Page 64 of All Mine

Jonah motioned for the seat in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

“I will not take up too much of your time. And I know this is an awkward ask, under the circumstances.” I said, sliding into the offered chair.

“What can I do for you?” he asked, folding his hands in a steeple in front of him on the desk.

“In the event, the vote to sell the land passes, I’d like to hire your company to build the new Hart Commons.”

His facial expression didn’t change, but there was a sharp inhale.

“If I get to move forward with this project, I’d like to locally source as much of the labor and materials as possible. But, I get why you wouldn’t want to get involved.”

“Why would you want me involved?”

“Because I’ve done my homework, and you’re the best. You put out quality work and have connections with all the good tradespeople in the area...”

“And?”

“And what?”

“It felt like there was more to that statement. I’m a straightforward kind of guy, so if you have something to say, then say it. No fancy bullshit.”

“No fancy bullshit. I know building in this area isn’t booming. You take your crews to Nashville for most of your projects, and working in this town would be an insane opportunity to pass up.”

“Are we not going to talk about Lauren directly?”

My spine went rigid. “I have nothing to say.”

“Uh, huh, you’re gonna dance around it,” he cracked his knuckles. “All right, I know it’s none of my business. It just surprised me when you walked away without a word.”

“I did what I had to do under the circumstances.”

Jonah tilted his head to the side. “Which part?”

I stub my toe into the rug. “I can separate the business from the personal, and she can’t. So what choice do I have? My question is, can you?”

“I would need to look over the blueprints and the contracts to make sure it’s something to put the Barnes Construction name behind. But, I can’t pass up good-paying jobs for my workforce.”

“Even though it would put you at odds with Lauren?”

“Will you make sure the bakery has a spot in the new building that she can afford?”

“Yes, and I’ve designed a bakery for her.”

“Then I’ll handle Lauren,” Jonah leaned back in his chair. “Who knows, maybe she’ll trust the process more if I’m involved.”

“Perhaps,” I said. But the more likely scenario was that he’d lose a friend. But the only way into the town’s good graces was using a local company and local people to build it.

“Before I can agree, I’ll send you over an electronic copy of our contract, and I’ll need to see your blueprints to get the time estimates.”

“Of course. I want to get the details hashed out and get started as quickly as possible if the sale happens.”

“If it doesn’t happen?”

“Then I’m looking for a new project. I’ve put it off because I didn’t have a timeline for this one, but once that gets nailed down, I can start researching the next.”

“And then you’re gone.”

The implication behind his simple words wasn’t so simple.

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