Page 7 of Broken Heart
“Fair enough. I’ll decide how to proceed after I make a couple of calls this afternoon. Can I give you my number?”
Her brows pulled together. “Your number?”
“Yeah. I don’t think you’ll have any problems, but just in case something comes up between now and the time I get that door permanently fixed, I’d like for you to be able to get in touch with me,” I told her.
Understanding dawned on her features. “Right. That makes sense.” She pulled out a pen, tore a piece of paper off where the register receipt would print out from, and said, “You can jot it down here for me, and I’ll save it into my phone later.”
I scribbled my number down for her and slid the paper back in her direction. “That’s my cell. Day or night, if you have any issues, don’t hesitate to call me.”
Skye took the piece of paper, folded it in half, and tucked it into the back pocket of her jeans. “Thank you. Hopefully, I won’t have to call you.”
While I knew her sentiment had nothing to do with me specifically, and I certainly hadn’t wanted her to have any problems with the work I’d done, I’d have been lying if I said I would have been disappointed to answer a call from her. Pointing toward the door, I said, “I really don’t think it’ll give you any problems beyond the confusion it might cause for your customers.”
Nodding, Skye agreed, “Yeah, there is that. Maybe I’ll put a note outside the door to inform people that I’m going through a bit of construction and still open.”
“That’s probably not a bad idea.” When Skye didn’t respond and an awkward silence filled the air, I said, “I should get going now, so I can get back here to fix this quickly. I’m sorry, again, about what happened here today, Skye.”
She sent a small smile in my direction, which captivated me in a way I hadn’t anticipated, in addition to being an indication there were no hard feelings. “It’s okay, Cooper. You’re taking care of it, so I can’t really complain.”
With that, I gave her one last look before I turned and walked out of her shop and into the rain to my truck, hoping I’d return in a few days to see that smile in person again instead of having to recall it from my memory.
Then I was on my way back to Westwood’s, the place I worked in my family’s business. The Westwood Company was known for being a manufacturer of confectioner. Chocolate was the main staple of our business, but we offered so much more beyond that.
We opened the Westwood campus to the public and offered tours to people who came from all over the world. They could visit our museum, take a tour to learn how chocolate was made, and they could even build their own chocolate bars.
In addition, we had a resort-style hotel on the campus, which allowed for extended stays for families, couples, and individuals. And finally, we had a theme park for our guests to enjoy.
I was the operations and maintenance manager, so my job involved making sure everything stayed running as it should. If the equipment broke, I serviced it. If there was an issue with an exhibit in the museum, I handled it. When there was an electrical problem in the hotel, they called me. And although my youngest brother, Liam, was the one in charge of all the maintenance at the amusement park, it wasn’t uncommon for me to work with him on occasion there.
Of course, while I was capable of handling all the necessary projects and maintenance items across the entire Westwood campus, it was just far too much for a single person to manage.
So, I had a team of workers who reported to me, and each week, I’d dole out the tasks and responsibilities to every member of my team. It worked well now, but it hadn’t come easy. There had been a lot of years of effort poured into getting my team to run like a well-oiled machine.
I was proud of where we were now, even if it probably seemed to the outside world like I hated my job. It was just that there was always something to do and rarely an instance of downtime.
When I pulled up outside the hotel, I was grateful it had stopped raining. I exited the truck, made my way inside, and walked right up to the front desk.
My younger sister, Ivy, who was the oldest of the two girls in the family, was working. “Hey, Coop. Are you just now getting back here with the drywall?”
I sighed. “Yes, I am. Do you know if Marco came in and prepped that wall or not?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t see him, but I also had to step away from the front desk not long after you left this morning.”
I reached my hand into my pocket and pulled out my phone. “I’ll just give him a call then.”
“What took you so long?” she asked as I lifted my phone to my ear. As I did that, I turned to look back at the entrance to the hotel and saw Marco walking in.
Marco Kingston was my best friend and right-hand man. We’d been working together for as long as I could remember, and whenever I needed someone to take charge or cover me in any situation at work, I didn’t hesitate to rely on him.
He immediately spotted me, and I lowered my phone from my ear. When he was a few feet away, he asked, “What’s going on? I thought you were going to be back here at least an hour ago.”
I audibly sighed my frustration. “Let’s just say, this day has been one unexpected thing after another. I need to be over helping Liam on some things with the amusement park, and instead, I’ve been doing everything to fix things that should not have needed fixing today.”
My sister didn’t hesitate to chime in. “Don’t be mad at me. I wasn’t the one who put the hole in the wall in that guest room.”
Sending an unamused look her way, I insisted, “I know that. I’m not upset with you. I’m just saying the whole thing sent my day spiraling.”
Marco pressed for more information. “Why, man? What happened?”