Page 26 of Fall Apart

CLAY

SLIP AND SLIDE - NEXT WEEK

I look downat my watch, checking the time. It’s almost five o’clock. The work day is almost over and I really just want to get home. This week has been brutally busy, but it’s Thursday night and that means Mr. Jensen is meeting me at the Aspen Grove job site. The job is going smooth enough, but he still likes his weekly updates and the Aspen Grove site is the closest one to his house.

It’s been unseasonably warm the last few days for March and I’m enjoying the weather out on the balcony while it’s here. I’m sure it’ll cool down soon enough and we’ll get some more snow, but I’ll take all the nights like these I can get.

“Evening, Clay.” I look up and see Mr. Jensen standing at the French doors back to the penthouse. “So, how’s it going here? Are we still on track?”

I stand with my legs crossed, propping myself up on my elbow on the balcony railing. Pointing back inside, I nod. “Yeah. The plumber finished up at the start of the week. It was leak tested and inspected yesterday.” I rasp my fist against the railing. “Knock on wood, the spray foam guys show up tomorrow and we can insulate the whole place and start up the HVAC systems. Honestly, it’s going smooth Mr. Jensen. And the Grand Lodge job should finish next week. Under budget too.”

“Good, Clay, very good. You should be getting the final invoices for the lodge project soon.” He looks back inside and nods before looking back at me. “And again for the thousandth time, call me Randall. You’ve practically been family for a decade.”

This is one of the little areas where I’ve tried to keep a wall up. I know he’s done so much for me, but I like it being professional. Sure,his daughter and I are best friends. But it feels like if I ever want him to understand that’s all we’ll be, keeping things formal and calling him Mr. Jensen is an easy starting point.

And these invoices. This is part of the promotion I wasn’t looking forward to. I can manage arguments between contractors and architects, subcontractor timing, planning, quality checks, but I hate dealing with the finances of these projects. And it always seems like there’s a flood of invoices at the end of the project.

“Hey, boss.” Marco walks up behind Mr. Jensen towards me and stops when he realizesmy bossis also here. “Oh, hi, Mr. Jensen.” He looks back to me nervously. “Clay, that propane tank for the heater is about empty, you want me to swap it out?”

I wave him off. “Nah. You’re good. I’ll take care of it. Get going. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” He dips his chin and heads back inside.

We chat for a bit before Mr. Jensen finally leaves. I take another minute on the balcony to enjoy the weather, looking out over the slopes and the Aspen Valley condo village below us. With the warmer weather, I can hear the steady sound of water dripping off the roof from melting snow. It’ll probably freeze back up soon when cooler weather rolls back in, but it almost feels like full on spring skiing weather right now.

Looking down at the village, even six stories up, a flash of golden hair catches my eye. I see Lizzy leaving the building heading out towards the valet circle.

Fuck me. She’s dressed girly as hell, but she looks so good. She’s got pink yoga pants on, some white sneakers and a black cropped hoodie showing off some of her stomach. Not practical, but definitely hot. Her hair is still pulled back into what I now know is her trademark ponytail, bouncing along with each step. I watch shamelessly from here, half tempted to whistle and cat call her like a cliché construction worker, but settle for admiring from a distance. I already fucked withher enough this morning with our silly coffee routine, even if I gave her the right order today.

I’m leaning against the railing when I notice Grace’s van pull into the valet circle. Grace hops out and pulls Lizzy into a hug before they both get back in the van.

Ok. That’s terrifying. Those two together would bea lot. God help anyone that tries to talk to them at a bar. They’re either going to catch one of Grace’s fists or Lizzy’s words.

From what Veronica and Tanner have told me, she’s loyal and fierce - two things I admire. I mostly called Tanner to get tips on how to tease her and instead he gave me a lecture and told me to stop being a dick and be nice. So I told him Veronica really has him whipped and he told me to fuck off.

But still, he’s not totally wrong. She did assume I’m some shit bag cheater, which is still bullshit. But I’m being just as bad. I need to stop punishing her for making assumptions about me when I was doing the same thing. Maybefriendswon’t be that badI guess. I can still keep my walls up and be nice.

I standon my front porch in the cold winter air, waiting to make sure Ani has had enough outside time for his potty break. Being here, my mind keeps going back to seeing Lizzy and Grace together. Maybe she’s not as bad as I was thinking originally. Yes, she’s definitely extra. But she isn’t some self-absorbed little tourist. Not like the one that upended my life - my entire family’s lives - nearly ten years ago.

“Come,” I bark at Ani , looking out into the front yard. It got cold tonight, fast, and it definitely doesn’t feel like it did only a few hoursago. I cross my arms across my chest to stay warm when I finally hear Ani’s collar jingle as he comes running back towards the house.

I’ve been bad lately keeping up with his training, but he still came on the first call. Sure, I might seem even more controlling than usual with as much as I spent training him as a puppy and every week since. But he’s bombproof and always there when I need him. And with as cold as it is tonight, I just want to get back inside and I’m glad his recall is so good right now.

It’sFriday morning and I made the extra stop into the office before going to Finch and heading to the job site. Sure enough, there’s a stack of invoices on my desk. There’s one that catches my eye.GJF Inc.I don’t remember working with them, but this is the third time we’ve gotten a large invoice from them at the end of a project. I mentioned it to Mr. Jensen before and he said it’s a consulting firm that helps with permits and approvals. Whatever, I’ll deal with them later.

I already made up my mind that today, I’ll keep being a little nicer and leave Lizzy another nitro at her door with her pastry and save her the trip up. If Grace likes her and wants to hang out with her, then she’s definitely not as bad as I originally thought.

I step off the elevator towards the penthouse with the coffee carrier and my bag on my shoulder. I just need today to be easy so I can get to the weekend. All I’m doing is cleaning up the site and getting it ready for insulation on Monday. Then I can relax all weekend.

After unlocking and opening the door, I’m hit with a rush of cold air. I guess it really was cold last night. I step inside the dark entry way and drop my bag off my shoulder. I step towards the wall to turn on the lights.

Except I don’t make it there. My foot hits the floor and I slip and slide across the tile entry way. I hit the ground and a second later, two coffees land and spill on my chest.

“What the fuck?” I mutter to myself, grabbing the back of my head. I put my hands on the ground to steady myself and stand, but the floor is wet. That’s not good.

I finally get to my feet and flip on the lights.

Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

There is water everywhere. Why in the hell is there water everywhere?

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