Whiskey and Country

2

NICHOLAS

Ispread the blueprints on the makeshift table on the twentieth floor of the condo units we were building, trying to find a solution for the missing twelve inches in height on the twenty-fifth floor. The elevator couldn’t open, lacking the required clearing, which rendered the floor useless unless we found a great idea. Kevin, the concrete guy, had worked with us on numerous projects. The last thing I wanted was to fire him over this. Not a moment of recrimination, the next couple of hours demanded new ideas, something I could pitch to the promoter and architect by the next morning to save face. And my job.

Kevin scrunched up his face, his expression apologetic. “I messed up, Nick. I’ll understand if you tell me to get the hell out of here. My head has been all over the place lately. I know it’s not an excuse. I appreciate you not screaming at me right now or telling me to gather my stuff and fuck off. If I were in your shoes, I’d be furious. I can take your wrath. I know this is your shot, your chance to get in Cody’s good books and prove yourself.”

I breathed out my ire and shut my eyes, a groan leaving my throat. “Throwing you out will not change anything, man. You messed up. Big time. Can’t believe you didn’t realize you were using the preliminary plans. Believe me, I’m pissed. But let’s work together and engineer it to play in our favor. If we use our collective brains, we’ll find a way to convince the guys this fuck-up is a good thing after all. Stop chastising yourself and put that head of yours to good use.”

He nodded, inching closer, studying the blueprints next to me.

Jace, the electrician contractor on the project and my other best friend, joined us. “Hey, what happened? You both have this look on your faces.”

I pushed the table with both hands, tilting my head back in slow motion.

“The second to last floor misses twelve inches in height. The elevator can’t open, which makes the floor useless. And redoing the structure will cost too much and put us three weeks behind schedule. Kevin and I are trying to find a way to make it work somehow.”

“Oh shit. Don’t want to be there when Cody learns about it.” Cody, my boss, wasn’t the most reasonable guy. If you failed him, you were put on his black list forever. No second chances granted. Ever. I was lucky he let me supervise this project. Younger than most other foremen in the company, he offered me the job, hinting that if I surpassed myself—which meant keeping the costs to a minimum and delivering the building without any delays—I’d supervise much bigger projects in the near future. The idea sat well with me. Chicago being a booming city, I could see myself managing high-rise buildings in a few years. But first, I had to deal with the concrete flooring predicament.

“Did you hear about the guys showing up at the hospital yesterday?” Jace asked, positioning himself between Kevin and me, studying the plans over our shoulders.

“Derek was ecstatic. You should have seen the stars in his eyes when he told me. Please tell Barry I owe him one.”

Jace tapped my shoulder.

“No worries. He was happy to do it. When I told him he was one of Derek’s idols and what he went through, he didn’t even hesitate. I’m glad the boy liked it.”

“You’re kidding? He loved it.”

“How is he doing? Any news?”

I shook my head, swallowing hard, avoiding his inquisitive gaze. “I’m not sure he’ll still be here next month.”

Jace bowed his head. “Sorry, man. I know how much you care about him.” I offered him a tight-lipped smile, bringing my attention back to the construction fuck-up instead, chasing the reality of Derek dying as far as I possibly could, scared I’d tear at the seams or implode from inside if I let myself think about it for a second too long.

An idea flashed in my head. “What if the penthouse had two floors instead of one? Maybe we could—”

“Man, you’re a genius,” my friend praised, his face lighting up like those high-wattage bulbs. We used them on this site in the early stages of construction. Finding a possible solution to the present problem flushed the fragments of tension inside me, loosening the knots in my back and shoulders, as Jace continued, “You know Ted Duffy?”

“The goalie from New Jersey?” I asked.

“Yeah. Anyway, he signed with the team and is looking for a place in the city. Barry mentioned it the other night. He has two kids and doesn’t want a place downtown, but somewhere close. I know for a fact he doesn’t want a house. Let me make a call. See if he’d be interested in taking a look.” Jace stepped away, his phone already glued to his ear.

“Hey Barry, listen…” His voice got drowned in the noises surrounding us as he spoke to his sister’s friend from college. Barry Hamilton, the number one center and captain of the professional hockey team, the Chicago’s Busters, had spent many holidays and summer vacations at my friend’s house. The two had stayed close over the years.

Jace came back ten minutes later with a beaming smile stretching his face. “Got Duffy on a conference call. Hasn’t found a place to stay yet. Will meet with us tomorrow. He said if he can use his own team to look at the blueprints and work with us, he’d be interested in getting both top floors for added privacy. His kids are attending a school fifteen minutes from here. And I told him the view of the city from the twenty-fifth was one to die for.” The three of us angled our heads in the direction of where the panoramic windows would be installed soon.

I blinked. Once. Twice. Yeah, the view from here was spectacular.

Reality hit back, and I spun to stare at my friend.

“Are you messing with me? I’m not in the mood for some stupid joke.”

Jace shrugged. “No. The guy’s filthy rich and doesn’t want to live in a fifty-floor high rise or a house. I think this could work out. All you have to do is sell him the project. Once he’s on board, Cody won’t be able to chew your ass off.”

I pulled my friend into a hug. “Thanks, man. You know you just saved my life, right? Or rather, my job.”

“You would’ve done the same. No worries. Now that the puck is yours, you better score this goal.” He winked as I glared. Not truly. But in jest.

“Hockey pun? Really?”

Jace let out a warm laugh, his head falling back. “Couldn’t help it. The guy is a fucking god behind the net. You need to be better.”

Kevin huffed, his shoulders sagging, putting a stop to our well-deserved minute of fun. “Thank you, guys. Once again, I’m sorry, Nick. And if Cody wants to fire you, just know I’ll take all the blame. It wasn’t your fault. I screwed up. If it works out, I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”

“Let’s brainstorm, man. We’re not done. We must find a way to make this two-floor-penthouse idea work. I might be good at solving problems and being creative, but it’s not a done deal until it’s signed.” And we spent three hours after everybody left the site, studying the plans so we could present something amazing to Ted Duffy the next day.