Page 7 of Solid Foundation
I was leaning on the bar and ordering a Tom Collins when Sterling came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I turned and grinned at him. “Hey man.”
Immediately, he wrapped me in a tight hug. When he spoke, his voice was full of pride. “Congrats, man. I knew you’d do it.”
My smile in response was genuine. I’d been so nervous that they wouldn’t want Sterling on the show, and having the approval to hire him meant the world to me. I knew the two of us would absolutely make an amazing show together. “I appreciate you saying that.”
“Tell me everything.”
“I mean, there’s not too much to report. I pitched my plans for the show and he was on board. No notes.”
“That’s awesome, man.” He took a sip of his beer. “Let me know if you need any support. I’ll do whatever I can.”
“Well, actually, there was this one thing I wanted to run by you. Doug said you’d be a great pick for host. He gave me the green light to offer you the position. What do you say? You in?”
“Fuck yeah, of course I’m in. Where did you say the show is located?”
“Virginia. Port Grandlin. I’ve already got someone working on a rental so I don’t have to stay in a hotel the whole time. If you want, we can share a place.” I knew it would be hard to uproot, but it was the nature of the job. With reality shows, it felt like we were often pulled to the ends of the Earth for each new show.
Sterling beamed and held his fist out for me to bump with my own. “This is going to be so fucking awesome.”
“I hoped you’d say that. Doug said he’d have the contract sent over tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that. Run it by your attorney or whoever needs to see it. He wants to move quickly on this one. The homeowners and construction team are eager to get started.”
“Understandably so. If I was renovating a home, I wouldn’t want to wait for months for a TV show to get its shit together.”
I nodded and picked up my drink. “Exactly.” I took a long sip of the Tom Collins, the gin and lemon juice mingling perfectly as I did.
“So we’re moving to Virginia for a while, huh?”
“We are. I’m going to try to get the rest of the guys on the crew, too. As much as possible, anyway.”
“That would be really cool, all of us working together.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” I finished off my drink. “Now, let’s get our asses out there and dance.”
Sterling grinned and nodded, taking a pull from his beer bottle. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter Five
Jake
Iwandered around the exterior of the Collins house, my boots making shushing sounds as I pushed my way through the weeds and overgrowth, idly making mental notes of what I wanted to have the crew work on first, wondering about the changes the designers would make, and generally stewing over the meeting with the producer. If he was anything like I imagined, he was going to be uptight, snobby, and hard to work with—the way all Hollywood-types were. He was from New York and not LA, but it didn’t matter. Those guys were all the same.
The grass was nearly to my knees and as I made my way through the vegetation, I tried to imagine this house in its glory days. It was a beautiful two-story Victorian with peeling, ancient white paint and rickety steps leading to a battered porch. The decorative trim was in rough shape, missing in some places, and the roof was missing shingles. I imagined children playing in the yard, the gleeful screams of a kid’s joy, a parent cooking in the kitchen, curls of smoke rising from the chimney. I knew we could restore it and leave it in great condition, giving a family a place tomake memories that lasted a lifetime. That was my favorite part about working construction—knowing I was impacting peoples’ lives and leaving them a place to put down roots and grow. I could hardly wait to get my hands dirty.
I continued around to the other side of the house. The windows were all intact, and even though the trim was in rough shape there wasn’t a single broken pane, which gave me a renewed surge of confidence. If the windows were in decent shape, that meant the weather damage might be limited to the outside, except in places where the roof might have leaked. I’d told Jared the house had good bones, and I’d meant it. This place was going to be a beauty when we were done with it.
The crunch of tires on gravel tore me out of my thoughts and I snapped my gaze to the driveway. A shiny sedan, deep red, had pulled in and the driver’s door swung open. As the driver climbed out, we made eye contact and a jolt shot through me, curling tight in my stomach. I couldn’t identify the feeling, and I shook my head and shoulders to get rid of it. I probably needed to drink more water or something.
“You must be Jake.” He extended a hand to shake, revealing a shiny silver watch on his wrist. It looked unnecessarily expensive.
I gave him a tight smile and nodded. After a second, I took his hand and shook. His shake was firm, oozing confidence, the way everything about Max seemed to do. He looked exactly the way I’d expected him to look—button-down shirt and sport jacket, slacks, and nice shoes. He was about the same height as me, but much leaner, without the build that years of construction had given me. He lookedveryout of place standing there in front of the run-down house in the tall grass. The touch of our palms and fingers heated me, and we held like that for what felt like an eternity, sweat beading along my forehead, my gut twisting strangely, my heart racing. The realization was intense andinstant—I wanted this guy. I yanked away as if I’d been burned and shoved both hands into my pockets.
I definitely needed to drink more water.
“I’m Max.” The guy ran a hand through his perfectly tousled dirty blond hair and scratched the back of his neck, his smile faltering. Shifting uncomfortably, he glanced at the house. “Thisisthe Collins house, right?”
“Right.” I realized I was being rude but it was like I couldn’t get my brain and mouth to engage. What waswrongwith me? I blinked a few times and forced my mind to focus. “Right, yeah. I’m Jake. I’ll be leading the restoration.”
“It’s great to meet you, Jake. I’m the producer forHeartland Overhaulthat will be running the show. Have you checked out the inside?”
