The Renovation (Contemporary Reverse Harem 2)

Dig raised his hands to shush us all. “Hey, hey guys. Hold up. Listen, I don’t think we have to take this sitting down. Look, I work in real estate, and I know a little about how these things work. If you have a contract on the house before the bank formally forecloses, that halts the proceedings.”

Jayma pulled her hands away from her face. “Really? But do you think we could get someone? We can’t show the house in the condition it’s in right now.”

“I completely agree,” Dig said, looking around at the guys. “But from what Carter says, we have a good shot at doing the reno pretty fast. You already have the permits for the work, and I know someone at the city inspector’s office who’ll get us on the calendar for inspection. I still think there’s a chance we can pull it off.”

The guys all nodded. Jayma was unconvinced.

“You all have already been so good to me. I can’t let you do something that will most likely end up having been a waste of your time.”

Tanner shrugged. “I don’t see how it’s a waste of time. It sounds like a great challenge and speaking for myself, I look forward to learning from these guys. I’m tired of talking about tampons all day.”

All heads whipped in Tanner’s direction.

“Dude, what the hell are you talking about?” Wyatt asked.

Tanner rolled his eyes. “I’ll explain another time. I just want it to be known that I’m still in if you guys are.”

I knew I was. I believed we had a chance. I looked at Wyatt and Dig. It was clear they weren’t backing down that easily, either.

“C’mon Jayma. Let’s give it our best shot. You’ve got a helluva crew here,” I said, looking around at the guys.

“I…I don’t know. I just don’t know,” she said in a quiet voice.

Dig was the first on his feet. He walked to the end of the table where Jayma sat and pulled her into his arms.

“Baby, it’s not over ‘til it’s over. And it ain’t over yet.”

As soon as dessert was finished and we’d cleared the table, I headed to bed. I didn’t know who Jayma spent the night with, if anyone, and it didn’t matter. All I wanted to do was climb into bed for a good night’s rest. I planned to get up early to get to work on her house. I’d make sure we proved to her that we’d do our best, for as long as she gave us the opportunity to.

Chapter 25

JAYMA

How did I get so lucky? Or was it unlucky? Depended how you looked at it, I suppose.

The guys were going to bust their asses. For me. In spite of the fact that it could end up being all for naught. How could I ever repay them? Certainly not by choosing one to be with and cutting the others loose.

Yeah, some kind of nice that would be. I’d go off with one of the guys, and the others would be shit out of luck.

How would that be good for any of us?

But I’d worry about that later. First, I had to get through a shitty day at work. Bob, the douche from finance, had already been out in reception, scolding me about not having made his copies fast enough. Apparently he’d forgotten about Tanner’s threat.

“You know, Jayma, I have my meeting starting pretty soon. I really need my stuff,” he said.

Did I say he was a d

ick? And that he also needed to trim his nose hairs?

Thank goodness he didn’t meet with clients.

“Bob, I’ll have them done in time. The phone’s been ringing off the hook, and you know that has to be my top priority.”

His face turned into a scary shade of red. Maybe he’d explode. It would be a mess, but then at least he’d be off my ass.

“I’m not leaving until you do them, Jayma. Please get on it.”

“Jayma speaking,” I answered the phone. I gave him the just a minute finger signal but he chose to ignore it.