Everywhere and Every Way
Page 24
He puffed up like a well-tipped stripper from Magic Mike. “Private contacts. I’m not telling you, because I’m afraid you’ll filch him from me when you’re done with Pierce Brothers.”
“I’m impressed. I most certainly would.” Her mind swept over her vision for the massive, open kitchen. “But I told you we were going with pine. It’ll go better with the visual. I already ordered it.”
“You’re gonna cancel the order, ’cause this is better.”
She squinted at him. He didn’t wait for her to rise to challenge him. Dalton dropped to the floor beside her and cradled the precious beam in his hand. His tawny hair was tied back, and his blue eyes looked a bit dreamy. Their knees touched as they faced each other on the sawdust floor.
“Convince me. I’d have to cancel the order with the West Coast and piss a lot of people off. The Rosenthals like a more organic look, and pine fits the bill. Gives the impression of a kitchen where you cook and gather.”
“Will they cook?”
“No.”
Dalton grinned. “Good, we’re going with cedar. It’s more natural, and I’ll stain it twice for a deeper finish and more character. I’ll build the cabinetry around the horseshoe countertops and pair it with a hand-carved bench to match.”
She visualized the possibility. Hmm. “I could still do that with pine.”
“It won’t look as good.” His voice held a stubborn tone. “This is a huge open space, with the kitchen and background as the main focus. Tristan said you picked out the Amalfi gold marble, but you wanted the burlesque gold instead.”
Morgan sighed. They both grasped the cedar wood, not wanting to relinquish it. “I did, but it’s too light.”
“Exactly. Let me do the cedar, and the burlesque will blend perfectly. The red tints will pull from the cedar. I can also do matching stools with the bench. I’m telling you, Morgan, this is the way to go. But I have to pull the trigger on this right away. My contact gave me a few hours before he’s pulling the order on me—there’s a lineup.”
God, the cedar was more rare. Pricey, but so very worth it, especially if she got to switch out the marble. “I don’t know.”
His voice was a whisper of sound, urgent and convincing. “Do it. I swear it will work better. I feel it in my bones.”
A smile curved her lips. She loved working with people with an obvious passion for their craft. Their fingers interweaved together over the wood, two artists admiring a perfect tool. It was risky. She didn’t have time to call the Rosenthals, so she’d need to go with her gut. Morgan took the leap.
“I’ll do it.”
“You won’t regret it. I’ll make it so good for you.”
They smiled at each other, still holding the wood, locked in an artistic embrace.
“What the hell is going on here?”
They looked up. Cal stood over them, face tight with anger, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he stared down at their clasped hands. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Get your hands off her.”
Her mouth dropped open. Dalton shook his head and stood up. “Dude, you’ve gone off the deep end. Chill.”
“This is a professional workplace, not a pickup joint.” Cal looked as if he was reining himself in from grabbing Dalton’s neck. “I don’t need you hitting on her, man. We have a job to do here. Not flirting on long lunch breaks.”
“Oh, hell no, you did not just say that to me.” Morgan jumped to her feet and jabbed a finger in the air. She bristled with fury. “For your information, we were talking about wood. Specifically pine versus cedar for the kitchen cabinetry, not that it’s your business.”
“Things looked quite cozy to be talking about wood.” Cal glowered at Dalton, but his younger brother seemed to take it in stride. What had happened between the two of them?
Dalton shrugged like he couldn’t care less. “What can I say? We both like wood.”
Morgan would’ve laughed if she wasn’t so pissed. She’d never heard so many wood references in her life. “As Dalton said, this is a discussion between us. We’re canceling the pine and going with cedar.”
“If you’re thinking of changing materials, I need to know about it. Sydney already authorized the invoices for the pine cabinets because that’s what we discussed.”
Dalton shook his head in disgust. “There you go again. I’m in charge of materials, and Tristan does the invoicing, Cal. We decided I’d spearhead all the cabinetry and custom furnishings. If Morgan and I agree to switch things up, it has nothing to do with you.”
“This is my business. Everything has to do with me.”
“Just like always. You want to control each damn thing, and it doesn’t work.”
“You think I don’t have a good reason? We got fired from the last job because of your ‘creative vision.’ We can’t afford artistic temperament on this job.”
Morgan sighed. “Besides being a Neanderthal, you’re stubborn and controlling. Each home has artistic qualities or it wouldn’t be a home. How many jobs have you handled with no changes, Cal?”
His silence spoke volumes.
“Now, I’d say it’s time to back off and let Dalton handle it. We’re going with the cedar. I’ll call the West Coast and take care of my supplier so he doesn’t blacklist me. I want sketches on the new mock-up by tomorrow, Dalton, and please tell Sydney about the change.”
“Got it.”
“As for you.” She glared at Cal, marched over, and stood on tiptoes in her pink work boots. The delicious scent of male sweat and musk rose to her nostrils. He gave off buckets of pheromones that called to her so intensely, she felt halfway drunk. Ignoring his eight-pack abs and gleaming tan muscles, Morgan focused on her temper. “I’d advise you get off your brother’s case and let him do his job. You can’t do it all, no matter how bad you want to. Believe me, I’ve dealt with this before and we need all people on this team. And next time you accuse me of flirting and taking long lunches on the job, I promise, you will sorely regret it.”
His eyes widened slightly, but she gave him no time to respond.
She turned on her very smart, very pink heel and marched off the site.
Goodness gracious, the man was hot.
“I’m impressed. I most certainly would.” Her mind swept over her vision for the massive, open kitchen. “But I told you we were going with pine. It’ll go better with the visual. I already ordered it.”
“You’re gonna cancel the order, ’cause this is better.”
She squinted at him. He didn’t wait for her to rise to challenge him. Dalton dropped to the floor beside her and cradled the precious beam in his hand. His tawny hair was tied back, and his blue eyes looked a bit dreamy. Their knees touched as they faced each other on the sawdust floor.
“Convince me. I’d have to cancel the order with the West Coast and piss a lot of people off. The Rosenthals like a more organic look, and pine fits the bill. Gives the impression of a kitchen where you cook and gather.”
“Will they cook?”
“No.”
Dalton grinned. “Good, we’re going with cedar. It’s more natural, and I’ll stain it twice for a deeper finish and more character. I’ll build the cabinetry around the horseshoe countertops and pair it with a hand-carved bench to match.”
She visualized the possibility. Hmm. “I could still do that with pine.”
“It won’t look as good.” His voice held a stubborn tone. “This is a huge open space, with the kitchen and background as the main focus. Tristan said you picked out the Amalfi gold marble, but you wanted the burlesque gold instead.”
Morgan sighed. They both grasped the cedar wood, not wanting to relinquish it. “I did, but it’s too light.”
“Exactly. Let me do the cedar, and the burlesque will blend perfectly. The red tints will pull from the cedar. I can also do matching stools with the bench. I’m telling you, Morgan, this is the way to go. But I have to pull the trigger on this right away. My contact gave me a few hours before he’s pulling the order on me—there’s a lineup.”
God, the cedar was more rare. Pricey, but so very worth it, especially if she got to switch out the marble. “I don’t know.”
His voice was a whisper of sound, urgent and convincing. “Do it. I swear it will work better. I feel it in my bones.”
A smile curved her lips. She loved working with people with an obvious passion for their craft. Their fingers interweaved together over the wood, two artists admiring a perfect tool. It was risky. She didn’t have time to call the Rosenthals, so she’d need to go with her gut. Morgan took the leap.
“I’ll do it.”
“You won’t regret it. I’ll make it so good for you.”
They smiled at each other, still holding the wood, locked in an artistic embrace.
“What the hell is going on here?”
They looked up. Cal stood over them, face tight with anger, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he stared down at their clasped hands. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Get your hands off her.”
Her mouth dropped open. Dalton shook his head and stood up. “Dude, you’ve gone off the deep end. Chill.”
“This is a professional workplace, not a pickup joint.” Cal looked as if he was reining himself in from grabbing Dalton’s neck. “I don’t need you hitting on her, man. We have a job to do here. Not flirting on long lunch breaks.”
“Oh, hell no, you did not just say that to me.” Morgan jumped to her feet and jabbed a finger in the air. She bristled with fury. “For your information, we were talking about wood. Specifically pine versus cedar for the kitchen cabinetry, not that it’s your business.”
“Things looked quite cozy to be talking about wood.” Cal glowered at Dalton, but his younger brother seemed to take it in stride. What had happened between the two of them?
Dalton shrugged like he couldn’t care less. “What can I say? We both like wood.”
Morgan would’ve laughed if she wasn’t so pissed. She’d never heard so many wood references in her life. “As Dalton said, this is a discussion between us. We’re canceling the pine and going with cedar.”
“If you’re thinking of changing materials, I need to know about it. Sydney already authorized the invoices for the pine cabinets because that’s what we discussed.”
Dalton shook his head in disgust. “There you go again. I’m in charge of materials, and Tristan does the invoicing, Cal. We decided I’d spearhead all the cabinetry and custom furnishings. If Morgan and I agree to switch things up, it has nothing to do with you.”
“This is my business. Everything has to do with me.”
“Just like always. You want to control each damn thing, and it doesn’t work.”
“You think I don’t have a good reason? We got fired from the last job because of your ‘creative vision.’ We can’t afford artistic temperament on this job.”
Morgan sighed. “Besides being a Neanderthal, you’re stubborn and controlling. Each home has artistic qualities or it wouldn’t be a home. How many jobs have you handled with no changes, Cal?”
His silence spoke volumes.
“Now, I’d say it’s time to back off and let Dalton handle it. We’re going with the cedar. I’ll call the West Coast and take care of my supplier so he doesn’t blacklist me. I want sketches on the new mock-up by tomorrow, Dalton, and please tell Sydney about the change.”
“Got it.”
“As for you.” She glared at Cal, marched over, and stood on tiptoes in her pink work boots. The delicious scent of male sweat and musk rose to her nostrils. He gave off buckets of pheromones that called to her so intensely, she felt halfway drunk. Ignoring his eight-pack abs and gleaming tan muscles, Morgan focused on her temper. “I’d advise you get off your brother’s case and let him do his job. You can’t do it all, no matter how bad you want to. Believe me, I’ve dealt with this before and we need all people on this team. And next time you accuse me of flirting and taking long lunches on the job, I promise, you will sorely regret it.”
His eyes widened slightly, but she gave him no time to respond.
She turned on her very smart, very pink heel and marched off the site.
Goodness gracious, the man was hot.
