Miller's Time (Southern Charmers 2)

His face softens and he brushes his hand across my cheek. “Love learning these little things.”

I smile shyly back at him. “It’s coming naturally.”

“Want to tell me who you were talking about when we came in?”

The conversation comes back to me and I smile wider. “Stephanie has met someone. I was asking when we get to meet him.”

His face registers understanding and he nods. “The mystery man. Pierce told me all about it but said Stephanie had yet to give Darby many details. She’s keeping a lot under wraps. They’re coming Thanksgiving weekend.”

My face falls and my mood instantly evaporates. “I’ll miss him.”

“You’ll miss him?”

“I’ll be in Atlanta for Thanksgiving.”

His face is blank.

“Seriously, Miller, Janette Rhodes turns into a different beast at Thanksgiving. None of us miss it.”

He studies me for a beat, then his grin turns wicked. “We’ll see.”

Chapter 15

Miller

Andi pops her head into my office, gauging my mood before she walks in.

“It’s safe. The distributor knows I’m pissed. We should have the replacement fixtures by Friday.” I hand her the file that was laying on my desk this morning with the bold message about a problem with material delivery.

“Great, now only a dozen other issues to deal with. I swear this is the craziest Monday in months.”

“Anything else I need to handle?”

“No, but I don’t remember November being this insane.”

“That’s because last year you were Pierce’s assistant and his focus was on Darby in Aspen.”

“Oh yeah. Maybe this is a better gig. He was wound tight. Must have blocked those months out of my brain.” She laughs, pulling another folder out of her stack and pushing it across my desk. The “Rhodes Reno” label catches my eye instantly.

“There better not be a problem here.” My voice comes out more abrasive than intended.

“Just opposite, take a look.” She sits back smugly.

I scan the documents, once again thankful for Andi’s organization. Then I catch what she’s so proud about. Not only are we on track, but Ashlyn’s budget has a significant surplus on top of our contingency fund.

“Your girlfriend has expensive tastes, but if she was aiming to save money, her efforts worked. Rarely do we see this.”

“This is true.” More times than not, our clients are over budget in the first week.

I knew there were a few places we cut costs. Pierce and I doing the kitchen demolition and the front porch, Ashlyn’s work inside, and her dad’s contribution to the landscape removal had saved thousands in labor.

It’s my job to watch budgets, and I know this one off the top of my head. “Guess all the extra hands added up.”

“Yes, now look at the materials.”

I flip through the pages and see all the price codes have been altered to reflect discounts. These codes have to go through two managing owners for approval. On the last page, Dad and Pierce’s signatures are inked with today’s date. Ashlyn’s material costs are now at Kendrick’s employee costs.

“Sneaky sons-of-bitches.” I had planned to discount the material costs to an extent, but this excess gives Ashlyn some options.

It’s also going to send her through the roof to think she’s gotten special treatment.

My eyes go to Andi, who is outwardly grinning like a Cheshire cat. “It’s not often I get to share good news with you, so I begged Warren for this opportunity.”

“Dad likes to make people happy.”

“She wanted that extended closet.”

“Yes, she did.” I think of the bins in my garage labeled shoes. The image of her walking in that bar in those sexy stilettos crosses my mind. “If she wants to do anything additional, it needs to happen fast while we have the electricians there. She has folders of ideas. When you call her, tell her to bring them to the office to discuss with you.”

“You want me to call her?”

“Not going to end your streak of sharing. She’s going stir crazy at my house. My guess is she’ll be here soon.”

Andi leaps out of her chair, bubbling with energy. “On it.”

“Do me a favor, don’t mention the reduced material costs yet. Give her the overall number and work with that.”

“You want me to lie to her?”

“No, I want you to finesse the news that we’re under budget. It’ll be better if I explain the discount and ease her into it. She’s a little sensitive to accepting generosity.”

“Got it, I’ll do my best,” she tells me on her way out.

I shoot off a quick text to Ashlyn to expect Andi’s call. A minute later, my phone rings and I assume it to be her, knowing her curiosity is running wild. But it’s not her name on the screen.

“Hey, man. Long time, no hear.” I lean back in my chair, propping a foot on the edge of the desk.

“I could say the same thing. Your phone broken?” My friend, Todd, greets.

“Not broken, just been busy. Work is ramping up with the end of the year. You know how it goes.” Todd runs a house flipping and renovation business.