Page 13 of Midnight Valentine
We shake hands, then his broad forehead crinkles into a frown. “Did I get my days wrong? I coulda swore Theo said today.”
“No, sorry, I didn’t mean I wasn’t expecting Hillrise. I wasn’t expecting you. I thought Theo would be coming out to meet me.”
He smiles broadly, shaking his head. He has an overbite, which I’ve always found charming. “Naw, no need. He’s got your quote all put together already.” He hands me the manila envelope.
Puzzled, I open the flap, pull out a sheaf of papers, and look them over. After a moment, I glance up at Coop, who’s beaming.
“How could he have put this together without looking at the house?”
“He’s the best in the business is how. Theo knows everything about every house in town.”
It’s more likely he’s buddies with one of the other contractors and got a copy of their quote. Maybe he’s going to give them a kickback on the job. Whatever, that’s his business. I flip to the last page of the papers in my hands, frowning when I see the total. “He’s missing a zero here.”
“Yeah, you’d think. But that’s not a mistake. That’s the price for the job.”
The cries of the seagulls wheeling overhead punctuate the ensuing silence. I stare at Coop, feeling like I’m missing something. “Is your boss a little…?” I make a circular motion next to my ear.
Coop looks disturbed by my question. His smile is hesitant. “That’s funny. He said you were a firecracker.”
My eyebrows hike so far up my forehead, they might have melded with my hairline. “He told you about me?”
“No,” he says emphatically, which is an obvious lie.
I cock my head and stare at him, which makes him squirm. “Coop.”
“What?”
“Is Hillrise’s office nearby?”
He looks worried. “Why do you ask?”
If I’m going to hire Hillrise Construction for this job, I need to have a real conversation with its owner. Two unsettling stare-offs and a bizarro phone call aren’t going to cut it. I spot Coop’s truck—an enormous red Ford—at the curb.
“Let’s take a ride. I need to have a chat with your boss.”
Coop’s split-second pause is odd. “That’s not such a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Let’s just say he doesn’t appreciate people showin’ up unannounced.”
“So text him. Tell him we’re on our way.”
Coop thoughtfully rubs his beard, looks up at the sky, then checks his watch. Sucking his teeth, he looks back up at the sky, and now I’m done with this ridiculous stalling.
“Spit it out, Coop.”
He props his hands on his hips and stares at his boots for a while. Then he clears his throat before carefully choosing his words. “He’s not exactly a people person.”
“I know he doesn’t talk, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“There are…other issues.”
“I’m also well aware of his sunny disposition. The man could frighten Frankenstein. But he doesn’t scare me. And if I’m going to invest a substantial amount of money with Hillrise, I need to have a face-to-face meeting with the owner, so I can look in his eyes and feel like I can trust him to do a good job. Because, honestly, our two meetings so far have left me with the impression that his elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor, if you know what I mean.”
Uncomfortable under my hard stare, Coop shifts his weight from foot to foot. “Okay, look. The way it works is that I meet with the clients to get the specs, then Theo puts together the quote and hires the subs, then I manage the job from start to finish. He’ll come out to check on the work, but he doesn’t have much one-on-one contact with the clients.”
There’s another tiny pause wherein Coop almost says something else, but he stops himself and just looks at me. The air is thick with unspoken words.
