Page 99 of Under Construction

Dennis rushes from breakfast through back-to-back investor meetings before he even reaches the site.

By then, his inbox is flooded with resignation emails from half the electrical team.

According to Jason’s frantic communications that morning: no notice, no real explanations—just vague words delivered with tight smiles and a few apologies.

His phone keeps lighting up with texts from Chris:

One of MY guys just tried recruiting ME for their new boss

Some rich fuck's been poaching the whole crew

Can't pin down who though

Dickhead called from a blocked number

Wanted to "meet in person to discuss terms"

Told him to shove his terms up his ass

They offering stupid money too

Like 2x market rate

Who tf has that kind of cash??

Got new guys coming in. Gonna be hands on all day babe

Might not see you till late

Miss your grumpy face already princess

Dennis considers calling his father to let him know of the situation but immediately recoils, shoulders hunching up to his ears.

Everything will be his fault somehow. Better to handle this himself than face that disapproving stare and ice-cold tone.

He dives into work instead, there's too much ground to cover today.

The day crawls without Chris's constant presence.

Dennis should get more done without the distraction, but paperwork blurs together as his mind drifts to shared lunches and stolen kisses between meetings.

By seven, he's still buried in permit applications and contractor disputes, but of late, he rarely sees midnight at his desk.

Chris had finished with the site hours ago—the crew long gone at five sharp.

Yet here he is in Dennis’s office, moving quietly as Dennis juggles phone calls about material delays, last-minute design revisions on Zoom, and an inbox that's exploded since morning.

Chris makes himself useful without fanfare. Organizing supply orders no site manager should care about. Triple-checking load calculations he shouldn't understand.

When Dennis finally wheels back from his computer, neck cracking as he rolls it side to side, he hears the familiar shuffle of papers being stacked.

Footsteps approach.

He looks up to find Chris's extended hand and that smile that means work is done.

Dennis takes it without hesitation, then their first kiss of the night, of the day, of the Earth’s full spin around the sun, happens there. Finally, finally, finally.

Dennis dissolves against Chris's chest, letting himself be held. Losing himself in the impatient coil of tongues seeking reunion and the reassuring thump of Chris's heart against his. His body practically liquefies in Chris's arms, every tense muscle turning to jelly. No apologies.

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