Jane blushed. “You have to stop teasing me about Charlie. We’ve only known each other a few days.”
“Janie-girl, as few dating opportunities as we get around here, we have to celebrate when we can.”
Jane’s eyes lit up. “Speaking of, since when do you and Lydia hang out? You told me that’s where you went last night, but I have to know. Are you interested in one of her guy friends?”
Elsie wanted to deny it, but she wanted someone to talk to more. “Maybe. Jeff Wickham seems to get me. And that’s hard to do.”
Jane bit her lip. “I asked Charlie, but he wouldn’t tell me what the deal is with Will and Jeff. Just that Jeff wronged Will’s family. He seems to think Jeff should be in jail.” Her cornflower blue eyes held concern.
Elsie’s laugh came out bitter. “Wronged him? More like Will’s controlling and mean.” She was happy to have the whole story so she could clear Jeff’s name. Charlie would side with Will no matter what, but Jane needed to know the truth.
Chapter 6♥Nobody is Nobody
The crew lead, Tim, walked Will around his new investment property, showing him the retiled pool, the newly striped parking lot, and the updated landscaping. Even with as much money as he was dumping into it, someday it would all be worth it. The surrounding neighborhoods were a lot nicer than this old place, and as soon as they re-named it and started renting out apartments again, it would pay out for years to come.
“How many tenants have to be grandfathered in at the old rent price?” Will asked.
“Forty-five.”
“That many?”
“Would’ve been more. Fifteen tenants so far wanted into the renovated apartments after they saw them, even with the higher rent. Mostly single professionals too busy to move to something nicer. This gave them that chance. And it gives us fifteen more apartments to gut.”
“How are we doing on the budget for each renovated apartment?” Will asked.
Tim shrugged. “We were doing fine until I realized we’d have to special order the toilets. They have to be compact to fit in the space. You’d think smaller toilets would be cheaper, but they’re not. I wanted you to look over some flooring alternatives, see if we can find something less expensive to make up the difference.”
Will frowned. If they were going to skimp on anything, he didn’t want it to be flooring. But he’d trust Tim to give him the details first.
He followed him up to an apartment on the second floor and got lost in the minutiae of a project this size. It wasn’t until he’d returned to his quiet and impersonal hotel room that gloomier thoughts took hold. He pulled out his phone and texted Gianna, needing a little bit of her warmth and good cheer.
How R U?
She texted back quickly, as she always did.Excellent as always. What’s the matter?
Who says something’s the matter?
This gal. Now spill.
Am I an egomaniac?
Probably. But the fact that it worries you, says you’re not.
Thank you, I guess.
You’re welcome. But seriously. Should I call you? My fingers are already tired.
Sure.
Ten seconds later, his phone rang and he sighed. “Hi, Sis.”
“So, what’s this egomania stuff about? Charlie calls you stuck up all the time and it’s never bothered you before.”
“It wasn’t Charlie. It’s nobody. Just some girl in a pizza shop.”
“If it’s bothering you, I doubt she’s nobody. And nobody is nobody, Will. Don’t talk about people like that.”
“How’d you get so smart?”
