Page 19 of Spar
Chris clenched his fist, eyeing Charlie to see if he was serious but unable to tell for sure.
“Relax, I was only giving you a hard time. Does she have any idea you have this big schoolgirl crush on her?”
“I don’t have a— You know what? Never mind. Just stay away from Tori,” Chris muttered under his breath as he stomped back to his truck. Charlie had some nerve.
“What?” Chris yelled into the ringing phone as he answered it.
“Chris?” Benny’s scratchy voice came through the phone.
“Yeah, sorry. What’s up, old man?”
“Got a fight for you. It’s a little last minute, but I think you’ll be interested.”
Chris ran a hand over his chin. He needed a shave and a strong cup of coffee. He’d slept like shit last night. Visions of Tori and her bare legs in his gym shirt were at the forefront of his mind no matter how many times he’d tried to shake them. She unsettled him. Eventually, he’d given up on sleep and spent the early morning hours in his garage gym attempting to exhaust his body and mind to the point it wasn’t capable of yearning for the blonde upstairs. It hadn’t worked.
“I don’t think so. Work is busy the next couple weeks.” Chris heard himself making excuses. If he was honest, he just didn’t want to miss an opportunity to be near Tori. He was turning into a sap and a goddamn masochist.
“Bah. Don’t answer now. Just let me send you the details. Look them over, and I’ll give you a call later,” Benny said and then hung up, leaving Chris cursing at the dead air of the phone.
Benny was relentless. They had an understanding that Chris only wanted in on fights that were a challenge, but the last couple had been too easy. He didn’t want to lose, but he wanted to feel the pain and hunger that were only brought on by being handed your ass a couple times in the ring.
When Chris arrived at the worksite, his men were already cleaning up the fire damage. He didn’t need to be here today, but Chris wanted to be near to make sure everyone was on their A-game.
The building was in rough shape. It needed far more work than what was outlined in the report if he was going to let Tori out of his house and back into it. Just the thought of what could have happened to her in that dump made him grind his teeth in frustration.
The girl had always been headstrong and stubborn, and it was likely she would stay in that apartment forever just to prove to everyone she could be on her own. She’d never ventured too far from Sweetbriar, but she’d bounced around a bit since college. Maybe it was to get out from under the shadow of Ryan and his success. But perhaps it was to get as far away from him as possible.
“Hey, boss.” Dax greeted him as he entered the office trailer.
Chris nodded in acknowledgement and headed straight for the coffeepot.
“Matt Letch is outside wandering around the building, giving the guys a hard time,” Dax said as he handed Chris a stack of papers.
“Perfect.” Chris tossed the documents and grabbed a hardhat instead.
They’d been on-site less than forty-eight hours, and the apartment owner was already being a major pain in the ass. Matt had been the apartment manager for the past twenty years. Chris had lived in the building with Ryan when they were just getting started in their careers. The building had been in bad shape back then, and Matt hadn’t been any more receptive to fixing the apartments up at that time than he was now.
Matt sulked toward him, waving his arms in front, as if Chris could miss him. Matt’s red face and the white belly sticking out from beneath his t-shirt might not have given him away, but the stale stench of cheap beer as he closed the space between them was a ringer that he was already several beers in for the day.
“Young man, we need to talk about the work being done. This is far beyond the damage done by the fire,” Matt said, patting at his damp forehead with a handkerchief.
“I sent over the updated list yesterday. The full inspection uncovered a lot more that wasn’t up to code.”
“Nonsense. This place just needs a little paint — that’s all. Looks worse than it is.”
Chris had no sympathy for the guy. He’d been putting off the work for years in favor of his Natty Light beer.
“Sorry, sir. You’ll have to take that up with the inspector.”
Old drunk.Chris walked away before the man could protest any more. Screw the mound of paperwork waiting for him in the trailer. Today, he needed the feel of the sledge hammer in his hands — heavy, brutal, and ready to break shit.
Tori held openthe screen and rapped on the red door, biting her lip as she looked around the neighborhood. It was a nice subdivision, set behind Sweetbriar’s one-and-only strip mall. The houses were older, built in the ‘70s, with well-maintained small yards.
“Tori, what are you doing here?” Susan said as she opened the door.
“Sorry to show up unannounced. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”
Susan stepped back, opening the door wider. “Sure, come on in.”
