Page 35 of Unbearable
Falling into bed, she picked up the book and began to read. Five minutes in, she realized she had read the same paragraph three times. It was too good of a book to miss. Placing it on her nightstand, she turned off the light. Knox still hadn’t returned from her brother’s house, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore to wait for him. Slowly, she drifted off into another restless night.
CHAPTER 13
Fox pulledup to the curb in front of the multi-storied townhome in Beacon Hill. It was the last place he wanted to be. He was meeting both Heidi and his top renovation contractor to make sure everyone was on the same page before they began tearing everything out.
He grabbed his notebook and stepped out of his truck to meet Heidi where she waited on the sidewalk.
“Thanks for taking the job,” she said as he approached. There hadn’t been a choice. His boss had returned a bid in record time, and the Andersons had signed it that same day.
“Joey should be here in a second. He’s our best renovation expert, especially for these older homes.” As if Fox had summoned him with just his words, a matching work truck pulled up behind his.
“Joey, this is Heidi,” he continued when the man met them in front of the house. “She’s the designer on this project, so we’ll be working closely with her to make sure everything is to the homeowner’s expectations.”
“Good to meet you, Heidi,” Joey said, stretching out his hand.
“Very nice to meet you too,” she said, taking his hand. “Shall we?” She led the men to the front door that was opened by Edmund. Fox fought the resigned sigh that threatened at the man’s appearance.
“Who’s this?” Edmund demanded.
“This is Joey,” Fox answered. “He’s our expert in custom remodels of these historic homes.”
“I thought you were going to do it.” Edmund scowled at him, barely giving the other man a glance.
“I’m just the supervisor. Joey is the real talent. All I do is make sure he has what he needs and that the work runs on time.”
“Hmm, we’ll see about that,” Edmund snarled before whipping his phone out of his back pocket and stomping into the other room.
“Okay, well, let me show you the tradesman entrance off the driveway,” Heidi said, leading them through the house.
“I’ve arranged for a roll off to be set up tomorrow. Is it good in the driveway?” Joey asked.
“Yes. Mrs. Anderson has left for a spa in the Berkshires for the duration, and Mr. Anderson is in Europe this time of year on business. Edmund will be in and out, but he lives elsewhere. Work can’t begin before eight in the morning and must end at five in the evening.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Fox began when his phone rang in his pocket. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up on the second floor.” He answered his phone as they disappeared upstairs. “Yes, sir?”
“I just got a phone call from the Andersons’ son insisting that you were being uncooperative,” his boss said.
“I’m not sure how.”
“Look, I don’t like that kid any more than the next man, but that family has the potential to send a lot of work our way. If he wants you with a hammer in your hand, that’s what you’ll need to do. You can check in with your other jobs when you have time.They can always call if there’s a problem, or do I need to assign someone else to your other projects?”
“No, sir. I’ve got it.” He wasn’t about to let one of the other guys swoop in and take the commissions he had worked so hard to negotiate. With any luck, he could start looking at a small house with a yard for Ethan to play in somewhere outside of Boston.
“Good man,” he heard before the line went dead. With a sigh, he pocketed the phone. Turning back to the stairs, he found Edmund leaning against the newel post with a smirk on his face.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Everything’s good,” Fox answered before brushing past him. He climbed the stairs in a few strides and joined the others. “Looks like I’m joining your team for a while.” Joey gave him a confused look for a moment before his features straightened back out. Fox assumed that meant Edmund was now standing behind him.
“Glad to have you.” Joey patted him on the back before following Heidi to the next room.
“Yes, Foxworth, so very glad to have you onboard,” Edmund said.
“Hey, guys,” he called without acknowledging Edmund. “I’m going to kick off so I can check the other projects. Are you good?”
“We’ve got this,” Joey said, sticking his head back out of a bedroom. “I’ll see you at eight.”
“Yeah, eight.” Fox spun around and almost raced back down the stairs. He was through the house in a matter of seconds. Closing the front door behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief.