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)
I understood that finally and told her that I’ve found that… with Kyle.
I hadn’t been able to argue when she’d arrogantly said that she’d had a hand in that too because if she hadn’t set me up with Nick and made Kyle jealous, I probably would’ve never given him a chance.
So yeah, maybe her meddling and blind date pushiness was for the best in the end. Not because of Nick, but because of Kyle.
And me.
CHAPTER 31
KYLE - TWO WEEKS LATER
Wayne, Zeus, and Frogger are sitting on the tailgate of the truck up front, crossing their fingers and saying their prayers for me as I knock on the back door at Kathy’s.
“One more time,” I remind myself as I wait for her to answer. She won’t. Not until I knock again, so I go ahead and do it to get this over with.
She has been a nightmare taken up to level eleven the last two weeks, dragging everything out as much as she can. She tried to argue about where we stored the porcelain tiles while we were actively laying them, actually wanting us to move them back to the trailer and haul them in one by one, by hand, instead of on the pallet we brought down the driveway and into the yard using a lift. I flat-out refused and told her to get out of the construction site. Then she tried to argue with Wayne about the proper way to lay sod, claiming that ‘as a gardener’—which she said with all the importance of proclaiming she’s an English Duchess—she would know better than him. Wayne shut that down by asking when was the last time she laid Bermuda grass and she’d sputtered and admitted she never had, which we all knew. She argued about the water, the pump and electrical housing, and countless other things.
On one hand, I could say that maybe she’s lonely and looking for something to talk to us about for a bit of friendly socialization. On the other hand, she’s been rude, short, manipulative, and downright mean to what amounts to an audience she knows she’s holding captive.
I won’t be captive much longer, though.
I can see her walking in from the room just to the right, where I know she was sitting, making me wait as long as possible. She opens the door. “Yes?”
She blinks like I might have an update for her on her project, and I do. The best update of all. “We’re finished. Do you have a minute to walk it with me or would you rather just sign the paperwork?”
I already know the answer, but it’s wishful thinking that she might just sign to get this done. “Hmm, let’s see how everything looks.”
It looks fucking amazing, if I say so myself.
I take Kathy on a tour of her yard, showing her the patio expansion right off the back door, the large sundeck with green and gold swirl mosaic porcelain tile that was the entire reason I took this job, the expertly installed pool’s crystalline water, and then around the edge of the yard, highlighting the flower bed along the fence line, to the back, where the concrete paver lounge area sits.
“It turned out beautiful,” I say, looking over the entire yard.
Kathy scans left and right, looking for anything to nitpick, but there’s nothing. I have high expectations of my guys, and they’re all top-notch, so there isn’t so much as a blade of freshly-laid sod out of place.
“You said you wanted to do the landscaping in the flower beds, and the pool care company added you to their rotation after confirming the chemical levels of the water today. You’re ready to swim, sun, or sit out here and simply enjoy, starting now."
“Oh, not tonight. I have plans with the mayor.” She makes it sound like she’s been invited to a formal dinner, but I’m pretty sure it’s just the monthly city council meeting. When I don’t show interest, she looks around again. “I guess it’ll have to do. It just seems so cold without the flowers.”
I swallow down the choice words I want to give her. Cold? Has she not seen her kitchen, which looks ready to film a medical drama or horror movie? Besides, nothing about the yard is cold. It looks inviting, crisp, and fresh.
“I can give you a recommendation for a landscaping company if you’d like.”
It won’t be me. I’m not doing another thing here. My contract is completely fulfilled. The pool is done, the yard is done, and Frogger did the photo shoot for the company portfolio. All I need to do is get her signature and get the fuck out.
“No, I enjoy the gardening. My favorites are the bougainvillea I had on the fence before you tore them down. I’ll have to replant those along there.” She tsks, making it sound like I ripped them down on my own, not like it was a requested and approved part of her project. “And maybe some mandevillas in pots on the patio and the sitting area.”