Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
So yeah, my shot at a better parking job isn’t nearly enough. There’s a clear difference in the two lawns, showing the property line, but my front wheels are clearly on Dani’s side while the rest of my truck, not so much. In front of me, there’s a length of curb still, but it’s only big enough for a car, not the full-size trucks her customers drive.
I’d back up more, but Wayne’s truck is parked behind me, the trailer stretching out in front of Kathy’s house, and behind that is the space necessary to unload the digger. I’m going to have to do something about this situation today because I’m less than a week into this job, and I can see that Dani’s right about the traffic flow down the street. This is definitely cramped quarters.
“Hey, Wayne! How’s it going?” I call out as I approach him. He’s supervising Zeus, our youngest crew member who’s driving our mini-digger. I wish we could use a bigger machine, but there’s no way in hell we could navigate that trailer down this street.
The glare Wayne sends my way is answer enough, especially when he jerks his head toward Kathy’s house. “Deal with her,” he warns in a low voice, “or I will.”
Great. I’ve been worrying about Dani, but apparently, the bigger issue today is our client. Why am I not surprised? On some jobs, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, glancing at the house. “She’s not outside chewing you out, at least. That’s gotta be a good sign, yeah?”
“Not exactly,” Wayne says as he comes closer, grumbling like a pissed-off bear. “She was out here first thing, telling me that we weren’t digging properly.” He snorts at her unmitigated gall… as if Kathy Wilson has any idea about hole digging. “Said the pile of dirt was blocking her view out the nook window. She apparently likes to have her morning coffee and gaze out over the peasants.”
He mimics sipping from a teacup with his dirt-covered pinkie finger out and frowning snottily as he flicks his eyes over the mess of a yard. It’s a fair approximation of Kathy’s mannerisms based on our conversations during the quote phase of the job. “Not sure how the fuck she thought we were gonna put a pool in and not disturb the view.”
I chuckle at his impersonation, because Wayne’s right. There’s absolutely no way to dig a pool and not create a big, messy pile of dirt somewhere. If I were hired to put a pool in at the White House on the South Lawn, guess what? The president would be looking out at a pile of dirt for a while. That’s the way physics works. Holes have dirt, dirt needs to go somewhere. And I’m not hauling it halfway around the world just for her view. “I’ll handle it.”
It’s a vow I make seriously. I take care of my guys. I know a lot of workplaces say they’re a ‘family’ as a way to take advantage of people, but for us? I actually mean it. We give each other shit, but nobody fucks with them. Not on my watch.
And the fact that Wayne’s telling me to deal with it means he already tried his way and is sending in the big guns, a.k.a. me. Because I can play nice when the situation warrants it, but it’s not my natural state. This little conversation will be about setting expectations and boundaries with Kathy, something she probably thinks she’s immune to. But she’s gonna learn that they do apply to her where my crew and jobsite are concerned.
Thankful for the fact that this came up now and not four hours from now when I’d be sweaty and smelling like a trash heap, I walk over to the back door of Kathy Wilson’s house, knocking politely. When she doesn’t answer, I clear my throat, knocking again. “Hey Missus Willllsoooonnn!”
Behind me, Wayne snorts. “That’s old even for me.”
Before I can tell Wayne that I watched the old Dennis The Menace with my grandfather when I was little, the door opens and Kathy Wilson stares at me in utter, arrogant indignance. “Yes?”
The height difference from her back porch to her nook floor has nothing to do with the way she’s looking down at me. In her mind, I’m beneath her and the way she peers down her nose makes that loud and clear. Luckily, I’m used to dealing with that from other customers and my own family, so I use my tried-and-true method first—charm.
“We need to talk,” I reply reasonably, giving her a smile that’s gotten me out of trouble a lot of times… and into trouble just as much. “I hear you’re upset about where my crew’s been putting the excavated dirt? Something about your view?”
Kathy’s cheeks flush, my smile clearly doing what I intended, and she nods. “Yes. It’s unsightly.”