Page 4 of How May I Please You
“Not really. Captain Saunders keeps throwing us little shit to look into, but it’s never anything serious or time consuming.”
“Well, hopefully something big comes along soon. You deserve it after everything you’ve been through.”
“I agree.” Journey looks down at her watch. “I should go. I don't need Saunders on my ass for being late.”
I finish my coffee and set the cup on the counter so I can close the distance between Journey and me. We hug again and I kiss the top of her head.
“Have a good day, Little One. Make sure you text me later.”
“Yes, Sir,” she replies before pulling away. “Hopefully the day goes by fast because I desperately want a repeat of last night down in the basement.”
I smile. “I can definitely arrange something … if you're a good girl.”
“I will be,” she answers, grinning from ear to ear.
The next few minutes are spent grabbing things we both need to perform our jobs and heading to the garage together. We kiss while standing between my truck and her car, and then press the button to raise the door and bring in the sunlight. I let her pull out of the driveway first before backing out myself, and we drive away in two different directions. As much as I hate being apart from her, I know what the night holds for us, and I can’t wait to come back to our dark and twisted world.
chapter
three
As I drive onto the job site, I immediately spot everyone in our crew gathered in the center of the massive concrete pad we poured last week. Trey is already standing in the middle wearing blue jeans, a green and white flannel, and brown overalls over his lanky frame. The usual suspects are mingling near him, and just as I pull up the parking brake on my truck, I notice two new people huddled off to the side the way people do when they’re the only ones unfamiliar with everyone else.
“There he is, the man himself,” Trey says as I approach the crew with a smile on my face. “Nice of you to join us, Mr. Godric. Right on time, as usual. Now that you're here, we can go ahead and get started.”
I take a minute to greet the guys before falling into position next to the other craft leads on the project. We stand to the side of Trey as he begins to give our typical morning briefing to the rest of the crew.
“Alright, everybody, listen up,” he begins, rubbing the hair on his chin. “Most of you have been on this warehouse project from the very beginning, so I shouldn't have to go over every little safety aspect of this job site. Clearly we’re in phase one of construction. The pad we’re standing on right now came out perfectly thanks to Mr. George Moore and his crew finishing it with the power trowels. Now we’re onto the next task, which will be our biggest and probably the most important. Can anybody tell me what that is?”
“The walls,” Larry says from amongst the crew, his large arms folded across his chest.
“Exactly. Thank you, Larry,” Trey replies, nodding. “These are not your typical walls, folks. These walls are made of concrete, and they will have a ton of rebar in them—and no, I don't mean that literally, but there will be enough sticks in the grid to make your forearms massive from laying them down. There are fourteen walls that have to be poured—four on each side and three on each end. It’s going to be time-consuming. It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be laborious, but we’re being paid handsomely and I’d like to keep this project on schedule, so you're allowed to complain as long as you do it while you're working. George, you and your crew are on rebar. Jimmy, your guys have stub-ups, and Evan, you’ve got forms.
“Now, before we get to it, I’d like to introduce the two newest members of our illustrious crew. Everyone, this is Stanley Ronan and Robin Heart. Stanley is a heavy equipment operator, and Miss Heart is a carpenter. The two of them transferred from the Dover branch and were assigned to the best construction team in PA. Everybody be sure to welcome them to the team as we get going. Stanley, you're with George. Robin, you're with Evan’s crew. Alright, people. Let’s work.”
The group disassembles, breaking up into our respective crafts, and I take the opportunity to approach the new woman on the crew. She forces a nervous smile as I extend my hand.
“Good morning, Robin. I’m Evan,” I say, shaking her hand before leading her and the rest of the crew toward a large stack of uncut plyform. “Welcome to Philly. Looks like we’ll be working together. I take it you’ve built forms before?”
Robin, a short redhead with barely-there freckles scattered across her nose, nods her head.
“Absolutely. I just need to get a look at the drawings,” she says. “Or you can just tell me what to cut or put together. I’m flexible.”
Flexible enough to fit inside a footlocker? Or would I need to break your bones to make you fit? Ah, good times.
“That’s good to hear,” I reply, ignoring the inner dialogue of my true nature. “I’m going to put you with Shawn. He’s forming up the pieces we cut yesterday to get a head start, and then they’ll be placing and staking them. You get that, Shawn?”
Shawn looks over from the corner of the pad where we’ll lay the first set of forms. “All good, Evan.”
“Cool. So, just get with Shawn and you’ll be all set,” I say to Robin. “Let me know if you have any questions.”
“Awesome. Thanks, Evan,” Robin replies before shaking my hand again and sauntering away to link up with Shawn’s three-man team.
Is she swaying her ass when she walks? Maybe she wants a dance with the devil, but something tells me she wouldn't be prepared to bleed for me. Only my Little Devil has what it takes.
I smile to myself as Robin walks away, and I pull my phone from my pocket. Thoughts of Journey fill me with a need to talk to her before starting work.
Hey, Little One. Just wanted you to know I’m about to get started with work. I hope your day goes well. I love and miss you.