Page 96 of Mr. Fixer Upper
“For you and me, business is personal. Work is our lives. Everything we do is tangled up like that. And I just want you to understand that while I’m going to depend on your professional skills to make this project happen, to make this shithole a home, I’m going to be working my way back into your life.”
“What if I tell you no?”
“To the job or me?”
“Is there a difference?”
“I would never hold a job over your head just to get you back in bed, and if you actually think that I would—”
His flash of anger comforted her.
“I don’t,” she promised. “You’re not that guy.”
“Damn fucking right I’m not that guy.”
“Slow your roll, King. I’m saying yes to the job, and I’m saying I’m not interested to the relationship.”
“I accept your yes, and we’ll see about your ‘not interested.’”
“What’s the name of the show?”
“King’s Castle.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Shooting started on a crisp fall morning that had the edges of gold and ruby leaves tipped with frost. Gannon wiped his palms on his jeans. It wasn’t nerves. It was excitement. He always loved the first full court press on a project. And this one was the most important one he’d ever tackled.
This was a new beginning for him, one he finally felt ready to embrace.
The shooting schedule was more forgiving thanKings of Construction,and at the end of the day, he got to grab a beer from his own fridge and put his feet up on his own couch. He was a producer this time around, and Eddie Garraza handled the executive producer duties. Both were stipulations Gannon had insisted upon. He wasn’t about to let the production company play fast and loose with the drama like they did with Kings, but he could use some guidance from a pro.
Eddie fit the bill.
The man was currently poking around the soaring wreck of a staircase, ball cap fitted over frizzed gray hair that needed a trim, glasses sliding down his nose.
Paige looked up from her tablet in what would someday be the dining room, caught his eye, and flashed a grin.
As expected, she’d thrown herself into the work, and with her careful scheduling and handpicked crew, they were ready to roll. She’d gone with mostly women, he noted, including Felicia for sound mixing. Well, women and Tony who’d jumped at the chance to pick up some local work for a change.
He knew what Paige was doing, giving a hand up to crewmembers that probably got passed over due to gender. She was giving them experience that would jump off their resumes when it came time for them to move on to their next project.
It was part of what he loved about her. Paige was never just out for Paige. She was a team captain ready to drag the rest of her team into the end zone for a victory. He could count on her, and he hoped she’d learn that she could count on him, too.
He picked his way through cables, tools, piles of production and construction paraphernalia to Paige’s side. “You ready?”
“The question is, are you ready? This is your baby.”
If she only knew, Gannon thought.
She must have read the change in him because she took a small step back and slid back into business mode. “Since we’ve got the light and the weather, we might as well start with your intro on the stoop. Then once we move inside, I’ll have Chantay shoot some B roll outside. Façade, park, etc. Now, with the walk-thru…”
It had been Paige’s idea for Gannon to give Cat and Nonni the grand tour before demo. That way they could bring them back for the finale for an actual reveal. And, while part of him wanted to protect his little Italian grandmother from the public eye, he knew Francesca Bianchi would get a huge kick out of it.
Paige finished briefing him on the timeline, and he nodded as if he’d been listening raptly. She’d keep him on course, on schedule. She always did.
“If we can wrap up the shooting of the walk-thru by five, I think we can do an hour or two of demo before wrapping,” he predicted.
“Lighting’s going to be a pain especially on the first floor. It’s like a dungeon down there, so we’re going to need extra setup time down there.”
