What is he even doing here? I haven’t seen Darren in over a week. He hasn’t been a part of this job. “Can you give me ten minutes?”
“Not really. I need to get back to the other site.”
I bite back a curse. “Fine. Be right there.” I touch Vince’s arm. “I’ll check on you again in a bit, okay?”
“You don’t need to. I’m fine.”
I roll my eyes as I get up. I’m getting so damn sick of those two words.
Darren is waiting for me, eyes narrowed. “Is that the guy living with you?” he asks quietly.
I can’t hide my surprise. “You know about him?”
“Georgie mentioned at Thanksgiving dinner you had someone staying in the guesthouse. Said you knew him from the bar?”
Oh. Of course she would’ve mentioned it.
I swallow hard. “Yeah. It’s him. His name’s Vince.”
I can practically see the question rolling around in my brother’s head, but we don’t have time to get into it. Carlos is waiting for us by the door. Seeing him instantly puts me on edge. Darren and Carlos have been in charge of the other site.
“Is something wrong at the restaurant?”
“Nothing big,” Darren assures me. “We just ran into some permit discrepancies that need corrected today, or we’ll be fined.”
“Like what?”
He tilts his head toward the truck. “I’ll show you.”
Outside, we climb into Darren’s truck. He unlocks his iPad. “It’s stupid, really. The city inspector noticed something off with the occupancy. So we have to adjust the floor layout of the remodel.”
“How much is it off?”
“Twelve seats,” Carlos says.
Darren pulls up some forms. “I spoke with the restaurant owner. He’s given us two options, but we need to sign off on it today. Then Carlos will take the corrections straight to the inspector.”
“Okay.”
For ten minutes, Darren explains the benefits of each new floor plan. I’m only half-listening, my attention still on the hurting man inside.
“Well, which do you recommend? I trust your judgment.”
He swipes to the first photo. “This one. They’ll lose three tables, but it actually opens the front area, and I think that’ll be better in the long run.”
“And the owners are good with that?”
Darren nods.
“Okay. Let’s do it then. What do you need me for?”
“The permit is in your name, since you were supposed to lead this job. That’s why I had to come here. They need your signature.”
Carlos leans over the back seat. “And the inspector is only around until five, so if you could hurry…”
“Got it.”
I sign off the digital forms, and Carlos slips out of the truck with the iPad, running to his car.
