Her Dirty Builders (Men at Work #10) - Mika Lane Page 0,4

there now to check on things. I’ll handle the neighbors and all the other strife. Don’t worry about it.”

That man was a godsend.

The front door dinged as Alden left, and I started to get some work done before my mother arrived for the day.

My phone buzzed, and while I was in no mood to chat, I grabbed for it when I saw it was one of my buddies from college.

“Phil. How are ya?” I asked.

“Hey, McKinney, how’s it hanging?” he asked, yelling over the wind.

“Dude, are you in the Porsche?”

He laughed. “Yes I am, my friend. I’ve got the top down, and it’s a beautiful day.”

“You bastard.”

He laughed again. “That I am.”

I looked around my drab office with its decades-old furniture, framed photos of houses Dad had built, and a dusty home model some architect had left behind. I closed my eyes. What I wouldn’t give to be in Phil’s Porsche at that very moment.

“So, McKinney, I’m calling you again about the weekend.”

I didn’t realize my mood could get any worse, but it did.

“Phil, you know I want to join you guys, but the timing is just not good.”

It was not only not good, it was also fucking impossible. This coming weekend—and every weekend for the foreseeable future—I’d be hunkered down with our accountant trying to piece together the shambles Dad had left the company’s finances in.

My buddies were having golf weekends away, and I was holed up trying to get McKinney Construction in the black.

I hoped to catch up to my friends’ lifestyles at some point—get my college degree, land a great job, and have free time to spend with them. But as every day passed, I wasn’t sure that was going to happen. Like, ever.

Responsibilities. I had a mountain of them. And I’d never seen them coming.

As I ended the call, my office door flew open, initially startling me. But it could only be one person.

“Hi, Mom.”

She beamed and hustled over to me. I turned my face so she could kiss my cheek and waited for her to rub my upper back before she took the seat opposite my desk.

It was what we did most every day.

“Good morning, honey. I brought you one of those scones you love.” She pulled a little brown bag out of her giant tote and passed it to me.

Yes. I was freaking starving.

“Thanks, Mom.”

She took a deep breath. “Honey, some of the ladies at my club were wondering if you could come by our next meeting and have some pictures taken with us. You know, since you won the most eligible bachelor and all.”

I groaned. “Really, Mom? I can’t think of anything I’d rather do less.”

She pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. “Look, smarty-pants. It’s an honor to be voted the town’s most eligible bachelor. I don’t know why you’re acting so put out. When what’s-his-name won last year, he became quite the man about town. And… I heard from his mother that he had women throwing themselves at him.”

Yeah, that’s because the guy was a total douchebag-asshole.

“I don’t want women throwing themselves at me, Mom, and I don’t want to be the man about town, either. I have no time for bullshit like that.”

Her head snapped back at my language. Hell if I knew why. My father swore like a sailor all his life and she’d never batted an eye.

“Furthermore, Mom, you know I’m busy with my English lit class.”

She waved her hand like she always did when college came up. “Oh, honey, your father didn’t have his degree, and he did just fine.” She gestured around the office like it was some sort of penthouse on Park Avenue.

I counted to ten to control myself. “We’ve been over this a hundred times, Mom. I have different goals than Dad’s, and I will eventually finish my degree if I have to work on it till I’m forty.”

God help me.

This time she held her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I want you to follow your dreams. Your father and I always did. But look, at least you might meet a nice girl out of being top bachelor…”

I rubbed my temples. “I don’t know when I’d have time to socialize, Mom. You know I’ve been trying to make sense of Dad’s bookkeeping so I can pay off all the vendors we owe. If I don’t reduce our debt somewhat, folks will stop supplying us with what we need. Then we’ll really be screwed.”

She got up to head to her desk in reception where