Page 23 of Pour Decisions
Truthfully, I wasn’t even required to be here. Jay and his team had completed hundreds of projects like this over the years; they certainly didn’t need a washed up football player overseeing things, pretending like I knew what I was doing when I didn’t.
But…this was a big moment, and Delia and I agreed we wanted to be here. I wantedherhere, to be present the moment our great adventure began.
At last, we were breaking ground.
The land, which was only a few miles away from the lot I originally wanted to purchase, was flat and free from trees, brush, and other natural debris, thanks to the maintenance crew I’d hired the second the ink on the deed was dry. While Delia and I had been dealing with the Clarke of it all, that crew had been hard at work out here. Jay’s team could’ve done it, certainly, but as they were wrapping up another job, that would’ve only set us back further. I didn’t have the patience for another delay.
I flipped my hat forward as I made my way toward the collection of men and women gathered near the heavy machinery, shielding my eyes from the early morning sunlight. The days were getting shorter, reminding me of the obscene amount of money I was paying to complete everything before Thanksgiving so we could open in early December.
As I got closer, I was pleasantly surprised to find Delia had beat me here, and was striking up conversation with one of the construction guys. I didn’t miss the appreciative glances the others standing around shot her way. All of them carried on their own conversations while sneaking covert looks at her long legs in her slim grey pants. I had half a mind to call them out, to come to her rescue. But something told me Delia was fully aware ofthe way their gazes rolled over her, and I knew she could handle them herself.
So instead of doing something stupid in her honor, I stalked toward her. When she saw me coming, she offered me a wide grin. At her reaction, the guy she was speaking with turned, and I realized he was my contractor.
Brows drawn together, I picked up the pace. Jay turned fully to me and extended a hand when I reached them.
“Good to see you again, Owen,” he said. “Been a while.”
“Yeah, not since we opened Overtime last spring,” I said, surprised by the span of time. “Did you guys have a good summer?”
He nodded. “We did. Been busy, so I can’t complain. Good to be back on one of your projects too. This should carry us right up until winter, when I’ll give the guys a few months off. I won’t be surprised if most of them spend a lot of that time right here,” he said, turning to survey the property. When he faced me again, he had a wide grin on his face. Something about it was so familiar, something outside of the fact that he’d been my go-to contractor since I opened Lawless five years ago.
“I’m really excited to get started,” I said, shaking off that sense of deja vu and clapping my hands together. “And this, of course, is my business partner, Delia Delatou. Delia, meet Jay—”
“Daniels,” she finished for me. “I’m aware.”
That feeling I was missing something important snuck back up, and my eyes darted between the two of them. “You’ve met before?”
Jay and Delia shared a look before breaking into laughter. “You could say that,” Jay said.
My ire rose the longer they kept me out of the loop, and Iblurted, “Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?”
Delia composed herself and said, “Daniels, QB. As inLogan Daniels, my brother-in-law? Jay is his dad.”
My eyes widened, and I mentally punched myself in the face. I’d only met Logan for the first time a few months ago, but how in the hell had I never made that connection? Jay’s company was literally calledDanielsContracting and Real Estate, owned and operated by him and his wife, Michelle.
“And look,” Jay started. “I didn’t want to say anything when you first hired us all those years ago because I wanted our talent and professionalism to speak for itself, but…you were referred to us by Brent Jean, weren’t you?”
“Yes…”
“He’s married to my older daughter.”
“Jesus,” I said. “That explains…so much.”
And it did. I only really knew Brent in passing, in the way that athletes from different sports from the same city knew each other. My teammates and I would go to Warriors’ games when they played at home on days we had off from practice, and they’d come to our games on Sundays if they didn’t also have one. But when I’d made the decision to retire, a lot of guys from all over reached out, and Brent had been one of them. He’d also been one of the few who asked me, “what’s next?”
I’d left college early, choosing to declare for the draft after my junior season—after my dad died—simply for the rookie signing bonus that kept the family ranch afloat while the entire Lawless family figured out how to move on and operate without our patriarch.
But despite foregoing my senior season and puttingOregon—and Idaho—in the rearview in favor of Detroit, it was important to me to finish my degree. Like most athletes, I’d majored in business, and completed my program remotely during my rookie season.
That had been…a lot, and not something I’d advise personally. But after losing my dad, then moving clear across the country from everyone and everything I’d ever known, I’d needed the distractions both school and football had offered.
All that to say I did in fact graduate, and my diploma hung proudly in the office at my house.
So when Brent had asked what my plans were with football over, I already had the answer—an answer I’d been armed with for years, for a distant day when my career ended. Unfortunately, that day came a lot sooner than I’d anticipated. Still, I’d been ready. I’d always planned on opening my own business, and when I found the listing for the building that now housed the night club, I felt a tug, an inexplicable pull toward it. Some higher power nudging me onto my next path.
I told Brent this, even going so far as to share the listing with him, one (future) business owner to another. He’d started a successful activewear company with his younger sister, so I trusted his opinion and guidance. What began as a text conversation turned to extended phone conversations wherein Brent bounced ideas around with me.
Then he gave me Jay’s contact information, not sharing who the man was to him, only that he was the best and I could trust him to take care of me.
