The Distraction

Untitled Part 11

"What can I do for you, Jonathan?"This week is never-ending. It's been non-stop working as I try to figureout the zoning issue without ruining our original timeline. This is on top ofmy normal fire-putting-out that has become the entirety of my role at BeatenPath. We've had to move the groundbreaking back one week, but now thatit's all ironed out, I can breathe.Or so I thought."We've got an enormous problem." Now, Jonathan can be dramatic. Hehas been since the beginning and he will be until he dies. This is a phrasethat's been uttered by him at least once a week for as long as I've known him."What now?" The wheels of my leather desk chair roll back over thecreamy carpet until it's braced against the wall. Why my sister has a whitecarpet in her home with those two girls is a mystery."The construction company is fighting us. The change in schedule doesn'twork for them. It overlaps our projected end date with the start of anotherproject and gives them no space for a buffer. They're threatening to drop theaccount if we can't keep to the original timeline."Fuuuuuck. This is not what we need."Okay, so what's the next step?" This is what's gotten me this far. Ratherthan panicking, we need to accept that there is an issue and immediately finda solution."I can't be the only one with solutions, Hunter. I've been trying to figurethis out all morning, unlike you, who's doing God knows what in that Podunktown. They're unwilling to compromise and start the week later.""Jesus, Jonathan, maybe the company wants to break the contract becauseyou're such a dickhead.""I don't have time for niceties." He's pissed at me."Okay, let me make some calls, do some schmoozing. I'm sure it's not abig deal, then I'll see what I can do.""Whatever. You need to call before two, though. The contract gives themleeway from breaking without consequence if done seven days from theagreed-upon start date. They have another contract lined up, one that fits thetimeline they need." He hangs up and the back of my head hits the wall witha thunk.I don't have time for this shit. My plate is piling up. The stay inSpringbrook Hills was to be nearby for meetings and construction regardingthe new location, but every day I'm stuck in this room putting out fires, mostnot even related to this project. Not to mention, I still haven't gotten the ballsto see my father.As soon as we have a solid confirmation on groundbreaking, I tell myself.Then I can tell him.Tell him how sorry I am. How much guilt I hold for putting him in thatposition all those years ago. How I've gotten past distractions and poordecisions. How I can finally make him proud.But right now, being the CEO of this company I built to prove myself isanything but fulfilling. I wanted to start a business to help people, to buildservices for kids, families, and individuals that would get them into a betterheadspace, get them active, get them healthy. Now I'm dealing withcontracts, employee infighting, zoning issues, and schmoozing investors. It'sexhausting. Unfortunately, I don't have time to dwell - I need to figure outthis issue immediately.But instead of getting right into it and calling the construction crew, myfeet guide me downstairs where light giggling of little girls and the full laughof Hannah can be heard traveling up to my room."Hey there, Hunter," she says when she sees me coming down the stairs,a secret, easy smile on her face. Hitting the kitchen, the marble island is coolbeneath my forearms as I lean forward with a sigh."Everything okay?""Ehh. Just work stuff that never seems to go easy.""I'm sorry, Anything I can do to help?" Her offer is innocent, but thetranslation I give it is far from. My eyebrow quirks and a sweet blush fansacross her cheeks. "Hush, you." A chiding smile appears on her full lips that Iwant to kiss freely. Every part of me begs to grab her face in my hands andlay one on her in front of my nieces. let them know she's miWoah. Where did that come from?Her hands are working, packing things into a cooler while she talks.Seeing her hands on that island brings memories to mind of the last time wewere here."Where are you guys going?" I ask to get my mind off the topic."The park. We need a change of scenery to change the kids' attitudes.""How long do you think you'll be?""An hour, just enough to eat lunch and run around." An hour out of thehouse sounds perfect. Looking at the clock that says it's barely after ten, Imake my decision."Mind if I join?" The words fall out of my mouth, and even she looksshocked, like the thought never even crossed her mind. Should that botherme? Probably not. The thought never would have crossed my mind, and therequest just fell off my tongue as is."Uh, no, not at all. Let me make you a sandwich really quick. Anypreference?""Surprise me." She beams, filling the room with brightness and joy,confirming my choice to be a good one. Tunnel vision sets in. A day at thepark with Hannah and my nieces sounds exactly like what I need right now.Excellent choice, Hunter. Excellent choice.DRIVING TO THE PARK, the kids are chaotic, but Hannah handles themwith precision, kindness, and ease that can only come from practice. Whenshe gets out of the car, Rosie scrapes her knee, and Sara whines that sheforgot her softball mitt, but again Hannah calms the potential meltdowns likea pro. Handing Sara the basket, she directs her to set up and I follow."Are you and Hannah like, boyfriend and girlfriend?" my niece asks, notbothering to throw any punches. She's quiet most of the time but reminds meso much of my sister."You know, you're exactly like your mom when she was a kid. You'dthink she was quiet and sweet, nose in a book, but when you got her aloneand she was a sleuth." This makes her smile, clearly a compliment."Okay, but are you?""Uh, no? No. We're not?" The words are a jumbled mess in my mouthand brain. We are together, but we're not supposed to be in front of the kids.She's my girl and I sure as fuck don't want any other man getting thatconfused, but the kids, well, their confusion bleeds into everything else. Butsaying it out loud feels like a betrayal."Well, I think that would be cool. She'd be like my aunt.""Uhh..." My entire brain freezes like it has stage fright. Like in thirdgrade during the spring play when I was supposed to introduce myself as araindrop. Instead I blurted, "I water" and ran off the stage. Autumn has neverlet me live that one down."She's super nice. And pretty. She'd make a good mom. And then wecould have cousins!" The panic is rising in my chest, trying to escape in ascream or strangled moan. Looking around for Hannah to save me shows thatshe's on bended knee tending to Rosie's boo-boo. Shit."She'll be a great mom one day." The words fall out of my mouth withoutmy permission, but it's the truth. Some day, she'll make a man extremelylucky. Why does that make my stomach sour?"Oh my goodness, you guys are so sweet!" If heart eyes were a thing,they'd be covering Sara's face completely."Sara, you need to understand...""How's it going, guys? Great job with the blanket, Sare bear!" Hannahsaves my ass from the all-consuming panic. During said panic, Sara was ableto interrogate me while also setting up the entire picnic. How is that evenpossible?"How's your knee, Rosie?" Sara asks, looking at me and winking as if tosay, your secret is safe with me.Totally Autumn two-point-oh.AN HOUR TURNS into a relaxing afternoon packed with catch (the mittwas in Hannah's Mary Poppins bag, plus one for me) chasing around thegirls, eating a delicious picnic, and lounging, watching clouds float byoverhead.It isn't until hours later, back in the office, that my mistake hits me.The clock reads 3:13.And fuck, fuck, fuck me. Another distraction, fucking up this cursedlocation.Frantically, my fingers are flying on keys, trying to make the call in time,even though I see an ominous email from Gina in my inbox.Begging, cajoling, pacing, and arguing are no help. The constructioncompany canceled our contract when they didn't hear from me, leaving usone week from breaking ground with no one to actually break the fuckingground.A roar breaks from my chest, anger and disappointment freeingthemselves. How the fuck has it gotten to this? How have I allowed this to goso far, allow myself to get so far off track? How have I not learned mylesson?I want to rage, to yell, and throw things. I want to run downstairs andblame Hannah, explain that this is exactly why I can't start this shit with her.But it's not her fault. Not even a little.With a sigh, I pick my phone back up and call my sister."You know we're literally in the same house right now, right?""Shut up, do you have a second?"Her eye roll is practically visible through the phone. "I guess. What'sup?""Who do we know with a construction company that could start on anextensive project next week?""I'm sorry, what?""The firm that was supposed to start the build next week backed out forscheduling differences. I was supposed to call before they officially ended thecontract but I missed the deadline." Shame suffuses my system."You missed the deadline? You. Missed the deadline? Why? How?You're Hunter.""Jesus, Autumn, I really don't want to get into it, but I was distracted. Iwas stressed, so I went with Hannah and the kids to their park trip andcompletely lost track of time.""You missed an important work deadline because you were with my kidsand my nanny. At the park." She sounds a mix of confused, entertained, andexcited. With my patience running thin, I take a deep breath in an attempt notto shout at my sister."Seriously Autumn, right now is not the time.""Okay. Well, shit. That blows. But why are you on it? Isn't thatJonathan's job?""He put it in my hands and to be honest, I'm terrified of calling him andtelling him I fucked up without a concrete solution." Even though Jonathan isan ass when stressed, he's helped me grow the business faster than I couldhave ever daydreamed. He's a great business partner, a hard worker, and afantastic problem solver. But he's right - it's not fair that I put all theproblems for this location I've been pushing on his shoulders."Huh. Interesting. Well. Let me think." The sound of fingers on keys,typing away to check her contacts, drifts through the speaker."Autumn, seriously, I am so fucked if I can't figure this out. The entireproject is screwed. We'd have to refile the permits and zoning restrictionsagain with the new start date and that week would cost more money, not tomention it would mess up opening timelines, everything. We've already sentout marketing materials with the grand opening date.""I know, I know, trust me, who do you think has been promoting this?Okay, let me look. No... no... no..." My gut drops deeper into the floor witheach negative. "Wait, this might work?" Hope springs within me."What is it?""What about your friend from high school? He owns his dad'sconstruction company now. Maybe they'd have an opening? It's a long shotbut it couldn't hurt.""Who, Tanner?""Yeah, that's his name.""I didn't know he runs the business now." I'm starting to realize how outof touch I am with... everything."Yeah, a couple of years ago he took over. You should reach out. If onlyso you have more friends than King Cranky Pants, Jonathan."A snort comes from my mouth because he really is consistently a crankyguy. Autumn has never really been a fan of him. "Yeah, okay, I'll see if I canreach out to him.""So. You went out with Hannah and the kids, huh?" My eyes roll to theceiling as my finger hovers over the disconnect button."Shut up, Autumn, I have things to do.""Just saying, you guys would be a cute couple!" she yells as the call ends,but her tinkling laughter can be heard traveling up the hall."I HATE to be that guy who talks business when I haven't seen you in awhile, but that's where I'm at. Can you help?"Tanner Coleman is a tall guy with short blonde hair and a stocky build.He sits across from me at the pub right outside town, leaning back in his chairwith arms crossed over his chest. It's dimly lit, but not too loud like FullMoon gets. Just a quiet din of diners eating, plates clinking, beer bottlesbeing set on tables."Not gonna lie. It was a surprise to hear from you. It's been what, 10years? Longer?" he says with a chuckle. Thankfully, he doesn't seemannoyed but entertained. "You never were great at keeping in touch. Hell, inhigh school if I wasn't making plans for us, no one would see you for weekson end."He's right, of course. People and relationships aren't exactly my strongsuit. Tanner was the people pleaser, quarterback, and homecoming kingdating the head cheerleader. I was the kid on the team who would disappearinto the woods and sit on the sidelines at parties. Somehow we worked backthen, but drifting apart was on my end."Yeah, probably. In all fairness, I probably wouldn't even remember tokeep up with my sister if it wasn't for her calling me regularly."Tanner laughs, a deep laugh that brings me back to days hiking out in thewoods together, talking trash about the assholes at school and the hot girls welusted after."Okay, look. The timing for this is actually pretty great for us. We had aclient drop out last month, so we picked up a few minor jobs here and there,but nothing full scale. If you can get your assistant to send me over thecomplete details of the project, I can get back to you with a quote by end ofday tomorrow.""Are you serious, man? You'd do that?""Well, I'm not doing it for free, so don't get too excited.""If you quote a reasonable price, you've got my business. My options arelimited and you have an excellent reputation around here." Regardless ofTanner being an old friend, I still made some calls around to check his work.In doing so, I got nothing but glowing referrals. I learned the lesson not totrust someone's work just because you know them years ago."Alright, well, have them send it over and we'll figure something out."Pulling out my phone, I tap out a quick email to Gina as Tanner relays hisemail address to CC him on."So you took over, huh?" I ask, slipping my phone back in my pocket andtaking a sip of my beer. The warm relief that washes over me, knowing thatat least one issue is possibly fixed, is indescribable."It was time. Dad was getting old, the stress of the daily grind wasaffecting his health. He signed the business over to me six years ago and it'sbeen growing every day since." His eyes look lackluster and out of focus ashe talks about his business."What about Courtney? Whatever happened to her?" Courtney was thehomecoming queen that we all figured Tanner would marry and have a crewof kids with by now. His eyes sharpen as a cloud passes over."That, my friend, is a long as fuck story that requires a lot harder drinks.""Ahh, I've had one of those as well.""Yeah? What kind of story are you working on these days?""I can't afford distractions right now. Too much going on. You own abusiness, you know how it goes." For the third time today, I find myselftrying to downplay my... whatever with Hannah and feel grimy doing it."See, you say that, but the speed you came to that conclusion and the lookin your eyes tells me something' else completely." Fuck, he could alwaysread everyone he met all too well.Glaring at him, I tip my beer back and empty it before answering."I've been seeing Autumn's nanny.""I'm sorry, what?" Tanner sputters on the sip of beer he took, clearlycaught off guard. "Hannah? Hannah Keller?" I pause, unsure of the rightanswer. "Long dark hair, big bedroom eyes, sexy as fuck curves, works at theCenter?" A growl rips through my chest, making him laugh. "Alright, I guessthat's my answer. How'd you manage that? She avoids any kind ofrelationship like the plague."Interesting."Not sure, didn't seem to be an issue. We're not in a relationship, though.Just seeing each other while I'm in town. As I said, I'm not in the market foranything.""Uh, sure. Sure, Hunter." His face says it all, but then a look of hesitationcrossed his face. A silence sits between us for a few moments. "Look, I don'twant to be that guy...""Then don't.""Bro, just listen. She's a good girl. Sweet to everyone she sees, lovesthose kids a ton. I don't know her whole story, but I know that her childhoodwas pretty shitty. Just be careful with her. Make sure she knows what's up."My gut sinks to my feet, having Tanner confirm what's been in my facefor weeks. Hannah is a good woman with an enormous heart and whether Iwant to admit it, whether I asked for it, that heart is precariously set in myhands."And, from what I see, you're not the settling kind of guy. Nothing wrongwith that," he says, hands up in the air in defense. "But something to keep inmind. I wouldn't want to see a girl like that broken."Although it's tempting to fight him on the subject, I don't, because he'sright. And fuck if I have any clue what to do with that."Yeah, well, neither do I, trust me," I say before clapping my hands tosignal a topic change. "Okay so tell me what's been going on over the pastcouple of years in your life, Tan." My hand goes up, tipping my empty bottleto the server, asking for another before Tanner fills me in on SpringbrookHills since I've been gone.