Constructing Love Read online

  As Luke pulled away, Jedda held the clipboard. “They’re going to be finished with phase one a lot sooner then I was thinking.”

  “It’s all running smoothly, even after that screwup by someone on the site with the electrical cable. That could have been a fucking disaster if our dads hadn’t picked up on it while they went over things,” Hunter replied.

  “You’re not fucking kidding. I still don’t know how that happened, or how no one knows who did that wiring. Being on a time schedule and a push to finish at certain times can cause people to make mistakes.”

  “That could have been a costly one as well as one to take time we don’t really have.”

  “I’m going to head to the trailer and go over the deliveries for this afternoon and tomorrow. Hagan isn’t working tomorrow, right?” Jedda asked.

  “No, we’re heading to the shooting range and obstacle course.”

  Jedda nodded his head and then looked around them. “This isn’t so bad after all, huh?”

  “You mean working the family business after years in the service? I guess not, but if we had it our way, we would all be involved still,” Hunter replied.

  “Yeah well, it was well past time to get the fuck out. This hasn’t been too bad at all and only working three days a week is cake. I missed the hard labor though. Hagan, too. It would have been fine if our dads and uncles wanted us to work that aspect of this operation.”

  “Speak for yourself. I did enough hard labor work in the Marines, plus I would like a little more of a professional position where I don’t need to get all filthy and have to take orders from Uncle Rudalpho or uncle Costanza. Jesus, those guys are fucking hard ass bosses and anal to boot. I heard them yelling at the crew about the mess they left after lunch. There were two empty water bottles and an empty bag of chips.”

  Jedda chuckled and shook his head. “We’re lucky to have family with a business like this.”

  “Well, we could have went Tatum’s direction and continued the law enforcement tradition as well,” Hunter said.

  “Too much responsibility and you need a lot of patience. The rest of us, Maximus and Hagan included, don’t have much patience. We want something we get it. We demand and we expect results. Look how intense of a reputation Maximus has at the shooting range and obstacle course. He’s barbaric with that shit, never mind with the ladies,” Jedda replied snickering.

  “He’s a fucking psycho. You see that text message Gale and Brenda sent to Tatum and Maximus? Those two have women throwing themselves at them.”

  “We don’t suffer in the women department that’s for sure, and it helps that our brother is the sheriff. Although with all those women throwing themselves at all of us, how come none of us are biting?”

  “Haven’t found the right one I suppose,” Hunter replied

  “She might not exist. At least not around here, as far as we know. Let’s go get something to drink and then go over the deliveries for tomorrow. I guess I’m going solo here,” Jedda said, and they headed back to the trailer on site. It had an office, bathroom, and little meeting area as bigwigs showed up to check things out. When they got there Hagan was there.

  “What’s up, bro?” Jedda asked him as Hagan stood by the desk with their dads Pentura, Lovera, and Dom.

  “We need to get this place cleaned up. A representative from Broaden Young Contracting will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. I want to make sure the place is set up nice,” Pentura told them.

  “No problem. I mean it looks typical to me,” Hunter said as he looked around the doublewide trailer.

  “We need to clean up the mess, get one of those air fresheners or something. This woman is going to be spending some time in this trailer along with us, and we can’t have it smelling like a men’s gym locker,” Pentura added.

  “Well if she’s on a construction site with a bunch of men, then she needs to get used to that. Smell and all. I think Costaza should clean up the place and freshen it. He’s the one who stinks it up all the time,” Hunter teased and they chuckled.

  “He brings in one more platter of salami and foot cheese and I’ll make him put up a tent and work from there. Now how is everything going on the first unit in phase one? Can she get a good feel for the meat of the building?” Pentura asked.

  “Definitely,” Jedda replied.

  “Excellent. I hope this goes well. Broaden Young is a perfectionist and I am assuming this representative who will be hanging around here on a regular basis is going to be one, too. We can’t lose our credibility with this size job. This will give the company an opportunity to expand even further,” Pentura said to them.

  “Well that’s your thing, Dad. We’re just hired help for odds and ends,” Hunter said as he leaned against the doorframe.

  Jedda chuckled. “I think he’s drawing us in for something, bro.” Jedda noticed the exchange of expressions pass between their fathers Pentura, Lovera, and Dom.

  “What’s going on? Something we need to know about?” Jedda asked them.

  “Nothing. Let’s just make sure the place is presentable and ensure she’s comfortable. We’ll handle the rest,” Pentura said to them, and Jedda looked at Hunter and Hagan, shrugged his shoulders, and then headed back out of the trailer.

  The second his sons left, Pentura looked at Lovera and Dom. “I hope this doesn’t turn into something bad. I got a shitty feeling in my gut.”

  “I don’t think we’ll have any more threats or little situations on our hands now. We’ve already got the job and are in building mode,” Lovera said to him.

  “We know how things work when someone is pissed off or trying to sabotage something. They don’t give up until they get what they want, even if it is just to put fear into a company or cause damage,” Pentura said.

  “We can always make sure the employees doublecheck everything. We’ve already informed every team of workers about being responsible for their units and all the work. I don’t know what else we can do,” Lovera said.

  Pentura ran his palm along his short beard. “Jesus, I sure as shit hope nothing gets fucked up and definitely not while this representative is around. That’s all we need,” Pentura said to them.

  “We can handle it, and with our sons helping out and with Tatum being the sheriff, if need be, we’ll have the backup and the instant authority to assist. No fucked-up assholes who are jealous because we got this multimillion dollar job will get in the way of our success. We’ve worked hard, and legitimately. Plus, we hire all these retired military guys who need the break, the stability, and the chance at establishing new lives after serving. We stand strong for them, not just us, and no criminal dickheads will alter our determination to succeed and continue,” Dom said, and Pentara and Lovera nodded.

  “Okay then, let’s get Costanza in here to clean this place and hope nothing goes wrong from here on out.

  Madeline Lamort parked the car and walked towards the café. She had never made it here over the weekend, and now it was Monday morning, and she was heading to the office that was set up to display the models and talk to perspective buyers. She needed to oversee the realtors and make sure they were efficient with their descriptions and in reading true buyers, not just nosey people that would waste their time. The presentation of the place was upscale and reeked of wealth and money, indicating that the townhouses and condos were geared toward a certain clientele.

  Madeline would get a good feel for it today when she walked in, and hopefully there were interested customers. She smoothed her hand along the fitted skirt as she headed down the sidewalk, her heels clicking and clacking along the way. She caught sight of some good looking men along the way who stopped short, tipped their cowboy hats hello, and checked her out. It didn’t really phase her. Instead, it put her on edge and made her feel self-conscious and like she wasn’t pretty enough, or attractive enough to turn heads. That she was just eye candy to some men out for a good time. A whirlwind of thoughts filtered through her head that she immediately put a stop to. She was a diff
erent woman than two years ago. She was even more independent, and didn’t need a man in her life or in her bed to make her life complete.

  As she took in the sight of the little coffee shop and bakery she was impressed. It smelled so good in there and they had a lot of things she enjoyed indulging in, like cappuccinos, biscotti, and some other baked treats. She waited in line, noticing people looking at her, eying her over when the bell chimed. “Morning, Sheriff,” she heard the young woman behind the counter say. Her cheeks blushed, and the young woman shyly fixed her hair as if she were hoping she looked good for the sheriff. Curious about what the man looked like, Madeline turned around and pretended to check out the place as the woman took her order. She had to tilt her head back to catch his eyes. He squinted, and those deep green eyes gazed over her body. His expression seemed shocked, but he recovered quickly. She had to turn away from him, he was just so good looking, rugged, and older. Seemed like the man had a presence about him.

  “Here ya go, Sheriff,” the blonde woman said to him and smiled wide as she handed over a to go cup of coffee and a small white bag with something inside of it.

  “Thanks, Gina,” he said and had to ease close by Madeline and reach by her for the bag. She turned to step to the right to give him some room and the scent of his cologne attacked her senses. He looked about ready to say something when the other woman interrupted.

  “Here ya go, honey, black with cinnamon,” she said to Madeline.

  “Thank you. Have a great day,” Madeline said.

  “You, too,” the woman replied, and as Madeline turned, the sheriff was right there as well.

  “Let me get that for you, ma’am,” he said to her and she gave a nod and a small smile. He opened the door, and as they exited, a couple of guys were walking by.

  “Sheriff.” They said hello and he said hello back, but both men looked at her as they walked backwards. She started to head toward her car when he interrupted.

  “You new around here, or just passing through?” he asked in a deep, hard tone that was authoritative and affective.

  She turned to look way up at him. She was five feet five and he towered over her. The man had to be at least six feet four if not a little taller.

  “New to town, sir,” she said and he looked her over once again, and she felt it everywhere. So strange and also not a good idea to relieve an itch with a man like the town sheriff.

  “Well, welcome to Warriorville. I’m Sheriff Tatum Lantern.” He reached his hand out for her to shake, and when she reached out and touched his hand, she felt that attraction go up a notch.

  He gave a little squeeze and then pulled back and started asking her a bunch of questions. “Where are you heading now?” he asked.

  “Work.”

  “Where’s that?” he asked.

  “Not far from here,” she replied, feeling like she needed to not give up so much information, and that maybe this sheriff was some playboy looking to tap the newest single female in town. Although she only had the effects he caused in the young blonde behind the counter and the other woman in the coffee shop to go by.

  “Morning, Sheriff Lantern,” she heard a woman say, and as the woman passed by, she squeezed his upper arm and winked at him.

  “Morning, Bev.”

  Madeline chuckled as the woman gave her a dirty look. She knew the type. One who thought she was perfect, and any other woman was below her. Madeline hated catty women like that. She started to turn when he started talking again and dismissed Bev.

  “Where do you work?” he asked.

  She exhaled in annoyance.

  “Morning, Sheriff. You going by Marty’s for breakfast? If so, I haven’t eaten yet,” another young woman asked, and Madeline totally got the impression that this sheriff was a ladies’ man.

  “Have a nice day,” Madeline said and headed to her car, chuckling about the sheriff and all the women that definitely wanted his attention. As she got to her car, she placed the cup on the roof of her BMW so she could pull her keys from her bag. When she got into her car and started the ignition, she couldn’t help but glance in the direction the sheriff had been in. Sure enough, he stood there taking a sip from his coffee cup and staring right at her car. She pulled out of the spot and headed to the office building in its own parking lot, a new one where her boss would be building multiple storefronts and selling them off or renting them. The man never missed an opportunity to make money or find lucrative investments.

  Sheriff Tatum Lantern was in shock. Never had he been so unsmooth, or had gotten interrupted so many times as he was trying to identify a new person in town. Who in the world was the stunning brunette? She knocked his socks off the moment he caught sight of her walking towards the café. Long legs, high heels, classy, professional business attire, and holy shit, she had one hell of a body. Her ass was perfect, her breasts full and large, and Christ, when she turned around and he saw her face, he felt like he’d lost his breath. He literally squinted and then widened at the sight. Her eyes were incredible, like a sage green, but bold and different, enhanced by dark eyeglasses, making her look hot. She was not from around these parts, yet indicated she was new to town. He didn’t even get her name and already the wheels were spinning on how easily he could get that. But as he lost the opportunity to ask her because of the multiple women who suddenly appeared as if jealous of him taking in the new sight, and making him look like the town flirt, she took off, and amused no less. Was she laughing at him, or at the women who had interrupted?

  As his mind finally began to catch up with his body’s reaction to the gorgeous woman, he figured she may be one of the new people working at that storefront that was established a couple of blocks away. The same company who hired his family’s construction company to build the new upscale condominiums and townhouses. She drove a fancy car, too. Maybe she was stuck up? Out of his league? Why the hell was he even thinking so much about the woman? He didn’t know, and instead headed to the sheriff’s department thinking next time he would get her name, and how stunning of a woman she really was.

  Chapter 2

  “Your cousin is a fucking psycho who can’t keep his cool for shit,” Pierre Felt said to Randy Banks over the phone.

  Randy chuckled. “My cousin Mo definitely doesn’t have patience. When he wants something, he takes it. He’s a good man to have on your side to get the dirty business done. Especially the shit you’re into. So what’s the deal?”

  “The deal is, he needs to back the fuck off. I know he got pissed for missing out on that condo development with you, but we have another plan. Broaden Young is working on doing a deal with Scapio. Things aren’t set in stone, it’s just preliminary. I want you to get Bentley Smothers in on this. Have him do his thing, butter some hands, get the deal to take place under the table and with me. It will wipe out this bullshit with the Lantern Construction company getting the multimillion dollar job. This one is twice the size, if not bigger.”

  “How the fuck can Bentley try to maneuver his way into that deal if Scapio is already talking with Young?” Randy asked.

  “Have I steered you wrong before?” Pierre Felt asked.

  “Not really.”

  “Then just listen to my plan and hopefully you and your family can get this job and we can make some great money together. Have that crazy cousin of yours on standby. I may need his skills to put Scapio on the backburner for a bit so he’s a no show to the next meeting with Young.”

  “No problem, Pierre. I’ll take care of it and wait for your call and instructions,” Randy Banks replied.

  “Excellent. Trust me, man, we will get an in and be swimming in the dough in no time at all.” Pierre ended the call.

  Randy looked at Mo who was sitting back on a recliner in the office.

  “He blowing smoke up your ass again?” Mo asked. His cousin was chewing on a pen cap and looking at porn on his cell phone.