The development was taking shape. The sales numbers were strong. Phase Two planning was on track. Life was good. Maybe a little empty. Maybe there was a temptation in this office, but overall, she’d come a long way since?—
“Meredith.”
She startled at the voice, turning to find Vance Brennan in the doorway with his clipboard and his Pippin Lake polo and a look that said he couldn’t care less that he’d interrupted her. In fact, he relished the power.
“Vance. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Door was open.” He glanced around the office, clocking Connor’s empty desk. “Where’s your boy?”
She almost cringed at the term but forced her voice to be pleasant. “Connor’s out for a bit. What can I do for you?”
“And Eli?”
What was he, their human time clock? “Vance, what do you need?”
He dropped a work order on her desk. “Got a change for the Lot 58 build. Homeowner wants to upgrade the HVAC system in the master suite—separate zone, dedicated return. I need Acacia to revise the mechanical drawing page on the blueprints.”
She picked up the work order and scanned it, landing on the contractor line.
“Bayside Mechanical again,” she said, keeping her tone neutral.
“They’re already on site. I keep things consistent.”
Connor’s warning about this subcontractor whispered in the back of her mind.
“Did we get competing bids on this?”
Something flickered behind Vance’s gray eyes—brief, controlled, gone. “We don’t need competing bids for a change order.”
Actually, they did. Especially when Bayside was behind schedule, which she intended to bring up in the next status meeting.
“Doug requires three bids on any subcontract work exceeding fifteen thousand dollars,” she said steadily. “A zoned HVAC upgrade with dedicated returns could clear that threshold.”
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t.” He punctuated that with his insufferable smirk. “Why don’t you stay in your lane and stick to drawing house pictures?” he said, leaning in just a little bit. “I manage the subs. Let’s not create a paperwork headache over a routine upgrade.”
Stick todrawing house pictures? He couldnotbe serious with that.
She set the work order down, fighting for calm she certainly didn’t feel. “I’ll revise the mechanical drawings, but I’m flagging the bid requirement for Doug. He should be looping in alternatives.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
Well, she’d rather he didn’t hover over her like a vulture.
She looked up at him, weighing all her responses, including the most obvious…why not? What was wrong with requiring a bid?
Because he didn’t want oversight or alternatives or anyone looking too closely at why Bayside Mechanical kept winning work without competition?
“I’ll handle the drawings,” she said evenly.
Vance held her gaze for a moment, then took a step backwards. “And don’t bother with bids.”
“No promises,” she said, maybe a little too flippantly based on how his eyes instantly narrowed in…well, yes, that was a warning look.
“Suit yourself,” he ground out. “But when Doug asks why we’re delaying a simple upgrade with unnecessary procurement steps, I’ll let him know whose idea it was.”
He walked out without waiting for a response.
Meredith sat very still at her desk, staring at the work order, cortisol shooting through her body so fast and furious she could practically taste it.