Roll the Dice

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

JACQUI TORE OFF another piece of the mutilated napkin in her hands and wadded it up into a tiny ball. When she compressed it as she could get it, she plopped it down into the small pile of wadded up balls in front of her. She instantly ripped off another piece.

Reaching across the table, Brent Wellington placed his hand on top of the napkin and gently pushed it and her hands to the table. “Relax. It’s just lunch. You eat lunch all the time.”

“And it’s usually at my desk or in situations where I have control. This feels like an ambush.” She wadded the rest of the napkin up, tossing it to the center of the table. She reached for her water glass, needing something to do with her hands.

“This is far from an ambush,” her financial consultant said. “It’s just a business meeting to introduce you to someone who might be able to help you with your next project. You’re the boss. You can say yes or no.”

She shook her head. “They want me to hire them and so do you. That’s three against one. It’s an ambush.”

“Hardly. Have a breadstick,” he said as he pointed to a basket of long garlic breadsticks on the table. “It’ll give you something to tear up with your hands besides your napkin.”

His offer tempted her, but she didn’t need garlic butter all over her fingers when Neal Rutherford arrived. That wasn’t the first impression she desired to give. As it turned out, it was a wise choice because as she set her water glass back down, Neal arrived accompanied by another—younger—man. Neal was in his early fifties if she read Lily’s file correctly, but he was fit enough to be in his thirties. His dark hair was barely gray at the temples, and while his skin was a deep tan from being outdoors, it did not have the leathery look to it that sometimes came with age.

The other man stood about an inch taller than Neal, with a thicker build and wavy, light brown hair. He also had a cocky swagger to his gait whereas Neal was just confident in his stride. She stood with Brent to greet them, but she already had Neal’s partner figured out as a player just by his walk. That was one strike against him. I’m not that easily charmed, Mr. Rutherford. I hope this friend of yours isn’t your selling strategy.

“Neal, Morgan, glad you could make it,” Brent said as he shook each man’s hand. He then introduced them to Jacqui, using their full names this time, before making her introduction. “Allow me to introduce Jacqui Karston, CEO of The Karston Foundation and the Maggie Karston Community Center, or as I like to call her, the Boss.”

Jacqui smiled as a little blush heated her cheeks at Brent’s words. “He only says that because I sign his checks, not because he really listens to me.” She smiled, trying to put a little laugh to her jest.

Brent held his hands out to his side as if she just caught him at something and chuckled with her. Luckily for her, Neal and Morgan joined in the laughter. “I’m sure that’s not true at all,” Neal said as he gave Jacqui’s hand a firm shake. “I’ve known Brent for a while. He never puts his saddle on a horse he doesn’t have complete confidence in. He has spoken quite highly of you, Mrs. Karston, which is part of the reason we’re here. I admire what you’re trying to do, and I want to be a part of it.”

“Even though you just compared me to a horse, you may call me Jacqui.” She gave him a strained smile as they all took their seats again.

“You are far from a horse,” Morgan said as he waved for the waitress. “Neal sometimes uses clichés before he realizes how they may come out.”

“I promise, I meant no offense,” Neal said, his face a little paler than it was before he arrived.

“None taken, but lunch is on you.” Jacqui slipped her napkin over her lap. She didn’t want this meeting in the first place. She had no intention of making it easy on any of them.

“As it should be. We did ask for the meeting, after all.”

Jacqui just smiled. Brent was already sweating under the collar. Good. He deserved to sweat for putting her in this position. There were plenty of great contractors right here in Biloxi she had hired before and with whom she had a great working relationship. She didn’t need to give someone from the outside a foothold into her area. Her goal was to put people to work who had a vested interest in the community. Neal Rutherford was an outsider with no interest other than his bank account.

The waitress approached, refilling Jacqui’s water, which had a lemon floating in it, and asked Neal and Morgan for their drink orders. “Water with lemon, please,” Neal said. The waitress turned to Morgan and Jacqui watched as the woman’s eyes twinkled when he smiled up at her. Her hip popped out, and she leaned a little lower down, the creamy top of her breasts pushing at her blouse. Morgan, typical male that he seemed to be, smiled even more as he raked her with his eyes. “Shock Top with an orange slice, please.” The girl gave him a seductive smile and bounced off to fill the drink order. Jacqui would almost bet he would get his beer before Neal received his water.

“A day drinker?” She glanced over at Morgan as he watched the waitress walk away. Neal cleared his throat, and Morgan finally turned around. He showed no sign of being embarrassed at his ogling. Brazen. Jacqui didn’t particularly care for brazen.

“Glenlivet. Grey Goose. Jameson. That would be day drinking. A Shock Top with an orange slice is just lunch.” He settled back in his seat. “You’ve never had a drink with lunch?”

“I don’t drink. I prefer to keep a clear head.”

Brent leaned on the table, his fingers intertwined in front of him. “So, Jacqui, Rutherford Construction has built everything from subdivisions to hospitals to theme parks. They’re great at doing stuff that has a Disney-like look to it, which is what you said you wanted for the community center.”

“We have,” Neal said, taking over and helping Brent divert everyone’s attention from the way the conversation had been going. “In one building, a center for children, we built indoor slides that went from the fourth floor down to the first. Kids loved it.”

Jacqui stared at Morgan a moment longer. He just smiled back at her. “It’s true. I’ve been down those slides myself. They’re quite fun.”

Jacqui c****d her head to the side, narrowed her eyes. “You’re pretty cocky for a man trying to convince me to hire him. You don’t seem to be taking this meeting very seriously.”

Neal leaned forward. “I assure you, we are taking this meeting very seriously. Morgan is just used to dealing with construction workers.” Neal shot Morgan a stern look, and Jacqui could tell the boss was not happy with his underling. Good. “I don’t usually take him on these types of meetings, but I assure you, he’s the man for the job. We’re the company for the job.”

Morgan didn’t even look like his boss just reprimanded him. Jacqui would have shaken her head if she hadn’t been at a business meeting. Of course, with his behavior, she should be able to convince Brent they didn’t need Rutherford Construction, and they sure as hell didn’t need Morgan Brewer. She needed serious people around her, people who would take the community center seriously. It was too important for anyone to treat it like a game and from what she could see of Mr. Brewer, everything was a game.

She watched as he leaned forward, ignoring the warning glance from his boss, the owner of the company. He clasped his hands together in front of him, fingers intertwined, that damn cocky grin pushing his tanned cheeks up. “Mrs. Karston, you want to put people to work in your city. We understand that, and Rutherford Construction can do just that. The people we hire will be from right here in the area. I’m the only one relocating for now. I’ll build my team from local people, your people. What you’ll get from us is our experience, expertise, and resources. We know what works, and we have the money to accomplish whatever we need to accomplish. Bottom line, you want to put people to work, and we can do that. We’re not bringing people to Biloxi. We’re bringing money. Isn’t that what the people of Biloxi need?”

Jacqui stared at the man. “Just you? No one else? All local? Then why do I need you?”

“Because we have the clout to pull this off while bringing you in way below budget. We’ll not only be putting money back into your economy, but we’ll be costing you less than if you were to go with someone else. Shoot, we’ll do it for cost, just to be able to showcase our work to others. You save money while putting people to work, and we get to prove ourselves. It’s a deal you can’t, in good conscience, refuse. Everyone wins.”

Brent had already warned her about their financial situation. This project would already cost The Karston Foundation a pretty penny, and they wanted to make the center its own self-sustaining entity. They wanted to come in under budget, so they would not be straining their resources, resources that couldn’t afford to be strained, to be honest, but also so they would have a reserve in place for the center. Morgan Brewer was promising to do just that while helping her community in the process. He was right. She couldn’t refuse. That didn’t mean she had to like it, however.

She was really going to hate working with the man, especially if he continued to give her that cocky-ass grin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“You’ll be doing this with people you don’t know. You don’t know their history, if they’re good, dependable, anything. You know nothing about this town or its people. What the hell were you thinking telling her you’d be the only outsider coming here?” Neal didn’t even wait until the car had started before launching into his rant. Morgan thought the veins at his boss’s temples would explode. “This is our first job in Biloxi, and we need it to go smoothly. We need people we know can deliver. Now is not the time to wing it.”

Morgan tried not to smile, knowing it would only infuriate Neal more. “We got the job, didn’t we?”

“Yes, but will we be able to keep it?”

“If you didn’t think I could run this project, Neal, why did you bring me up here?”

“I brought you up here to organize one of our crews, get them on their feet until you picked your replacement, not to create a crew from scratch. What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking we’d get the contract we came out here to get,” Morgan said, a little more forcefully than he intended. “Look, she didn’t want to hire us. That was obvious. She wanted someone local. She wants the money—her money—to go to the area to help the economy here. So what if we hire locally? The bulk of the money will still go to Rutherford Construction. She’s happy, and we get paid. I’ll have to work harder, perhaps stay a little longer, but eventually it will work out in our favor. Once we’re established, we can slip in some of our more experienced people. When we set up the office staff, we can call someone like Faith Greer to come up and show the new people what to do. She did an awesome job in Tampa. We fly her in for a few days, let her do her stuff, and then turn it over to whoever we’ve hired to manage the office here. Trust me. This is why you brought me here. Allow me to work my magic.”

“Keep your magic in your pants. I don’t want to blow this. You got away with your crap back there because I think it shocked her. Don’t do it again. I want this branch to be aboveboard. We do not need another Edwin situation.”

“That was more of a Cherish situation, but I get it. Relax.” Morgan glanced out the window at the passing businesses. “Any idea where we’ll set up shop?”

“Brent hooked me up with a Realtor who will help us find a home for now. We’re meeting Stacey Rogers at some warehouses off Cedar Lake Road. If this goes well, we’ll do like we did everywhere else and buy some property and set up a permanent facility.”

“Since it looks like I’ll be here a little longer than anticipated, I should probably get an apartment. A hotel is nice, but it’s not home.”

“True. It’s also not cheap.”

Morgan wasn’t really worried about the cost since he wouldn’t be the one footing the bill. The company sent him here, the company could pay. However, he knew it would become tiresome living out of a suitcase for the duration of the project. He wasn’t sure how far along the community center was, whether it was just a twinkle in Jacqui Karston’s eye or if it had at least made it to the architectural drawing board. That could make it worse if nothing had even been planned out, yet. No, he would have to get an apartment. He was sure he could find temporary leasing around Biloxi somewhere. The company would pay for the hotel, but they would not be happy about his eating out every night. Morgan made a mental note to ask Stacey Rogers if she had anything available for a single man. He also wanted something stable in case Jeannie, his ex-wife, allowed Dustin to come out for a weekend or longer here and there. That was truly the saddest part about leaving Orlando. He was away from his son. Of course, it wasn’t as if Jeannie allowed him to visit that often anyway, and with how Rutherford Construction kept him traveling, time was a precious commodity. Still, he wanted to be prepared in case she allowed it, and a hotel was not a place for his visiting son.

The drive didn’t take long, and Stacey Rogers stood outside a cream-colored building with faded paint and dirty windows. There was nothing faded and dirty about Stacey, however. She was a short woman, barely over five-feet tall, with short dark hair, a slender frame, and hips Morgan would love to grip. She smiled, watching them as they exited their car, her eyes twinkling and her blouse buttoned low enough to tempt a man’s gaze. Morgan quickly put on his Sunday-Go-To-Meeting smile and allowed his eyes to roam over her curves. Neal would be all business, so Morgan was free to be all male.

Cedar Lake was a busy road full of small businesses, churches, and easy access to I-10. The building Stacey showed them was a small fenced in office with a warehouse and parking in the rear for larger trucks, which would keep Neal happy with the way he preferred to stock up on supplies and tools.

Introductions were made, Morgan holding her warm hand longer than necessary as he smiled into her emerald eyes. She smiled back as she squeezed his hand, and Neal had to cough to bring them back to their reason for being there.

“So, what can you tell me about the place?” When Stacey turned toward the building, Neal glanced at Morgan and just rolled his eyes. Shrugging, Morgan just winked at his boss.

“It used to be owned by a cable installer until they moved out to the industrial area,” Stacey said as Neal scanned the front of the building. “Brent said you needed office space as well as storage for building materials.” She gave Neal and Morgan the rundown of the area and the cost of the unit. It would cost a tad more because they were only leasing it on a temporary basis, but it had been vacant for three years, so the owner was eager to accept their terms just to get someone in it. Empty buildings tended to be a magnet for trouble.

The location was ideal, because I-10 was just up the road, which gave easy access to travel around to surrounding areas. Neal would appreciate that aspect, Morgan knew. However, if he entertained the idea of searching out other jobs while they were in town, he would need a building he could transform into a dazzling first impression. The outside needed work, a good coat of paint and some weedkiller on the asphalt drive.

Stacey unlocked the double glass doors and opened the right one wide enough for both men to enter. “Light switch is on the right.”

The building was an L-shaped structure with the back half having been used for storage in the past, but with only one bay door. Morgan knew that would never work for long if they intended to make a home in Biloxi. Neal believed in keeping supplies on hand, so they didn’t have to wait on a supplier or risk the supplier being out of stock. It was one of the ways he was able to maintain his deadlines and never come in late. He could also make bulk purchases of inventory, which usually saved him even more money.

The front part of the building was large with one small office to the side. Still, there was room to add more rooms and separate the working people from the clients. There was a musty odor to the place, probably due to the fact it sat vacant for three years. The carpet was stained and old, but that could be replaced quickly and, hopefully, some of the odor would leave with it. The building needed work, but it had great potential. They had set up shop in shabbier looking places. That was the good thing about Neal. He had a way of taking slums and making them high class. Luckily, they would be given the permission to remodel as they needed and at the owner’s expense. That was always a plus.

“Then can we meet at the office to fill out the paperwork, and I can hand you the keys?” Stacey smiled up at Neal with that hopeful look in her eyes.

“I think we can,” he said.

“Afterward, can you show me some apartments?” Morgan glanced back at the building. “It looks like I’ll be here for a while.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Stacey said with a slight sway of her hips.

Neal just rolled his eyes again as he turned to the car.