I is for Ian

“Ian,” a voice behind me called, and I looked over my shoulder to see Bryant on his way over. Bryant Percy was one of my best friends and my right-hand man on the job. He was holding a notebook, as usual. He was a notorious note-taker and preferred to do it with pen and paper.

“What’s up?”

“Whoa,” he said, looking out of the window. “Nice view. Anyway. I have the plans for the day.”

“Let me see,” I said, taking the notebook from him.

“Did they give you any indication on if they were thinking about the new wing for us to build or if they were going to someone more local?”

“They haven’t said,” I said. “I think a lot of that depends on how well we can do with this renovation and if we come in at or under budget. You know how these types are. They want it to be fast and flashy, but it’s a hospital. We have to make sure it’s perfect.”

“But…” he said, knowing there was more to it. If anyone knew how ambitious I was, it was Bryant.

“But I think we can do it,” I said. “We’re talking about a massive job, and very high-profile. It would be huge for me.”

“Hell yeah it would,” Bryant said. “You’re thirty-two, man. You’re already young to be doing what you’re doing. You get this, all I’m saying is you better hook me up.”

“You know it,” I said.

“So, demo?”

“Yeah, get to the demo work. I’ll oversee the offices. Oh, and Bryant?”

“Yeah?”

“When I have my own company, you know you’re my foreman, right?”

“I better be,” he laughed.

Bryant walked away, heading to the other side of the building, where the demolition crew was. He was about to make a lot of noise, which was his favorite aspect of the job. To that end, it was why I brought him down in the first place. Being in control of the scheduling and essentially running the company for an owner that preferred to stay at home most of the time, I had my pick of who to bring on.

What Bryant said was true. I was already young for my position. Being a foreman, especially on a job this big and this important for the company, was something that usually went to older and more experienced guys. Me being in this position meant I was as good as I thought I was and that there was trust in me to get it done. And get it done right.

The board overseeing the renovation was expected to come in and take a look at things at various points in the process, and Dr. Sutton was also very keen to know what was happening on the ground as well. I was going to have people crawling all over the place and had to be on top of my game at all times. I was okay with that. I was good under pressure.

I was thankful for the opportunity, but it was still just a stepping-stone for me. I had big plans. Like I told Bryant, I was planning on starting my own company by the time I was forty. If things kept going the way they had been in recent years, that wouldn’t be that much of a stretch. Bryant was the first guy I was going to hire.

Aside from him, I didn’t really have many friends. I just didn’t have time for them. Throwing myself into work as hard as I had right out of college meant that I didn’t have much time for anything else. The occasional trip to the sports bar to watch games, usually with Bryant in tow, or occasionally hitting on a girl I’d met at one of the places I tended to be because of work were the only things I did.

My luck with women wasn’t terribly good either. Relationships fizzled after the first date or two, when the girl realized that I wasn’t as interested in having a real relationship as I was having someone to distract me in the few hours I wasn’t actively at work. It was my own fault, but most women my age had been interested in deep, meaningful relationships, and that wasn’t where I was in life.

A cold chill blew in from the empty window hole, and I pulled my jacket tighter. The plastic over the window wasn’t fully battened down, which was going to be the first thing I did when I got up. By the end of the day tomorrow, the windows would be installed. I aimed to have all the construction work done by then, so when the windows went in, there would only be decorating left. Then we could show Dr. Sutton and get on with the process of him being thoroughly impressed by me.

I ate the last bite of my lunch and washed it down with a big gulp of my sweet tea.