assumptions were accurate most of the time.

“We want to see improvement and not have them fire us as clients.” He snorted. “I would be the worse person to send.” He rubbed his short hair back and forth whilst watching Aiden and the driver. I looked up from my clipboard, smirking at the poor driver, who looked like he was ready to bolt.

“Ten bucks he cries.” Callum opened a bottle of water and chugged it. I looked at the driver and I think he was right. He was going to cry.

“He looks like he’s about to, especially since Aiden was towering over him in anger.” I checked off the last item off the list.

We watched in silence as the kid went back to the truck and sure enough, he wiped his face a few times, like he was stopping the tears from coming down his face.

Callum laughed at the kid while I just felt sorry for him. “Ten bucks, this is the last time he comes here.” I outstretched my hand for the bet.

Cal scrutinized the kid like he was trying to figure him out. “Deal. I think he’s going to come back one more time.” We shook hands, smiling like we both knew we were going to win.

“What are we missing?” Aiden walked towards us like a bull on a mission. This business was getting to him, overwhelming him. I knew he needed more help, but he was so stubborn about it, he refused. Just like Callum, his view on this world was tainted. He was always ready for someone to screw us over. I guess all our views on this world were tainted. We all had to deal with weird and fucked up shit. That’s why we all relied on each other and no one else.

“We are still missing about thirty percent of the wood for the patio in the back and all the wood for the front. We are also missing drywall for the master, office and one bedroom. Not to mention the plywood we need for the mudroom, laundry room, and office.”

“Son of a bitch. I’m getting tired of this bullshit.” Aiden rested his hands on his hips, looking up at the sky. “We’ve already had to push this house back on finish date 10 times. I’m worried she might get impatient if there are any more delays and who could blame her . This also pushes us back on the Calhoun’s.”

“We need to start the Calhoun’s sooner than later,” I suggested. “I know this project is bringing in a lot of money, but once this is done, we need to rely on our reputation locally to keep new jobs coming in.”

“Nate’s right man, we might need to pause this or at least split up. George and his crew will be back next week. I can take half and start the Calhoun’s. We should be able to knock it out in three weeks. If we had all hands-on deck, we could finish it in two weeks or less.” Aiden looked at both of us as he mulled things over in his head.

“Ok, let’s do that, but before we split off, Nate needs to check inventory and make sure we have everything we need for the project. I don’t want to start if we don’t have everything and Cal check with George to make sure he’ll be here next week and see who he’s bringing.” He nodded at us, and we nodded back.

The sound of a car pulling up on the driveway had all of us looking to see who it was.

“Jesus Christ, I don’t think I can take any more bad news.” Aiden sighed when we recognized it was Jane pulling up.

“She might have made it work or at least buttered up the old woman.” I was being optimistic.

“If she got her to agree to anything, I might just reward her with orgasms after the dinner she asked for.” Aiden laughed.

Callum smirked. “If she got her to agree to new counter tops, we all have to take one for the team and give her an orgasm.”

I chuckled. “You really think that’s taking one for the team? Shit, I’d be willing to give her orgasms for free.”

Jane got out of her car, looking defeated. Once she spotted us, she took a deep breath and walked towards us. She really was a beautiful woman, with her curves, that delicious ass and her pouty lips. Even her sadness was beautiful.

“Well, that doesn’t look good,” Callum grumbled.

Aiden took a deep breath, steeling himself for the bad news.

“Hey.” Jane looked at us as she put her hands in her pockets and I noticed a faint blush rise in her cheeks. “So that didn’t go as I expected.” She took a quick glance at us again, then averted her gaze. I couldn’t tell if that blush was from seeing us shirtless again or she really fucked up at Mrs. Montgomery’s.

“What happened?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral. It wasn’t her fault if shit got messed up. Mrs. Montgomery was a hardass.

She bit her lip like she was nervous. “Well, first, I have to say I’m really sorry.”

I felt the air shift with tension. Fuck, I hope this wasn’t worse than her just not deciding. She looked up at us for a second before she pulled her hands out of her pocket and handed Aiden a piece of paper. He dragged the paper out of her hand and read it.

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