Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Jeremiah keeps on smiling. “What my friend here is trying to say…”
Patrick waves a hand after listening to whatever the director said to him. “Nope. We need her to stop trying to say and just say. We’ve got a woman contractor. We’re not going to have a man speak for her.”
Well, I don’t like the sound of that. Before I can protest, Reid is getting into my space. He turns to the still-running camera, and a slick smile crosses his lips.
“I’m Reid Dorsey and this is my brother, Jeremiah. We’re known as the Dorsey brothers, and we’re here to take this Gilded Age mansion and make it shine again,” he says in a soothing tone. “In order to do that, we’ve put together a team of professionals, with a trusted friend leading them. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to hire on our own, so we ended up with this one. I think this might be her first job. I’m not sure. What was her name again?”
I hate him. “I’m Harper Ross, and I’ve been working construction longer than Reid Dorsey has been playing with swatches and arguing about the many shades of black. I started out in my family company when I was a teen, though there are lots of pics of toddler me in a custom-made hard hat. Ross Construction has contributed over two hundred buildings to the tri-state area.” I turn his way. “How many curtains have you made?”
“Absolutely none. I just design, Harper. I don’t actually do the work myself. As you are about to learn. It’s precisely why we hired you. Well, why Her Majesty hired you. Aren’t you two friends?”
I nod, sinking my teeth into this fight. “The way you are with His Majesty?”
“Yes, we’re practically all family, and that’s what it’s going to take to give this place a real makeover and drag her into this century.” He looks to his brother. “But don’t you think we need someone with a background in historical architecture and maybe some knowledge of restoration?”
I can’t smack him because the camera is still running.
“I think that’s why we brought in Harper.” Jeremiah frowns like he’s not sure where we’re going with this.
Well, I’m not going to be Reid Dorsey’s doormat. That’s where we’re going. “In addition to working in construction all of my life, I graduated from college with a degree in business and a minor in architecture. I’ve spent whole summers of my life interning with some of the best restoration professionals in the business. I know the history of Banover Place and respect it as a piece of New York’s remarkable past.”
“Perfect,” the director calls out. “I love the stuff about her child labor past. Can we get some pictures for the editors? We’ll add those in and humanize her.”
Why do I have to be humanized? I thought I was already a human.
“You’re welcome,” Reid says with a nod. “The trick to getting Harper to do something is to give her an enemy to rail against. It’s mostly me.”
“It’s entirely you,” I mutter between clenched teeth.
“Name one thing I said that wasn’t true.” He turns to me, a wholly self-satisfied look on his face.
“My first job?”
His lips curl ever so slightly. “It is your first television job. Little virgin.”
I’m fairly certain if my eyes could become lasers, I would cut this man in half. “Virgin?”
“It’s what we call the newbies.” Patrick’s head shakes as he moves in closer. “It’s not sexist. Men can be virgins, too. So that was not in any way a comment on the state of your femininity.”
Jeremiah waves him off. “It’s a thing they do. Trust me. She’ll give it all back to him and then they will stew in their own sexual frustration. It’s playing into the grumpy/grumpier romance they’re having. See, the better way to do it is grumpy meets sunshine. I’m sunshine, by the way.”
I ignore their obvious sexual tension because I am a focused individual. “I promise I haven’t been a virgin for many years, Reid, and you should remember that.”
“Well, you’re not now since you got that first shot out of the way. I hope I made it as comfortable for you as possible. That first time can be hard.”
“Okay, now, see, that does feel like he’s talking about something other than the job.” Ivy is standing right next to Anika.
“I probably should have hired an HR firm,” Anika admits. “I kind of thought I wouldn’t need one.”
I stare up at Reid, getting into his space. I wish he wasn’t so tall. And broad. “Like my other experience, you made it awkward and weird, and I’m going to try to forget it ever happened. Which will probably be easy because I’ll get more enjoyment out of using my sledgehammer than I’ll ever get from you.”
The man lights up. Like he is loving this. “Oh, then I’ll have to try harder.”