After months of dust, delays due to bad weather, irrational design debates, and West and Haze trying to fit construction time in with everything else they have going on, it’s finally finished. And it's perfect. I force myself to move, reaching for my phone, and I frown when I see that there are no messages or missed calls from the guys, which means they’re probably still stuck at work. West and Haze said that they’d be late, and honestly, that isn't unusual. I’d expected to meet Beau here first, but he’s probably juggling a dozen things at once, running from one obligation to the other because he’s not here either.
Carol’s Bar has officially opened its doors after undergoing a massive transformation. It’s upgraded from a ‘local hotspot’ to a bustling restaurant, bar, and entertainment venue that's packed with tourists and locals almost every day now. The project had been massive for the guys, more so emotionally, because renovating Carol’s wasn't an easy decision for Beau to make. It was his mom’s legacy. Her dream. The place Beau basically grew up in and he couldn’t bring himself to change a thing after she passed. But he decided it was time. He poured his soul into every detail and it shows because it's honestly amazing. I’m proud of him. All of them.
My phone buzzes in my hand and I see Theo’s name light up the screen. I answer instantly.
“Hello, Teddy.”
“Jesus. Would you stop calling me that?” he whisper shouts, and I chuckle.
“Yeah, that’d be a solid no,” I reply, because I get way too much fun out of it.
“I swear to God, I am making my dad sign an NDA because he just tells people whatever the hell he wants these days.”
“Teddy is a cute nickname. I like it,” I say, still chuckling. “Speaking of, have you heard from your dad at all?”
“Sure have. I drove out to see him earlier. He’s still on a job site, but I put the keys to your house in the mailbox,” he says, and I hear the sound of ruffling papers in the background.
“Thank you! I was gonna wait for them, but I’m way too excited to see the inside now that everything is finally finished.”
“I’m sure you are. Anyways, that’s not the reason I’m calling.”
“Oh, really? What’s up?”
“I wanted you to hear it from me first,” he says, clearing his throat. “You got the contract.”
I blink.
“Wait—what? Oh my God! Are you serious? You’re joking right now, aren’t you?” I squeal, because lately it feels like everything in my life is finally lining up, and I never expected this to be part of it. A brand new casino is being built higher up on the mountain, much to West and Haze’s absolute horror. They both detest change, and if you ask me, they’re just professional level sticks in the mud. It’s not even that they’re pissed about the casino itself. They’re pissed because some fancy, out of town real estate tycoon in a black Armani suit is bringing in outside contractors instead of using locals.
It's them. They're the locals.
Add in the fact that Theo is the project manager, and suddenly every family dinner has turned into a game of Battleship. I can't believe it. Perfect Match Design was chosen to do the interiors over every other out of state contender, and it's honestly surreal. This is the biggest project we've ever landed.
A real casino.
That’s…huge.
A massive commercial space. A chance to prove myself on a whole new level and if everything goes well, this could open doors I’ve only ever dreamed about.
“Not a joke. Check your emails. Paperwork went through this afternoon and I’ve just emailed everything over.” My breath leaves me in a rush, like my lungs have forgotten how to work all of a sudden. I grip my phone tighter, gathering myself because I didnotplan on crying today.
“Theo… I… I don’t know how to say thank you. This is huge for me. Just—” I suck in a shaky breath. “I don’t even know what to say.” My words come out all raspy, and I clear my throat.Get it together, Jovi. You’ll ruin your makeup.
“You don’t have to say anything. Honestly, you earned it. Elias loved your vision, which surprised the shit out of me because that man is so hard to fuckin’ please. There's not a day that goes by that I’m not tempted to slip something into his coffee that’ll make him soften up a little.” I snort softly, blinking back the tears of joy threatening to surface.
Elias Moretti is the owner of the new casino, and he’s probably the most serious man I’ve ever met. The human equivalent of an iron wall, and I'm not exaggerating. I’m not much of a sweater, but I was sweating the entire proposal Theo scheduled for me because Elias was as intense as he was unreadable, which sucked for me because I can’t read people at the best of times. I was convinced I’d pass out halfway through my pitch.
“Aint that the truth. West has nothing on Mr. Moretti,” I mutter, adrenaline buzzing beneath my skin as it really starts to sink in, and I think I might be in shock. “Wow. I can’t believe it, Theo. Wait, you didn’t tell West and Haze, did you?”
“Nah. I’ll let you be the one to dragthatcat out of the bag. Talking about this project with my father is like banging my head against a brick wall. I swear to God. I don’t know why he’sso bent out of shape about a damn casino. It’ll drive so much business to the town. The guy’s getting old.”
“I won't tell him you said that. West isn’t getting old. He’s just…passionate.He doesn’t like change.”
“Yeah, I guess. Anyway, I’ve got to go. And uh… Jov?”
“Yeah?”
“Congratulations.” Then the line goes dead. I lower my phone, staring at the screen as my heartbeat roars in my ears. Perfect Match Design is growing, and that thought makes my heart feel so unbelievably full it almost hurts. This didn’t happen overnight. It took years of me second-guessing myself, choosing practicality over impulse, and saving when I wanted nothing more than to splurge to make my work life easier. Instead, I trusted the process, even when it felt like nothing was moving and it's finally starting to pay off. I just upgraded my office space, hired two interior designers and I've finally got an assistant. I wish I had gotten one sooner because everything is so much easier now.
