Ben frowns at me, then shakes his head. “We’re meeting with Stephen Davis. He’s looking to upgrade his home. I want to take a look at it before offering a rough estimate. It’s supposedly an unfinished basement.”
“Okay, has he giving you a budget? I don’t see it in your notes.” We haven’t done a basement estimate since Jones. It’s been three months, but I have the file notes on hand for reference in terms of sizing and pricing. It does help to have a mini-databases of charges and cost ratios based on previous projects. I hope this guy isn’t a creep like Jones. I didn’t see him more than twice after the initial meeting, but I had a lousy feeling about him.
“No. I was distracted,” he answers reluctantly. It’s rare for him to go in on a project without hearing a base number. Some of these people want a basement done for three thousand dollars. Maybe you can do that if you do all the work yourself. When you hire a contractor, it costs a lot more.
“Well, I hope this isn’t a wasted trip.” I toss out.
He looks at me for a second then back on the road, before saying, “Wow, someone is really irritable. Are you pregnant?”
“No, why would you say that?” I knit my brows together and scowl.
“Because you’re having a seriously short temper lately. You claim everything with Dane is fine and for the past six years you’ve never been this temperamental.”
“Well no I’m not. At least not that I’m aware of.” I was told by my doctor that not every single person gets pregnant right away. It takes time and will happen when it does. It seems like it may never happen, after all, we have had sex almost every single day since we married.
He taps my arm, then says with great sincerity, “I’m saying this not just as your boss but as your friend. Maybe you should check. You’re acting out of character.”
“I can’t be overworked?” I argue. I’m itching for a fight it seems.
“I don’t know. Too much sex and not enough sleep,” he teases.
I nudge him. “Ass.”
By the time we get to the client’s home, I’m in a better mood. Benedict is a good boss. I’m going to hate leaving him high and dry, but my sanity and happiness depend on it. I’m going to miss him and Dane, but I can’t take the stress.
“Mr. Davis?” Ben asks when the mid-forties man answers the door.
“Yes, you must be Mr. Carrington. And who is this lovely creature?”
“My assistant Mrs. Brenda Harris.” Fuck, another one of these guys. Is it guys looking for mancaves that are like this or am I just lucky?
“Oh well. Please come in.” Now I want to wait in the car.
“Here it is.” I don’t like the way he looked at me. It made me uncomfortable. And it was raising Ben’s hackles. The basement was dark and creepy looking. It’s not as nice as the other basement before we worked on it. This place said scary. There was no electricity down here. I half expected to see a guy in a chainsaw come out. Yep, glad this is my last free estimate.
During the entire visit, I feel his eyes on me. Several times, I swore he bumped into me. After an hour and a half, we left the house. “That guy was a piece of work. If Dane was here, that guy would have been buried in the creepy basement.”
“Tell me about it. He wouldn’t let that stand for nothing. Something about that guy bothers me. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t trust him.”
“Maybe it’s the fact that he couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
“True.”
***
I get home at about five thirty. I haven’t seen Dane without a room full of people all day. It was frustrating. I had the strange urge to run into his arms and have him protect me. I didn’t though. I hardly said a word as I left the office.
Fifteen minutes into starting dinner, I get a call from Dane. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey, I’m working on dinner now.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to be home a little late. One of the guys dropped a freaking pallet over, putting us behind schedule.”
“Oh no. Was anyone hurt?”
“No, babe. Although I want to kick their asses.” There’s a slight pause before he continues. “Brenda, you aren’t going to leave me, are you?”
“Never, Dane. Never. I love you. In fact, I think I love you more than I reasonably should.”
“You could never be considered unreasonable for that.”
“What time are you coming home?”
“Hopefully by ten.”
“Goodness, so late. This sucks. I’m not going to see you for a whole freaking week.”
“I know. Tell me about it. I have to be stuck with five smelly fucks who are going to be stinking up the bathroom.”