“God, you’re clueless.”
“See, this is what I need you for.” She laughs and I have to admit, she really is beautiful. “For me, this is just a wish and a prayer.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure your family has a lawyer you can use. He’ll draw up papers and you can use those to make an offer to your uncle.”
“Then what?”
“Well, if he agrees, you get him to sign. And then you pay him, and he hands over the deed… and, well, the lawyers take it from there, really.”
I let out a breath. “Okay. Okay, cool. So we’re close.”
“You’re close.” I look over at the crew moving over the building. “I got my hands full here.”
“Come on, you’re not going to let me do this alone, are you?”
I frown at her. “I’m starting to get the sense that you only want me around for my great business sense.”
She laughs. “Not at all. I mean, if you want out, that’s fine by me. I’ll just struggle.”
“Good. A little struggle might be good for you, rich girl.”
She rolls her eyes but grins at me. “You know, you can’t keep playing up the poor boy thing. Soon this place is going to kill it and you’ll have more money than me.”
I snort. “That’ll never happen in my lifetime, no matter what I do.”
“Okay, that’s true, but it’s not your fault. I was just born with all this money.”
“Lucky you then. Maybe you should donate it all to some great cause and live like the rest of us do.”
She looks horrified. “Like… like a poor person?”
“An icky poor person.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “Never.”
“Of course not. Stubborn rich lady.” I grin at her and turn away… only to spot my father standing across the lot, talking to the foreman. “Oh, shit.”
“What’s wrong?” she asks. “I don’t actually hate poor people, you know. You’re not even poor. Shit, I need to stop saying the word ‘poor’ right now.”
“No, it’s my dad.”
“Oh, really? Let’s go over and say hi.”
“Uh, that’s a terrible idea.”
“Why?”
“Because he hates you.” I look at her and she seems genuinely surprised.
“Really?”
“Really. Hates you and your whole family.”
“What… why?”
“I don’t really know,” I admit. “He thinks you guys do more harm than good, maybe. I don’t know. Every time I ask, he gives me some vague bullshit answer.” I frown at her, and for a second, I want to run to my truck.
But fuck that. I’m tired of running from my father. He’s a damn bully, and if I want to spend time with Lora, I’m going to. It’s time to stop taking shit from him.
I look away and spot him walking over. He has a big smile plastered on his face, the sort of smile he saves for very, very annoying customers. And really, any customer that makes it all the way up to an audience with my father is going to be incredibly annoying.
“Son,” he says.
“Dad.”
“And who is this?”
I give him a look. “Dad, you know Lora.”
“Oh, this is the famous Lora Lofthouse.”
“Hello, Mr. Ashman,” she says.
“How are you, Lora?” he asks.
“Just fine. And yourself?”
“I’m great. Your family doing well? Oh, I guess they’re always doing well, aren’t they?” He laughs but it’s empty.
She smiles at him. “Yes, they’re doing great. It pays to be rich.”
He laughs again, this time with an edge, and looks at me. “What are you doing here?”
“Got a text from Bill about the site being up again. Came to check it out and Lora came to take a look as well.”
“Oh, right. Since she helped this whole thing happen. This is all thanks to you, isn’t it?” He gives her a look.
“This is where you thank her,” I say.
“Dean,” Lora interjects. “That’s not necessary.”
“No, he should,” I push. “You made this happen. It’d still be stalled if it weren’t for you, Lora.”
“Yes, I’m sure that’s true,” Dad says and he looks at me. “Considering I gave it to you.”
I smile at him. “And here we are, building again.”
“All thanks to the Lofthouse family. Of course.” Dad practically sneers at Lora. “Son, you should’ve stayed at the office. But truth be told, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Are you?” I tilt my head.
“While I appreciate you getting this up and running again, I don’t think I’ll need your input here after all,” he says.
I stare at him for a long moment. “Excuse me?”
“It’s just, you don’t need the extra work, do you? You have this girl to deal with right now, and I know how the Lofthouse family can be so demanding.” He smiles at us. “Why don’t you run on back to the office? You’re going to need a paycheck now more than ever. Don’t want to get on the boss’s bad side.”
I stare at him for a long moment. I can’t believe what he’s saying.
The motherfucker.
“You’re taking this from me,” I say.