“I’m done here,” Brad says, wiping his face again, and I swear he’s doing that on purpose. “I can help.”
Gary sends a few guys to join us in the bedroom, and wow, that sounds dirtier than it is. With the four of us working together, it doesn’t take long to get all the carpet up and out of the house. I’d hoped for wood under the carpet, but instead, it’s old tile.
“You want us to take up the tile?” one of the volunteers asks. Brad shuffles his feet and crosses his arms. It’s not overly noticeable, but I’m getting pretty good at reading him.
“What do you think, Brad?” I ask.
His eyes widen. Did I surprise him? He recovers quickly. “Sometimes old tile can contain asbestos.”
I groan and call Gary. He confirms that we need to have the tiles tested. It’s only Gary and me in the room when I call Raja.
“Send everyone home until we get this checked out,” Raja says in their no-nonsense voice. “When we get the results, we can reassess.” I nod even though they can’t see me as I calculate how far this might set us back. “If it is asbestos, Chas, removal could take weeks.”
“Weeks?”
“The removal doesn’t take weeks. It’s more of a scheduling issue.”
After the call, I take a deep breath. The project would be on hold for weeks. No one doing anything. By then, we’d be so behind…
“Are you okay?” Gary asks.
“Yup.” This is adulting. Dealing with setbacks.
Yelling comes from the main area of the house. Gary and I take off, darting around equipment and workers. Adrenaline surges through me and my heart pounds faster. I recognize the man yelling. Pete.
But when we get to the front room, I’m not prepared. My heart is in my throat. Pete is screaming at Brad and poking him in the chest. “Fuck off, Coach. You’re not in charge!”
“You’re in no shape?—”
I interrupt Brad because he’s not in charge. I need to handle this. “What’s going on?” My voice has an edge. The thought of Brad getting hurt—putting himself in that position…
But this close to Pete, I can see the problem. Smell the problem. He glares at me through bloodshot eyes. His clothes are wrinkled, and the smell of alcohol is unmistakable.
“Brad’s right, Pete?—”
“Is he your little fuckbuddy?” His words are slurred but still clear enough for everyone to hear.
Heat flushes my face, but it’s more anger than anything, and it has nothing to do with Brad. What we’re doing is important. And this jerkwad isn’t going to ruin it.
“Go home and sober up. Then we can talk?—”
“I’m not fucking talking to some pansy ass.”
I straighten my back and stand tall. I didn’t want to do this here, but he’s leaving me no choice. “Fine. You’re done. Don’t come back.”
“You can’t fire me.”
I ignore him and walk to the middle of the room. A crowd has formed and that works in our favor. Gary is off to the side, his lips pressed together. I push away the panic. Does anyone believe Pete’s ranting? Doesn’t matter. This is what’s important.
“Is everyone here?” I ask, and Gary nods.
“Thank you all for working so hard today.” I don’t check to see if Pete left or not. “Unfortunately, I have to send everyone home.” Several grumble and a few swear at Pete. “Let me clarify. We have the possibility of asbestos in some of the floor tiles. We can’t have anyone on-site until we know it’s safe to continue working.”
There’s a sudden shuffling in the back, and Pete says, “Let me go.”
My eyes dart to where Brad was standing. He’s still there. Thank God.
“Pete, let’s just go, man.”
