Page 47 of Cocky Prince
“Right. I guess the casino never shuts down, does it?”
“No,” he says.
I hesitate for a moment. Part of me wonders why he looks so tired, with those dark shadows under his eyes, and the other part of me is eager as hell to find out what he’s doing for Blue on a Sunday. “And you’ve been busy with…?”
He gives me a knowing smile. I guess my fishing efforts are obvious. “Stuff,” he says.
“Right, stuff.” Because even if I won our bet, Adam won’t fill me in on what he’s up to.
I walk him to the door, guilt overtaking my desire to keep him here as my work slave, though the view would be amazing if I did. “Thank you for the closet. I know I asked a lot. We can call it even.”
He glances back skeptically. “With a hole in your wall and your shoe collection homeless? You might change your tune once you take a look back there.”
Awesome. Now I am worried, but I still feel like I’ve taken advantage of him. “I can hire someone. You’ve done the demo. That counts for something.”
“Still don’t trust me?” A small smile spreads across his face, but there’s hurt behind his eyes.
“No, that’s not it,” I say quickly. God, why is he making this so difficult? “I’m trying to admit that it was ridiculous of me to ask you to build a closet in the first place.”
“I don’t mind.” He turns and strides toward his truck. “I like working with my hands.”
And that’s the biggest shocker of all. Adam isn’t as polished and uptight as I thought. He’s rather handy to have around.
Or maybe it’s not so shocking.
Because there’s a chance I never really knew Adam.
Chapter Nineteen
Adam
HadI known Hayden intended for me to build a closet, I would have gone to Lewis’s house to grab equipment instead of Jaeg’s. Lewis is the contractor in the group. Jaeg is just the artsy woodworker. I demoed what I could yesterday, took measurements, and picked up drywall and wood for framing. But today I’m talking to a professional before I hack something up.
“Lewis, it’s Adam. You got a minute?” I say, as I lace up my work boots.
I ask Lewis a few questions to make sure I’m building Hayden’s closet correctly. Jaeg and I helped Lewis build his house a few years ago. That’s how I learned about construction. I know the basics, but it can’t hurt to make sure I’m doing things right.
He gives me tips on closing off the hallway, and it’s toward the end of the conversation that I remember something. “Before we get off the line, I’ve been wanting to ask you about the remodel of Blue’s penthouse suites. I was up there the other day and noticed a different company in charge. Why aren’t your guys doing the work? I thought Sallee Construction filled most of Blue’s bids.”
“Good question,” he says. “We have an informal agreement with Blue, but they claimed that even with the discount we give them, they’d found a better price. It’s the first time that’s happened.”
“So your company wasn’t too busy?”
“We’re always busy, but we’ve got a backup crew for larger projects like Blue. Our schedule was never the problem. Why, is that what they said?”
“Something like that. You think this has anything to do with the manager who attacked Gen?” I wasn’t there, but I heard it took Jaeg and Zach all night to convince Lewis not to kill the guy. “If you’re not holding what Drake Peterson did against the casino, I don’t see why Blackwell would have an issue with continuing the working relationship.”
“Who knows why your CEO does anything?” Lewis says. “But I can tell you one thing—Gen’s dad, Jeb Kendrick, didn’t stop looking into Blue Casino just because Drake Peterson was convicted. From what I hear, neither has your favorite girl.”
“Hayden?” Yeah, I caught what Lewis said about Hayden being myfavorite girl,but shit, it’s the truth. And I want to know what Lewis means more than I’m interested in defending myself.
“Hayden’s looking for anything else to take to the police,” Lewis says. “If she finds something, Jeb’s men will be all over it. He’s working with the police and private investigators.”
No wonder Hayden’s been so nosy. “Shit, Lewis, Hayden’s been all up my ass about Blue. You guys need to keep her out of it.”
Lewis chuckles. “Nice try. You think I have any say in these things?”
“Good point,” I say grudgingly. “You called Gen’s dad Jeb Kendrick. He isn’t the ex-football star?”
